The Canon · Lion Library

The publishing imprint of Lion.College. The living body of guild teaching — articles, books, capstones, transcripts, memorials. Held by the Editorial Committee, published under the Lion Library mark, contributed to by members across generations.

What the canon is

Every long-lived institution has a canon. Universities have their reading lists. Religious orders have their rules and lives of the founders. Trades have their handbooks. Without a canon, the substance of an institution leaves with the men who hold it; with a canon, it persists.

Lion.College's canon includes:

• The Octava — the eight-pillar curriculum, currently with Pillar I published in full
• The 888 — the founding roadmap
• The Constitution, Code of Conduct, and Compacts — the binding documents
• Founder's writings — including the founder's reflection on the founding decade
• Master teachings — annual addresses given at Conclave, collected and published
• Capstone reflections — selected (with consent) from members who have completed each Pillar
• Venture notes — case studies of member ventures, written by the founders themselves
• Memorial volumes — biographies of members who have died, published every five years
• Pillar studies — deep scholarly treatments of each pillar by Masters with particular expertise

The canon grows. It is reviewed every three years. Wrong or outdated teaching may be marked as such but is not deleted — the guild's memory includes what it once believed and corrected.

Lion Library

Lion Library is the publishing imprint under which the canon is released. It is governed by the Editorial Committee — three Masters drawn rotating from the Master Council, plus the founder during the first decade, plus a designated editor (paid, professional) who handles production.

The Editorial Committee:

• Sets the annual catalogue (typically 1–3 new works)
• Reviews submissions from members and external authors
• Sets editorial standards (a published style guide)
• Holds the imprint to its character: spare, grave, warm, never breathless

Lion Library does not chase trade publishing scale. A typical Lion Library print run is 500–2,000 hardcover, plus open-ended digital release. Books are sold direct to members at reduced rates and to the public at standard rates. Royalties from public sales return to the canon-publishing fund, funding the next year's titles.

Submission and authorship

Members can submit work to Lion Library through the Editorial Committee. Submissions follow these principles:

• The author retains copyright over their individual contributions
• The guild holds canon publication rights — royalty-free, in perpetuity, for the editions Lion Library publishes
• The author receives royalties from public sales
• The author may publish elsewhere (e.g., personal newsletter, trade press) — the guild does not bind exclusivity

Capstone reflections are surfaced from pods and mentors. A man whose capstone Lion Library would like to publish is invited; he may decline. The capstone remains in the personal record either way.

External authors — scholars, theologians, writers — may be commissioned to write Pillar Studies or topical works that serve the canon. These are paid commissions on standard publishing terms.

Founder's writings are added to the canon as they are produced, with no special editorial treatment relative to other Masters' work. The founder is not above the editor.

What is on the catalogue so far

Available now (published or print-ready):

• The 888 — the founding roadmap of the guild
• The Constitution and Code — bound together as a single volume for new Apprentices
• Pillar I — Lion Identity & Mindset — the first pillar of the Octava, print-ready as a booklet
• The 7-Day Path — the gentle on-ramp, single-leaflet format
• The Founder's Invitation — the letter template (private, used by the founder, not for public sale)

Planned (founding decade):

• Pillar II through Pillar VIII — each released as the cohort reaches that pillar, so the curriculum is carried by the lived weight of the men who walked it first
• The Octava — Year One Apprentice Reflections — anonymised first-cohort capstones (Year 2)
• Master's Teachings — Volume I — collected Conclave addresses from the founding Masters (Year 4)
• On Brotherhood — a stand-alone Master's monograph (Year 3)
• The Founder's Reflection on the Founding Decade — first edition by the founder (Year 10)
• Memorial Volume I — for any members who have died in the first decade (Year 5+)

The catalogue updates annually. Major releases are announced at the Conclave.

The library, the website, and the bookshelf

Lion Library is a publishing imprint, not a website feature. Its work appears in three places:

1. On the guild website — full digital editions of the canon, readable to members and (for foundational documents) to the public.
2. In print — hardcover and softcover editions, distributed direct to members and through select independent bookshops.
3. Through partners — Apple Books, Kobo, and direct ePub distribution for digital readers.

A future physical Lion College hall (Phase VIII) will house a working library where every Lion Library publication is shelved, and where members may borrow and return as in any guild library of the past.

What the canon will not include

• No content marketing. The canon does not publish puff pieces, listicles, "10 lessons" content, or anything written for SEO. If it would be at home on LinkedIn or a personal newsletter, it does not belong in the canon.
• No member-promotional content. Members may promote their own ventures elsewhere. The canon is not a directory.
• No anonymous attack pieces. If you cannot put your name to a position, you cannot publish that position under the Lion Library mark.
• No outsider polemic. We do not publish hot takes against other organisations, other formations, other men. The canon is for the work, not the comparison.

The discipline of the imprint is its credibility. A man who picks up a Lion Library book a generation from now should be able to trust the mark.

Submissions and inquiries

Members: speak first with the chair of the Editorial Committee at the next Conclave, or write to the founder during the founding decade.

External authors and translators: write to [liam@lionmind.zone](mailto:liam@lionmind.zone) with a brief proposal (one page maximum). We respond within four weeks.

Independent bookshops interested in stocking Lion Library titles: same address.

Lion Library · The publishing imprint of Lion.College · Governed by the Editorial Committee · Reviewed every three years.