Weekdays · Morning5–9 AM
Morning Mastery™
The flagship weekday devotional. One passage, one costly sentence, one prayer. Built to be read before the day gets its hands on you.
Paid · Substack & Facebook
Christian formation publishing · Est. Michigan
Formation
over information.
Pen & Press Publishing writes for souls being quietly formed. Weekday devotionals, Sunday-evening prayer, night liturgies, parables, short fiction, and long-form teaching, all built on the authority of Scripture and held to a standard most publishers stopped keeping.
“My heart is inditing a good matter: I speak of the things which I have made touching the king: my tongue is the pen of a ready writer.”Psalm 45:1 · KJV
50States reached by Pen & Press books
4Watches of Scripture on this page each day
10Publication lines, each with its own hour
2Gates every piece passes before you read it
The Work
Written by hand, by lamplight, before it is ever typed.
The Lines
The house keeps hours.
Every Pen & Press line is written for a particular time of day, because formation is not a feed. Morning has its register and midnight has another. The rail below runs on Eastern time; the line that is live right now is lit. Some lines keep seasons, and each card says where its season stands.
Now in Michigan · ·
The Four Watches
This watchSunrise
Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days; and caused the dayspring to know his place;Job 38:12 · KJV
Four watchesOn this site
Lightning Scripture™
Scripture at speed, kept on this page in The Four Watches: a strike at midnight, sunrise, noon, and sunset, moving through the whole Bible in the King James Version.
Free · The Four Watches
Season closedLong form
The King’s Hour
A teaching series through Ecclesiastes, read slowly and argued carefully. The series closed in October 2026; the manuscript follows.
Paid archive · Substack
Coming 2027Parables
Pen & Press Parables
Original parables in four movements, 150 to 275 words each, with the biblical inversion submerged where it belongs. A section of its own in 2027.
Substack · 2027
Season closedFamily
The Hearth
Christian family formation for the household that intends to stay one. Written by the WARMTH method for the table, not the timeline. The season closed October 15, 2026.
Paid archive · Substack
Sunday · Evening5–9 PM
The Inner Court
Sunday-evening prayer formation. Not tips on praying; a room to pray in.
Hybrid · Substack
RestingNight Register
After Hours With God™
A six-part evening micro-liturgy in the Night Register. Dry audio, no music beds, the keeper of the watch who neither slumbers nor sleeps. Resting for now; expected to return in 2027.
Paid archive · Substack
WeekdaysCivic
The Plumb Line
Civic discipleship held to ten guardrails so it stays formational and never partisan. Source-verified before it is published. This season runs through the third week of December and resumes in January 2027.
Hybrid · Substack
Coming 2027Fiction
Vanguard Flash
Short fiction under the Vanguard Narrative Framework. Stories that carry weight in a few hundred words. A new section in 2027.
Substack · 2027
WeekdaysEssay
The Pen & Press Exposition
Exposition and conviction essays for readers who still want an argument made all the way through.
Substack
Latest from the Vanguard
This week, on the Vanguard.
The newest pieces from the lines in season are published on Substack. Free pieces stay open for two weeks, then join the paid archive.
Read what the house published this week
levmontgomery.substack.com
Letters from the House
Hear from Pen & Press directly.
New titles, group-order windows, and the occasional letter from the Founder. A list the house keeps itself, apart from any platform.
No spam, no selling your address. Joining opens your own email with the request filled in.
The Books
Printed to be kept.
Three titles so far, all sold direct and on Amazon. Direct orders ship from Michigan and keep your relationship with the house, not a marketplace.
New · Nov 2026
New for Advent
A Light Has Come
An Advent Vigil in the Glory of Christ Incarnate
Twenty-one days of Advent, kept as a vigil. First written as the house’s 2025 Advent series and since edited for the page. Released November 12, 2026.
The Devotional
Companion Study Guide
The Featured Book
Before the Day
A 90-Day Devotional for Souls Being Quietly Formed
Ninety mornings, one passage at a time, for the reader who wants to be shaped rather than entertained. Released August 21, 2026, with a Companion Study Guide built for fellowships, small groups, and the person who reads with a pen in hand.
The First Book
Flashes of Fire
66 Devotionals and Prayers Across Scripture
The first Pen & Press title, and the one that proved the house had readers: every state in the Union, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Where the voice was forged.
First Light Group Orders
Bring Before the Day to your fellowship.
Group bundles for churches, fellowships, and study circles, with or without Companion Guides. Bundles above twenty copies are quoted individually. Ask about a complimentary Companion Guide evaluation copy for group leaders.
- 10 copiesBundle
- 15 copiesBundle
- 20 copiesBundle
- 20 or moreCustom quote
- Companion GuidesOptional add-on
Group Quote
Tell us about your group.
Share a few details and the house will reply with a quote. Sending opens your own email with the details filled in, addressed to the Founder. Nothing is stored on this site.
Goes directly to lev@penpresspublishing.com.
The Substack
The Pen & Press Vanguard.
The primary written channel of the house. The lines in season are published here, in the order the day intends.
Free
The open posts
State of the Vanguard letters and selected pieces from the lines in season. Free pieces stay open for two weeks, then join the paid archive. Enough to know whether this house is for you.
Paid
Morning Mastery and the archive
The weekday devotional in full, and the whole archive of every line once its two free weeks have passed. This is the work that pays for the rest.
Hybrid
The Inner Court and The Plumb Line
Open pieces alongside members-only depth. Sunday-evening prayer, and civic discipleship without the noise.
Subscribe to the Vanguard
Free to start. Paid tiers open the full house.
levmontgomery.substack.com · Follow by RSS
The House
What we are for.
Pen & Press exists to steward, protect, and cultivate exceptional Christian creative work. Six standards govern the operation, and every piece that leaves the house answers to them.
We commit to building a legacy of wisdom, vision, and truth, shaping foundations for generations through integrity, innovation, and strategic stewardship.
Our vision is to see the Christian narrative restored to intellectual and cultural prominence, strengthening believers for the world they actually live in and multiplying faithful voices across the globe. Formation is the method. Scripture is the authority. Excellence is not optional.
- Faithful SovereigntyThe Integrity Standard
Every work in our care is protected and valued, honoring both the creator and the Creator.
- Creative Counter-RevolutionThe Innovation Standard
We foster radical originality and bold, imaginative expression, and use technology to carry the truth further.
- Systematic Equipping & DeploymentThe Empowerment Standard
We provide tools and mentorship to develop gifts and mobilize creators into their full calling.
- Unflinching Transformational ContentThe Message Standard
Our content is designed not only to inform, but to transform.
- Covenant Partnership & Generational FoundationThe Relational Standard
We build lasting relationships with those who share the vision, for the sake of future generations.
- Absolute Operational ExcellenceThe Business Standard
We operate with professionalism, clear communication, and ethical decision-making in every part of the business.
Pen & Press Holdings LLC
The parent company. Holds and stewards the frameworks, trademarks, and intellectual property that the publishing work is built on.
Pen & Press Publishing
The publishing house, operating as Pen & Press Publishing. Issues the books, the Vanguard, and every published line under the Pen & Press signature.
Lev Montgomery · Founder
The Founder
Lev Montgomery
Born in the South Bronx in 1978 and trained at the High School of Graphic Communication Arts, a vocational printing school, Lev Montgomery learned ink and paper before he learned to publish either.
His writing spans devotional work, cultural commentary, fiction, and content architecture. He founded Pen & Press Holdings LLC and its publishing house, Pen & Press Publishing, to give that work a house with standards: a voice that is kept, a process that is governed, and a reader who is taken seriously.
He writes from Michigan, publishes The Pen & Press Vanguard on Substack, and keeps the hours listed above.
A pen is a small thing until someone decides what it is for.
Soli Deo Gloria
Questions
Asked and answered.
The short answers, for readers and for anyone meeting the house for the first time.
What is Pen & Press Publishing?
Pen & Press Publishing is a Christian formation publishing house based in Michigan, founded by Lev Montgomery. It publishes devotional books and The Pen & Press Vanguard on Substack. Pen & Press Publishing is a DBA of Pen & Press Holdings LLC.
Who is Lev Montgomery?
Lev Montgomery is a writer and the founder of Pen & Press Publishing. Born in the South Bronx in 1978 and trained at the High School of Graphic Communication Arts, he writes devotionals, cultural commentary, and fiction from Michigan.
What is Before the Day?
Before the Day is a 90-day devotional by Lev Montgomery for souls being quietly formed: ninety mornings, one passage at a time. It was released August 21, 2026, with a Companion Study Guide for fellowships and small groups.
What is A Light Has Come?
A Light Has Come: An Advent Vigil in the Glory of Christ Incarnate is a 21-day Advent devotional by Lev Montgomery, released November 12, 2026.
What is Morning Mastery?
Morning Mastery is the weekday devotional of Pen & Press Publishing, published on The Pen & Press Vanguard on Substack: one passage, one costly sentence, one prayer, written to be read before the day begins.
What are The Four Watches?
The Four Watches is the Scripture rail on this site. It shows a verse from the King James Version at midnight, sunrise, noon, and sunset, Eastern time, and moves through the whole Bible over thirty-one days.
Where can I buy the books?
The books are sold on Amazon and direct from the house. Churches, fellowships, and study groups can request a quote for bundles of Before the Day on this page.
Contact
Write to the house.
Orders, group quotes, speaking, licensing, and press. One address reaches the Founder directly.
Direct to Lev
lev@penpresspublishing.comBooks, bundles, and everything else. Replies come from a person.
Pen & Press Publishing
58757 VanDyke Rd.P.O. Box #200
Washington, MI 48094
Checks for direct orders are payable to Pen & Press Holdings LLC.
Read
The Vanguard on Substack
levmontgomery.substack.comFacebook carries the daily pieces as well. Substack holds the archive.