Bloom Books Publishing
Summary
Bloom Books in an innovative, for-profit publishing imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc., is a major player in the publishing world, particularly within the romance and fantasy genres. It is headquartered in Naperville, IL, with a structure that prioritizes giving authors more creative control over their books. The company has partnered with over 40 authors, turning online hits into massive physical bestsellers.
Mission and History
Bloom Books, founded in 2021 with E.L. James as its inaugural author, emerged as an innovative author-partnership imprint designed to redefine the publishing dynamic for both authors and readers. Initially, its mission was to be home to authors looking for forge new paths in publishing. This mission has since evolved to focus authors who possess established community platforms and seek more creative ownership over the publication of their books. In 2024, Penguin Random House acquired a 75% stake in Sourcebooks, which is the parent company of Bloom Books. Bloom Books is currently located in Naperville, IL.
Ownership and Structure
Bloom Books is structured as a for-profit, highly innovative romance imprint operating as a dynamic division of its parent company, Sourcebooks, Inc. The ownership of the enterprise is attributed to Dominique Raccah, the founder and CEO of Sourcebooks, which is based in Naperville, IL, and maintains an overall company wide staff of approximately 427 employees. The organizational structure of the imprint is consciously designed to be both agile and author-centric, a distinctive model that allows it to forge individualized publishing partnerships.
Financial Information
The imprint has demonstrated excellent financial health, driven largely by the explosive revenue growth of its romance titles popular on TikTok. In 2023, Bloom Books scaled to $100 million with a rise in print sales. Although not much financial information is released from the company, they have had a large profit throughout the years and continue to grow further.
News
Looking into news, Bloom Books has highlighted a period of significant success and growth, making it the fastest growing imprint in romance. Major successes in 2024 included a 58% increase in sales and the achievement of two thirds of their authors selling more than 100,000 copies this year. Articles and news outlets frequently mention the publisher, noting that the company landed 25 books on the Best Seller list in a year and had a large amount of deal announcements with their authors.
Catalog
Bloom Books' catalog spans various popular romance subgenres, including new adult, contemporary, dark romance, and romantasy, reflecting the most current reader driven trends. By partnering with entrepreneurial writers and utilizing data driven marketing, Bloom successfully acquires, expands, and elevates the backlist and new works of authors who have already built massive, engaged facebases, consistently landing multiple titles on major bestseller lists like the New York Times and USA Today.
Notable Titles and Authors
The core of Bloom Books is characterized by its powerful resonance with the online reading community, particularly on BookTok, transforming independently successful authors into mainstream bestsellers. The imprint is the publishing home for a roster of globally popular romance authors, including E.L. James, known for the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy; Lucy Score, famous for the Knockmount series, including the massive hit Things We Never Got Over; and Ana Huang, whose Twisted Series, such as Twisted Love and Twisted Games, has dominated bestseller lists. Bloom also publishes the works of acclaimed authors like Scarlett St. Clair, known for the Hades x Persephone saga, Elle Kennedy, known for the Off-Campus series, and Lauren Asher, known for The Fine Print series.
Formats
Bloom Books ensures their content is accessible to readers across various formats, primarily focusing on printed books but also embracing digital and audio versions. Their production strategy is flexible and efficient: they utilize print on demand for initial, smaller runs and transitions to mass market printing for their extensive, successful catalogs. This hybrid approach allows the publisher to respond quickly to market demand for their popular titles while also benefitting from the economies of scale that mass production provides. In terms of cost, the published books are priced competitively, typically ranging from $10 to $38, with the majority of their successful titles, particularly the Book Tok famous novels, settling around the $17.99 price point.
Brand Identity
The brand identity of Bloom Books is distinct and consistent. Its aesthetic features a pink and black theme the website with colorful book covers. These book covers are designed to align with current trends, often featuring a cartoon-type look and character illustrations. The website is clean and community focused, branded with a mix of soft and vibrant colors and offering direct inks to authors' social media.
Editorial Staff
The editors of Bloom Publishing have strong, extensive editorial backgrounds and are described as highly collaborative, solution oriented, data driven, and trend savvy. The list of editors is as follows:
Christa Desir
Christa Desir has been appointed as the VP, Editorial Director for Bloom Books and Sourcebooks Romance, taking a larger role in leading the editorial strategy for both imprints. She is also a young adult (YA) author of contemporary fiction. Prior to her current role, she worked as an editor at Samhain Publishing.
Mary Altman
Mary Altman is a Senior Editor at Sourcebooks and has been in the editorial career for over a decade. She is a self-described LGBTQ geek and book nerd. Altman acquires across multiple genres, including magical realism, romance, women's fiction and horror, but is particularly interested in diversity in character, setting, and story.
Deb Werksman
Deb Werksman is an Executive Editor at Sourcebooks. She previously ran her own publishing company before selling it to Sourcebooks in 1998, where she has been for over 18 years. Werksman is the Editorial Director of Sourcebooks Casablanca and is known as the country's' foremost editor of Jane Austen sequels.
Gretchen Stelter
Gretchen Stelter is a Development Editor at Bloom Books, having joined Sourcebooks in house around 2023. She has a bachelor's degree in English and a masters in writing with a focus on book publishing. She has worked with writers for nearly two decades as an agent and editor, having previously co-ran as a literary agent for five years.
Jocelyn Travis
Jocelyn Travis is an Assistant Editor at Sourcebooks Casablanca, and a member of the romance and genre fiction team at Sourcebooks. Her job involves pursuing the Sourcebooks mission that books change lives for both authors and readers. Travis shares a deep appreciation for reading and her career in publishing.
Sources
1. Bloom . “Meet Our Authors.” Bloombooks.com, 2025, www.bloombooks.com/our-authors.html. Accessed 6 Oct. 2025. 2. Cader, Michael. “Bloom Books Scales to $100 Million; Print Sales Rise in November - Publishers Lunch.” Publishers Lunch, 5 Dec. 2023, lunch.publishersmarketplace.com/2023/12/bloom-books-scales-to-100-million/. Accessed 4 Oct. 2025. 3. “The Continuing Rise of Bloom Books - Publishers Lunch.” Publishers Lunch, 20 Dec. 2024, lunch.publishersmarketplace.com/2024/12/the-continuing-rise-of-bloom-books/. Accessed 4 Oct. 2025. 4. “Come into Bloom.” Bloombooks.com, 2025, www.bloombooks.com/in-bloom.html. Accessed 5 Oct. 2025. 5. “Dominique Raccah.” Sourcebooks.com, 2025, www.sourcebooks.com/dominique-raccah.html. Accessed 7 Oct. 2025. 6. Elberse, Anita. “Bloom Books: Rewriting the Rules of Romance - Case - Faculty & Research - Harvard Business School.” Hbs.edu, 2025, www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=67855. Accessed 6 Oct. 2025. 7. “Meet Our Editors.” Sourcebooks.com, 2025, www.sourcebooks.com/editorial.html. Accessed 5 Oct. 2025. 8. “Terms of Use.” Bloombooks.com, 2025, www.bloombooks.com/terms-of-use.html. Accessed 5 Oct. 2025. 9. “The Bloom Difference.” Bloombooks.com, 2025, www.bloombooks.com/the-bloom-difference.html. Accessed 6 Oct. 2025.
