St. Martin's Press has created SMP Swerve, a new digital imprint dedicated to romance fiction. The new venture will be headed up by St. Martin’s Paperbacks and St. Martin’s Griffin v-p and associate publisher Anne Marie Tallberg as publishing director, with the first titles going on sale in January 2016.

SMP Swerve will feature content acquired by romance editors at St. Martin’s Press, led by editorial director of romance and executive editor, Monique Patterson. Authors will be offered the option of receiving an advance and royalties, or, can opt in for higher royalty rates with no advance. Royalties will be based on net publisher receipts, paid quarterly.

“It’s such an exciting time for romance, the rise in digital publishing has made it possible to deliver a much wider selection of terrific stories to exactly the right readers," said Tallberg. "We are passionate about romance and about connecting readers with stories that they’ll love."