I heard today about a  great  opportunity for romance writers seeking publication!

Small but growing publisher World Weaver Press is looking for winter holiday romances with a touch of the extraordinary. I’ve known Eileen Wiedbrauk, the editor-in-chief,  on the internet for a few years now, ever since I got back into seriously writing. We did a JanNo at the same time (like NaNo but in January, with no pesky holidays messing up the writing time).

I wrote a confused mess of a comic thriller/ romance/ women’s fiction, about twin sisters and mistaken identity. I claim to have finished the story, but the truth is at 50,000 words I was so fed up with it I had the heroine decide after the black moment that she was better off without the jerk of a hero and would go on into her life a stronger, more confident woman who’d never be messed around by a jerk again.Uh, that would NOT be a romance then!

Eileen wrote a very accomplished fantasy with strong romantic elements. Since then, she’s completed her MFA, and had stories published. She achieves so much I get tired just reading what she’s been up to. No wonder she needs coffee! She’s a fabulous writer and a skilled editor, with unsurpassed attention to detail. I just know she’d be a joy to work with, though I’m betting she’ll challenge her authors to dig deeper than they thought possible to pull out their best work.

So when she emailed me World Weaver Press’ latest call for submissions, I really wanted to share it. They publish in both paper book and ebook format, and the covers are beautiful. Do go to the WWP website to check them out!

 Attention romance writers! Do you have a novella that captures the magic of the holiday season? We want to see it!

We’re looking for winter romances with a speculative element — supernatural beings, magic, doors to other worlds,  inexplicable serendipity, etc. — at the novella length. Submissions accepted Dec. 1-31, 2012, for publication during the 2013 holiday season part of a 3-6 novella anthology (ebook and print editions) and additionally as individual titles (ebook edition only). Anthology is tentatively titled A Winter’s Enchantment.

Stories must have a winter element. Preference for stories where the winter holidays play an important role in the story: Christmas, Hanukkah, New Year’s, Chinese New Year, winter solstice, yule, other winter holidays (real or invented).

Will consider contemporary or historical settings as well as second-world fantasy settings (sometimes called “high fantasy” or fairy tale realms). No fan fiction.

We have no specific guidelines on “heat level.” But whether or not characters tumble into the bedroom, these stories should be primarily romances with HEAs or implied HEAs; if you want to get explicit between the sheets, go for it! — but stories need to be more plot than sex. This is not an erotica anthology.

Novella length: 20,000 – 45,000 words

Submissions period: December 1-31, 2012 — do not query before or after this period or your submission will not be read!

Rights and compensation: Seeking first world rights in English and exclusive rights to publish in print and electronic format for twelve months after publication date after which publisher retains nonexclusive right to continue to publish. Novellas will be published in a 3-6 story anthology and individually; writer will receive royalty on both anthology (% split among contributors) and individual publication (39%). No advances. Previously unpublished stories preferred; Reprints will be considered.

Submission method: Query letter + first 5,000 words of the novella (paste both into email). Email query to submissions[at]worldweaverpress.com with the subject line “Winter Romance, story title.” Query letter should contain your name, story’s title, approximate word count, and a pitch/brief description of your novella. If story has been previously published, please tell us that you’re seeking a reprint. Then paste the first 5,000 words of the novella in the body of the email following your letter. Please make it very clear where paragraphs break — this means if your email doesn’t let you indent paragraphs, you’ll need to put an extra space between each paragraph for submission purposes. Do not send unrequested attachments.

Simultaneous submissions = okay. Multiple submissions = no.

If you have a suitable story, polish it up and send it off on December 1. If you don’t, you have time to write. What a fabulous writing prompt!