Wayne Johnston (writer)
| Wayne Johnston | |
|---|---|
| Born |
22 May 1958 Goulds, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada |
| Occupation | Novelist |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Genre | Fiction, Non-Fiction |
| Notable works | Novels: The Colony of Unrequited Dreams, The Divine Ryans |
| Website | |
| www |
|
Wayne Johnston (born 1958) is a Canadian novelist. His fiction deals primarily with the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, often in a historical setting. He has been called "this continent's best writer" by Kirkus Review.
Johnston was born in Goulds, Newfoundland, and 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. He graduated with an MA in English from the University of New Brunswick in 1984. His first novel, The Story of Bobby O'Malley—which was written while he was a graduate student—won him early critical notice, and the W.H. Smith/Books in Canada First Novel Award in 1985. The novel was adapted for the stage in 2006 by J. M. Sullivan. His second novel, The Time of Their Lives, won the Air Canada/Canadian Authors Association Award for Most Promising Young Canadian Writer in 1988. His novel The Divine Ryans won the 1991 Thomas Head Raddall Award, and was subsequently adapted to the screen. Academy Award nominated actor Pete Postlethwaite starred in the 1999 movie version of The Divine Ryans - Johnston wrote the screenplay, won best screenplay in the Atlantic Film Festival and was nominated for an Actra Award.
Johnston's breakthrough novel, 1998's The Colony of Unrequited Dreams - shortlisted for both the Giller Prize and the Governor General's Award for fiction - was acclaimed for its historical portrayal of legendary Newfoundland politician Joey Smallwood. It was featured on the cover of the New York Times Book Review when it was released in the United States, and was an international best seller. The Colony of Unrequited Dreams won or was nominated for sixteen national and international awards including the Commonwealth Prize and the Dublin Impac Prize. It won the New York Public Libraries Prize for Best Novel and was chosen by the Los Angeles Times as one of the Ten Best Books of the year in 1999. It is currently being adapted for the screen in an American-Australian-Canadian production. The novel was chosen for the 2003 edition of CBC Radio's Canada Reads competition, where it was championed by notable politician Justin Trudeau, and won the People's Choice Award. The Custodian of Paradise, published in 2006 told the story of Sheilagh Fielding, a character originally introduced in Colony of Unrequited Dreams.
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