Fans of Harlequin’s romance novels can now read 16 of them for free on their iPhone or iPod Touch using the Stanza application.

Lexcycle Stanza, the developer of the most popular electronic book reader for the iPhone and iPod Touch, has launched 16 free romance novels in association with publisher Harlequin.

A global leader in series romance, Harlequin Enterprises Limited is the first major house to make its entire frontlist available in eBook simultaneously with print, and is offering the free titles from today to all iPhone and iPod Touch Stanza users.

Brent Lewis, VP Digital & Internet, said: “Harlequin is celebrating 60 years of pure reading pleasure. We’ve had such tremendous success not only because of our exceptional editorial but by innovating and responding to the changing needs of our readers. We know she values the convenience of reading on her mobile device during her busy day.”

At the 2009 MacWorld Conference and Expo, Stanza was named the Best Free or Ad Supported App by the 2008 Best App Ever Awards. More than one million users have downloaded Stanza since the Apple App Store opened in mid-July.

Stanza offers the ability for users to completely customize the reading experience from 20+ font types, nearly limitless font sizing and a choice of more than 125 background and text colors.

“Some of the most voracious readers on Stanza are women, and we are proud to team up with Harlequin to introduce Stanza to iPhone-enabled romance fans around the world,” said Neelan Choksi, Chief Operating Officer of Lexcycle.

“We anticipate that there are a lot of iPhones and iPod Touches that will be purchased as Valentine’s Day gifts this year. Offering free books from the world’s leading romance publisher is our way of spreading the love to our existing fans as well as the new iPhone users.”

Harlequin Enterprises Limited is one of the world’s leading publishers of women’s fiction, with titles issued worldwide in 29 languages and sold in 107 international markets. The company produces more than 120 titles monthly and publishes more than 1,200 authors from around the world.

The giveaway will help the publisher meet its 60th anniversary goal of giving a romance novel to every woman in its home country of Canada.

Stanza for the Apple iPhone and iPod Touch is available as a free download from the iTunes App Store or from www.lexcycle.com