It has to be ultra modern
– Katherine Mansfield, Notebook 39
Thorndon Press publishes memoir, essays, short stories, poetry, and literature that experiments in the spaces between.
Publisher Donelle McKinley established Thorndon Press in 2024, inspired by her time working at the historic home of New Zealand writer Katherine Mansfield in Thorndon, Wellington, and the indie publishing prowess of KM’s most famous fan, Virginia Woolf.
The inaugural publication The Integrity Cure is scheduled for release in October 2025, and will be followed by Blaze: A Collection of Sparks.
About the Publisher
Donelle McKinley brings a wealth of project management experience and literary knowledge to the Press, as well as skills in editing, graphic design, marketing and sales.
She is a former Manager of Hard to Find Books, Marketing & Sales Manager of Otago University Press, National Sales Representative for McGraw Hill, and freelance editor. Beyond publishing, she has worked in the digital space for the love of cultural heritage, the arts, and education.
She co-founded the Octagon Poetry Collective to revive live poetry in Dunedin, and is a member of the New Zealand Society of Authors.
Donelle holds a Diploma in Book Publishing, Editing and Proofreading (NZ Institute of Business Studies), a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and Art History (University of Auckland), a BA Honours specialising in Digital Humanities (University of Canterbury), and a Master of Information Studies (Victoria University of Wellington).
She studied Book History as a scholarship recipient at New College, University of Oxford.
I am watched over — as woman, as writer — by a triumvirate of patron saints, channelled with a whispered incantation: Katherine, Virginia, Vita.
The Integrity Cure
Thorndon Press is a proud supporter of Katherine Mansfield House.