Who We Are.
Established in 2019, Sunset Press is Kenyon College’s first-ever student-run publishing press committed to publishing long-form work from emerging and underrepresented voices on campus. Sunset’s core principles are openness, community, and our collective trust in the creative process. Our staff is composed of artists who believe in the power of words to illuminate, inspire, and bring us together.
Every year, Sunset Press selects a handful of student writers to publish in spring of that year. After drafting and revising these manuscripts in a collaborative workshop environment with Sunset Press editors, students get their work published and available to purchase. Currently, Sunset Press publications can be purchased through the third party services BookBaby and Lulu.
For updates on our Spring 2025 collection or on upcoming events, follow us anywhere @sunsetpress!
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Our Story.
The origin of Sunset Press can be traced back to a Thursday.
It was the day Illari Cuellar ‘21, Armiya “A” Shaikh ‘21, Trudy Wrona ‘20, and Emmy Roday ‘21 serendipitously met for the first time in Andrew Grace’s Introduction to Poetry seminar at Kenyon College. Over the course of a midwestern fall, they learned to love poetry, but more importantly, they grew to love each other. The four of them and Ben Weinman ‘21 met up every other Tuesday night to talk poems in Armiya’s living room, and in those golden hours of what they called “Workshop 2.0” the soul of Sunset Press was born.
Sunset Press is an ode to the collaborative nature of writing. We work with our writers over the course of an academic year to workshop and build their stories from the ground up. Our goal is to produce and publish creative long form texts written, edited, and designed by Kenyon Students and focus on emerging and underrepresented voices. We are Kenyon’s first and only student-run publishing press, but also so much more. At its heart, Sunset Press is the golden hour of writing, a creative space expanding on the page and beyond.
FAQs
Who does Sunset Press publish?
Currently, Sunset Press only accepts applications from Kenyon students and therefore only publishes manuscripts written by Kenyon students. We aim to work with two to four writers each academic year, selecting their application at the beginning of the fall semester, and publishing their finished chapbook at the end of the spring semester. Because of our interactive publishing and editorial process, we also require our writers stay on-campus for the entire academic year they are working with us.
What does Sunset Press publish?
We publish thirty to fifty page chapbooks of poetry, creative nonfiction, fiction, plays, and other experimental works. We are open to all genres (YA, science fiction, fantasy, etc.) and firmly believe good writing is good because of hard work and collaboration and nothing else. We run one edition of 100 to 150 books per title which are sold on campus each spring at our book sales and promotional readings. Our books are also available for order through two online print-on-demand services, Lulu and BookBaby. We are currently in the process of transferring our entire catalog over to Lulu.
I want to get involved! When do applications open?
The writer, editor, and staff applications for our 2025-2026 publication cycle will open early September 2025. There will be an interest meeting at the beginning of September for students of all grades to learn about how to apply and get involved with each of our departments.
I’m unable to join Sunset Press right now — how can I still support you?
Read our books, listen to our podcast, wear our stickers, follow us on social media, and above all, come to our events! We’re always hosting virtual and in-person readings, open mics, and celebrations — just keep an eye on your inbox. And as always, feel free to write to us with any questions — sunsetpress@kenyon.edu.
“All that a human is made of is gold, very very little gold.”
— Dean Young
