Yearn Launches February 14, 2026, as a Romantasy-First Audio and Ebook Platform Built for Discovery and Community

New subscription platform focuses on reader connection, expanded visibility for authors

Romantasy Illustrated is proud to partner with Yearn in releasing their Press Release and bringing them on a regular feature both here on The Blog and into the Magazine. We will feature, highlight and offer exclusives on authors and titles coming to the Yearn app. In addition to an ongoing Yearn Column called, "What We Yearn For" brought to you exclusively here on The Blog at Romantasy Illustrated.

NEW YORK — Feb. 11, 2026 — Yearn today announced the launch of its new platform

dedicated to romantasy, one of the fastest-growing and most commercially successful genre

crossovers in publishing. Built to support both readers and authors, Yearn offers a

genre-specific environment centered on intentional discovery, curation, and community. The

company’s app will be available in the App Store on February 14, 2026.

“Romantasy’s growth story is distinct,” said Grace Zimmerman, co-founder and CEO of Yearn.

Long before the genre reached mainstream scale, it was built by self-published and indie

authors, many of them women, who cultivated direct, loyal relationships with readers. As large

platforms expanded their romantasy offerings, distribution accelerated, but discovery has

increasingly become algorithm-driven and competitive.

Yearn was founded to modernize content distribution by prioritizing discovery and restoring the

essential connection between authors and their readers.

“We started from a very simple place: we were romantasy readers first,” Zimmerman said. “We

wanted to build something that helped readers discover stories they’d genuinely fall in love with. As we dug deeper, it became clear there was also an opportunity to better serve the authors behind those stories by giving them incremental discovery, visibility, and a direct connection to the community that already supports them.”

Yearn focuses on intentional discovery and genre-specific curation. Rather than competing on

volume, the platform is designed to help readers surface emerging voices and to offer authors

additional, non-exclusive exposure beyond dominant marketplaces.

“Romantasy thrives when readers feel emotionally connected and authors retain creative

agency,” said Honey Chawla, co-founder and CTO of Yearn. “Yearn supports both by fostering a space built specifically for the genre; one that prioritizes community-driven engagement and

thoughtful discovery. We’re excited and proud to leverage technology to bring people and

communities together, especially in this massively overlooked space.”

Yearn is currently opening early access via a waitlist ahead of its public launch. For more

information or to join the waitlist, visit Yearn.Media.

ABOUT YEARN

Founded to serve both romantasy readers and the authors who power the genre, Yearn is a

subscription platform dedicated to romantasy audiobooks and ebooks. Built around intentional

discovery and community, Yearn offers a focused alternative to algorithm-driven marketplaces.

Yearn launches February 14, 2026.

BRAND STORY – WHAT WE STAND FOR

Romantasy rose because readers fell in love with stories that offered escape, agency,

desire, and possibility. It grew through passion, not permission, powered by writers and the

communities that formed around their work.

This genre thrives on connection: between readers and authors, imagination and emotion,

fantasy and real life. Its growth has always been personal, word-of-mouth, and deeply

human.

That’s why Yearn exists.

Yearn is built to honor how romantasy actually lives in the world as a shared experience,

not a commodity. We believe discovery should feel intentional, not overwhelming. That

great stories deserve to be found because they resonate, not because they rank.

Yearn is a home for romantasy readers who want depth, immersion, and community. A

place where all authors are visible, celebrated, and supported ... without giving up control

of their work or their audience.

Romantasy is about reclaiming power: in love, in imagination, and in storytelling. Yearn

carries that same spirit forward by creating space for stories and people to grow together.

Yearn isn’t built to be the biggest.

It’s built to create a space worth belonging to.

Follow Yearn on Instagram: @yearn_media