35 sports romance publishers accepting unsolicited manuscripts in April 2025
If there’s one genre that’s on fire right now, it’s sports romance! More and more publishers are on the lookout for sports romance novels, so now you’ve got a complete draft that you are happy with, it’s time to pitch it to a publisher.
All of the publishers listed here are currently accepting manuscripts without a literary agent. I manually check each of my publishers lists at the start of each month to see if they’re still accepting manuscripts so you can be assured it’s up to date! I’ve also done my best to weed out any dodgy and vanity publishers from this list.
Don’t forget to check out my developmental editing services or pre-querying package if you want to make sure your novel is in top shape before you send it to a publisher for consideration. I offer a variety of services to suit all budgets, from writers looking for the standard developmental editing experience to those seeking high-level feedback with a quick turnaround time.
Good luck with your querying journey!
Entice
Entice is the contemporary romance imprint of the Totally Entwined Group.
Genre: Contemporary romance in a variety of subgenres.
Word count: 50,000 to 100,000 words. Their preference is for series submissions.Kensington Publishing Corp.
Kensington Publishing Corp. is an independent publisher based in New York City, releasing over 300 titles per year in a range of popular genres.
Genre: Literary and genre fiction (romance, mystery, suspense, thriller, upmarket, historical, speculative, mystery and romantasy) and nonfiction (biography, memoir, history, true crime, pop culture, film, TV, music, military history, narrative law enforcement and pop science). Each editor has their preferences across various genres of fiction and nonfiction.
Word count: Not stated.Penguin Random House New Zealand
Penguin Random House New Zealand celebrates writers, stories and ideas that entertain and inspire.
Genre: Adult fiction and nonfiction. Children's submissions are closed until 2025.
Word count: Around 80,000 words (guideline).Red Adept Publishing
Red Adept Publishing is a small fiction publisher with multiple USA Today Bestsellers. Please note they only accept submissions from US authors.
Genre: Genre fiction, including cozy mystery, fantasy, historical, romance, science fiction, mystery, thriller, suspense and women's fiction.
Word count: 50,000 words and above.Embrace
Embrace is the new adult romance imprint of Entangled Publishing.
Genre: New adult romance including contemporary, suspense, near-future science fiction, historical, fantasy, and paranormal.
Word count: 40,000 to 100,000 words.Siren-BookStrand
Siren-BookStrand is an ebook publisher with over 8,000 romance novels under their belt and over 700 authors writing for them.
Genre: Romance in a variety of subgenres with ménage, M/M, and M/F (only if it includes BDSM) pairings.
Word count: 20,000 words to 85,000 words.Bella Books
Bella Books believes stories about women-loving-women are essential to our lives.
Genre: Fiction that reflects and celebrate the diversity of the lesbian, sapphic, queer, bisexual, and gender non-conforming community. They commonly publish romance, action, adventure, mystery, suspense, intrigue, historical, fantasy, speculative, erotica and general fiction. They also accept poetry and nonfiction.
Word count: At least 60,000 words.Deep Desire Press
Deep Desires Press is a publisher of erotica and high-heat-level erotic romance whose goal is to excite the reader.
Genre: Erotica and erotic romance in a variety of subgenres, including contemporary, paranormal, LGTQ+ BDSM, historical, science fiction, fantasy and similar.
Word count: 10,000 words and over.Romance.ink
Romance.ink has been in business since 1991 and is the oldest web-based romance publisher.
Genre: Romance in a variety of subgenres. They have an extensive list of things they are looking for and not looking for on their website.
Word count: Not stated.Inkspell Publishing
Inkspell Publishing is an ebook romance publisher.
Genre: Adult and young adult romance, including science fiction, fantasy and other subgenres.
Word count: 30,000 to 75,000 words.CamCat Books
CamCat Publishing opened in 2019 and takes pride in facilitating and engaging communication between their readers and writers. They will not publish erotica or books with strong religious or political slants.
Genre: Genre fiction, including mystery, thriller, suspense, science fiction, fantasy, romance, historical, paranormal, horror, adventure, western and young adult.
Word count: 60,000 to 100,000 words.Literary Wanderlust
Literary Wanderlust strives to help new and experienced authors achieve their dreams of publishing.
Genre: Genre fiction, including romance, women's fiction, historical and western fiction, paranormal, urban fantasy, crime, mystery, thriller, LGBTQ, science fiction and fantasy.
Word count: 60,000 to 100,000 words.Evernight Publishing
Evernight is an indie publisher that prefers to publish popular tropes.
Genre: Romance in a variety of subgenres, including science fiction, BDSM, LGBTQ+, holiday, medical, new adult, dark, motorcycle, menage, paranormal, shifters, vampires, urban, erotica, humor, contemporary, military, steampunk, western, fantasy, reverse harem, suspense and young adult.
Word count: 16,000 to 100,000 words.Pan Macmillan Australia
Pan Macmillan Australia is committed to investing in Australian authors and publishes a variety of bestselling books.
Genre: Middle grade, young adult, commercial and literary fiction. For nonfiction, they're interested in narrative nonfiction, contemporary issues, memoir, history, true crime, lifestyle, health, and mind, body & spirit.
Word count: Not stated.The Wild Rose Press
The Wild Rose Press is primarily a virtual publisher founded in 2006.
Genre: Romance, including contemporary, science fiction, steampunk, futuristic, paranormal and historical.
Word count: 15,000 to 100,000 words.Text Publishing
Text Publishing is an independent Melbourne-based publisher of fiction and nonfiction. They accept submissions from citizens or residents of Australia and New Zealand.
Genre: Genre fiction, including crime, thriller, erotica, fantasy, paranormal, historical, romance, LGBTQIA+, young adult, and middle grade. For nonfiction, they accept biography, memoir, essays, film, history, humour, philosophy, politics, religion, science, environment, relationships, society, culture, sport, travel and war.
Word count: 10,000-120,000 words.Storm Publishing
Storm Publishing believes in the power of storytelling to transport readers to other worlds.
Genre: Genre fiction, including crime, thriller, mystery, psychological thrillers, historical, multicultural fiction, romance, women's fiction, science fiction, fantasy and upmarket.
Word count: Not stated.Riptide Publishing
Riptide Publishing is a boutique publisher of LGBTQ fiction.
Genre: LGBTQ+ romance in a variety of subgenres, including contemporary, category (i.e. tropes such as billionaire, secret babies), suspense, comedy, sweet, epic fantasy and high fantasy.
Word count: 25,000 to 90,000 words.Boroughs Publishing Group
Boroughs Publishing Group is an e-publisher that loves romance, a great story, and compelling characters.
Genre: Romance, especially contemporary, dystopian, erotica, fantasy, historical, regency, LGBTQ+, multicultural, new adult, paranormal, suspense, thrillers, urban fantasy and young adult.
Word count: 40,000 to 100,000 words.Bookouture
Bookouture is a division of Hachette UK that publishes digital commercial fiction.
Genre: Commercial fiction, especially crime, thriller, suspense, police procedural, women's fiction, contemporary romance, bookclub, cozy mystery, historical, multicultural, science fiction and fantasy.
Word count: Not stated.HarperNorth
HarperNorth is a Manchester-based imprint of HarperCollins Publishers and their aim is to connect northern writers to readers.
Genre: Genre fiction, especially upmarket, crime, thriller, historical and romance. For nonfiction, they consider memoir, politics, history, sport, music, nature, popular science, smart thinking and popular economics.
Word count: Over 80,000 words.Dreamspinner Publications
Dreamspinner Press focuses on gay male romance stories. Please note that Writer Beware wrote an article about Dreamspinner Publications. Please do your research before submitting.
Genre: Romance in a variety of subgenres such contemporary, BDSM, coming of age, erotica, holiday, polyamory, paranormal, western, mystery, fantasy and science fiction. The main characters must end in a gay or all-male polyamorous relationship.
Word count: 18,000 words and over.Decadent Publishing
Decadent Publishing is a romance fiction publisher. They are always looking for submissions for their main line as well as ongoing series and special calls.
Genre: Romance in a variety of subgenres.
Word count: 15,000 words and over.WildBlue Press
Wildblue Press was founded by two college friends who recognized that the publishing world was changing. They strive to create a unique and engaging process for authors.
Genre: Fiction in the genres of fantasy, mystery, romance, science fiction and thriller. For nonfiction, they accept biography, memoir, history and true crime.
Word count: Not stated.Allen & Unwin
Allen & Unwin are an Australian-owned and operated publisher. They were named 2023 Publisher of the Year and have won the title twelve times since 2000! They accept submissions every Friday during their The Friday Pitch sessions.
Genre: Adult literary and genre fiction, nonfiction and illustrated books. Fiction. They are not currently interested in adult high fantasy and science fiction but do accept other fantasy manuscripts.
Word count: Full length works.Carina Press
Carina Press is Harlequin’s digital-first adult fiction imprint.
Genre: Romance, especially in the subgenres of contemporary, erotic, paranormal, science fiction/fantasy, suspense, historical, and mystery.
Word count: 50,000 to 125,000 words.Launch Point Press
Launch Point Press is dedicated to publishing high-quality fiction books that center on the experiences of lesbian characters.
Genre: Fiction manuscripts where the main characters are lesbians, especially crime, suspense, mystery, intrigue, thriller, historical, literary, romance, sagas, speculative, paranormal and horror.
Word count: 55,000 to 100,000 words.Bold Strokes Books
As an LGBTQ+ publisher, Bold Strokes Books strives to ensure their authors represent the cultures, backgrounds, and viewpoints of our world.
Genre: Genre fiction, including romance, young adult, crime, suspense, speculative, mystery, thriller, contemporary, historical, saga, erotica and general. They also accept nonfiction.
Word count: 15,000 to 120,000 words.Changeling Press
Changeling Press is a digital publisher of contemporary, science fiction, and paranormal romance. Their target audience is adult women.
Genre: Romance, in the subgenres of contemporary, paranormal, women's fiction and science fiction. They also state they accept romance subgenres focusing on action, suspense, motorcycle, medical, rock star, comedy, dark comedy, dark fantasy, urban fantasy, magic, sorcery and witchcraft, cyberpunk, reverse harem, LGBTA+, mpreg (male pregnancy, a trope in fiction where a male character becomes pregnant), steampunk, werewolves, shifters and vampire.
Word count: 20,000 to 40,000 words.Epic
Epic is the young adult and new adult romance imprint of the Totally Entwined Group.
Genre: Young adult and new adult romance in a variety of subgenres.
Word count: 50,000 to 100,000 words. Their preference is for series submissions.Eclipse
Eclipse is the dark romance imprint of the Totally Entwined Group.
Genre: Dark romance in a variety of subgenres.
Word count: 50,000 to 100,000 words. Their preference is for series submissions.Ulysses Press
Ulysses Press publishes books that seek to move along the cultural cutting edge. They do this by publishing books at the forefront of emerging trends and finding unique angles on established topics unexplored by other publishers.
Genre: Genre fiction and nonfiction that stands out and fills demonstrated niches in the trade book market. For nonfiction they accept humor, true crime, pop culture, cooking, health & fitness, self help, education, DIY, gifts and tarot & magic.
Word count: Not stated.Alcove Press
Alcove Press is dedicated to publishing the stories and ideas that inspire, enlighten, and empower readers. They publish a variety of novels from book club fiction to commercial novels and narrative nonfiction.
Genre: Retellings, contemporary romance, book club fiction, fantasy, romantasy, historical fiction and nonfiction.
Word count: Not stated.House of Riviera
House of Riviera is a new independent commercial fiction publishing house based in Monaco with a presence in the UK. They
Genre: Romance, crime, thriller, cozy mystery, women's fiction, historical fiction, detective series, science fiction and fantasy.
Word count: Not stated.Vulpine Press
Vulpine Press established in 2017 with the aim of publishing commercial, innovative and stylish fiction.
Genre: Commercial fiction. This includes genres such as horror, biography, children's books, young adult, crime, thriller, culture, drama, adventure, literary, humor, romance, science fiction and fantasy.
Word count: Not stated.
Best of luck with your manuscript submissions! If you want to ensure your manuscript is in the best position to be accepted, check out my developmental editing services, pre-querying package or my free writing advice. Otherwise, check out my fantasy publishers list or my Australian romance publishers list.