About IvoryPen

IvoryPen is a social network for people who write. Every invited writer gets a profile, a place for their stories and a feed that readers can follow. Everyone else gets something just as useful: an open, quiet place to read them.

The idea

Most social apps are built around the scroll. IvoryPen is built around the page. A story here is meant to be read from the first line to the last, and the people who read it should be able to find the writer again tomorrow without an algorithm deciding for them. So we keep the social parts that help reading (profiles, following, responses, topics) and leave out the parts that compete with it.

Writers and their profiles

A writer’s profile at /their-handle/ works like a member page: a cover, a portrait, a short bio, an optional website link, the categories they write in and every story they have published, newest first. Writers can pin an introduction to the top of their profile, which is often the best place to start.

Following without an account

The Follow button on every profile is an RSS feed. Add it to any feed reader and new stories from that writer arrive there, in order, with nothing filtered out. The whole network also has a feed at /feed.xml. You never need an IvoryPen account to read or follow.

Responses

Under each story is a thread of responses. Anyone can write one with just a name. Responses are read by a moderator before they are published, so threads stay on the subject and free of spam.

Writing here

IvoryPen is invite-only: there is no public sign-up form. If you would like to write here, tell us what you have in mind through the contact page and choose Request an invitation. The team’s own notes about the network are published in the IvoryPen journal.