We are excited to announce that author Simone Sims is the recipient of the 2024 Harlequin Romance Includes You Mentorship. Her debut novel will be published by Harlequin Intrigue in spring 2026.
Simone’s submission rose to the top as a thrilling reunion romance with a crime-story backdrop. Her story was one of 160 submissions that were individually reviewed by Harlequin editors and publishing team members, before narrowing the field down to 10 finalists.
As part of the mentorship, Simone signed a one-book publishing deal with Harlequin and received a grant to help further her writing career. Starting this fall, she will work one-on-one with her mentor editor at Harlequin Intrigue for a year to complete her debut novel for publication.
“Simone’s story stood out with its intriguing premise and high suspense that left our judges wanting to read more. Her writing potential and sheer enthusiasm for the romance genre came through loud and clear in her submission and I am excited to begin working with Simone as her mentor editor,” said Emma Cole, Editor for Harlequin Intrigue and one of the mentorship judges.
Simone has self-published five romance short stories and novellas and this title will be her first novel with a traditional publisher. “I’m incredibly honored to embark on this journey with Harlequin to make this thing we call romance just a bit more inclusive,” said Simone Sims.
Harlequin’s Romance Includes You Mentorship began in 2020 aiming to support diversity and inclusion in the romance genre. “Harlequin’s mentorship is an important program for expanding our outreach and discovering new voices that are underrepresented in the romance genre. We are excited to help kickstart the writing careers of talented authors in the traditional publishing space and we’re proud that previous recipients have gone on to publish more books with Harlequin after their debuts,” said Dianne Moggy, VP Editorial at Harlequin.
Thank you to all authors who responded to our call for submissions last May; selecting one submission from among so many stories that entertained our team was a challenge. We were thrilled with the response from the writing community and the wide range of romance stories they shared with us.
Congratulations Simone!
