Generous Press
When Elaina Ellis and Amber Flame founded Generous Press, we did so asking the question, "What if your favorite poet wrote a romance novel?" We want to create a home for literary-quality romance fiction: books so well written that every sentence is a delight to read aloud.
We want our queer, BIPOC, and sick/disabled communities to turn to Generous Press novels as a source of pleasure and abundant joy. Perhaps you're a poet, graphic novelist, or memoirist who moonlights as a romance novelist—or maybe you're just genre-curious. Or you've written in this genre for years, but love the idea of working with editors who will push your prose to be as musical as it is gripping. If these descriptions fit you, and if our mission lights you up, we want to read your book.
Call for Submissions
Currently, Generous Press is looking for:
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Completed romance novels
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Graphic (romance) novels
What are we looking for?
Submissions
Hello! Thank you for your interest in submitting to Generous Press, a romance fiction imprint at Row House Publishing, distributed by Simon & Schuster.
Please read the following guidelines carefully before you submit your work.
When you submit, you will be invited to confirm that your work fits these criteria:
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The story centers a relationship that is, or becomes, romantic.
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That story ends happily. Happy doesn’t have to mean simple—take us on a journey! Leave us feeling joyful, hopeful, satiated, blushing, changed.
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One or more main characters embody experiences historically marginalized in romance fiction— ie. queerness, Black and brownness, sickness and disability, neurodivergence. We want to read about fat couples, trans protagonists, non-monogamous romance, butch-on-butch, multilingual romance, abolitionist romance. This is where we find ourselves reflected in a story where we don’t die! We’re not the sidekick or punchline or villain.
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The author identifies as a Generous writer: they are LGBTQ+, BIPOC, and/or disabled, and they share the Generous Press vision, believing that romance fiction can be a balm and joyful way inward and forward, illuminating the power of self-love, genuine interdependence, and abundant pleasure.
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The prose is poetic, literary-quality, gorgeous: rich in imagery, music, and metaphor. Generous authors might be coming to fiction from another genre such as poetry, literary fiction, or creative nonfiction.
Generous Press romance fiction is defined by five characteristics.
If your novel is selected for publication at Generous Press, you will be offered an advance of at least $5,000 towards a 40% profit share on your book sales (based on the Row House Publishing royalties model). We are working hard to be able to offer competitive and equitable advances! Your work will be copyrighted in your name, with publishing rights granted to Generous Press for a limited period. Books may be published in e-book or audio, but our focus is high-quality print books. All Generous authors will receive robust editorial and marketing support and national distribution by Simon & Schuster.
What will Generous Press authors receive?
Generous submissions will be reviewed by Publisher Elaina Ellis (literary editor, formerly of Pulitzer Prize-winning poetry house Copper Canyon Press) and Deputy Publisher Amber Flame (poet and program director at world-renowned writers' residency Hedgebrook). You can read more about us here. Although we each have our favorite types of love stories—Amber has a penchant for noir and spice, while Elaina loves a slow-burn queer romcom—we are open to a full range of subgenres and tropes. Give us your best speculative, epic time-travel, experimental-yet-feel-good, forbidden enemies-to-friends-to-lovers-with-only-one-bed romance!
Who will read the work?
Simultaneous submissions are welcome.
Contact elaina@generous.press with questions and accessibility requests regarding submissions.