Kirk Howard

John Kirk Howard (born December 3, 1942) is a Canadian book publisher and founder and president of Dundurn Press, one of the largest independently owned publishing houses in Canada.^[1] In 2012, Howard became a recipient of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal "for publishing over decades a range of books on Canadian heritage."^[2]

Born in Hamilton, Ontario,^[3] Howard began his professional career teaching at a community college in Sarnia.^[4] There he helped establish the first Canadian Studies program in Ontario. After attending a speech by Canadian publishing icon Jack McClelland, Howard, who had been frustrated by the lack of books on Canadian history, made the decision to venture into publishing.^[5]

Dundurn Press

Howard founded Dundurn Press in 1972. Originally a small press, Dundurn was established with the mandate to supply Canadian readers with books on Canadian history. He named the company after Dundurn Castle, which is located close to where he lived as a child.^[6]

Howard oversaw the company’s first major expansion in 1991, after Dundurn Press won a 46-volume contract from the Canadian government to publish the proceedings of the Royal Commission on Electoral Reform and Party Financing. Howard knew that to survive in the Canadian publishing landscape you need to have volume. After expanding his business to meet the contract Howard made a strategic decision to secure Dundurn using this base to purchase important Canadian publishers that were struggling to stay in business.. Over more than twenty five years Howard has increased the business and also preserved many Canadian works by purchasing the companies and keeping the titles actively in print.

In 2008, Howard purchased the Canadian Book Review annual as it struggled to move from annual hard copy books to a digital format. The Canadian Book Review Annual (CBRA) founded in 1975 provides the most comprehensive collection of authoritative reviews of English-language, Canadian-authored scholarly, reference, trade, and books for youths published in Canada. In 2012 after Howard invested in digitizing the reviews he donated it to the University of Toronto Library Services to make it available as an open source database.

Dundurn’s success in Canada's volatile book publishing industry, which in recent years has seen many independent houses closing, has been credited to Howard’s foresight that a publisher requires quantity and accessibility in order to survive. In an interview with Publishers Weekly, Dundurn’s Vice-President Beth Bruder stated that, “[Howard] recognised some years ago the importance of diversifying revenue streams in a traditionally risky business like publishing.”^[7]

Canadian Royal Heritage Trust

In 2008 Howard was a founding trustee of the Canadian Royal Heritage Trust, a federally registered charity established to encourage the study of Canada’s royal and constitutional heritage.^[8] It operates a library and archives at three locations in the country, organizes conferences and talks, and sponsors the Eugene Forsey prize for the best student essay on some aspect of our history.

Awards and Honours

• 1984:Government of Ontario Bicentennial Award
• 1989:The President’s Award, Ontario Historical Society, honouring a corporation, business, or executive that has contributed to heritage conservation in the recent past.
• 2002:Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal
• 2010:Received the inaugural Wilson Prize for Publishing Canadian History by the Wilson Institute at McMaster University.
• 2012:The President’s Award¸ Ontario Historical Society for contributions to Canada’s heritage.
• 2012: Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal
• 2015: Janice E. Handford Award (Ontario Book Publishers Organization)

References