The Debut Romance Novels in Every Fashion Person's Handbag

If you’ve spent any time in a book-related group chat lately, you’ve probably noticed it: Romance is no longer a guilty pleasure. Once the butt of the literary world's jokes, the genre has evolved from the cheesy paperbacks you pick up in an airport bookstore into something sharper, smarter, and far more reflective of the way we date and desire in the modern age, and one of the drivers behind it is 831 Stories, the buzzy new imprint quietly reshaping what love stories in 2026 look like both on and off the page. With a focus on bite-size novellas you can read in one or two sittings, the publisher is tapping authors from a diversity of writing backgrounds and going beyond the printed page to build 360-degree worlds (merch! fan fiction!) that bring their stories to life.

They're doing it by flipping the script on traditional book publishing. Instead of sourcing manuscripts the conventional way, cofounders Claire Mazur and Erica Cerulo first seek out their writers and then develop projects alongside them. Journalists, essayists, and cultural critics—many of whom didn’t come up legacy publishing pipelines—are being invited into the romance space and given both structure and support to tell publish their debut works. The result? Works of romantic fiction that feel unmistakably contemporary, from love stories that unfold over one wine-harvesting season among the vineyards of Alsace, a season of WNBA basketball, or even one transformative night in Hollywood.

Ahead, we spoke with five of 831’s exciting cast of novelists about their paths into publishing and what it means to publish a modern love story right now. The titles you'll discover ahead are intoxicating, inventive, and refreshingly non-formulaic—coupled with punchy, saturated covers, these don't merely reside at the bottom of your tote bag but are the ones lighting up group chats, book clubs, and your algorithm in 2026.

Eliza Dumais came to fiction through journalism, building a career as a food and wine writer at outlets like Thrillist, Refinery29, and Vice before going freelance. Drawing from years of working in the wine world, Dumais had quietly been documenting the sensory and emotional intensity of a wine harvest through fictionalized sketches, so when 831 came calling, she knew exactly which story she wanted to tell. The result is her debut novella Grape Juice, a wine-soaked love story rooted in the harvest season and set oh so vividly in the summer heat in France's Alsace region.

Although your career has largely been defined by your food and wine reporting, had you always had a dream of writing and publishing works of fiction?

I studied creative writing in college, but when I graduated, I thought I’d just magically dispense novels from an apartment I couldn’t afford. Instead, I waitressed and cold-pitched editors until someone took a chance on me. I worked my way up from editorial assistant to staff writer then eventually went freelance. Through all of it, I kept writing fiction—just more privately.

And was this fiction writing in the world of romance?

Not in a formal sense. My short fiction often had romantic elements, but it wasn’t necessarily structured as romance. I love writing about relationships, intimacy, and emotional tension, but I wasn’t consciously working within genre conventions.

When 831 approached you, did you already have the concept for Grape Juice?

Absolutely. Every harvest season I’ve worked, I’ve come home and written some form of short fiction about it—trying to preserve the details, the characters, the quality of the light. It was my way of processing the intensity of that experience. So when they asked if I had a romance idea, I had this mountain of pages that didn’t quite cohere, but emotionally, the story was already there.

What felt different about working with 831? Why were you excited to entrust Claire and Erica with your first novel?

They were so eager and warm about my specific story even though neither of them came from the wine world. In traditional publishing, you usually finish a manuscript before talking to a publisher. Here, I signed a contract before the manuscript existed, which felt incredibly validating. It also meant I could step back from doing so many commerce roundups and actually focus on fiction.

With a background rooted in cultural commentary and sharp observational writing, Erika Veurink built a career dissecting modern identity, aesthetics, and desire long before ever structuring those themes inside a love story.

Drawn to 831’s collaborative, development-focused model, Veurink found herself energized by the imprint’s willingness to shape stories alongside their authors rather than waiting for a fully formed manuscript. The result is Exit Lane, a romance that feels self-aware and grounded in contemporary life but ready for the reader to plunge right in.

What was your writing life like before this book?

I’ve always been writing, but not necessarily fiction in a formal, publishable sense. A lot of my work has lived in cultural criticism and personal essays—writing about taste, relationships, identity, and how people move through the world. Romance, in a way, felt like a natural evolution of those interests.

I’ve always been preoccupied with intimacy and the mechanics of desire. Writing fiction just allowed me to explore those questions in a more expansive way.

Had you always wanted to write a romance?

I don’t think I set out thinking I’m going to write a romance novel. But I’ve always been interested in relationships as narrative engines. Once I started reading more contemporary romance—especially during the pandemic—I realized how much space the genre allows for nuance, interiority, and emotional specificity. It felt less like a pivot and more like a permission slip.

How did your connection with 831 begin?

They reached out at a moment when I was thinking more seriously about long-form fiction. What stood out immediately was how collaborative they were. Instead of asking for a completed manuscript, they were interested in developing an idea together. That felt rare and energizing. It made the process feel creative rather than transactional.

What felt different about their approach?

There was a real emphasis on voice and point of view. They weren’t trying to mold the story into something formulaic. They were asking, “What is the most honest version of this story you want to tell?” It felt like being invited into a conversation rather than being evaluated.

How would you describe Exit Lane in a sentence?

It’s a romance about modern intimacy, about what we project, what we withhold, and what it actually means to be known by someone.

A.C. Robinson’s path to publishing was anything but conventional. Without a college degree or traditional literary credentials, she began by self-publishing poetry and designing essay-length Instagram posts that looked like magazine spreads. When a viral dating essay caught the internet's attention, it led to an unexpected email from 831—and a life-changing opportunity.

Within a year of publishing her debut novella, Hardly Strangers, Robinson had secured an agent, sold a short story for film adaptation, and signed another book deal. Her journey underscores 831’s commitment to championing unconventional voices.

How did you get started as a writer?

I don’t have a traditional background. I barely made it out of high school and didn’t go to college. I wrote poetry because I felt intellectually insecure—it felt safer. If someone didn’t like it, I could say it was subjective.

I self-published a poetry book after a breakup because I needed something tangible. Then I started writing essays and designing them in InDesign to look like magazine spreads and posting them on Instagram.

Is that how 831 found you?

Yes. I wrote an essay about modern dating that did really well. Shortly after, Claire and Erica emailed me. I thought it was spam at first. But they followed up, and we got on a call. They asked for an outline—I was googling “what is an outline” while we talked. They were incredibly supportive from the start.

What stood out about Claire and Erica's approach?

I had this chip on my shoulder about publishing being exclusionary. They were the opposite. They asked me what I wanted from the experience, and I said, “An agent.” They introduced me to agents, and within a year, I had representation and sold additional work. They truly changed my life.

Your book takes place over one night. Why that format?

It’s a novella—around 40,000 words—and I loved the idea of something you could read in one sitting. The story unfolds over a single night, so ideally you experience it that way too.

Before writing her sports-centered sapphic romance Rooting Interest, Cat Disabato built a literary reputation with genre-bending novels published by Melville House. A graduate of Oberlin College with a background in literary fiction, Disabato had long considered herself outside the romance space. That is, until a pandemic-era deep dive into the genre (and the WNBA) sparked a new idea.

What followed was a serendipitous introduction to 831 through fellow author Alexandra Romanoff and a collaborative development process that felt both creatively expansive and refreshingly modern. Below, Disabato discusses pivoting into romance, why she doesn’t overthink genre labels, and how writing a love story helped her break her own creative pattern.

Can you tell me a bit about your writing background?

I’m one of those people who wanted to be a novelist since I was a kid. I was lucky enough to take creative writing classes in public high school and then studied creative writing at Oberlin College. I was really trained in literary fiction, and my first two novels—published in 2015 and 2021—were what I call “weird literary queer mysteries.”

A professor of mine really encouraged us to take writing seriously as a business—not in a sellout way but in a practical way. You can’t just assume you’re a genius and become a best seller. That mindset really shaped me.

How did you first get connected with 831?

It was very organic. I’d been thinking about writing a romance around the same time I was getting deeply into the WNBA. I was at a bar with a friend and said, “Do you want to hear about this romance idea I don’t have time to write?” That friend happened to be Alexandra Romanoff, who had already worked with 831.

She introduced me to Claire and Erica. They were looking for sapphic romances and sports romances, so it was a perfect fit. I pitched an early version of Rooting Interest, developed an outline and sample chapters with their feedback, and within a few months, I had signed a contract.

You previously published literary fiction. What made you want to write romance? And why now?

Up until around 2020, I didn’t see myself writing romance. I’d read some, but it wasn’t central to my writing life. During COVID, I started reading a lot more romance and really fell in love with the genre.

At the same time, I had been working on a different literary novel that completely fell apart—which has weirdly been my pattern. I publish a book then try to write the next one, and it collapses, Then I publish another. Romance felt like both a creative reset and something genuinely exciting to me.

Upasna Barath brings a distinct narrative sensibility to romance that's shaped by her multifaceted writing background and a deep interest in character psychology. Before publishing with 831, Barath was already immersed in storytelling, though not necessarily within the boundaries of genre fiction.

Her story Comedic Timing feels emotionally layered and grounded in lived experience, reflecting 831’s larger mission to champion writers from diverse creative paths. For Barath, the process of writing romance wasn’t about conforming to tropes, it was about embracing the traditional romance novel structure as a framework to build a story that would resonate.

Can you tell us about your writing background?

I’ve always written in some capacity, but not necessarily with the goal of publishing a novel. A lot of my earlier work explored character and interiority—understanding why people behave the way they do. Fiction was always there in the background, even if it wasn’t the primary focus of my career.

What drew you to writing romance specifically?

I was intrigued by the emotional clarity of the genre. Romance gives you this defined arc—you know there will be a central relationship and a satisfying resolution—but within that structure, there’s so much room to explore vulnerability and growth. It felt both contained and expansive at the same time.

How did you first connect with 831 Stories?

The connection came through conversation. What I appreciated immediately was that they weren’t just looking for polished manuscripts—they were looking for ideas and voices. That made the process feel accessible in a way traditional publishing often doesn’t.

Did you have your concept fully formed when you began?

I had the emotional core of it. I knew the dynamic I wanted to explore and the kind of tension I was interested in. But the shape of the story really developed through collaboration. That back-and-forth helped sharpen the stakes and clarify the arc.

What did writing Comedic Timing teach you?

That structure can be freeing. I used to think constraints would limit me creatively, but in romance, the framework actually pushed me deeper into the emotional work.

It also made me take my fiction writing more seriously. Having a contract and a deadline shifts something—it validates the work in a new way.