December 3rd, 1942 - June 30th, 2023
The family and friends of John (Kirk) Howard sadly announce his peaceful passing, at Southlake Residential Care Village, Newmarket, on Friday June 30, 2023, in his 81st year after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease.
Kirk was born in Hamilton, on December 3, 1942. The only child of Lillian Eileen (nee Sheriff) and Albert (Jack) Howard. Loving spouse of Thieu Dang for 20 years and previously of the late Ian Low.
He will be greatly missed by his cousin Elinor Lentz and the extended Howard family as well as friends Carl Brand, Beth Bruder, and Donna McDonald and many authors and publishing colleagues.
Kirk attended the University of Toronto, where he earned an Honours Bachelor of Arts, from Victoria College in 1965. He went on to complete his Master of Arts at the University of Vermont in 1967.
Kirk started his career teaching and then discovered the world of publishing at a time when Canadian publishing was an emerging force in the literary world. Kirk often said, when asked why he started a publishing company, “How hard can it be to print and sell books?” He quickly found out when he established Dundurn Press in 1972.
Kirk’s devotion to Canadian authors and publishing was evident in the leadership role he took in the publishing world over the 50 years of his career as owner and publisher of Dundurn Press. His love of history ensured many important Canadian stories were preserved for future generations and many new Canadian authors were nurtured and launched in their careers. In 1991, he began expanding the company’s interests to include fiction, popular nonfiction, and books for children through the acquisition of several smaller Canadian publishers.
Kirk’s chairing of the Ontario Book Publishers Committee (1982 - 1986) led to the creation of the Organization of Book Publishers of Ontario of which he was president from 2008 - 2011. He was president of the Association of Canadian Publishers from 2004 - 2006 and active in Access Copyright, the Canadian reprography collective, from 2004 - 2010.
In 2017, Kirk established the Commonwealth Book Publishers Association to facilitate sharing the knowledge of the Canadian publishing experience with other Commonwealth countries trying to establish an indigenous publishing program to preserve their cultural voice and identity.
Kirk was the recipient of many awards and honours including the President’s Award, Ontario Historical Society, the inaugural Wilson Prize for Publishing Canadian History by the Wilson Institute at McMaster University, and the President’s Award¸ Ontario Historical Society, for contributions to Canada’s heritage. In 2015, Kirk was awarded the Janice E. Handford award which recognizes an individual who has advanced the cause of small and literary Canadian publishing.
In 2018, he was made a Companion of the Order of Canada for his commitment to Canadian authors and to a domestically owned publishing industry.
The funeral will be held in St. Georges on-the-Hill Anglican Church, 4600 Dundas Street West, Etobicoke, Ontario on Wednesday, July 12, 2023, at 11 a.m. with a lunch to follow in the hall.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the charity of your choice.
Friends and colleagues are invited to a celebration of Kirk's life details of which will be announced later.
Arrangements entrusted to Roadhouse & Rose Funeral Home