JMS Books Submission Calls
All calls are for LGBTQ+ adult romance or erotic romance only.
Jolly Holidays
Deadline: September 30, 2019
Stories set during winter holidays. Christmas, of course, but we’re also open to Hanukkah, Yule, Kwanzaa, Boxing Day, New Year’s … any holiday set during the winter months. State the holiday in your submission so we know where it might fit into our schedule. This is a hard and fast deadline — any stories received after this date are NOT guaranteed to be released in December. Valentine’s Day stories need to be in by October 31.
Bewitching Love
Deadline: October 31, 2019
Stories with one (or more) witches/warlocks/wizards falling in love. These stories can be contemporary, fantasy, paranormal, it’s up to you. They can involve practicing Wiccans or wand-waving wizards. We want bewitching love stories that cast an amorous spell that makes readesr want more!
Out of This World
Deadline: November 30, 2019
We’re looking for science fiction romance set in space, whether it’s on a spaceship or a planet or even the moon. Whether it’s hard sci-fi or space opera, or somewhere in between, we want love stories that are literally out of this world!
Your Favorite Trope
Deadline: December 31, 2019
A trope is a familiar plot device an author uses to bring two characters together. There are dozens of them — friends to lovers, second chances, arranged marriages, forbidden love, celebrity falls for fan, love triangle, secret admirer … What’s YOUR favorite? Work it into a story, or write a trope you haven’t tried yet, it’s up to you. If you’re unfamiliar with tropes, check out this list of 145 Romance Tropes. Find one you like and write about it!
Love Wins
Deadline: December 31, 2019
NOTE: All stories will have the same covers as the rest of the series.
For this series, we’re looking for stories of men and women who finally get the chance to formally declare their love for each other. These stories need to focus on a wedding ceremony of some sort, but we’ll leave the details up to you. Whatever your story, make it sweet and sexy! Stories may include characters from other titles you’ve previously published with JMS Books. For this call, stories need to be 12,000 to 38,000 words and not involve a menage.
Lend a Helping Hand
Deadline: January 31, 2020
Stories where romance blooms when someone extends a helping hand to someone else. Maybe it’s a neighbor who asks for assistance and gets more than they bargained for, or a repair person/contractor paid to do a job ends up fixing more than the washing machine, or maybe a college jock hires a tutor to help with homework and they both learn more about each other than the subject. Perhaps a disabled person needs an assistant and is helped out in more ways than imagined. Or a massage goes deeper than expected, or things get decidedly unprofessional during a physical exam at the doctor’s office. Or a pet gets sick, and the new vet manages to heal more than just the four-legged friend.
Chance Meetings
Deadline: February 29, 2020
Stories of serendipitous meetings that lead to happy ever after. Maybe your character gets an earlier bus than usual and finds himself seated beside someone who makes the journey far more interesting. Or two people start chatting while standing in line at the bank or store, and the conversation continues over coffee, or more. Or someone with her nose glued to her phone bumps into someone, and her apology leads in an unexpected direction.
Emergency!
Deadline: March 31, 2020
Stories about finding love when all hell breaks loose. People come together when things go wrong. Maybe a power outage or a freak weather event brings two neighbors together to share warmth or food. Or there’s a hostage situation in the bank and enforced confinement brings two people together. Or the unexpected death of a mutual friend shows two people that life is precious and needs to be lived to the fullest together. Or a character is drowning (literally or metaphorically), and when someone comes to the rescue, they aren’t quite so ready to let go just yet. These stories can also be apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic.
Second Chances
Deadline: April 30, 2020
Stories about finding love the second time around. Maybe your character is hurting from a recent breakup and is reluctant to jump back into the dating pool, but meets someone he/she had a crush on back in the day and is now interested in reconnecting. Or maybe your character unexpectedly gets in touch with their best friend, only to find their feelings for each other have grown into something stronger.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:
- Stories must be between 12,000 words or longer (except for the Love Wins call)
- Stories must contain a romance — any heat level, from sweet to erotic
- Romantic pairing must be LGBTQ+ (including but not limited to gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, asexual, and pansexual)
- Stories may be any subgenre (contemporary, historical, paranormal, etc.)
- Stories must have a HEA or HFN ending
- Adult stories only (no YA)
All stories submitted must adhere to the general submission guidelines found on our website, linked below. We do not consider multiple or simultaneous submissions. Reprints will be considered if the author holds exclusive rights to republish.
HOW TO SUBMIT:
Please follow our submission guidelines on our site to submit the story. Submissions over 40,000 words must include a chapter-by-chapter synopsis.
We will acknowledge submissions within 1 day and have a response to you within 4 business days.
