Wayne Johnston

My guest on this episode is Wayne Johnston. Wayne is the author of nearly a dozen celebrated novels, including The Colony of Unrequited Dreams and The Mystery of Right and Wrong. He has also published a pair of memoirs, including his most recent book, Jennie’s Boy: A Newfoundland Childhood, about his own childhood in the 1960s. It was published in 2022 in Canada by Knopf Canada, and won the Stephen Leacock memorial award for humour. The Toronto Star,  in its review of the book, said: “Never overblown or sentimental, Jennie’s Boy is as vivid as one’s own memories, a glimpse into a past of pain and wonder, of loss and joy.”

 

Wayne and I talk about his nocturnal writing and living habits, and how he is slowly shifting his schedule to become more of a day person, why he has never suffered from writer’s block, and how, as someone who has been nominated for many many writing prizes, as well as winning a few, he deals with the happiness and agony of waiting to hear them call the name of the winner.

 

Wayne Johnston: waynejohnston.ca

Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky. Used with permission.

Contact Nathan Whitlock at nathanwhitlock.ca/contact