Kirk Howard

Howard was president of the Organization of Book Publishers of Ontario from 2008-2011 where he developed a range of marketing initiatives for both print and ebooks, such as a marketing program to introduce Canadian ebooks to libraries and the development of a web site for the promotion of Canadian books called Open Book Ontario, subsequently established Open Book Ontario Foundation to carry out charitable activities.

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.

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. 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.

From 2004-2006 Howard was president of the Association of Canadian Publishers. As president, he took a lead role in introducing ebook technology to Canadian publishers and encouraging member publishers to prepare for the ebook revolution.

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.

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.

John Kirk Howard CM (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. In 2012, Howard became a recipient of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal "for publishing over decades a range of books on Canadian heritage."