The Inkwell — Volume 1: Fundraising Begins, Submissions Open Dec 15
Poetry, craft, and news from Ink & Ribbon Press
From the Editor
A note from Ink & Ribbon Press
Each month we pause to share what is unfolding at the Press: the books we’re building, the voices we’re discovering, and the community that is forming around this quiet belief that poetry still matters. Thank you for being part of this slow, deliberate work.
“We publish fewer things, but we make them unforgettable.”
— G. K. Allum, Founding Editor & President
An Announcement: We Are Now Officially Open for Fundraising
Ink & Ribbon Press is now formally recognized as a registered nonprofit (501(c)(3), and as of today, we are officially opening our fundraising doors for the first time.
This marks a major milestone in our formation. The generosity of readers, poets, and patrons will determine what we can publish in 2026 and how many new voices we can bring into print. Our year-one fundraising goal is $25,000, all of which directly funds:
• The LemonLight Prize ($3,000 award + publication)
• Printing our limited-run fine editions (250-copy runs)
• Paying poets, designers, and printers fairly
• Launching community readings, reviews, and interviews
• Expanding access to poetry as a printed art form
If you believe in the work we are doing, now is a perfect moment to support us. All US donations are tax-deductible, and contributions made before year-end count toward 2025 giving.
👉 Donate to Ink & Ribbon Press - We use Zeffy which means we do not pay any fees!
If every subscriber just gave $50, the press would be fully funded through 2026.
Your gift, no matter the size, has a direct, tangible impact on the poems we bring into the world.
Ink & Ribbon Fine Editions (Prototypes)
Our Fine Editions series celebrates the enduring craft of bookbinding through a limited run of three to five handmade volumes for each publication - these collectible works that merge art, literature, and permanence.
Each edition will be bound in collaboration by Nate McCall of McCall Co. Bindery, an award-winning artisan whose bindings unite traditional craftsmanship with modern design.
✨ At the Press
Open Reading Period Opens December 15
Our inaugural open reading period begins December 15 and runs through February 14, 2026.
This is the first opportunity for poets to submit manuscripts to a press built on craft, care, and the permanence of the printed book. One of the poets selected may become the first published author in Ink & Ribbon’s history.
👉 Submissions open via Subfolio on Dec 15
(We’ll share detailed guidelines next week.)The LemonLight Prize — Opening March 1, 2026
A $3,000 award + publication in our Fine Editions Series.
This is our flagship prize recognising one poet each year whose work embodies clarity, craft, and imaginative force. Finalists appear in The LemonLight Anthology alongside the winning fine edition.
How You Can Support the Press
Ink & Ribbon is a reader-powered nonprofit. We rely on a community of patrons, poets, and advocates who believe in the cultural importance of books made beautifully.
Ways to help:
1. Donate
Your gifts fund everything: books, prizes, printing, design, and debut poets.
Become A Patron
2. Share our work
Recommend our Substack or forward this email to someone who loves poetry.
3. Submit or encourage others to submit
The more manuscripts we read, the more voices we can champion.
Every action helps a small, mission-led press thrive.
Bound Voices: Our New Interview Series
Our craft-centered interview project continues this month with conversations with binders, poets, printers, and editors who are shaping the future of the printed book. Watch for our next feature soon.
Bound Voices #001: A Conversation with Victoria Moul
“Poetry is what is lost in translation,” Frost said.
Bound Voices #002 — A Conversation with Henry Oliver
When we speak about poetry and freedom, we usually mean something abstract — the free play of the mind, the imagination unbound. But for Henry Oliver, editor of The Common Reader and research fellow at the Mercatus Center, freedom is also a moral and civic idea — one that literature itself helps preserve.
Bound Voices #003: A Conversation with Isaiah Freeman
What makes one poet search for essence while another strives for form? Why do some work through instinct and others through design?
On our Shelf
A featured review or book note from The Inkwell.
Closing Lines
Thank you for being here at the beginning. Each day of building this press has been an act of faith, craft, and community. Your generosity and presence make the work possible.
Until next time — may your books be dog-eared, your pens full, and your margins generous.
— G. K. Allum
inkandribbon.org | Substack | @inkandribbon
Is it acceptable to submit only one, or two poems?
Exciting!