Harlequin's new digital-only imprint, Carina Press, is now open to submissions. They are seeking "shorter length stories of less than 50,000 words, genre novels between 50,000 to 100,000 words and longer and complex narratives of over 100,000 words." Interestingly, Carina Press will not pay authors advances--instead, they will be paying a higher royalty percentage, similar to the HarperStudio model.

As expected, the new press will be publishing "a majority of romance and erotic romance," but they are also "very interested in women’s fiction, science fiction, fantasy, futuristic, mystery, thrillers, horror, and niches." (Basically, anything except for young adult, non-fiction, and poetry.)

"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."

Their first books "go to press" in Spring 2010.