Four debut collections. A prize anthology. Books that span from Oregon to Toronto, from the liturgical to the geological, from a single sustained sonnet sequence to a modern epic that began in film and theatre before it ever found a page. I didn’t plan a “range.” I applied one question to every manuscript I read — could this book be shuffled? — and kept only the ones where the answer was unambiguously no. These four passed. Nothing else I read this year did.

Here’s what’s coming.

June 2026 — Sesquipedalian Rain Chant by Brooks Lampe

Brooks opens the list, which feels right. Sesquipedalian Rain Chant is the most uncompromising thing I’ve read in years — a sequence of long, percussive poems that treat language itself as the primary material. Dense and musical and formally serious. It doesn’t ask for patience so much as it assumes you have it. Brooks is a writer who refuses shortcuts, and the manuscript earns every word.

October 2026 — My Name Is Swan by Jan Noble

Jan’s work has lived in film, theatre, radio, and recording. My Name Is Swan is the first time the full trilogy appears in print as a single unified manuscript — a modern epic in three movements: river, city, underworld. It’s one of those books that makes you realize the poem and the page were waiting for each other. Jan’s Body 115 won Best Innovative Play at the London Pub Theatres Awards; the poetry film work took Best Narrative at the LA International Poetry Film Festival. The book is something else again.

December 2026 — The Lost Stations by Cara Waterfall

Cara’s debut takes its title from the decommissioned rail stops along Toronto’s Beltline Trail — overgrown now, barely traceable. In three movements (Traces, Vessel, Tracks), the collection holds grief at multiple scales: ecological, domestic, familial. It’s formally inventive — centos, contrapuntals, duplexes, zuihitsu — but the form is never the point. The humanity is. Cara is a CBC Poetry Prize shortlistee and a three-time Coniston Prize finalist, and this is the book that will introduce her to a much wider readership.

March 2027 — Field Sonnets by Miranda Beeson

Miranda’s sonnet sequence chronicles life and time through the turning of a single field behind an old farmhouse. The whole arc held in a sustained form. Paul Éluard: There is another world, but it is in this one. I’ve been thinking about that line a lot since I first read the manuscript. Field Sonnets does what only the best poetry manages — it moves between what can be observed and what can only be felt, and makes you feel the distance between those things as something almost physical. Miranda received the 2026 Muriel Craft Bailey Poetry Award and Palette Poetry’s Spotlight Award. The book comes out in March, timed to the season it describes.

The LemonLight Prize Anthology

Alongside the four collections, we’re publishing an anthology drawn from the inaugural LemonLight Prize — a single poet, judged by Leila Chatti, open to all. The anthology will include the winner, honorable mentions, and a curated selection of finalists: over forty poets in all, in a volume produced to the same standard as everything else we make. The prize theme was Desire Lines. Submissions close May 30th. Details at inkandribbon.org.

Each of these books is printed in a limited edition of 250 copies, with a small number of fine art editions hand-bound by Nate McCall at McCall Bindery in Poulsbo. All typeset in Besley. All designed to last.

The first pre-orders open July 1st for My Name Is Swan, with the others to follow at roughly three-month intervals ahead of each publication date.

I’ll be writing more about each of these books between now and their publication dates — the manuscripts, the poets, the making of them. That’s what this space is for. But for now, I wanted you to see the whole list together, the way I’ve been seeing it.

It’s a good year to start a press.

After May 1, the price moves to $24.95. No second printing is planned. Each copy is numbered in hand.

If you’ve been waiting — this is the window.

[Pre-order at $18.95 →]

Sesquipedalian Rain Chant is the debut collection by Brooks Lampe: a year-long passage through rain, language, and belief, rooted in the Pacific Northwest and drawn from Orthodox theology, classical antiquity, and the quiet drama of domestic life. It is the kind of book that rewards patience — and finds its reader slowly, the way rain does.

Where to find it

Early copies are placed with Eagle Harbor Book Company on Bainbridge Island and Arundel Books in Seattle.

But if you order direct, you’re funding what comes next — before it exists.

One month left: The LemonLight Prize

Submissions close May 30.

$3,000 award. Publication. Anthology inclusion. Judged this year by Leila Chatti.

If you have poems worth sharing — or know someone who does — [the submission window is open →]

Open Reading Period for full manuscripts opens June 15. All four of our first poets came through open submission. That matters to us, and it will continue.

These books ship in days. The price changes May 1.

[Order now at $18.95 →]

— G. K. Allum Ink & Ribbon Press

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And we’re nearing the edge.

Only ~100 copies remain.

The Offer (Ending Soon)

From now until April 30, you can still secure a copy at the pre-order price of $18.95.

After that, the price moves to its retail:

$24.95

This is not a marketing tactic — it’s simply the reality of the economics and the object itself.

»Pre Order Through Our Website Today«

Why This Matters

We are only printing 250 copies. Ever.

No reprints. No second runs.

Each book is:

• Hand-numbered

• Carefully produced as a physical artifact

• Designed to endure — not circulate endlessly

This is how we publish: fewer books, made with care, intended to last.

What You’re Holding

This is:

• The first book in the history of Ink & Ribbon Press

• The debut collection of a remarkable poet

• A collector’s object from day one

And more than that:

Every purchase directly supports the next poet.

Ink, paper, binding—yes.
But also: opportunity, discovery, continuation.

The Reality

We’re already seeing strong momentum. Copies are moving quickly.

When this sells out, it’s gone.

No warehouse. No “back in stock.” No algorithm bringing it back to you later.

Secure Your Copy

If you’ve been considering it, this is the moment.

→ Pre-order now at $18.95 before April 30

After that, the price increases and the remaining copies will be fewer.

If you believe books should still be made this way—
with weight, intention, and permanence—

this is your invitation.

G. K. Allum
Ink & Ribbon Press

P.S. If you’ve already pre-ordered — thank you. Truly. Share it, photograph it, tell someone. This is how a press begins.

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And something shifts when you see it. And with our highly biased eyes, it is gorgeous.

Not a file. Not a proof.

A book—almost here. Weight, texture, gold catching light. We spent hours picking the right paper, days painstakingly going over different designs, and most likely annoying our printer with the level of detail that went into every design.

Sesquipedalian Rain Chant is real.

Pre-orders Are Open

Publication: June 14

We’re offering a pre-order discount for early readers—those who want to step into the first edition before it’s released.

• Only 250 copies

• Each one individually numbered

• No reprints

When they’re gone, they’re gone. Not only do you support our nonprofit press but you get the first ever book by Ink & Ribbon.

»Pre Order here«

Why This Matters

This is our first book.

And it sets the tone for everything that follows—poetry made slowly, carefully, and meant to last.

An Invitation

If you’ve been watching the press take shape, this is the moment to enter it.

Reserve your copy now, while the edition is still open.

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We are in the final stages of bringing three additional poets into Ink & Ribbon Press — all discovered through our open reading. If completed as expected, that will mean four poets and four manuscripts signed in our inaugural year.

Not a plan. A reality.

And it so it begins…

My Name Is Swan — A First Glimpse

We are quietly preparing the publication of a new work:

My Name Is Swan by Jan Noble

This is not a conventional poetry collection.

It is a work that has lived across forms — film, performance, and audio — now being brought together as a single, unified book. A narrative arc that moves through identity, transformation, and descent, held together by a singular poetic voice.

The project has already been recognized internationally:

• Winner — Best Narrative, International Poetry Film Festival, Los Angeles

• Winner — Best Innovative Play, London Pub Theatre Awards

But what matters is not the accolades.

What matters is the ambition of the work.

My Name Is Swan is a rare thing — a total work, one that refuses to sit neatly within a single genre, and instead asks what a poem can become when it is allowed to move freely across mediums, time, and form.

For Ink & Ribbon, it represents something foundational:

A book that embodies our belief that poetry is not content — it is a made thing, capable of holding multiple lives at once.

More to come soon.

The LemonLight Prize — Now Open

While we prepare our first books, we are also opening the door to new work.

The LemonLight Prize is now open (March 1 – May 30).

• $3,000 award + publication

• Judged by Leila Chatti

• Open to emerging and established poets

This is the clearest expression of what we are building:

A press that discovers, publishes, and cares for poems that deserve to endure.

If you have a manuscript — or even a handful of poems you believe in — this is the moment.

Enter. Submit. Take the risk.

Go, go, go.

More soon — including the full announcement of My Name Is Swan and the poets joining our inaugural list.

G. K. Allum
Ink & Ribbon Press

It’s free.
It’s substantive.
And it will keep expanding.

👉 Explore the Learn Library
https://inkandribbon.org/learn

As a nonprofit press, we believe education is part of the mission — not a footnote to it.

Poetry has always been passed on this way:

Through conversation.
Through mentorship.
Through someone taking the time to say: this is how it works — and why it matters.

This library is our attempt to do that well.

What you’ll find inside

We’ve structured the library around three kinds of need:

Foundations

If you’re new — or returning seriously — start here.

• What a poetry press is

• How books are actually made

• What “slow publishing” means

Practical Guides

Clear, direct, and useful.

• How to submit to literary journals

• How to format a manuscript

• How to write a cover letter

These are the guides we wish existed when we started.

Poets & Traditions

The section I’m most excited about.

Context that deepens reading:

• Movements

• Forms

• Major poets

Not summaries — but entry points into understanding.

Where To begin

If you open just one or two pieces, start here:

Frank O’Hara and the New York School
Casual voice, urgency, and the poetry of the everyday
https://inkandribbon.org/learn/frank-ohara-and-the-new-york-school

Gerard Manley Hopkins and Sprung Rhythm
Inscape, instress, and a new music of English verse
https://inkandribbon.org/learn/gerard-manley-hopkins-sprung-rhythm

The History of the Sonnet
From Petrarch to Terrance Hayes — how the form endures
https://inkandribbon.org/learn/history-of-the-sonnet

Or explore everything here:

👉 Browse the full library
https://inkandribbon.org/learn

We’ll be adding new work regularly —
more poets, more forms, more practical guidance.

If there’s something you want us to cover:

Reply to this post
or
admin@inkandribbon.org

— G. K. Allum
Founding Editor & President
Ink & Ribbon Press

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THE INKWELL · INK & RIBBON PRESS

There is a particular feeling that comes just before a book enters the world — not quite anticipation, not quite readiness, but something closer to the moment before a door opens, when you can already sense the light on the other side. Or maybe it’s just a drop!

We are in that moment now.

Our New Website Is Live

We are pleased to announce that the new Ink & Ribbon Press website is live at inkandribbon.org.

It is, we hope, a place that feels like the press itself: considered, unhurried, built for readers who take poetry seriously. You’ll find information about our publishing model, our poets, our books — and the pages will grow as the year does. Take a look, and if something moves you, tell someone.

The LemonLight Prize 2026 Is Open

We are proud to announce that this year’s LemonLight Prize will be judged by Leila Chatti.

Leila is the author of Deluge, published by Copper Canyon Press — a collection that arrived with the weight and precision of something genuinely necessary. She is a poet of rare honesty and formal intelligence, and we could not be more honored to have her read for us this year.

Submissions are open now through May 30, 2026. » Submit Here«

The prize carries a cash award of $3,000, publication consideration, and recognition through the press’s growing community of readers - as well as publication in our anthology. Entry details are available on our website. We read everything with care, and we mean that, and this year, so will Leila.

If you have been working on something — if you have a poem that insists on being seen — this is a worthy place to send it.

A Second Book Is Coming (with more on the way)

We have signed our second title and have shortlisted 2-3 more!

We are not ready to share the details just yet — the announcement deserves its own moment — but we wanted you, our closest readers, to know that the work of building this press is well underway. Two books. Two poets. More to come.

Watch this space.

The Book Is Taking Shape

Behind the scenes, Sesquipedalian Rain Chant is becoming a physical object. We are currently selecting paper stock — a decision that matters more than it might sound, because the way a poem sits on a page, the weight of it in the hand, is part of how it is received. We are getting proofs back and making the small, consequential choices that turn a manuscript into a book.

It is painstaking work. It is exactly the kind of work we exist to do.

Save the Date: Launch Party at Eagle Harbor Book Company

On the evening of Thursday, July 9th, we will gather at Eagle Harbor Book Company on Bainbridge Island to celebrate the debut of Sesquipedalian Rain Chant by Brooks Lampe.

There will be readings. There will be books in hand — real, made, limited-edition books. There will be community, of the kind that only gathers around poems.

Eagle Harbor Book Company has been a neighbor and a fellow believer in the long life of the book, and we are grateful to celebrate there. Full event details — including time and how to reserve your place — are coming soon.

How to Get Involved

This press runs on belief and community as much as anything else. Here are a few ways to be part of what we’re building:

Submit to the LemonLight Prize. If you write poems, send us your work. Deadline: May 20, 2026. Details at inkandribbon.org.

Pre-order Sesquipedalian Rain Chant. Limited to 250 copies. Pre-orders are open now. This is a book worth owning.

Make a donation. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, every gift goes directly into the work — into paper stock decisions, into honoraria for poets, into the long life of the books we make. You can give at inkandribbon.org.

Share this. If you know someone who cares about poetry the way we do — a reader, a writer, a teacher, a librarian — pass this along. The press grows one reader at a time.

A Note of Gratitude

This press was built by a community before it had a single book to show. You have been here through the essays, the editorial reflections, the quiet work of making something from nothing. That matters more than we can easily say.

The door is opening. Come through it with us.

With care,

G. K. Allum President & Founding Editor, Ink & Ribbon Press

Submit to the LemonLight Prize → Pre-order Sesquipedalian Rain Chant → Support the Press →

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Pre Order »HERE«

For anyone pre-ordering you can now get this for $18.95 (vs. $24.95 when released). We only are printing 250 special editions of this wonderful collection.

But for now, we wanted to share two wonderful poems from Sesquipedalian Rain Chant.

Sappho

			Come, Sappho,
with wings darting through air 
toward crumbling mass of rock and water 
we call Sky. “Do for me whatever I desire.” 
What a wish! So long ago imagined,
seed of the world speaking wisdom.
Next spring a feeling comes, born of opposites: 
cold sweat, thin fire.
	All of us have felt it. That’s why we know 
Sirach’s right: A soul heated by a fire 
will not be quenched until it’s consumed.
Lovers won’t rest till the end of the world, 
starlight reaching for the boundless
in rays that never return. You, Sappho, 
range the halls, your life force circling 
toward dust. Kingdoms make war
and husbands return, but you’re off
exploring planets’ tender glow. Begin now 
with me on a rainy day like this 
at autumn’s door.

Silver Morning Drizzle Song

Tu Fu remembers his friends at night
and I watch swallows dog fight 
in the grass 
			images impossible 
until they’re written in the heart  

all I ever see are boxes I haven’t put away
recall letters warning my car 
is bad to drive
a new sheen of rain gloss on the table out back 

nothing to hide Oregon in wet March 
spate for earth to glug
your neverending thirst a psalm 
to spoon into our hollows
smell of midden carbon basalt tinged
		
one wren waits for intermission 
to pour cinders out to gunmetal sky 

I amass these days smutched and blotted 
before senses dim 	and spirit twists free

In other news, The LemonLight Prize with its $3,000 prize fund is now open for submissions! We look forward to reading your work.

» Submit Your Entries to The LemonLight Prize here«

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Submit Here » The LemonLight 2026 Submission Portal «

Quick Facts

• $3,000 total prize fund

  • $2,000 Winner

  • 4 × $250 Honorable Mentions

• 10–20 additional poets selected for publication

• Publication in The LemonLight Anthology 2026 (limited to 250 copies)

• Open: March 1, 2026

• Close: May 30, 2026

• Entry: $15 per submission

• Up to 5 unpublished poems per entry

• Blind judging

• Open worldwide (English-language poetry)

Winner and Honorable Mentions receive contributor copies; all selected poets appear in the anthology.

Optional Add-On:
At checkout, you may pre-order the limited-edition anthology for $25 (250 copies only). Pre-orders directly support prize funding and production.

Submissions are unlimited. Simultaneous submissions are welcome.

We publish fewer books. We make them unforgettable.

Submit now at inkandribbon.org
Questions: admin@inkandribbon.org

Submit Here » The LemonLight 2026 Submission Portal «

Today is one of them.

Ink & Ribbon Press is honored to announce that Leila Chatti will serve as the principal judge for the 2026 LemonLight Prize.

Her presence brings discernment, depth, and an unwavering devotion to language—qualities at the very heart of this award.

About Leila Chatti

A Tunisian-American dual citizen, Leila Chatti has lived in the United States, Tunisia, and Southern France. She is the author of Deluge (Copper Canyon Press, 2020), winner of the 2021 Levis Reading Prize and the 2021 Luschei Prize for African Poetry, and longlisted for the 2021 PEN Open Book Award.

She is also the author of the chapbooks Figment (Bull City Press, 2022), The Mothers (Slapering Hol Press, 2022), Ebb (Akashic Books, 2018), and Tunsiya/Amrikiya (Bull City Press, 2017 Editors’ Selection).

Her second full-length collection, Wildness Before Something Sublime, from Copper Canyon Press was published in Fall 2025

She holds a B.A. from the Residential College in the Arts and Humanities at Michigan State University and an M.F.A. from North Carolina State University, where she was awarded the Academy of American Poets Prize.

Leila’s work is marked by emotional clarity, formal intelligence, and an unflinching willingness to dwell inside complexity—precisely the kind of reading we want guiding this prize.

The LemonLight Prize Awards

• $3,000 prize fund

• Inclusion in The LemonLight Anthology

• Feature interviews and contributor copies

The prize exists to celebrate originality, emotional precision, and enduring craft. The winning manuscript will be produced as a carefully made limited edition—because we believe a poem deserves permanence.

The prize opens March 1, 2026 - May 30, 2026

A Gift for Early Supporters

As many of you know, our debut publication—Sesquipedalian Rain Chant by Brooks Lampe—will be released this summer in a limited run of 250 copies

To celebrate the launch of the LemonLight Prize:

Anyone who pre-orders Sesquipedalian Rain Chant before March 1 will receive a free LemonLight submission waiver.

You may:

• Pre-order now and receive your waiver code on March 1.

• Or wait until March 1 and submit during the open prize period.

Both paths are welcome. The pre-order simply allows you to support the press and secure your waiver in advance.

This is not a gimmick. It is alignment. Every book we print helps fund the next one.

»Pre-order here before March 1«

Why This Matters

Ink & Ribbon Press exists to publish fewer books—but make them unforgettable.

We are a nonprofit 501(c)(3) devoted to craft, stewardship, and the long life of the printed poem

The LemonLight Prize is one expression of that commitment: a way to place meaningful support behind serious poetic work.

To have Leila Chatti steward this year’s prize affirms our direction.

It signals the kind of attention we want to bring to every manuscript.

It sets a standard.

What To Do Next

1. Mark your calendar: LemonLight opens March 1, 2026.

2. Pre-order Sesquipedalian Rain Chant to receive your free submission waiver.

3. Begin shaping the manuscript you want Leila Chatti to read.

We are building something deliberate.

Measured.

Made to last.

And we are grateful to build it with you.

—

Ink & Ribbon Press
A Nonprofit Publisher of Poetry & Fine Books
Bainbridge Island, Washington

No additional purchase.
No complicated steps.
Just early support returned with opportunity.

Our first publication, Sesquipedalian Rain Chant by Brooks Lampe is now available for pre-order and only $18.95 + Postage for a highly crafted limited edition hand numbered book by a new press.

On March 1, the inaugural LemonLight Prize opens.

We want these two beginnings to reinforce each other.

So here is the invitation:

»Pre-order here before March 1«

→ Receive a complimentary The LemonLight Prize entry link when the Prize opens.

You may use it yourself or gift it to another poet.

Why We’re Doing This

Ink & Ribbon Press was built to do two things well:

1. Publish poetry as crafted, lasting books.

2. Create meaningful opportunities for poets.

The book and the Prize are not separate initiatives. They are the same commitment expressed differently.

When you pre-order, you are helping fund:

• A $3,000 prize fund

• The publication of a new poet

• 250 carefully produced copies of our debut book

• The continuation of slow, deliberate publishing

As outlined in How Gifts Become Books each dollar directly supports poets, printers, and permanence.

How It Works

1. Pre-order Sesquipedalian Rain Chant before March 1.

2. Use your preferred email at checkout and add a note in the ‘Additional Information’ box.

3. On March 1, you’ll receive your complimentary entry code.

That’s it.

This is our inaugural year.

The first book.
The first Prize.
The first 250 copies.

If you’ve been waiting for the right moment to step in — this is it.

»Pre-order here«

The LemonLight Prize opens March 1.

Let’s build this properly.

—
G. K. Allum
President & Founding Editor
Ink & Ribbon Press

It moves through a year shaped by rain, language, and attention. The poems begin in September, echoing the ecclesiastical calendar, and travel toward renewal. Rain appears not as scenery but as pressure — dissolving certainty, interrupting habit, and returning the speaker to first questions: love, faith, labor, speech.

👉 »Pre-Order Here«

Domestic life and ancient voices move side by side here. Saints and philosophers step into kitchens and classrooms. Weather presses against windows. Marriage, teaching, longing, and doubt coexist without resolution.

Sesquipedalian Rain Chant is the debut publication of Ink & Ribbon Press and the first full collection by Brooks Lampe.

This edition is intentionally limited:

• 250 copies in the standard perfect bound edition

• 3 fine art editions produced by McCall Bindery

Once these copies are gone, this edition is gone.

Pre-ordering matters. It allows us to move confidently into print, supports the press’s nonprofit model, and directly funds the publication of future poets. Ink & Ribbon exists to publish slowly and responsibly — and reader commitment makes that possible.

If these poems resonate with you, I hope you’ll consider reserving a copy.

👉 »Pre-Order Here«

Below are two poems from the collection.

Sesquipedalian Rain Chant

the world is a museum brimming full of gems
almost too full turning dark with color
beyond our miracle eyes 	   sun shoots the earth
with serein light we convulse inside with
regular convulsions that seem beyond us and 
in the floor 	   we become ultracrepidarians
aimlessly wandering faculty halls calibrating our
most exquisite selves to some important moment
of faith we will be tested our souls kneaded
for bibliopole truth	
			some creeping thing
does not want us to blow our flutes of joy it’s
bonkers! don’t you know we live in a perfect
circle called Oregon it starts with O
leans again penultimately on O and raises
our flesh each January in petrichoral
hallelujah 	   some master-artisan has
left us a beautiful house to indwell to make us
put on our waterproof boots

Sappho

			Come, Sappho,
with wings darting through air 
toward crumbling mass of rock and water 
we call Sky. “Do for me whatever I desire.” 
What a wish! So long ago imagined,
seed of the world speaking wisdom.
Next spring a feeling comes, born of opposites: 
cold sweat, thin fire.
	All of us have felt it. That’s why we know 
Sirach’s right: A soul heated by a fire 
will not be quenched until it’s consumed.
Lovers won’t rest til the end of the world, 
starlight reaching for the boundless
in rays that never return. You, Sappho, 
range the halls, your life force circling 
toward dust. Kingdoms make war
and husbands return, but you’re off
exploring planets’ tender glow. Begin now 
with me on a rainy day like this 
at autumn’s door.

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If you’ve been revising, hesitating, or waiting for the “right moment,” this is it.

We are reading for full-length poetry manuscripts to consider for publication with Ink & Ribbon Press—carefully edited, thoughtfully designed, and produced as limited editions intended to last.

Submission deadline: February 14

Submit »HERE« via Subfolio

If your manuscript is ready, we would like to see it.

Ink & Ribbon Debut Book Q&A with G K Allum and Brooks Lampe will start on Feb 15 at 9:00 AM (Pacific Time) 12/Noon (Eastern Time)

We will be going live with our debut poet Brooks Lampe for our exciting inaugural publication Sesquipedalian Rain Chant which is available for pre-order from 15th February.

Register Your Interest and/or Save The Link for Our Live Q&A »HERE«

The LemonLight Prize Opens March 1

If you don’t yet have a full manuscript—or you’re still in the middle of shaping one—there’s another path.

The LemonLight Prize opens March 1.

• $3,000 prize fund

• Inclusion in The 2026 LemonLight Anthology

The Prize is designed to welcome emerging and established poets alike, and to create a wider on-ramp into the life of the press.

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We are nearing the end of the beginning! When the window closes, it closes.

If you’ve been revising, hesitating, or waiting for the “right moment,” this is it.

We are reading for full-length poetry manuscripts to consider for publication with Ink & Ribbon Press—carefully edited, thoughtfully designed, and produced as limited editions intended to last.

Submission deadline: February 14

Submit HERE via Subfolio

If your manuscript is ready, we would like to see it.

What We’re Looking For

We’re not chasing trends or themes. We’re looking for work that is:

• Crafted with intention

• Cohesive at the manuscript level

• Attentive to language, structure, and depth

• Ready to be shaped into a book—not just a collection of poems

We publish a small number of books each year. That selectivity is part of the care.

If you’re unsure whether your manuscript fits, trust your instinct. Submit it.

Not Ready Yet? The LemonLight Prize Opens March 1

If you don’t yet have a full manuscript—or you’re still in the middle of shaping one—there’s another path.

The LemonLight Prize opens March 1.

• $3,000 prize fund

• Inclusion in The 2026 LemonLight Anthology

The Prize is designed to welcome emerging and established poets alike, and to create a wider on-ramp into the life of the press.

Details will be shared soon.

One More Thing: Our Debut Book

Pre-orders for our inaugural publication, Sesquipedalian Rain Chant by Brooks Lampe, open February 15. Watch this space for more news!

This book marks the beginning of Ink & Ribbon Press—our editorial standards, our design sensibility, and our commitment to poetry as a lasting art form.

If you’re curious about the kind of work we’re bringing into the world, this book will show you.

In Summary

• Open Reading closes in 7 days → this is one of your last opportunities.

• The LemonLight Prize opens March 1 if you’re not quite ready for the full manuscript submission

• Debut book pre-orders open February 15

Thank you for reading, writing, and caring about poems enough to give them time.

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The book is Sesquipedalian Rain Chant by Brooks Lampe.

This feels like a threshold moment. Ink & Ribbon began as an idea, only 4 months ago, about slowness, care, and the belief that poetry still deserves to be made, and read, with attention.

Signing our first book means that idea is now real. It has weight. It has pages.

About The Book

Sesquipedalian Rain Chant is a poetry collection rooted in Oregon’s wet seasons and shaped by spiritual, poetic, and philosophical inheritance.

Structured as a passage through the year, the book treats rain not as backdrop but as practice—a recurring force that unsettles language and love. The poems move between domestic life and ancient voices, asking how coherence might be lived.

This is a book for readers drawn to poetry that holds depth and mystery, and who are willing to be changed not by certainty, but by the steady persistence of rain.

Edition Details

This will be a limited edition publication, made carefully and deliberately:

• 250 copies in the standard edition

• 3 fine art editions, produced separately by McCall Bindery

We publish slowly, in small numbers, and with an emphasis on durability rather than scale.

About The Poet

Brooks Lampe teaches English and poetry, specializing in world literature, poetry, , aesthetic theory, and composition; he is the poetry editor of Sehnsucht: The C.S. Lewis Journal and edits the Substack Uut Poetry. His scholarship and poetry engage Surrealism, literary history, and his poems have appeared in journals including Utriculi, The Shore, and Peculiar Mormyrid; Sesquipedalian Rain Chant is his first book.

What’s Next

Here’s the broad arc ahead:

• Pre-orders open: February 15th, 2026

• Printing: late spring 2026

• Publication: June 15th, 2026

Between now and then, I’ll be sharing excerpts from the manuscript, a conversation with Brooks, and glimpses into the editorial and design process—how a book like this actually comes into being.

Open Reading Period Through February 14

Today’s announcement isn’t the closing of a door—it’s an invitation.

Submissions during the open reading directly support this book and help make the next one possible.

If you’ve been circling a manuscript, revising one last poem, or telling yourself soon—this is your nudge.

Thank you for being here at the beginning. I’m excited, a little nervous, and very grateful to share what comes next.

- G. K. Allum (President & Founding Editor, Ink & Ribbon Press)

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