Choc Lit & Ruby Fiction

What Choc Lit & Ruby Fiction does

Choc Lit & Ruby Fiction is a UK-based romance publishing imprint founded in 2009 and headquartered in Camberley. Following its acquisition by Joffe Books in early 2023, it operates as a wholly-owned subsidiary imprint alongside sister imprint Lume. The company publishes contemporary seasonal romance (cozy and spicy), dark romance, sports romance, romantic comedy, cozy village romance, beach escapes, historical sagas, and WWII romances — distributing titles globally in e-book, paperback, and audiobook formats through its own storefront (choc-lit.com), Amazon, and shared Joffe Books infrastructure.

Its core product is the end-to-end publishing service — accepting direct manuscript submissions from agents, debut authors, self-published authors, and previously published writers with English-language works of 60,000+ words — supported by professional editing, cover design, marketing, and distribution. The firm maintains a catalog of award-winning titles featuring Sunday Times and Amazon bestsellers, including Sue Moorcroft, Ellie Henderson, Lily Parker, Caroline James, Emma Bennet, Jan Baynham, and Angela Britnell. Editorial leadership transitioned in June 2024 when Becky Slorach (ex-Mills & Boon) was appointed Head of Choc Lit, succeeding Emma Grundy Haigh, who remains involved as Editorial Director.

The business model is one-time book sales across physical and digital formats, supplemented by a freemium email newsletter ("Free Book Friday") that distributes promotional titles (free and £0.99/$0.99) to subscribers across the Choc Lit, Joffe Books, and Lume imprints. Marketing is multi-channel: organic social (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X), a genre-segmented email newsletter, an author blog, and earned media via Romantic Novelists' Association and British Book Awards participation. The imprint has 12 employees and is a member of the Independent Publishers Guild and the Romantic Novelists' Association.

Name

Choc Lit & Ruby Fiction

Legal name

CHOC LIT LIMITED

Website

https://choc-lit.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Choc Lit & Ruby Fiction is a UK-based romance publishing imprint founded in 2009, now part of Joffe Books. It publishes contemporary, historical, and cozy romance titles in e-book, paperback, and audiobook formats, serving romance readers and authors globally through direct submissions and multi-channel distribution.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Romance Fiction Publishing

NAICS

Book Publishers (51313)

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

Genre & Category Publishing (Romance, Mystery/Thriller, Sci‑Fi/Fantasy, etc.) (MPAJAAAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

E-book Subscription & Bundling Services (MPAJAMAB)

Keywords

• Romance fiction publishing
• Book publishing services
• Romance novels
• Independent book publisher
• Digital book publishing

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Book Sales: Revenue from selling published romance books through direct website sales, Amazon, and other retail channels. Books are available as e-books, paperbacks, and audiobooks. Regular promotional pricing including free book giveaways and discounted deals.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Choc Lit is a UK-based romance fiction publishing imprint that commissions, edits, designs, markets, and distributes romance novels across e-book, paperback, and audiobook formats. The imprint accepts manuscript submissions from agents, previously published authors, self-published authors with backlists, and debut writers worldwide, then sells the published titles through its own e-commerce website, Amazon, and other retail channels. Choc Lit operates as an imprint of Joffe Books, the UK's largest independent publisher by title count.

Product overview

Choc Lit is a romance publishing imprint of Joffe Books, one of the UK's leading independent publishers. The company publishes contemporary seasonal romance (cosy and spicy), dark romance, sports romance, laugh-out-loud romantic comedy, cosy village romance, beachy escapes, sweeping historical sagas, and WWII romances. Choc Lit offers author submission services accepting work from agents, previously published authors, self-published authors, and debut writers. The company operates a newsletter program with free book offerings and manages a catalog of new release titles alongside their core publishing services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Choc Lit Romance Books

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Joffe BookscoreOthersChoc Lit is a Joffe Books company and romance imprint. Joffe Books acquired Choc Lit in early 2023. Joffe Books is one of the UK's leading independent publishers of commercial fiction, and after acquiring Choc Lit and Lume Books in 2023, claims to be the UK's largest independent publisher by title count with 3.5 million books sold in 2023 and over one billion pages read on Kindle Unlimited.
• Independent Publishers GuildminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerChoc Lit is a proud member of the Independent Publishers Guild, an industry association for independent publishing companies.
• Romantic Novelists' AssociationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerChoc Lit is a proud member of the Romantic Novelists' Association (RNA), participating in their awards programs including the RNA Romantic Novel Awards and Industry Awards. Multiple Choc Lit authors have won or been shortlisted for RNA awards.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Avon Books: Avon is HarperCollins's historic mass-market romance imprint with a deep romance catalog across contemporary and historical subgenres. Comparable to Choc Lit in romance specialization and author development, but operates at the scale of a major trade publisher's imprint rather than an indie imprint.
• Mills & Boon (Harlequin): Mills & Boon is the global category-defining romance publisher, part of HarperCollins. It is the most direct large-scale incumbent in UK romance publishing, comparable to Choc Lit in genre specialization and romance author development (Becky Slorach joined Choc Lit from Mills & Boon), though operating at vastly greater scale as part of a major trade publisher.

Direct peers

• Aria (Head of Zeus): Aria is the digital fiction imprint of Head of Zeus, publishing commercial and romance fiction in ebook, print, and audio. Comparable to Choc Lit in digital-first commercial fiction focus and in competing for romance authors across similar subgenres within the UK indie market.
• Entangled Publishing: Entangled Publishing is a US-based independent romance-focused publisher publishing across multiple romance subgenres (contemporary, historical, paranormal) in ebook, print, and audio. Comparable to Choc Lit in genre specialization, digital-first commissioning model, and reliance on Amazon-led discovery channels.
• One More Chapter: One More Chapter is HarperCollins UK's digital-first commercial fiction imprint publishing romance and book club fiction. Directly comparable to Choc Lit in target genre, author acquisition model (digital-first commissioning), and reader funnel (ebook promotions and discounted deals).
• Boldwood Books: Boldwood Books is a leading UK independent digital-first publisher with a strong romance and commercial fiction list. It directly competes with Choc Lit for romance authors, offers similar multi-format (ebook, paperback, audio) distribution, and operates on a comparable indie imprint scale within the same UK market.
• Bookouture: Bookouture is Hachette UK's digital-first commercial fiction imprint with a substantial romance and women's fiction list. It competes head-to-head with Choc Lit for romance authors and readers, and benefits from a major publisher's distribution and marketing infrastructure analogous to Choc Lit's Joffe Books backing.
• Canelo: Canelo is a UK independent publisher specializing in digital-first commercial fiction, including romance and historical sagas. Comparable to Choc Lit in scale, genre mix, and distribution approach (digital-led, multi-format) as fellow UK indie publishers targeting similar readers and authors.

Others

• Lume Books: Lume is Joffe Books' digital-first commercial fiction imprint, acquired in 2023 alongside Choc Lit. As a sister imprint under the same parent, it shares distribution, marketing infrastructure, and reader funnel - directly comparable in scale and target market but focused on thriller and crime fiction rather than romance.

Emerging players

• Tule Publishing: Tule Publishing is an independent digital romance publisher focused on category and series romance. Comparable to Choc Lit in genre specialization and indie imprint scale, but operates primarily in the US market and focuses more narrowly on series/category romance.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/choclituk
• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php
• Instagraminstagram.com/choclituk
• TikToktiktok.com/@joffebooks
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/choc-lit

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Choc Lit & Ruby Fiction