Submit your Friends to Lovers short story now!

The featured trope for 2026 will be Friends to Lovers.

Submissions are closed for 2026! Join us at the annual meeting in June to learn about the 2027 anthology.

Submissions will open March 1, 2026. Please read the following information carefully.

• All proceeds will go to benefit ProLiteracy.
• You must be a member of Passionate Ink to participate.
• Stories must not have been previously published in any form. This includes previous anthologies, indie publishing, and websites such as Literotica, Wattpad, etc.
• All members are eligible to submit a story regardless of publishing experience. Authors need not have a mailing list or website to be eligible, although a mailing list is strongly recommended. Free tiers for small lists are available from most bulk mail providers.
• The winner of the Passionate Plume Virgin category will have the opportunity to include their entry into the anthology as a sneak peek.
• Submitted stories will be 10,000 words or less, with blurbs and author bios of no more than 500 words in total, eg: a 100-word sales description and a 400-word author bio.
• Your story need not be romance with a happy ever after. Passionate Ink welcomes the journey of erotic fiction.
• Professional editing, formatting, and cover art will be provided by Passionate Ink. Also provided will be two BookBub preorder alerts.
• The anthology committee will assist emerging authors with setting up author accounts on BookBub, Goodreads, and Amazon Author Central.
• Print copies will be available at wholesale cost plus shipping to all participants. There is no limit to the number of copies you may order. Up to 2 (two) digital gift copies will be distributed to each author upon request to use as they see fit.
• Each author will receive a formatted copy (epub and PDF) of their story to distribute to ARC readers and for later use.
• Authors will receive a contract for publication.
• Authors retain copyright to their work and will receive a formal letter of rights reversion at the end of the publication period.
• Authors will participate in paired critiques.
• Authors will support and promote the anthology in newsletters, on social media, etc.

Requirements of Participation

1. 10,000-word max for submissions. Must have a minimum of five (5) submissions to proceed, and up to twelve (12) submissions will be selected. All submitting authors must be current members of Passionate Ink.
2. The submission must not have been previously published and must not be published elsewhere for 125 days from the date of publication of the anthology. The only exception to this rule will be for the winner of the Passionate Plume Virgin category, which will be treated as a sneak peek and not subject to this restriction should they choose to include their winning entry.
3. The contract period for individual stories will be 125 days to allow for a 30-day wide release to Amazon, Kobo and Kobo+, Barnes & Noble, and Apple, plus a 90-day run in KDP Select (Kindle Unlimited) with no more than 5 days in between to ensure the anthology is delisted from wide retailers before it enters Kindle Unlimited.
4. Submission must include an erotic/steamy storyline with the designated theme, but need not be a romance with a happy ever after or happy for now. Erotic fiction portraying the sexual journey of its characters is also welcome.
5. Stories must be submitted in a ready-to-critique state with an author bio, story tagline, and a story blurb. It need not be professionally edited as that service will be provided by Passionate Ink after paired critique.
6. Author must participate in paired editing/critiques. Authors will be provided guidelines, but will also be checking for continuity, typos, etc.
7. Author must meet all deadlines as defined on the PassionateInk.org website or in communications from the Anthology Committee. A finalized calendar will be provided to all authors upon receipt of a signed contract.
8. All works will be submitted to a professional editor for final proof at Passionate Ink’s expense.
   1. All proofread edits will be accepted by the PI Anthology coordinator(s) unless clarification from the author is required. The final proofed copy will be provided to the authors.
   2. Editing will be provided on a first come, first served basis by Briggs Consulting LLC.
9. Author must promote the work during the release and at least weekly thereafter during the period of publication, and will be given the opportunity to participate in formal release parties and takeovers in selected Facebook groups.
   1. Authors may use social media, newsletters, etc.
   2. Authors may also obtain paid promotion at their expense.
10. Passionate Ink will provide the copy editing, proofreading, book cover, and formatting, as well as periodic graphics for the ongoing promotion efforts.
11. Passionate Ink does not discourage the use of any trope—however, keep in mind that entries will be disqualified for portraying illegal acts including (but not limited to): incest, violence with the intent to titillate, and acts involving minors or other individuals unable to give legal consent. Inclusion of any work will be the final decision of the Passionate Ink Anthology Committee.
12. Any entry which is found to be a plagiarism of another author’s work or includes the use of generative artificial intelligence will not be included. No exceptions. The decision of the Passionate Ink Anthology Committee is final.
13. Failure to submit a signed contract by the submission deadline will result in disqualification.

Formatting and Style

NOTE:  These instructions need only be used for the manuscript submitted for paired critique and to the professional editor. Authors may use their preferred formatting while writing. Passionate Ink charity anthologies are meant to give emerging authors a taste of what they can expect when they submit their work to agents, editors, and publishers, many of whom have formatting requirements and will immediately disqualify a submission which fails to meet those expectations. We have chosen a formatting convention that is common for this purpose.

Failure to adhere to the formatting guidelines will result in disqualification. If you have any questions, please contact the Anthology Committee at anthology@passionateink.org.

• Manuscripts should be named as follows: <author last name_title>. For example, author_My Story.docx.
• Manuscripts can be any editable file type (docx, rtf, etc). PDF files and formatted ebook files will not be accepted.
• Please submit one document with elements in the following order:
  • Title, tagline, sales description, and author bio on the first page. Author bio and sales description combined can be no longer 500 words. Please include your website and/or newsletter signup link.
    • Authors are strongly encouraged to include a newsletter sign-up, but need not have a website. Free tiers are available on most of the popular bulk mail providers. No buy links or backlist details will be accepted.
  • A page break, followed by your manuscript.
• Chapter titles, if present, should be formatted as headings using an outline style. For example, ‘Heading 1’ in Google Docs or Word.
• Do not use manual tabs to indent the first line of a paragraph (ie: the tab key). Any indentation should be within a paragraph style. You may also skip indentation altogether.
• Do not use hard carriage returns (ie: the enter key) unless you are ending a paragraph. There should be no lines without text or three asterisks representing scene breaks. If you require additional space between blocks of text, use the style menu to increase your spacing.
• Use 12pt Times New Roman, double spaced and unjustified (rag right), on 8.5×11 pages with one-inch margins.
• Oxford commas will be used.
• Do not italicize non-English words. Authors writing speculative fiction (sci-fi or fantasy) may italicize words unique to their universe.
• Special note for published authors: If your story is related to one of your current series, you may add verbiage to that effect, such as ‘<story> is set in the <Series Name> world’, or as a subtitle such as ‘A <Series Name> Short Story’. This can also be part of your blurb or an author’s note at the beginning of your story. Keep in mind, your tagline, blurb, and bio combined must be 500 words or less, and additional author’s notes will be included in the total word count for your story.
• For additional formatting help, review this tutorial.

Tentative Anthology Calendar (subject to change)

* Dates are tentative