North Star Press is a family business with nearly half a century’s commitment to quality in books, relationships, and service, and the publishing of books that matter.
Corinne DwyerJanuary 20, 1950--September 1st, 2018
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Corinne began working at North Star in 1976 as a paste-up artist, a job that no longer exists in today's publishing world. She worked as an editor, book designer, illustrator, and was the owner and senior editor of North Star Press from 2001 until she fell ill with a brain tumor in 2018. She was also a writer with eighteen books completed and many more in the works, and was a visual artist, specializing in botanical illustration. "In some form or other, books have been my life, and North Star is still my biggest focus. Retire? Not in the foreseeable future." And she never did. We continue on in her memory, and with her passion for elevating people's stories and voices. She will be forever missed by her family and the hundreds of writers she worked with over the years.
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Liz DwyerOwner, Book Designer, Graphic Designer, Editor
Liz Dwyer, Corinne's daughter, grew up within North Star Press. Some of her earliest memories are of Corinne and her grandmother and previous owner, Rita Dwyer, reading manuscripts aloud, back and forth, making sure the edits were crisp. And while she'd been working in the orbit of North Star for years as an occasional graphic designer, Liz was brought into the fold of the family business on the shoulders of her mother's death. Her own passion for people's stories, books, and carrying on family tradition compelled her and Curtis to keep the family business going after Corinne's passing.
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Curtis Weinrich (and Lulu)Editor, Business Manager
Curtis has been with North Star since May of 2012, starting with shipping and receiving. In February of 2014 he took over as Business Manager and is excited about continuing North Star's long tradition of publishing great authors. He has been, at various times in his life, a commercial fisherman, contractor, organic farmer, research chemist, and a sailor. Book publishing was never on his radar, but it turns out he has a knack for the business, an easy way with people, and love of the written word. Curtis and Liz also operate Dancing the Land Farm on the same land where North Star Press resides.
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A note from Liz:
North Star Press is in my veins as much as the land we farm. We tend to the soil and to the stories that keep us going. We feed bodies and spirits and minds. We may be the only people in the world who run a farm and a publishing company, but this is what life handed us, and we find that it is the most intuitive, wonderful, dovetail-like relationship we could have ever imagined. It does mean we rarely take on new projects in the spring, as we're out in the fields for planting, but it also means that the hands that tend to your pages are callused, and skilled. It means we understand commitments more than most, and it also means we can and have adapted and risen to every single challenge that has ever come our way--which is no small feat. We're problem solvers with a keen sense of style, and unbound creativity. We are a very nimble little company, it's just the two of us, and occasionally some beloved editor friends that we hire in. We publish world-renowned writers and first-time, green-as-can be authors indiscriminately. We will go above and beyond for books that we care about. We believe in elevating unheard of and unlikely perspectives, giving voice to the countryside and the natural places, and being a force for equality, social justice, love, beauty, and the betterment of our world. We're fierce, passionate, and very good at what we do. And our time and energy is precious, we only take on projects that we care about, projects that need to be given to the world, stories that must be remembered, shared, fed. Our calendar is limited, and booked well out. (We do occasionally have openings for more intimate projects that don't need international distribution, so do please ask.) And in the springtime, when our knees are bent to earth and seeds, our voicemail is often full. We are unapologetically ourselves. We'll get back to you in July. Winter is the best time to get on our calendar for the year.