Harlequin is calling for submissions this May for its 2025 Romance Includes You Mentorship. We’re looking for romance novels by debut writers in underrepresented communities that could be published in one of Harlequin’s series romance lines.
The Romance Includes You Mentorship is all about finding new voices in romantic fiction that bring more diversity and representation to the genre. We’re looking to offer the writer of the top submission a publishing contract with an advance for their debut novel, a one-year mentorship with a Harlequin editor to complete their story for publication, and a writing grant to support their early writing career. The mentorship has a total value of $5,000 US.
We are interested in submissions by authors in underrepresented communities, including, but not limited to, people who identify as Black, Indigenous, people of color, biracial and multiracial, members of 2SLGBTQ+ communities, marginalized ethnic and religious cultures, and people living with disabilities and neurodiversity.
Submissions will be accepted from May 1 to May 31, 2025, at 11:59 pm ET through Harlequin.Submittable.com. We are requesting a full story outline and the first 5,000 words for submission, not the complete manuscript. We’re announcing the call for submissions early to allow time to prepare your submission.
Harlequin’s Romance Includes You Mentorship started in 2020 and is going strong. Thanks to an enthusiastic response from the writing community, we’ve discovered talented new authors that we continue working with—and we’re eager to find more! Catch up on what previous recipients are writing now in our recent Harlequin update.
If you dream of becoming a published romance novelist, this could be your chance. We’d love to read your happily ever after story.
Who Should Apply
We welcome submissions from unpublished and self-published writers who are not represented by a literary agent. For this mentorship, we’re interested in submissions from writers in underrepresented communities, as described above. Submissions in English are accepted from residents of Canada (excluding Quebec), the United States and its territories. We cannot accept submissions from elsewhere due to legal requirements.
What We’re Looking For
We are looking for unpublished romance stories by debut authors that would be suitable for publication in one of Harlequin’s series romance lines, including Afterglow Books.
We’re interested in category romance novels. Category romances are typically 50,000 to 70,000 words and range from spicy to sweet, contemporary to historical, romantic suspense and more. They have a strong romance at the center of the plot, an equal focus on the romantic journey of both main characters, and a happy ending. Inclusive romance stories with all gender and identity pairings are welcome. To learn more about Harlequin’s romance lines, read the writing guidelines.
The submission must be your own original content and you must own its publishing rights to be eligible for the mentorship.
This mentorship opportunity does not include Harlequin’s trade publishing or Carina Press imprints. Submissions of young adult (YA) romance, general fiction genres and nonfiction are not eligible.
How to Submit
- Your submission should include a full story synopsis (please include the ending) and the first 5,000 words of your romance story in a Word document. It’s not necessary to have the full story written when you apply but we would like to understand the entire plot.
- Prepare a cover letter—sometimes called a query letter—with a one-paragraph story pitch or teaser. Include your brief bio, any previous writing credits, and a personal statement explaining why you applied for this mentorship, what you hope to get out of it if selected, and what greater diversity and representation in the romance genre means to you personally.
- Upload your submission documents to the “2025 Romance Includes You Mentorship” inbox on Harlequin.Submittable.com between May 1 and May 31, 2025 before 11:59 pm ET. The inbox will open May 1 and won’t be visible before then.
- We will accept only one submission by each eligible applicant, and your first submission only if you submit more than one.
Submission Reviews
- All eligible entries will be reviewed by a committee that includes Harlequin editors and representatives with broad experience editing, publishing and marketing romance fiction with diverse characters. Top submissions will be shortlisted and evaluated by a judging panel to select a winner.
- We will assess submissions based on the writing quality of your story sample and synopsis; the creativity of your story, characters and ideas and the strength of the romantic element; its suitability to be published in Harlequin’s romance publishing program; and an assessment of your interest and commitment to publishing a romance novel as demonstrated in your personal statement (cover letter).
Timeline
- Shortlisted candidates will be announced on July 18, 2025.
- The mentorship winner will be announced by September 30, 2025.
Have questions?
- Read the Frequently Asked Questions
- Check the Contest Rules
On Thursday March 27, 2025 at 7 pm ET, we are hosting a “Get to Know Harlequin” webinar. Join us for an overview of Harlequin’s series romance lines and a chance to ask questions about how to make your mentorship submission.
