Ivy Award Honours Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm for Contributions to Indigenous Publishing
The Toronto International Festival of Authors will honour Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm with the 2025 Ivy Award, recognizing her impact through Kegedonce Press.
Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm, founder and publisher of Kegedonce Press, has been named the recipient of the 2025 Ivy Award, a national honour recognizing individuals who have made significant contributions to Canadian publishing.
The award will be presented by the International Visitors Programme and the Toronto International Festival of Authors (TIFA) during a ceremony and public conversation at Victoria University, University of Toronto, on Wednesday, October 29, at 2 p.m. Kegedonce Publishing Manager Renée Abram will introduce Akiwenzie-Damm at the event.
Akiwenzie-Damm, a member of the Saugeen Ojibway Nation, Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation (Neyaashiinigmiing), founded Kegedonce Press in 1993 with the goal of establishing a fully Indigenous-run publishing house.
The press, based near Owen Sound, has since become one of Canada’s leading publishers of Indigenous literature.
“It’s both surprising and affirming,” Akiwenzie-Damm said, “to receive recognition for the work that I, and others at Kegedonce Press, have been engaged in for decades to uplift, honour, and celebrate the beautiful literary works of Indigenous authors across Turtle Island.”
Since its founding, Kegedonce Press has published work by many of the most recognized Indigenous writers in Canada, including Basil Johnston, Marilyn Dumont, Louise Bernice Halfe – Sky Dancer, Richard Van Camp, Nathan Adler, Cherie Dimaline, and D.A. Lockhart.
Akiwenzie-Damm’s own creative work spans poetry, fiction, non-fiction, graphic novels, spoken word, radio plays, libretti, and screenwriting. She is also an assistant professor in the Department of English at the University of Toronto Scarborough, where she teaches Creative Writing, Indigenous Literatures, and Oral Traditions.
Her teaching and creative work are rooted in decolonial practice and cultural resurgence, focusing on Indigenous identity, presence, and continuity.
The Ivy Award, presented annually as part of TIFA, recognizes individuals whose work has shaped and strengthened Canada’s literary landscape.