Henderson mss., 1975-2005
Papers, 1975-2005, of Bill Henderson at the Lilly Library, Indiana University,
Bloomington, Indiana
Electronic finding aid encoded by Donald C.
Force.
Summary Information
Repository
Lilly
Library (Indiana University, Bloomington)
Indiana University
1200 E. Seventh St.
Bloomington, IN 47405-5500
Phone: 812-855-2452
Fax: 812-855-3143
Email: liblilly@indiana.edu
http://www.indiana.edu/~liblilly
Creator
Henderson, Bill, 1941-
TitleHenderson mss.,1975-2005
Collection No.
LMC 2511
Extent
5000 items
Language
Materials are in English.
Abstract
Consists primarily of the papers and
manuscripts of author and editor Bill Henderson.
Access Restrictions
This collection is open for research.
Biographical Note
Born April 5, 1941 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, William Charles Henderson attended
Hamilton College and pursued graduate studies briefly at both Harvard and the University
of Pennsylvania. He and his uncle Howard Galloway started the small publishing house
Nautilus Books in 1970, which then published Henderson's first novel
The Galapagos Kid under the pseudonym Luke Walton. Neither the
novel nor the publishing house proved successful.
In 1973 Henderson launched the Pushcart Press with
The Publish it
Yourself Handbook-Literary Tradition
and
How-To
Without Commercial or Vanity Publishers,
compiled and edited by him. The
handbook was not only successful but has seen several reprintings over the years. He
started the Pushcart Prize series in 1976. This annual anthology that celebrates small
presses and little magazines and their writers has continued without interruption. In
1982 Henderson started the Editors' Book Award for overlooked manuscripts. In this
program he asks editors at commercial houses to nominate manuscripts they were not able
to publish because of financial pressure. He then chooses one from these nominations and
publishes it by Pushcart Press.
Over the years several selections published in this series have been reprinted in mass
market and trade paperback editions, occasionally by the very commercial house that had
rejected them the first time around. In addition to his editing and publishing work,
Henderson has also written several volumes of memoirs, essays and book reviews for the
New York Times, Publishers Weekly and elsewhere, and has been a visiting lecturer at
several colleges and summer writing programs.
Arrangement/Organization
The collection is organized into the following series: I. Correspondence; II. Pushcart;
III. Writings; and IV. Additions.
Scope and Content Note
Consist primarily of the papers and manuscripts of author and editor Bill Henderson. The
correspondence from authors, editors and poets is primarily concerned with letters of
nomination for the Pushcart Prize anthologies. Series II consists primarily of form
letters, clippings of reviews and ads, and printed brochures and announcements relating
to the Pushcart Prize, as well as materials regarding the trademark registration of the
pushcart, a history of the Pushcart Press, The Editors' Book Award, and reviews and
articles about the Press. Series III consists of manuscripts, correspondence and
reviews, etc. of writings and works written, edited, or published by Bill Henderson.
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Indexing Terms
-
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in
IUCAT, the IU Libraries' online
catalog. Materials about related topics, persons or places can be found by searching the
catalog using these terms.
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Names
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Pushcart
Press.
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Henderson, Bill,
1941- --Correspondence.
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Administrative Information
Acquisition Information
Purchase; 2005.
Usage RestrictionsPrior arrangements are not necessary before coming to the Library, however, patrons
from out of town are encouraged to communicate with the Library in advance of their
visits to ascertain availability of materials.
Photocopying permitted only with permission of the Curator of Manuscripts, Lilly
Library.
Preferred Citation
[Item], Henderson mss., Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.
Series:
Box 1
Correspondence
General correspondence
(21 folders).
Arranged alphabetically
Abish, Walter
Ashbery, John
Bass, Rick
Booth, Philip
Bowles, Paul
Bukowski, Charles
Carruth, Hayden
Carver, Raymond
Gallagher, Tess
Grumbach, Doris
Hoagland, Edward
Irving, John
Kizer, Carolyn
Nin, Anais
Oats, Joyce Carol
Plimpton, George
Stafford, William
Wilentz, Theodore
Pushcart Prize correspondence and nominations, 1975-1982
(14 folders)
Box 2
Pushcart Prize correspondence and nominations, 1983-1992
(23 folders)
Box 3
Pushcart Prize correspondence and nominations, 1993-2000
(27 folders)
Box 4
Pushcart Prize correspondence and nominations, 2001-2005; undated A-Z
(17 folders)
Series:
Pushcart
Miscellaneous files concerning the Pushcart Prize and Pushcart Press
Pushcart Prize
Box 4
Folder 18
Miscellaneous notes and fragments concerning Pushcart Prize and
nominations, etc.
Folder 19
Form letters to authors, 1975-2005
Folder 20
Form letters to editors concerning nominations, 1976-2005
Folder 21-22
Clippings: ads and reviews
Folder 23
Press releases
Pushcart Press
Folder 24
History
Folder 25
Miscellaneous.
Includes materials concerning trademark registration of Pushcart
Folder 26
The Editors’ Book Award
Folder 27
Clippings concerning Pushcart Press and Bill Henderson
Folder 28
Printed
Series:
Writings
Writings and works written, edited, or published by Bill Henderson. Arranged
alphabetically by title after the biographical materials.
Box 5
Folder 1
Biographical materials
Folder 2-4
The Art of Literary Publishing: Editors on Their
Craft
, edited by Bill Henderson (Yonkers, NY: Pushcart Press,
1980 ).
Photocopy of T.D. with corrections and changes in black ink. October 27,
1979.
Folder 5
The Art of Literary Publishing.
Reviews
Folder 6-8
Her Father: A Memoir (Boston: Faber &
Faber, 1995 ).
Copy edited manuscript
Folder 9-10
His Son (New York: W.W. Norton, 1981 ).
T.D., final draft, 1980
Folder 11
"Introduction [to Pushcart Prize XXV]"
(New
York: W.W. Norton, 2001 ).
Photocopy of proofs
The Little Magazine in America: A Modern Documentary
History
, edited by Elliott Anderson and Mary Kinzie (Yonkers, NY:
Pushcart Press, 1979 )
Folder 12
Correspondence, 1975-1981
Folder 13
Ads and reviews
Folder 14
Miscellaneous
Minutes of the Lead Pencil Club: Pulling the Plug on the
Electronic Revolution
, edited by Bill Henderson (Wainscott, NY:
Pushcart Press, 1996 )
Folder 15-16
Manuscript draft
Folder 17
Ads and reviews
Folder 18
"Pop"
[short story] T.D. ca. 1975
The Publish It Yourself Handbook: Literary Tradition and
How-to
, edited by Bill Henderson (Wainscott, NY: Pushcart Press,
1973 )
Folder 19-22
Printer’s manuscript
Folder 23
Ads and reviews, including an announcement for 1987 revised
edition
Folder 24
"The Search for Horatio Alger."
T.D. ca.
1971
Folder 25
"Small Presses Today: A Continuing Vitality."
T.D., 10 p. ca. 1975-1976
Tower: Faith, Vertigo and Amateur Construction,
(New York: Farrar, Straus, & Giroux, 2000 )
Folder 26-27
Copy-edited manuscript
Folder 28
Correspondence, 1999-2000.
Correspondence is with editors and readers at FSG; also individual
letters from Doris Grumbach, Jan. 2, 1999, George Plimpton, Jan. 4, 2000,
and others.
Folder 29
Reviews
Folder 30
"A Tradition of Do It Yourself Publishing."
Draft manuscript, heavily revised throughout. 30 p.
Series:
Additions, 2007
Box 6
Folder 1
Pushcart Press, 2006. Printed
Folder 2-4
Pushcart Prize XXXI nominations
Folder 5-7
Simple Gifts (New York: Free Press,
2006).
First draft manuscript, 2001; reviews.