Arden publishes speculative romance. Dragons and starships, ghosts and gods, crumbling manors and drowned cities: our worlds are as strange as anything Mirari publishes. The difference is what sits at the centre. In an Arden book, the love story is the story, and the speculative world is what makes that love impossible anywhere else.
We believe the happy ending is a conviction, not a compromise. A lot of fiction mistakes bleakness for depth. Romance makes the braver promise, that love outlasts the dark, and every Arden novel keeps it.
What we publish
Romantasy
Love stories in secondary worlds, from court intrigue to quest to war.
Science-fiction
Space opera, first contact, futures near and far.
Paranormal
Vampires, witches, fae, and things that go bump in the night.
Gothic
Dark houses, darker secrets, and desire with a shadow.
And the books that live between them.
THE ARDEN PROMISE
Every Arden book keeps faith with its reader.
01.
Romance at the centre. The love story is the main arc, not a subplot.
02.
A happy ending. A happily ever after or a happy for now.
03.
A load-bearing world. Take the magic, the monster or the starship away and the love story falls apart.
04.
Every kind of love. Every orientation, gender and configuration, and queer romance especially.
05.
Any temperature. Closed door to open door, slow burn to scorching.
FROM THE EDITOR
Who can resist a good love story? Whether it's an infuriating love triangle, enemies to lovers, a second chance or a dangerous liaison, romantic tension adds spice to an already cracking good read. Great love stories are eternal and universal.
Whether you close the door or let it all hang out, romance is a perennial favourite, and it is embedded in the fabric of storytelling. Other than a stirring action scene, the 'will they, won't they' of a great love story keeps you wondering how the lovers will overcome great obstacles to be together, triumph against evil, or overthrow empires. Be it shifters, vampires, wizards, or witches, princesses embarking on quests to redeem a cursed prince, or two princes who yearn for each other, science fiction and fantasy abounds with unforgettable sagas about love found, lost, and (hopefully) redeemed, against all odds.
Love makes us believe there is still good in the world, and it's worth fighting for.
ABOUT THE EDITOR
Nerine Dorman is an award-winning author and editor with more than two decades' experience. She is the author of the Winter Mage and Scatterlings of Fates series with Mirari Press. At Arden she acquires and edits every title on the list.
Submissions
OPEN NOW
Arden’s next submissions window opens soon. Join the Arden list below and you’ll hear the moment it does.
Submission guidelines
FORM
Novels of 70,000–110,000 words, complete and revised. We don't take novellas or short stories at Arden; short romance belongs in Mirari Revel's anthologies.
GENRE
Romantasy, science-fiction romance, paranormal or gothic romance, or anything between them.
ENDING
A happily ever after or a happy for now.
HEAT LEVEL
Any, from closed door to open door.
LANGUAGE
English.
PUBLICATION STATUS
Unpublished. If the novel has been self-published before, tell us in your cover letter.
WHO CAN SUBMIT
Writers anywhere in the world, agented or not. We give priority to writers from Southern Africa and the wider Global South.
1
A cover letter. Who you are, the book in one paragraph, the word count, the sub-genre and heat level, and two or three books it sits beside on the shelf.
2
A synopsis of one to two pages that tells the whole story, including the ending.
3
The first three chapters, as a .docx file.
What to send
How to submit
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One novel per author per submissions window.
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Simultaneous submissions are welcome. Tell us if the book is under consideration elsewhere, and let us know straight away if it's accepted.
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Every submission is read by our editor. If your opening catches us, we'll ask for the full manuscript.
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We reply to every submission, whatever the outcome.