About the Author

Wayne Johnston was born in Newfoundland in 1958 and grew up in Goulds, a small community a few miles south of St. John's. When he was a boy, he couldn t imagine a world beyond the island. The only outside world I ever saw was on television, and I didn t really even believe that world existed. People were still divided over the Confederation with Canada, which had happened only in 1949. His family had a habit of moving around to different neighbourhoods and his schooling was hyper-Catholic, traits which would feature in his autobiographical first novel.
He graduated with a BA (Hons) in English from Memorial University of Newfoundland, and worked from 1979 to 1981 as a reporter at the St. John's Daily News. Being a reporter was a crash course in how society works, but he realized he didn t want it as a career. I m not that outgoing of a person and you have to be in order to be a good reporter. He moved away from Newfoundland, firstly to Ottawa, and took up the writing of fiction full-time. In 1983 he graduated with an MA from the University of New Brunswick. His first book, The Story of Bobby O Malley, was published shortly after, and won the W.H.Smith/Books in Canada First Novel Award. He followed this success two years later with The Time of Their Lives, which won the Canadian Authors' Association Award for Most Promising Young Writer.
His third novel, The Divine Ryan"s," again a portrait of Irish Catholic Newfoundland, centres on a nine-year-old hockey fanatic, whose father dies and whose family goes to live with relatives who once had money but are fast declining. "Time Out "has called it achingly funny, needle sharp with heart, soul and brains . One of Johnston s most comic novels, it earned him the title of the Roddy Doyle of Canada . The Divine Ryans" "won the Thomas Raddall Atlantic Fiction Prize and has been adapted into a film starring Oscar-nominated actor Pete Postlethwaite. Johnston wrote the screenplay himself for this and also for the adaptation of his next novel, Human Amusements, also optioned for film.
The Colony of Unrequited Dreams, Johnston s fifth novel, in 1998 was shortlisted for the most prestigious fiction awards in Canada, the Governor General's Award and the Giller Prize, the Stephen Leacock Award for Humour and the Rogers Communication Writers Trust Fiction Prize; it won the Thomas Raddall Atlantic Fiction Prize and the Canadian Authors Association Award for Fiction. A glowing "New York Times Book Review" cover story caused the book to leap to the upper ranks of the Amazon.com top 100 selling books of the day. It has been called a Dickensian romp of a novel, which uses the career of Newfoundland's first premier to create a love story and a tragi-comic elegy to an impossible country.
Published across North America and Europe in several languages, the novel caused some controversy in Canada among those who recalled the real Joey Smallwood, a man who was hated by many Newfoundlanders, including Johnston s own family, for bringing the island into Canada. Although his strongly anti-confederate family could barely bring themselves to mention Smallwood s name, Johnston read a biography of the politician when he was 14.
Johnston considered carefully the different ways of establishing fictional/historical plausibility in the novel. Re-reading Don Delillo's novel Libra, he observed how Delillo gave himself the freedom to invent scenes, incidents, conversations as long as they seemed plausible within the fictional world that he created. He also considered Salman Rushdie s Midnight's Children, where, in spite of the magic realism, India still gains independence in 1948, and political figures are elected or assassinated under the same circumstances as their real-life counterparts. He decided he would not change or omit anything that was publicly known. I would fill in the historical record in a way that could have been true, and flesh out and dramatize events that, though publicly known, were not recorded in detail. Most importantly, I would invent for Smallwood a lover/nemesis (Sheilagh Fielding) who could have existed (but didn't) and wove her and Smallwood's story into the history of Newfoundland. This would be my plausibility contract with the reader.
In 1999 he published Baltimore's Mansion, his first non-fiction book, a family memoir that also became a national bestseller and won the inaugural Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction. Johnston uses the stories of his own childhood and his father and grandfather to cast light on Newfoundland s struggle over relinquishing independence in 1949. A "National Post "reviewer concluded that it was a non-fiction novel drawing on all Johnston s narrative powers to shape the materials of real life into a work of astonishing beauty and power . In another review, "Quill and Quire" said I began to smell the smells, hear the lilt, and experience a sense of the fierce attachment Newfoundlanders feel to their home province no matter where they live, commenting that Newfoundland geography, history and culture permeates Johnston s books.
Johnston has lived in Toronto since 1989, although he has to date written exclusively about Newfoundland. I couldn't write about the island while I was there, he says. Life was too immediate. I was too inundated by the place and its details. I'd write about something and see it when I walked across the street the next day. A benign homesickness has become a kind of fuel for writing about the island. He talks of Newfoundland as being too overwhelmingly beautiful and substantial to capture. To write with any kind of objectivity, "I need distance to get that sense of what is important and what is significant and what is not."

Reviews

"Johnston's turn-of-the-last-century New York is moodily evocative, although [his] Arctic is even more engrossing and beautifully drawn.... This is a part of the world where even the Eskimos cry when winter returns.... 'There was no time in this place where all meridians met, ' as Devlin rhapsodizes -- a young man finally embarking on his terrifying, heady journey into life." --" The New York Times Book Review"
"Beautiful [and] evocative.... Johnston is an accomplished storyteller, with a gift for both description and character, which he uses masterfully here." -- "Booklist"
"A captivating narrative that delves into both the noble and the seedier aspects of the human need to discover and explore.... The polar expeditions generate considerable narrative tension.... Johnston's ability to illuminate historical settings and situations continues to grow with each book, and this powerful effort is his best to date." -- "Publisher's Weekly"
"Navigator is generously stuffed with crisp writing, rich characterizations, and haunting descriptions of the harsh beauty of the Arctic.... Marginally less wonderful, then, than The Colony of Unrequited Dreams (1991). But all that means is that it's merely better than about 90 percent of most contemporary fiction." -- "Kirkus Reviews," starred
"Readers have been wondering whether Johnston could possibly top (or even equal) his splendid fictional saga of Joey Smallwood, The Colony of Unrequited Dreams. The answer is a slightly qualified yes. There is the same magical blend of fact and imagination, the same compelling drive to use fiction to answer the questions left unanswered by the historical record, and the same stylistic brilliance thatcan turn a description of icebergs into a sensory adventure rarely achieved in the pages of a modern novel." -- Bronwyn Drainie, "Quill and Quire
""This passion for exploration and being the first to reach remote, unexplored parts of the world illuminates this enthralling book.... Johnston has created a powerful novel that portrays the romance, wonderment and deprivation of Arctic exploration, while at the same time capturing the taut, emotional intensity of a lonely, misunderstood young man at the core of the story.... Johnston masterfully conjures up a cast of characters...whose tragic story has a depth and scope which propels the reader towards a fascinating conclusion." -- Karen Shewbridge, "Dailies "(St. John's)
Praise for Wayne Johnston:
"The Colony of Unrequited Dreams makes Wayne Johnston one of those formidable Canadians, like Alice Munro or Margaret Atwood, that Americans simply can't ignore." -- "Newsday"
"[A] prodigiously talented author. . . . Wayne Johnston is well on his way to becoming the most distinctive talent this country has produced since Mordecai Richler." -- "The Globe and Mail"
"Baltimore's Mansion [is] a masterpiece of creative non-fiction." -- "National Post"
"The Colony of Unrequited Dreams is a classic historical novel [that] will make a permanent mark on our literature." -- "The Toronto Star"
"Mesmerizing." -- "The New York Times Book Review
""Why I love reading Wayne Johnston: The reader goes skittering through Wayne Johnston's novels, driven inexorably forward on the force of his characters, on the power of his wit. Unlike most recent bestselling novels that are remembered for the plane flight and then promptlyforgotten, Wayne's stories have characters who move in and take up permanent residence." -- Mary Walsh
"His books are beautifully written, among the funniest I've ever read, yet somehow at the same time among the most poignant and moving." -- Annie Dillard

" Johnston's turn-of-the-last-century New York is moodily evocative, although [his] Arctic is even more engrossing and beautifully drawn... . This is a part of the world where even the Eskimos cry when winter returns... . ' There was no time in this place where all meridians met, ' as Devlin rhapsodizes -- a young man finally embarking on his terrifying, heady journey into life." --" The New York Times Book Review"
" Beautiful [and] evocative... . Johnston is an accomplished storyteller, with a gift for both description and character, which he uses masterfully here." -- "Booklist"
" A captivating narrative that delves into both the noble and the seedier aspects of the human need to discover and explore... . The polar expeditions generate considerable narrative tension... . Johnston's ability to illuminate historical settings and situations continues to grow with each book, and this powerful effort is his best to date." -- "Publisher's Weekly"
" Navigator is generously stuffed with crisp writing, rich characterizations, and haunting descriptions of the harsh beauty of the Arctic... . Marginally less wonderful, then, than The Colony of Unrequited Dreams (1991). But all that means is that it's merely better than about 90 percent of most contemporary fiction." -- "Kirkus Reviews," starred
" Readers have been wondering whether Johnston could possibly top (or even equal) his splendid fictional saga of Joey Smallwood, The Colony of Unrequited Dreams. The answer is a slightly qualified yes. There is the same magical blend of fact and imagination, the same compelling drive to usefiction to answer the questions left unanswered by the historical record, and the same stylistic brilliance that can turn a description of icebergs into a sensory adventure rarely achieved in the pages of a modern novel." -- Bronwyn Drainie, "Quill and Quire
"" This passion for exploration and being the first to reach remote, unexplored parts of the world illuminates this enthralling book... . Johnston has created a powerful novel that portrays the romance, wonderment and deprivation of Arctic exploration, while at the same time capturing the taut, emotional intensity of a lonely, misunderstood young man at the core of the story... . Johnston masterfully conjures up a cast of characters... whose tragic story has a depth and scope which propels the reader towards a fascinating conclusion." -- Karen Shewbridge, "Dailies "(St. John' s)
Praise for Wayne Johnston:
" The Colony of Unrequited Dreams makes Wayne Johnston one of those formidable Canadians, like Alice Munro or Margaret Atwood, that Americans simply can't ignore." -- "Newsday"
" [A] prodigiously talented author. . . . Wayne Johnston is well on his way to becoming the most distinctive talent this country has produced since Mordecai Richler." -- "The Globe and Mail"
" Baltimore's Mansion [is] a masterpiece of creative non-fiction." -- "National Post"
" The Colony of Unrequited Dreams is a classic historical novel [that] will make a permanent mark on our literature." -- "The Toronto Star"
" Mesmerizing." -- "The New York Times Book Review
"" Why I love reading Wayne Johnston: The reader goesskittering through Wayne Johnston's novels, driven inexorably forward on the force of his characters, on the power of his wit. Unlike most recent bestselling novels that are remembered for the plane flight and then promptly forgotten, Wayne's stories have characters who move in and take up permanent residence." -- Mary Walsh
" His books are beautifully written, among the funniest I've ever read, yet somehow at the same time among the most poignant and moving." -- Annie Dillard

Johnston s turn-of-the-last-century New York is moodily evocative, although [his] Arctic is even more engrossing and beautifully drawn . This is a part of the world where even the Eskimos cry when winter returns . There was no time in this place where all meridians met, as Devlin rhapsodizes -- a young man finally embarking on his terrifying, heady journey into life. --" The New York Times Book Review"
Beautiful [and] evocative . Johnston is an accomplished storyteller, with a gift for both description and character, which he uses masterfully here. -- "Booklist"
A captivating narrative that delves into both the noble and the seedier aspects of the human need to discover and explore . The polar expeditions generate considerable narrative tension . Johnston s ability to illuminate historical settings and situations continues to grow with each book, and this powerful effort is his best to date. -- "Publisher's Weekly"
Navigator is generously stuffed with crisp writing, rich characterizations, and haunting descriptions of the harsh beauty of the Arctic . Marginally less wonderful, then, than The Colony of Unrequited Dreams (1991). But all that means is that it s merely better than about 90 percent of most contemporary fiction. -- "Kirkus Reviews," starred
"Readers have been wondering whether Johnston could possibly top (or even equal) his splendid fictional saga of Joey Smallwood, The Colony of Unrequited Dreams. The answer is a slightly qualified yes. There is the same magical blend of fact and imagination, the same compelling drive to use fiction to answer the questions left unanswered by the historical record, and the same stylistic brilliance that can turn a description of icebergs into a sensory adventure rarely achieved in the pages of a modern novel." -- Bronwyn Drainie, "Quill and Quire
" This passion for exploration and being the first to reach remote, unexplored parts of the world illuminates this enthralling book . Johnston has created a powerful novel that portrays the romance, wonderment and deprivation of Arctic exploration, while at the same time capturing the taut, emotional intensity of a lonely, misunderstood young man at the core of the story . Johnston masterfully conjures up a cast of characters whose tragic story has a depth and scope which propels the reader towards a fascinating conclusion. -- Karen Shewbridge, "Dailies "(St. John s)
Praise for Wayne Johnston:
The Colony of Unrequited Dreams makes Wayne Johnston one of those formidable Canadians, like Alice Munro or Margaret Atwood, that Americans simply can t ignore. -- "Newsday"
[A] prodigiously talented author. . . . Wayne Johnston is well on his way to becoming the most distinctive talent this country has produced since Mordecai Richler. -- "The Globe and Mail"
Baltimore s Mansion [is] a masterpiece of creative non-fiction. -- "National Post "
The Colony of Unrequited Dreams is a classic historical novel [that] will make a permanent mark on our literature. -- "The Toronto Star"
Mesmerizing. -- "The New York Times Book Review
" Why I love reading Wayne Johnston: The reader goes skittering through Wayne Johnston s novels, driven inexorably forward on the force of his characters, on the power of his wit. Unlike most recent bestselling novels that are remembered for the plane flight and then promptly forgotten, Wayne s stories have characters who move in and take up permanent residence. -- Mary Walsh
His books are beautifully written, among the funniest I ve ever read, yet somehow at the same time among the most poignant and moving. -- Annie Dillard"

"Johnston's turn-of-the-last-century New York is moodily evocative, although [his] Arctic is even more engrossing and beautifully drawn.... This is a part of the world where even the Eskimos cry when winter returns.... 'There was no time in this place where all meridians met, ' as Devlin rhapsodizes -- a young man finally embarking on his terrifying, heady journey into life." --" The New York Times Book Review"
"Beautiful [and] evocative.... Johnston is an accomplished storyteller, with a gift for both description and character, which he uses masterfully here." -- "Booklist"
"A captivating narrative that delves into both the noble and the seedier aspects of the human need to discover and explore.... The polar expeditions generate considerable narrative tension.... Johnston's ability to illuminate historical settings and situations continues to grow with each book, and this powerful effort is his best to date." -- "Publisher's Weekly"
"Navigator is generously stuffed with crisp writing, rich characterizations, and haunting descriptions of the harsh beauty of the Arctic.... Marginally less wonderful, then, than The Colony of Unrequited Dreams (1991). But all that means is that it's merely better than about 90 percent of most contemporary fiction." -- "Kirkus Reviews," starred
"Readers have been wondering whether Johnston could possibly top (or even equal) his splendid fictional saga of Joey Smallwood, The Colony of Unrequited Dreams. The answer is a slightly qualified yes. There is the same magical blend of fact and imagination, the same compelling drive to use fiction to answer the questions left unanswered by the historical record, and the same stylistic brilliance thatcan turn a description of icebergs into a sensory adventure rarely achieved in the pages of a modern novel." -- Bronwyn Drainie, "Quill and Quire
""This passion for exploration and being the first to reach remote, unexplored parts of the world illuminates this enthralling book.... Johnston has created a powerful novel that portrays the romance, wonderment and deprivation of Arctic exploration, while at the same time capturing the taut, emotional intensity of a lonely, misunderstood young man at the core of the story.... Johnston masterfully conjures up a cast of characters...whose tragic story has a depth and scope which propels the reader towards a fascinating conclusion." -- Karen Shewbridge, "Dailies "(St. John's)
Praise for Wayne Johnston:
"The Colony of Unrequited Dreams makes Wayne Johnston one of those formidable Canadians, like Alice Munro or Margaret Atwood, that Americans simply can't ignore." -- "Newsday"
"[A] prodigiously talented author. . . . Wayne Johnston is well on his way to becoming the most distinctive talent this country has produced since Mordecai Richler." -- "The Globe and Mail"
"Baltimore's Mansion [is] a masterpiece of creative non-fiction." -- "National Post"
"The Colony of Unrequited Dreams is a classic historical novel [that] will make a permanent mark on our literature." -- "The Toronto Star"
"Mesmerizing." -- "The New York Times Book Review
""Why I love reading Wayne Johnston: The reader goes skittering through Wayne Johnston's novels, driven inexorably forward on the force of his characters, on the power of his wit. Unlike most recent bestselling novels that are remembered for the plane flight and then promptlyforgotten, Wayne's stories have characters who move in and take up permanent residence." -- Mary Walsh
"His books are beautifully written, among the funniest I've ever read, yet somehow at the same time among the most poignant and moving." -- Annie Dillard
" Johnston's turn-of-the-last-century New York is moodily evocative, although [his] Arctic is even more engrossing and beautifully drawn... . This is a part of the world where even the Eskimos cry when winter returns... . ' There was no time in this place where all meridians met, ' as Devlin rhapsodizes -- a young man finally embarking on his terrifying, heady journey into life." --" The New York Times Book Review"
" Beautiful [and] evocative... . Johnston is an accomplished storyteller, with a gift for both description and character, which he uses masterfully here." -- "Booklist"
" A captivating narrative that delves into both the noble and the seedier aspects of the human need to discover and explore... . The polar expeditions generate considerable narrative tension... . Johnston's ability to illuminate historical settings and situations continues to grow with each book, and this powerful effort is his best to date." -- "Publisher's Weekly"
" Navigator is generously stuffed with crisp writing, rich characterizations, and haunting descriptions of the harsh beauty of the Arctic... . Marginally less wonderful, then, than The Colony of Unrequited Dreams (1991). But all that means is that it's merely better than about 90 percent of most contemporary fiction." -- "Kirkus Reviews," starred
" Readers have been wondering whether Johnston could possibly top (or even equal) his splendid fictional saga of Joey Smallwood, The Colony of Unrequited Dreams. The answer is a slightly qualified yes. There is the same magical blend of fact and imagination, the same compelling drive to usefiction to answer the questions left unanswered by the historical record, and the same stylistic brilliance that can turn a description of icebergs into a sensory adventure rarely achieved in the pages of a modern novel." -- Bronwyn Drainie, "Quill and Quire
"" This passion for exploration and being the first to reach remote, unexplored parts of the world illuminates this enthralling book... . Johnston has created a powerful novel that portrays the romance, wonderment and deprivation of Arctic exploration, while at the same time capturing the taut, emotional intensity of a lonely, misunderstood young man at the core of the story... . Johnston masterfully conjures up a cast of characters... whose tragic story has a depth and scope which propels the reader towards a fascinating conclusion." -- Karen Shewbridge, "Dailies "(St. John' s)
Praise for Wayne Johnston:
" The Colony of Unrequited Dreams makes Wayne Johnston one of those formidable Canadians, like Alice Munro or Margaret Atwood, that Americans simply can't ignore." -- "Newsday"
" [A] prodigiously talented author. . . . Wayne Johnston is well on his way to becoming the most distinctive talent this country has produced since Mordecai Richler." -- "The Globe and Mail"
" Baltimore's Mansion [is] a masterpiece of creative non-fiction." -- "National Post"
" The Colony of Unrequited Dreams is a classic historical novel [that] will make a permanent mark on our literature." -- "The Toronto Star"
" Mesmerizing." -- "The New York Times Book Review
"" Why I love reading Wayne Johnston: The reader goesskittering through Wayne Johnston's novels, driven inexorably forward on the force of his characters, on the power of his wit. Unlike most recent bestselling novels that are remembered for the plane flight and then promptly forgotten, Wayne's stories have characters who move in and take up permanent residence." -- Mary Walsh
" His books are beautifully written, among the funniest I've ever read, yet somehow at the same time among the most poignant and moving." -- Annie Dillard
Johnston s turn-of-the-last-century New York is moodily evocative, although [his] Arctic is even more engrossing and beautifully drawn . This is a part of the world where even the Eskimos cry when winter returns . There was no time in this place where all meridians met, as Devlin rhapsodizes -- a young man finally embarking on his terrifying, heady journey into life. --" The New York Times Book Review"
Beautiful [and] evocative . Johnston is an accomplished storyteller, with a gift for both description and character, which he uses masterfully here. -- "Booklist"
A captivating narrative that delves into both the noble and the seedier aspects of the human need to discover and explore . The polar expeditions generate considerable narrative tension . Johnston s ability to illuminate historical settings and situations continues to grow with each book, and this powerful effort is his best to date. -- "Publisher's Weekly"
Navigator is generously stuffed with crisp writing, rich characterizations, and haunting descriptions of the harsh beauty of the Arctic . Marginally less wonderful, then, than The Colony of Unrequited Dreams (1991). But all that means is that it s merely better than about 90 percent of most contemporary fiction. -- "Kirkus Reviews," starred
"Readers have been wondering whether Johnston could possibly top (or even equal) his splendid fictional saga of Joey Smallwood, The Colony of Unrequited Dreams. The answer is a slightly qualified yes. There is the same magical blend of fact and imagination, the same compelling drive to use fiction to answer the questions left unanswered by the historical record, and the same stylistic brilliance that can turn a description of icebergs into a sensory adventure rarely achieved in the pages of a modern novel." -- Bronwyn Drainie, "Quill and Quire
" This passion for exploration and being the first to reach remote, unexplored parts of the world illuminates this enthralling book . Johnston has created a powerful novel that portrays the romance, wonderment and deprivation of Arctic exploration, while at the same time capturing the taut, emotional intensity of a lonely, misunderstood young man at the core of the story . Johnston masterfully conjures up a cast of characters whose tragic story has a depth and scope which propels the reader towards a fascinating conclusion. -- Karen Shewbridge, "Dailies "(St. John s)
Praise for Wayne Johnston:
The Colony of Unrequited Dreams makes Wayne Johnston one of those formidable Canadians, like Alice Munro or Margaret Atwood, that Americans simply can t ignore. -- "Newsday"
[A] prodigiously talented author. . . . Wayne Johnston is well on his way to becoming the most distinctive talent this country has produced since Mordecai Richler. -- "The Globe and Mail"
Baltimore s Mansion [is] a masterpiece of creative non-fiction. -- "National Post "
The Colony of Unrequited Dreams is a classic historical novel [that] will make a permanent mark on our literature. -- "The Toronto Star"
Mesmerizing. -- "The New York Times Book Review
" Why I love reading Wayne Johnston: The reader goes skittering through Wayne Johnston s novels, driven inexorably forward on the force of his characters, on the power of his wit. Unlike most recent bestselling novels that are remembered for the plane flight and then promptly forgotten, Wayne s stories have characters who move in and take up permanent residence. -- Mary Walsh
His books are beautifully written, among the funniest I ve ever read, yet somehow at the same time among the most poignant and moving. -- Annie Dillard"

As with Colony of Unrequited Dreams, Johnston draws on historical events to build his new novel. A fierce duel was waged during the years 1907-09 between Adm. Robert Peary and Dr. Frederick Cook, each claiming to have been the first to reach the North Pole. Against the backdrop of this dispute, Johnston tells the story of a lonely Newfoundland boy named Devlin Stead who grows up under a shadow because his parents reputedly committed suicide. As Devlin observes, "I could think of no greater thing than to be an explorer, the epitome of my most cherished belief, which was that a man's fate was not determined by the past." In fact, Devlin's fate is much in thrall to the past. The thrill of polar exploration, the beauty and terror of glaciers, and the horror of the long Arctic nights are splendidly evoked. The secrets of Devlin's parents are slowly revealed, adding intrigue and suspense to the last two-thirds of the book. For all collections of serious fiction.-Judith Kicinski, Sarah Lawrence Coll. Lib., Bronxville, NY Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.