Thornwillow Press is a private press in the United States. Since its founding in 1985, Thornwillow has published original work of

John Updike John Hoyer Updike (March 18, 1932 – January 27, 2009) was an American novelist, poet, short-story writer, art critic, and literary critic. One of only four writers to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction more than once (the others being Booth Tar ...

, Arthur Schlesinger, JP Donleavy, Edmund Morris, Warren Berger,

Louis Auchincloss Louis Stanton Auchincloss (; September 27, 1917 – January 26, 2010)Holcomb B. Noble and Charles McGrath''The New York Times''. Retrieved on January 27, 2010. was an American lawyer, novelist, historian, and essayist. He is best known as a novel ...

James Merrill James Ingram Merrill (March 3, 1926 – February 6, 1995) was an American poet. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1977 for '' Divine Comedies.'' His poetry falls into two distinct bodies of work: the polished and formalist lyri ...

Hugh Sidey Hugh Swanson Sidey (September 3, 1927 – November 21, 2005) was an Iowa State University educated American journalist who worked for ''Life'' magazine starting in 1955, then moved on to ''Time'' magazine in 1957. He covered nine Presidents, from ...

David Mamet David Alan Mamet (; born November 30, 1947) is an American playwright, author, and filmmaker. He won a Pulitzer Prize and received Tony Award, Tony nominations for his plays ''Glengarry Glen Ross'' (1984) and ''Speed-the-Plow'' (1988). He first ...

, and

Walter Cronkite Walter Leland Cronkite Jr. (November 4, 1916 – July 17, 2009) was an American broadcast journalist who served as anchorman for the ''CBS Evening News'' from 1962 to 1981. During the 1960s and 1970s, he was often cited as "the most trust ...

, among others. All Thornwillow books are published in limited editions and are printed letterpress and hand-bound. They are included in the permanent collections of

The White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800 whe ...

, The Morgan Library, The Beinecke at Yale, The Houghton at Harvard, among others. Presidents

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

and

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

gave Thornwillow books as state gifts.

Background

Luke Pontifell, age sixteen, started Thornwillow Press in rented workspace in New York. Thornwillow's first publication was ''Hello Sun,'' a short children's story by Barbara England. Pontifell sent a copy to

William Shirer William Lawrence Shirer (; February 23, 1904 – December 28, 1993) was an American journalist, war correspondent, and historian. His '' The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich'', a history of Nazi Germany, has been read by many and cited in schol ...

, the historian and journalist, who in return sent a manuscript of his reflections of the end of World War II, which he had not yet published. This became ''An August to Remember,'' Thornwillow's second publication, in an edition of three hundred, offered in both cloth and leather bindings. Since, most Thornwillow editions have been offered in several different bindings, ranging in cost. Pontifell sent copies of ''An August to Remember'' to several writers which he admired, requesting manuscripts for publication. He received enthusiastic response from Walter Cronkite, which resulted in the publication of ''Remembering the Moon;'' Arthur Schlesinger, which resulted in the publication of ''JFK Remembered;'' and

Helmut Kohl Helmut Josef Michael Kohl (; 3 April 1930 – 16 June 2017) was a German politician who served as chancellor of Germany and governed the ''Federal Republic'' from 1982 to 1998. He was leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from 1973 to ...

, which resulted in the publication of ''Partnership in Liberty.

Current

Today, Thornwillow is based in

Newburgh, New York Newburgh is a City (New York), city in Orange County, New York, United States. With a population of 28,856 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is a principal city of the Kiryas Joel–Poughkeepsie–Newburgh metropolitan area. ...

. Recent work includes series of books on the presidents, with titles by Edmund Morris,

Harold Holzer Harold Holzer (born February 5, 1949) is a scholar of Abraham Lincoln and the political culture of the American Civil War Era. He serves as director of Hunter College's Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute at Hunter College, Roosevelt House P ...

, Willian vanden Heuvel,

Wendell Garrett Wendell D. Garrett (October 9, 1929 – November 14, 2012) was an American historian, expert on Americana (culture), Americana and American-origin decorative arts and editor. Early life and education Born in Los Angeles, Garrett received a bachelo ...

, and W. W. Abbot, as well as expanded to re-issues of classic works in limited editions. In 2017, Thornwillow published ''The Sonnets'' of William Shakespeare, with an introduction by Harvard President

Neil Rudenstine Neil Leon Rudenstine (born January 21, 1935) is an American scholar, educator, and administrator. He served as president of Harvard University from 1991 to 2001. Early life and education Rudenstine was born in Danbury, Connecticut, the son of M ...

, and ''Sherlock Holmes Hexalogy,'' the favorite stories of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Both editions were funded through Kickstarter, raising $53,384 and $92,322 respectively. In 2020, Thornwillow published ''Edgar Allan Poe: Tales, Mysteries, and Contrivances'', with illustrations b
John Reardon
and an introduction by

Jill Lepore Jill Lepore is an American historian and journalist. She is the David Woods Kemper '41 Professor of American History at Harvard University and a staff writer at ''The New Yorker'', where she has contributed since 2005. She writes about American h ...

, which raised $150,915 on Kickstarter.

References

{{Reflist Book publishing companies based in New York (state) American companies established in 1985 Publishing companies established in 1985 1985 establishments in New York (state) Companies based in Orange County, New York Newburgh, New York