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Mills & Boon has joined with the Romantic Novelists’ Association to launch a competition aimed at finding new standalone romance novels featuring LGBTQI+ protagonists.
Anyone who writes romances focusing on LGBTQI+ characters will be eligible to enter the Romance Includes Everyone competition, including published and unpublished authors who are both agented and unagented.
Entrants will be asked to include a short statement on why they are passionate about championing LGBTQI+ characters in commercial romantic fiction. The contest particularly encourages those who identify as LGBTQI+ to submit their stories.
Lisa Milton, executive publisher of Mills & Boon, said: “We want to publish romances for everyone, acquiring stories celebrating LGBTQI+ characters is crucial to ensure that we continue to serve our readers today and tomorrow.”
Submissions will be judged by Mills & Boon's senior editor Becky Slorach, senior marketing manager Kirsty Capes, and senior publicity manager Joe Thomas, alongside Liam Livings, RNA's diversity and inclusion officer, member of the Rainbow chapter and romance author, and Brigid Cody, member of the RNA’s Rainbow chapter and HarperCollins author.
Imogen Howson, chairperson of the RNA, said: “We are delighted to be working once again with Mills & Boon on this exciting new competition. I am sure that so many of our members will be thrilled at this wonderful opportunity, and we can’t wait to discover some fantastic new romances.”
The competition will be open to submissions on Friday 21st May between 8am to 8pm BST. Entries should be initially submitted to Mills & Boon via Twitter or Facebook using the #LGBTQLoveStories.
If Mills & Boon gives a pitch a “like” entrants are then invited to send their first chapter, of no more than 5,000 words, a story synopsis and a short statement on why they want to increase the representation of LGBTQI+ protagonists in romance novels to submissions@millsandboon.co.uk.
All “liked” submissions will be read and responded to within 60 days. For more information visit the competition website.