As we celebrate the 40th anniversary of the press, we are thrilled to learn that we have been selected as the inaugural Fine Press of the Year by Alderbrink in its first annual Alderbrink Awards, announced on November 19, 2025. The recognition comes as a celebration of Thornwillow’s dedication to artisanal bookmaking, literary excellence, and the ongoing work of the Thornwillow community of makers, readers, and collectors.
About the Alderbrink Awards
Alderbrink is a new online magazine devoted to fine press books, reviews, and news. As they write,
“Earlier this year, Alderbrink was founded to explore and celebrate the world’s best fine press publishers and their newest editions.”
For the 2025 awards, Alderbrink’s editorial staff “carefully considered more than 100 titles from more than 50 fine presses to select the winners of our inaugural Alderbrink Awards in nine categories.” The judges note that “we considered overall design, interior and exterior art, binding and printing methods, paper quality, typesetting, and literary merit.”
Category Wins for Thornwillow Press
In addition to the overall Fine Press of the Year honor, Thornwillow editions were recognized in two major categories:
Courtesy The Alderbrink Awards
Best Fine Press History – Fifty-three Days by Timothy W. Ryback
Thornwillow’s Classic Edition of Fifty-three Days by Timothy W. Ryback received the award for Best Fine Press History. Alderbrink writes:
“Thornwillow’s Classic Edition of Timothy W. Ryback’s pivotal work, Fifty-three Days, is a superb example of bookmaking that underscores the gravity of its subject matter.”
Originally published in The Atlantic, Fifty-three Days became the February 2025 title in the Thornwillow Monthly Dispatch. Classic and Patrons’ editions remain available for collectors and institutions.
Best Fine Press Poetry – At Our Age by Honor Moore
Courtesy The Alderbrink Awards
Thornwillow also received the award for Best Fine Press Poetry for its Classic Edition of Honor Moore’s At Our Age, a new collection by one of America’s most distinguished poets. As Alderbrink notes:
“Thornwillow’s Classic Edition of Honor Moore’s At Our Age is an exquisitely crafted chapbook that celebrates one of America’s most distinguished poets.”
This title, first issued as the August 2025 Dispatch, continues Thornwillow’s longstanding commitment to publishing contemporary poetry in finely crafted letterpress editions.
Fine Press of the Year
The Alderbrink Awards
At the culmination of the awards, Alderbrink announced Thornwillow Press as its first-ever Fine Press of the Year, writing:
“Alderbrink is delighted to announce Thornwillow Press as our inaugural selection for Fine Press of the Year.”
The editors highlight Thornwillow’s Monthly Dispatch subscription program as the clearest expression of the press’s mission, noting that “the program’s varied tiers, including the Classic, Patron, and Centaur Editions, ensure that letterpress printing reaches a wide collecting audience.”
Based in Newburgh, New York, Thornwillow Press was founded by Luke Ives Pontifell in 1985 and has grown to include the Thornwillow Institute and the Thornwillow Makers Village. The Alderbrink recognition honors not only the books themselves but the broader cultural work of sustaining a living tradition of fine press craftsmanship.
Looking Ahead
Thornwillow is honored by the continued support of readers, collectors, and institutions who believe that how a book is made matters as much as the words within.
We are deeply grateful to Alderbrink for this recognition and to everyone who supports Thornwillow’s work. We invite you to explore the Dispatch and our full catalogue of fine press editions, and to join us in preserving and advancing the art of the book.