Announcing The 2026 LemonLight Prize Judge: Leila Chatti
The Prize Opens March 1.
There are moments in the life of a young press that feel like confirmation.
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
Mark your calendar: LemonLight opens March 1, 2026.
Pre-order Sesquipedalian Rain Chant to receive your free submission waiver.
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
Bridwell Press published one of Leila's collaborative works in 2025 as well, "Spotted Ponies." If anyone is curious about her work, we have free - open access copies available on our Fulcrum site: https://www.fulcrum.org/concern/monographs/gf06g5867?locale=en