Harlequin launches digital-only publishing house

For Immediate Release

Harlequin launches digital-only publishing house
Carina Press™ currently accepting submissions

Toronto, ON (November 9, 2009) – Harlequin Enterprises Limited, the global leader in series romance and one of the world’s leading publishers of women’s fiction, announced today the launch of Carina Press™,a digital-only publishing house that will operate independently of their traditional publishing businesses.

Carina Press is a digital-only publishing house whose eBooks will be sold direct to consumers through the Carina Press Web site and numerous third-party Web sites. Carina Press will publish a wide range of women’s fiction—from romance to erotica, science fiction to mystery, family sagas to choose your own adventures, horror to thriller and more, including every conceivable subgenre of these categories.

“As a digital-only publisher Carina Press is a natural extension to our business; it builds on our digital strength and leadership position. We expect to discover new authors and unique voices that may not be able to find homes in traditional publishing houses,” said Donna Hayes, CEO and Publisher of Harlequin Enterprises. “It definitely gives us greater flexibility in the type of editorial we can accept from authors and offer to readers. As well, we hope to reach a new group of readers with niche editorial.”

Brent Lewis, Vice President Digital, is delighted to announce Angela James is joining Carina Press as Executive Editor. A veteran of the digital publishing industry, James is a well-known advocate for digital publishing. James has enjoyed a long and varied publishing career including senior editorial positions at digital-first publishers. “I have admired Harlequin's digital initiatives for years, and have always thought of them as leaders in the digital arena, so I'm unbelievably excited to join the Carina Press team,” said James. “I believe Harlequin can bring digital publishing to the next level for both authors and readers.”

Lewis added, “Angela has been a key player in growing the digital marketplace for romance. Her experience and insight is a tremendous benefit to the Carina Press team.”

Carina Press is currently accepting submissions in all genres of commercial fiction. Carina Press will consider shorter length stories, genre novels between 50,000 to 100,000 words and longer and complex narratives of over 100,000 words. Carina Press will also acquire books that have been previously released in print form, but for which the author has either retained digital rights or had digital rights revert to them. All submissions should be sent to submissions@carinapress.com.

Carina Press plans to launch in summer 2010 and will release new titles on a weekly basis. Between now and the launch, readers and writers can follow the progress of Carina Press via their blog.

For full submission guidelines and more information on Carina Press please go to www.carinapress.com.


About Harlequin Enterprises
Harlequin Enterprises Limited is the global leader in series romance and one of the world’s leading publishers of books for women, with titles issued worldwide in 28 languages and sold in 114 international markets. The company produces over 110 titles monthly in print and digital and publishes more than 1,100 authors from around the world. Harlequin Enterprises Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Torstar Corporation, a broadly based media company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TS.B). Harlequin’s Web site is located at www.eHarlequin.com. Harlequin has offices in 19 countries, including offices in Toronto, New York and London. For more information please visit www.eHarlequin.com or press.eHarlequin.com.

For more information, please contact:
Malle Vallik
Director, Digital Content & Social Media
416-445-5860
malle_vallik@harlequin.ca