Susan Juby (born March 30, 1969)
[Dave Jenkinson]
. ''CM Magazine'', May 11, 2005. is a Canadian writer. She is currently residing in
Nanaimo
Nanaimo ( ) is a city of about 100,000 on the east coast of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. "The Harbour City" was previously known as the "Hub City", which was attributed to its original layout design with streets radiating fr ...
,
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...
, where she is a professor of creative writing at
Vancouver Island University
Vancouver Island University (abbreviated as VIU, formerly known as Malaspina University-College and Malaspina College) is a Canadian public research university serving Vancouver Island and coastal British Columbia. Malaspina College opened in 196 ...
.
Juby is known for her comedic writing. Her first series started with ''
Alice, I Think'' (2000), which was adapted into the television series ''
Alice, I Think'' by
The Comedy Network
CTV Comedy Channel (often shortened to CTV Comedy) is a Canadian English-language discretionary specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. subsidiary Bell Media which focuses primarily on comedy programming and operates two time-shifted feeds, runni ...
.
Background
Juby was born in
Ponoka, Alberta
Ponoka is a town in central Alberta, Canada. It is located at the junction of Highway 2A and Highway 53, north of Red Deer and south of Edmonton.
The name Ponoka is Blackfoot for "elk", which is the animal depicted in the town flag. Po ...
,
[ and later moved to ]Smithers, British Columbia
Smithers is a town in northwestern British Columbia, approximately halfway between Prince George, British Columbia, Prince George and Prince Rupert, British Columbia, Prince Rupert. With a population of 5,378 in 2021, Smithers provides service cove ...
at the age of six.[
Juby initially attended ]fashion design
Fashion design is the art of applying design, aesthetics, clothing construction, and natural beauty to clothing and its accessories. It is influenced by diverse cultures and different trends and has varied over time and place. "A fashion design ...
school, but dropped out after several months.[ She subsequently started a degree in English literature at the ]University of Toronto
The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...
,[ transferring to the ]University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...
after two years.[ After graduating she became an editor at a book publishing company called Hartley and Marks.][
]
Career
Juby began her first book as a journal which she wrote on the bus on the way to work and at a local coffee shop. Thistledown published her first book ''Alice, I Think'' in 2000.[Robert J. Wiersema]
"Tales of Teenage Misfits"
. ''Quill & Quire
''Quill & Quire'' is a Canadian magazine about the book and publishing industry. The magazine was launched in 1935 and has an average circulation of 5,000 copies per issue, with a publisher-claimed readership of 25,000. ''Quill & Quire'' reviews ...
'', February 2005. The book was named one of the essential 40 young adult novels by ''Rolling Stone Magazine.''
Juby completed a master's degree in publishing (MPub) from Simon Fraser University in 2002. After publishing ''Alice, I Think'' (2000), HarperCollins offered her a contract for three books. Her second book ''Miss Smithers'' was published in 2004.[ To complete the trilogy of ''Alice, I Think'' all under one publisher, the original book was bought by HarperCollins. Her third book under this contact was ''Alice McLeod: Realist at Last'', published in 2005.][ The Comedy Network developed '' Alice, I Think'', a television sitcom based on the novel of the same name. The first episode aired in 2006.
Juby went on to write ''Another Kind of Cowboy'' (2007) and a young adult detective novel, ''Getting the Girl'' (2008). In 2010, Viking Canada published ''Nice Recovery,'' Juby's memoir tracing the time between her experience with teenage alcoholism until her sobriety at age 20.
HarperCollins published Juby's next book in 2011, ''Home to Woefield'' (also known as ''The Woefield Poultry Collective'' in Canada). This was her first book aimed at an adult audience.] She would later write a sequel, ''Republic of Dirt'' (2015). In 2016, ''Republic of Dirt'' won the Stephen Leacock Award
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 ...
.
Other books by Juby include the dystopian young adult novel ''Bright's Light'' (2012), as well as ''The Truth Commission'' (2015), and ''The Fashion Committee'' (2017), a pair of young adult novels set in an art high school. Her first novel for middle grade readers is called ''Me Three'' (2022). Her first mystery novel for adults is called ''Mindful of Murder''. The book features Helen Thorpe, a former buddhist nun turned butler, who finds herself embroiled in the mystery of who killed her former employer. ''Mindful of Murder'' debuted at #1 in Canada's independent bookstores list of bestsellers.
Juby was inducted into the Royal Society of Canada's College of New Scholars, Artists, and Scientists in 2014.
On February 22, 2020, Juby read excerpts from two as-yet-unpublished works at the Vancouver Island Regional Library
The Vancouver Island Regional Library(VIRL) is the fourth-largest library system in British Columbia. It serves more than 430,000 people on Vancouver Island, Haida Gwaii (formerly Queen Charlotte Islands) and the Central Coast (Bella Coola) thro ...
's Nanaimo Harbourfront branch. ''Mindful of Murder'' is Juby's first crime novel for adults. ''Me 3'' is a middle-grade novel that addresses the #MeToo movement from a child's perspective.
Personal life
Juby is an environmental rights activist in her community. She is a creative writing professor at Vancouver Island University
Vancouver Island University (abbreviated as VIU, formerly known as Malaspina University-College and Malaspina College) is a Canadian public research university serving Vancouver Island and coastal British Columbia. Malaspina College opened in 196 ...
, in Nanaimo, British Columbia
Nanaimo ( ) is a city of about 100,000 on the east coast of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. "The Harbour City" was previously known as the "Hub City", which was attributed to its original layout design with streets radiating fr ...
.
Published works
* ''Alice, I Think'' (2000)
* ''I'm Alice (Beauty Queen?)'' (2004) (Published as ''Miss Smithers'' in the United States)
* ''Alice Macleod: Realist at Last'' (2005)
* ''Another Kind of Cowboy'' (2007)
* ''Getting the Girl: A Guide to Private Investigation, Surveillance and Cookery'' (2008)
* ''Nice Recovery'' (2010)
* ''The Woefield Poultry Collective'' (2011) (Published as ''Home to Woefield'' in the United States)
* ''Bright's Light'' (2012)
* ''Republic of Dirt'' (2015)
* ''The Truth Commission'' (2015)
* ''The Fashion Committee'' (2017)
* ''Mindful of Murder'' (2022)"66 works of Canadian fiction to watch for in spring 2022"
CBC Books, January 11, 2022.
* ''Me Three'' (2022)
* ''A Meditation On Murder'' (2024)
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Juby, Susan
1969 births
Canadian women novelists
Living people
People from Ponoka, Alberta
20th-century Canadian novelists
21st-century Canadian novelists
20th-century Canadian women writers
21st-century Canadian women writers
Canadian writers of young adult literature
Stephen Leacock Award winners
Canadian women writers of young adult literature
Academic staff of Vancouver Island University
University of Toronto alumni
University of British Columbia alumni
Simon Fraser University alumni
Canadian humorists
Canadian women humorists
Novelists from Alberta