In the wake of widespread criticism over its self-publishing imprint, Harlequin has changed the imprint’s name from Harlequin Horizons to DellArte Press. As Harlequin publisher and CEO Donna Hayes said it would, the company renamed the imprint to a designation “that [does] not refer to Harlequin in any way.” There is no mention of Harlequin on DellArte’s Web site.
Late last week, Romance Writers of America and other writers' associations spoke out against the November 17 announcement that Author Solutions had teamed with Harlequin to form Harlequin Horizons, an imprint for self-published romance authors. RWA deemed Harlequin no longer eligible for RWA-provided conference resources—meaning the publisher would not be entitled to enter any award competitions. Harlequin publisher and CEO Donna Hayes said the company was “surprised and dismayed” at RWA’s actions and said it would change the imprint’s name.
Harlequin did not respond to a request for comment this morning on the name change or if it was back in the good graces of the RWA. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers have called for Harlequin to completely cut ties to the self-pub program.
