Harlequin Spice Imprint

Please tell editors/publishers you read their guidelines on the
Erotica Readers & Writers Association Website
www.erotica-readers.com

Writing Guidelines for SPICE and other Harlequin opportunities
www.eharlequin.com/articlepage.html?articleId=538&chapter=0

Word Length: 90,000 –150,000 words
Format: Trade paperback
Editor: Susan Pezzack Swinwood
Editorial Office: Toronto

Modern women have finally begun embracing and taking charge of their own sexuality. Everywhere you turn, the media is celebrating and promoting women and sex: on TV, in Hollywood, in every magazine on the rack. SPICE is Harlequin’s new single-title imprint for really good, really smart erotic fiction for the modern woman who also wants a great read.

We are looking to acquire bold, pushing-the-envelope, high-quality editorial from top authors and talented new voices that have the ability to deliver believable, high-wattage sexual content set within the context of contemporary mainstream fiction. We want novels that will take the genre above and beyond today’s stereotypical erotica stories.

What will set SPICE apart is its broad spectrum of sexy editorial. Stories in this line will range from highly sensual love stories to more contemplative, humorous tales to gritty, slice-of-life experiences of sex and the modern woman. Our diverse editorial direction will include ethnic, literary (humorous, edgy, urban), mystery/suspense and paranormal genres in first or third person point-of-view (female only), or if it works for the story, multiple points of view.

SPICE is…

1. A great plot, an engrossing story with several explicitly sexual scenes that have context within the story.
2. A unique take on modern women, their lives, their relationships and whatever turns them on.
3. Sophisticated, urban, contemporary, realistic, relevant.
4. Graphic, using the kind of frank language typical of the genre.
5. Daring—feel free to explore any and all sexual situations, even ones considered “taboo.”
6. Not a string of unconnected, gratuitous sex scenes.
7. Not a big traditional romance with lots of sex.
8. Not full of euphemisms for body parts or lovemaking.

While actual SPICE titles will not be available until its launch in February 2006, prospective authors can familiarize themselves with some competitive titles, such as: Wifey by Judy Blume, 100 Strokes of the Brush Before Bed by Melissa P., Story of O by Pauline Reage, The Sexual Life of Catherine M. by Catherine Millet, Addicted by Zane, The Other Woman by Eric Jerome Dickey, Sex and the City by Candace Bushnell; and authors such as Jaid Black, Emma Holly, Alison Tyler, Sherrilyn Kenyon and Toni Bentley.

Please submit partial or full manuscripts accompanied by a synopsis. No emailed submissions, please. Agented submissions are preferred, but not essential.

Send your submission to:

SPICE
c/o Susan Pezzack Swinwood
225 Duncan Mill Rd.
Toronto, Ontario
M3B 3K9
CANADA

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