Julie Johnston - Tundra Books

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Julie Johnston
Born and raised in Smiths Falls, in the Ottawa Valley,
Julie Johnston began writing plays in high school for her
classmates. Her first published work was a short novel,
which was published in serial form in the local paper.
She returned to creating plays in the 1970s and this time
focused on younger audiences, writing works her own
children could perform. At the same time, she decided to
try her hand at something more serious and entered a
one-act composition in the Canadian Playwriting
Competition, taking first prize.
A dexterous author who is comfortable writing drama, short stories and novels, she has garnered great
success with her first two young adult novels, Adam and Eve and Pinch-Me and Hero of Lesser Causes,
both of which won the Governor General’s Literary Award for Text in Children’s Literature and received
numerous awards and accolades throughout North America.
In her third novel, The Only Outcast, Julie takes readers back to the turn-of-the-century and into a
summer of mystery, adventure and passion for sixteen-year-old Frederick at a summer cottage on the
Rideau. The book was a finalist for the 1998 Governor General’s Literary Award and the Ruth Schwartz
Children’s Book Award.
For Love Ya Like A Sister, Julie acted as editor, compiling the letters, journals, and e-mail
correspondence of Katie Ouriou, a Calgary teen who died suddenly while living in Paris with her family.
Katie’s messages to her friends back home in Canada are full of love, spiritual inspiration and
demonstrate the strength that exists in the bonds of friendship.
In Spite of Killer Bees examines the bonds between three sisters and their eclectic extended family in a
small town. It was a finalist for many awards including the Governor General’s Literary Award, Mr.
Christie’s Book Award, the Ruth Schwartz Award, the IDOE Award, and several others.
The mother of four grown daughters, Julie Johnston and her husband live in Peterborough, Ontario,
Canada.

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Selected Bibliography
Adam and Eve and Pinch-Me (Tundra) 2003
Hero of Lesser Causes (Tundra) 2003
In Spite of Killer Bees (Tundra) 2001
Love Ya Like A Sister: A Story of Friendship
From the Journals of Katie Ouriou (Tundra) 1999
The Only Outcast (Tundra) 1998
Adam and Eve and Pinch-Me (Lester) 1994
Hero of Lesser Causes (Lester) 1992
Awards and Honours
Julie Johnston
• Winner, Vicky Metcalf Award for Children’s Literature for body or
work, 2003
In Spite of Killer Bees • Shortlisted, Governor General’s Literary Award, Children’s Text, 2001
• Shortlisted, Ruth Schwartz Children’s Book Award, 2002
• Shortlisted, Manitoba Young Readers’ Choice Award, 2003
• Shortlisted, Canadian Library Association, Young Adult Canadian
Book Award, 2002
• Selected for the Our Choice 2002 List by the Canadian Children’s
Book Centre (starred selection)
• Shortlisted, Mr. Christie’s Book Award, Best Children’s Book For 12
years and up, 2002
• Shortlisted, National Chapter of Canada IODE Violet Downey Book
Award, 2002
The Only Outcast • Shortlisted, Governor General’s Literary Award, Children’s Text, 1998
• Selected as the Best Young Adult Book of 1998 by The Globe and Mail
• Shortlisted, Ruth Schwartz Children’s Literature Award (Young Adult/
Middle Reader category), 1998
(cont.)

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The Only Outcast (cont.)
Adam and Eve and Pinch-Me
Hero of Lesser Causes
• Our Choice, The Canadian Children’s Book Centre (Starred Selection),
1999/2000
• Shortlisted, Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young
People, Canadian Children’s Book Centre, 1999
• Selected for the 2000 Books for the Teen Age List by the New York
Public Library
• Paperback edition, Recommended by Horn Book Magazine, 2000
• Winner, Governor General's Literary Award, Children's Literature (for
best English text), 1994
• Winner, Ruth Schwartz Children's Book Award (Young Adult/Middle
Reader Category), 1995
• Winner, Young Adult Canadian Book Award, Canadian Library
Association, 1995
• Winner, Governor General's Literary Award / Children's Literature (for
best English text), 1992
• Winner, National Chapter of Canada IODE Violet Downey Book
Award, 1993
• Shortlisted, Mr. Christie's Book Award, 1993
• School Library Journal Best Book Award, 1993
• New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age list selection, 1994
• Ontario Library Silver Birch Award nomination, 1994
• American Library Association notable book selection, 1994
• Winner, Joan Fassler Memorial Book Award for best medical-related
children’s book, 1993
• Canadian Library Association, Young Adult Honor Book, 1993
Author Interview
You can’t be a writer without being persistent. That’s something author Julie Johnston knows very well.
She had always told stories to amuse her sisters and her family. When she was older, Julie wrote plays for
her high school, and when she created a serial novel that was published weekly in her community
newspaper, people would stop her to ask what would happen next (Julie said she could never tell them
because she was making it up as she went along!). She even made up stories to help herself get to sleep.
But only after her children had grown up did Julie begin to see that many of those “bedtime” stories she
created had plots and well-rounded characters. So she began writing and sending out her work. She went
back to university to study English, as she always wanted to and in one year, she won a playwriting
contest and had two stories published in magazines.
It was that early success that led her to try her hand at writing a novel. And it was persistence that helped
to get it published. Like many writers, Julie’s first novel was sent back by many publishers, but unlike
many new writers, Julie did not give up. Even after her novel was accepted by a publisher, it took a long

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time before she saw it in print. But persistence has paid off with a new career, and three award-winning
novels.
Hard work and persistence are what every writer needs to be successful. Julie Johnston knows about both.
What was your favourite book as a child?
My favourite book as a preschool child was my older sister's reader because I could read some of it. The
Story of Little Black Sambo was also a favourite (in spite of its apparent lack of political correctness), a
birthday present from my best childhood friend. The Secret Garden was tops and the Anne books were
my favourites from age ten on.
What is your favourite book now?
My fave now is probably Howard’s End (E.M. Forster.) Actually, it's a toss-up between that and Far
From the Madding Crowd (Hardy). These are followed very closely by Possession (A.S. Byatt).
Who reads your new work first?
Kathy Lowinger (editor, publisher, friend) reads my new work first. I sometimes read excerpts to my
writer-friends in Peterborough. Some of them also read my work in progress.
Do you have a favourite place to write? Describe it.
My favourite place to write is at the lake where I am surrounded by windows through which I can keep an
eye on the trees and birds, the lake and loons, the rocky shore and chipmunks, along with occasional
Canada geese in the spring, beaver in the summer and this past winter, a wolf.
What was your first written work (that you can remember)?
My first written story was a true story about driving a home-made sea flee (a small racing boat). I suppose
I was about eleven or twelve. In it, I described the way I had to flatten myself up over the bow of the boat
to make it plane while reaching back to the motor on the back to steer with my toes. I can't remember how
fast it went, but it seemed pretty speedy.
Where do you get your ideas from?
My ideas come from observing people and the ways in which they react to each other and the world. I am
a shameless people-watcher and eavesdropper.
What do you do when you have writer’s block?
When I have temporary writer's block I take a shower. It always works; tangles unravel, ideas flow. I've
never had a major block that kept me from writing. Standing under Niagara Falls, would help, I guess.
What is the best thing about being an author?
The best thing about being an author is escaping reality and living inside whatever story I happen to be
writing.
What is the worst thing about being an author?
The worst thing about writing is not being able to easily get out of my story and back into the real world
to deal with real life situations.

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How do you feel about bad reviews?
Reviews are entirely one person's opinion. Nevertheless, if they're bad, I growl and if they're good I'm
elated. I believe respected reviewers in a reliable publication influence how a book is accepted, to a large
extent. I read reviews of books I've never read to discover what I can about what constitutes
contemporary literary strengths and weaknesses.
If you could meet any famous person who has ever lived, who would it be?
I think it would be either William Shakespeare or Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, who may or may
not have written the works commonly attributed to Shakespeare. I have a lot of questions.