Become Our Debut Published Author

Submit Your Manuscript Today

It’s official! We are halfway through our very first open reading period at Ink & Ribbon Press, and I wanted to pause to acknowledge what that moment actually means.

If you are a poet considering submitting: we know this takes time. Pulling together a manuscript is not a casual act. It asks for attention, courage, and a willingness to let the work leave your hands. There is still space and time to do that.

Our inaugural open reading period closes on February 14.

We are particularly seeking emerging or established poets—voices at the beginning of a publishing life, or at a threshold—we welcome work from poets at all stages whose manuscripts align with our values of craft, clarity, and emotional precision.

You can find full guidelines and submit here:
[Submit your work]

---

What We Are Building

Ink & Ribbon Press exists to publish poetry as something made—not streamed, not skimmed, not disposable.

From this open reading period, selected manuscripts will be considered for our Fine Editions and Limited Editions:

• Fine Art Editions
  Small-run, carefully produced books made in collaboration with printers and book artists. These editions are designed as lasting artifacts—books that honor the labor of both poet and maker.

• Limited Editions
  Larger but still intentionally modest print runs, produced with the same attention to paper, typography, and form. These are books meant to circulate, to be read, held, and lived with.

Each publication we take on is a commitment—not just to the work, but to how it enters the world.

---

Why Submissions Matter

Submissions do more than help us discover poets. They actively shape the future of the press.

Entry fees directly support:

• Printing and production costs

• Editorial labor

• The infrastructure required to launch our first list responsibly

Quite simply: your submission helps make the press possible. It helps turn intention into books.

Head over to Subfolio to submit (we prefer it to Submittable as it doesn’t charge egregious fees!)

[Submit your work]

---

What’s Next: The LemonLight Prize

Soon after this open reading period closes, we will open submissions for The LemonLight Prize—an annual poetry award with a $3,000 prize fund and anthology publication for shortlisted poets.

The LemonLight Prize is designed to honor poetry of exceptional clarity, courage, and craft, and to give it a durable life in print.

More details soon—but if you are submitting now, know that this is only the beginning of what we are building. And you will have more chances to get involved!

---

Thank you for reading, for sharing the call with poets you admire, and—if you choose—for trusting us with your work.

We are building slowly, deliberately, and with care.

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