Submit Your Manuscript Before Feb 14th
Ink & Ribbon Open Reading Closes Soon
Our inaugural Open Reading Period at Ink & Ribbon Press is still open—but only for a short while longer. It closes Feb 14th!
If you have been circling a manuscript, revising one last poem, or telling yourself soon, this is your reminder: now is the moment.
Ink & Ribbon Press exists for poets who care about craft, deliberateness, and the long life of the work. We are not a high-volume press. We read slowly, carefully, and with intention. Every submission is opened. Every manuscript is considered as a whole. This open reading period is not a formality—it is how we discover the voices that will help shape the press in its first years.
If your work values precision over speed, depth over noise, and the physical book as something worth preserving, we want to read it.
You can find full guidelines and submit via our Subfolio Portfolio
[Submit your work]
The LemonLight Prize
In addition to our general open reading period, submissions will open for The LemonLight Prize—an annual award created to recognize a manuscript of exceptional emotional clarity, originality, and craft.
The LemonLight Prize includes:
A $3,000 prize fund
Inclusion in the The LemonLight Anthology, a recurring, collectible volume highlighting prize finalists and emerging voices
The prize is judged with the same care we bring to all our publishing decisions. We are not looking for trend or performance. We are looking for work that lasts—poems that know what they are doing and why they exist.
Poetry Editor (+ Board Member)
As the press grows, we are also quietly seeking an established poetry editor interested in shaping the editorial life of Ink & Ribbon Press. This is not a staff role, but a position of literary stewardship—someone drawn to careful reading, long-form thinking, and the slow work of building a catalogue with integrity. For the right person, this may evolve into a board role over time.
If this describes you, or someone you admire, we welcome discreet conversations.
More information can be found here [Poetry Editor]
Become A Patron
If you value open discovery, careful reading, and the long life of poems in print, consider supporting Ink & Ribbon Press. As a nonprofit publisher, every contribution—of any size—directly supports open reading periods, fair production, and the making of books meant to endure.
[Support The Press Here] or become a paid subscriber on SubStack!
I just submitted my MS. It's a great feeling! Best of luck sifting through them all.
Do you only consider poetry?