Wayne Johnston (writer)

Wayne Johnston
Born	22 May 1958 (1958-05-22) Goulds, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
Occupation	Novelist
Nationality	Newfoundlander Canadian
Genres	Fiction, Non-Fiction
Notable work(s)	Novels: The Colony of Unrequited Dreams, The Divine Ryans
www.waynejohnston.ca

Wayne Johnston (born 1958 in Goulds, Newfoundland) is a Canadian novelist. His fiction deals primarily with the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, often in a historical setting.

Biography

Johnston graduated from Memorial University of Newfoundland in 1978 with a degree in English literature. He then worked for three years as a newspaper reporter with the St. John's Daily News. In 1981, he moved to Ottawa, and pursued writing full-time. His novel The Divine Ryans won the 1991 Thomas Head Raddall Award.

Johnston's breakthrough novel, 1998's The Colony of Unrequited Dreams, was acclaimed for its historical portrayal of legendary Newfoundland politician Joey Smallwood. This novel was chosen for the 2003 edition of CBC Radio's Canada Reads competition, where it was championed by educator Justin Trudeau.

For the spring of 2002 Johnston was the Writer-in-Residence at Hollins University in Roanoke, Virginia.

Bibliography

Novels

Wayne Johnston talkst about A World Elsewhere on Bookbits radio.

• The Story of Bobby O'Malley (1985)
• The Time of Their Lives (1987)
• The Divine Ryans (1990)
• Human Amusements (1994)
• The Colony of Unrequited Dreams (1998, shortlisted for the Giller Prize)
• The Navigator of New York (2002, shortlisted for the Giller Prize)
• The Custodian of Paradise (2006, longlisted for the Giller Prize)
• A World Elsewhere (2011, longlisted for the Giller Prize)

Memoir

• Baltimore's Mansion (1999 Winner of The Charles Taylor Prize)

Short Stories

• Catechism (2005)
• The Montreal Canadians (1996)

External links

• Wayne Johnston's entry in The Canadian Encyclopedia
• Interview with THECOMMENTARY.CA, November 2006