Joey Slinger (born John Edward Slinger, Jr. 1943 at

Guelph Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as The Royal City, it is roughly east of Kitchener, Ontario, Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Ontario Highway 6, ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

) is a Canadian journalist and author, particularly known as a long-standing humour columnist for the ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. ...

''. He first studied at Queen's University but left there after three years without completing a degree. In 1965, Slinger was hired as a reporter for the ''

Guelph Mercury The ''Guelph Mercury'' was an English language daily newspaper published in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. It published a mix of community, national and international news and is owned by the Torstar Corporation. The newspaper, in many incarnations, ...

'' and remained there for approximately two years. He then attempted to continue his education with journalism studies at

Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language public university, public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to se ...

, but was dismissed by that institution by the start of the September 1967 term. After working with

The Canadian Press The Canadian Press (CP; , ) is a Canadian national news agency headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Established in 1917 as a vehicle for Canadian newspapers to exchange news and information, The Canadian Press has been a privately-held company, pr ...

he joined ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'' in 1970, later in the decade transferring to the

Toronto Sun The ''Toronto Sun'' is an English-language tabloid format, tabloid newspaper published daily in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The newspaper is one of several ''Sun'' tabloids published by Postmedia Network. The newspaper's offices are located at Pos ...

where he wrote a humorous gossip column. He later credited the Sun for allowing him to establish his comedic voice in print. Eventually, he joined the ''

'' in 1979. He remained at the Star for almost 30 years, where his humour column (no longer a gossip column) was by-lined simply as by "Slinger". Other career highlights included terms as producer and occasional on-air host at

CBC Radio CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...

. Slinger retired from the ''Toronto Star'' in April 2008.

Awards and recognition

* 1982: National Newspaper Award * 1986:

Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour The Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour, also known as the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour or just the Leacock Medal, is an annual Canadian literary award presented for the best book of humour written in English by a Canadian writer, publis ...

, ''No Axe too Small to Grind''

Bibliography

Collected columns

* 1985: ''No axe too small to grind'' (

McClelland and Stewart McClelland & Stewart Limited is a Canadian publishing company. It is owned by Penguin Random House of Canada, a branch of Penguin Random House, the international book publishing division of German media giant Bertelsmann. History It was founded ...

) * 1992: ''If it's a jungle out there, why do I have to mow the lawn?'' (

Key Porter Books Key Porter Books was a book publishing company based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1979 by Anna Porter, later well known as a writer, the company specialized in Canadian non-fiction, although it published some fiction too. It ceased op ...

)

Non-fiction

* 1996: ''Down & Dirty Birding : Here's all the outrageous but true stuff you ever wanted to know about North American birds'' (Key Porter Books)

Novels

* 2005: ''Punch Line'' (Key Porter Books) * 2012: ''Nina, The Bandit Queen'' (Dundurn Books)

References

External links

Joey Slinger at the ''Toronto Star''
1943 births Living people Canadian humour columnists Writers from Guelph Stephen Leacock Award winners Toronto Star people {{Canada-journalist-stub