Delacorte Romance Launching with "A Summer of Love" Campaign
Delacorte Press will launch Delacorte Romance, a new imprint dedicated to publishing romance novels for teen readers, led by Wendy Loggia, VP, Senior Executive Editor, Delacorte Press. The news was announced today by Barbara Marcus, President & Publisher, Random House Children’s Books. Delacorte Romance will publish love stories for teens featuring the tropes, themes, and authentic depictions of young love that romance readers crave, in an accessible paperback format. The inaugural list, launching in Summer 2024, will feature five titles, with twelve books slated to be published annually beginning in 2025.
Wendy Loggia said, “The growth of the romance category in the past few years is astounding, and we are thrilled that with these books we will have even more opportunities to reach teen readers, and to give the many romance fans hungry for love stories more of what they want. If you’re looking for love, the story starts here, at Delacorte Romance.”
The launch of Delacorte Romance will be supported by a major marketing and publicity “Summer of Love” campaign, including the first-ever dedicated young adult presence at Steamy Lit Con 2024, branded “Swoony Lit Con,” and sponsored by Delacorte Romance. Fans will be able to get their hands on exclusive romance swag, among other special activations. Throughout the year, Delacorte Romance authors will appear at romance-themed cons and book festivals such as Love Y’all and YALLwest, as well as on romance themed-panels and book signings across the country, including in support of Indie Bookstore Romance Day in August. Readers will have a myriad of opportunities to engage with the imprint’s authors and editors, as well as via the soon-to-be-launched @DelacorteRomance IG handle, beginning Spring 2024. Fans can visit @DelacorteRomance to learn more about their favorite authors, get sneak peaks at upcoming releases, and go behind-the-scenes with publishing staff and converse with like-minded book lovers.
The inaugural Delacorte Romance list offers readers a variety of escapes—to far-flung locales including Rome, Scotland, and the beaches of Mallorca, Spain—and tropes they crave, including grumpy-sunshine, forced proximity, reality showmance, and fake dating, to name a few.
Among the featured titles is the highly anticipated publication of BEACH CUTE from Beth Reekles, author of the Kissing Booth series, which was a global sensation and inspired the hit Netflix films. Equal parts romance and humor, BEACH CUTE follows Luna, Rory, and Jodie—three strangers in need of a vacation. As their lives collide in unexpected ways, will they have a summer they’ll never forget?
In WILD ABOUT YOU, a grumpy-sunshine romance from Kaitlyn Hill, author of Love from Scratch and Not Here to Stay Friends, the trail to true love doesn’t always come with a map. This reality-TV-themed rom-com takes readers on a college-aged Amazing Race–esque adventure on the Appalachian Trail, promising hilarious banter, wild antics, and off-the-charts chemistry.
Introverted and slightly anxious Astoria “Story” Herriot is doing life with her mom in Rome. But when she fake-dates a Scottish celebrity, she soon finds herself living her own Roman holiday until the feelings get real and the paparazzi’s knives come out in ALL ROADS LEAD TO ROME by Sabrina Fedel. It’s a fairy-tale romance in the Eternal City . . . but will it have a fairy-tale ending?
HEARTS OVERBOARD by Becky Dean (Love & Other Great Expectations) is a banter-filled rivals-to-lovers romance between a STEM-loving girl and a jock guy that will fill readers with wanderlust . . . and have them rooting for love aboard a cruise to Alaska. A girl attempts to win back her ex and step outside her comfort zone by trying everything from zip-lining to a polar plunge—all while leaving readers guessing who she ends up with.
It’s time to saddle up for love in NEAR MISSES & COWBOY KISSES by Katrina Emmel. This swoon-worthy rivals-to-lovers romance between a Nebraskan cowboy and California girl, thrust together on the Oregon Trail, will have readers racing through the pages. Under a wide prairie sky, everything comes into focus, including a cowboy’s heart. As some readers know—and others will discover—once you love a boy in a Stetson, you’ll never be the same.
Coming up on future Delacorte Romance lists: Beth Reekles delivers a cozy grumpy-sunshine romance perfect for fall with LOVE & LATTES; BETTER THAN REVENGE, a football/podcasting/role-reversal romance from Kasie West (Sunkissed); LOVE POINTS TO YOU, a sweet and swoony sapphic love story from Alice Lin; and WHILE WE’RE YOUNG, a whirlwind friends-to-lovers romance by bestselling author and TikTok sensation K. L. Walther, with more on the way from Addie Woolridge, Kristy Boyce, Auriane Desombre, Jenny L. Howe, and others!
Meet the Summer 2024 Delacorte Romance Authors
Beth Reekles is the author of the Kissing Booth series, which inspired the Netflix films. She first published The Kissing Booth on Wattpad at age fifteen in 2010, and it accumulated almost 20 million reads before it was published in 2013 by Delacorte Press. A self-confessed nerd and rom-com fan, she is now a full-time author living in South Wales and shares movie reviews on her Instagram. Follow her on Instagram at @authorbethreekles, and on TikTok at @bethreekles.
Kaitlyn Hill is a writer, reader, and sweet tea enthusiast who believes that all the world is not, in fact, a stage, but a romance novel waiting to happen. She lives with her real-life romantic hero in Lexington, Kentucky. Kaitlyn is the author of Love from Scratch and Not Here to Stay Friends. Follow her at @thekaitlynhill.
Sabrina Fedel has worked as a litigator and a civilian environmental compliance attorney. She earned her MFA in creative writing from Lesley University and has taught in the English department at Robert Morris University as an adjunct professor. Sabrina loves Italy and the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, animals, chocolate in any form, Oxford commas, and, most of all, her kids. Follow her on Instagram at @SabrinaFedelAuthor.
Becky Dean is a fan of adventures both real and fictional. She can frequently be found watching science fiction shows and planning exciting trips for herself and her characters. Though she’s a proud Baylor grad and lives in Texas with her family, she remains a California girl at heart. She is also the author of Love & Other Great Expectations and Picture-Perfect Boyfriend. Follow her at @beckydeanwrites.
Katrina Emmel grew up in New Hampshire, moved to the Midwest for graduate school, and continued traveling westward until she reached the Pacific. Now a SoCal resident, Katrina lives in an active household with her husband, their two children, her father-in-law, and their twin beagles, Doc Holliday and Wyatt Earp. In addition to writing fiction, she loves science, crafts, making up silly songs for her kids, and supporting monarch conservation by planting lots of milkweed. Near Misses and Cowboy Kisses is her debut novel. Follow her on Instagram at @katrinaemmelauthor.