Jon Doust
Jon comes from an old WA family, steeped in the stories he’s gathered along the way and those handed down to him by his story telling grandfather, Roy Doust.
His first adult novel, Boy on a Wire (Fremantle Press), published in 2009, required a re-print before December and was then long-listed for the 2010 Miles Franklin, Australia’s most prestigious literary award, along with such notable Australian writers as Thomas Kenneally, Craig Silvey, Alex Miller, Sonya Hartnet, Peter Carey and the eventual winner, Peter Temple. It was then reprinted in 2019, with an entirely new cover. And he thought that only happened to the big names.
Since then, two more: To the Highlands and Return Ticket. The final novel completing his trilogy – One Boys Journey to Man. Both were written in Noongar Manang Boodje, Great South West of Western Australia, a place that nurtures him, sustains him, and where his spiritual brothers and sisters hold him.
Since that first novel Jon has been in demand at literary festivals, schools, book clubs, libraries, bus stops and coffee shops.
Once, a long time ago, he was a regular on the conference circuit, speaking on a wide range of subjects, from Jungian psychological theory, the value of humour as a stress reliever, to leadership and community development. Those days are gone, given his age and weak knees.
Jon has been responsible for starting a range of organisations and events. These include one of Australia’s longest running comedy rooms, Perth’s Laugh Resort; the Australasian Cherry Pip Spitting Championship and the Manjimup Cherry Harmony Festival; Albany’s Sock Fence; and was one of the founding members of the WA branch of the Wilderness Society.
He was born in Bridgetown (Joogilup) into a farming/retailing family and worked in both until he was old enough to know better. Outside the family business he was asked to leave jobs in banking, the media, retailing (again), farming (again) and comedy.
He also wrote a political satire – How to lose an election – based on his own losing experiences and co-written three children’s books – Magpie Mischief, Magwheel Madness and Kidnapped, with highly regard writer of young people’s fiction, Ken Spillman. Two almost received awards.
Jon has a BA English (Curtin University), is a member of the Jungian Society, the Australian Association for Psychological Type, Laugh Resort Inc, an association of stand-up comedians, Creative Albany, a creative community think tank based in WA’s first town and port, the Australian Society of Authors, the Wilderness Society, and the International Society for Humour Studies.
“The boarding school memoir or novel is an enduring literary subgenre, from 1950s classics such as The Catcher in the Rye to Curtis Sittenfeld’s Prep. Doust’s recognisably Australian contribution to the genre draws on his own experiences in a West Australian boarding school in this clever, polished, detail-rich debut novel. From the opening pages, the reader is wholly transported into the head of Jack Muir, a sensitive, sharp-eyed boy from small-town WA who is constantly measured (unfavourably) against his goldenboy brother. The distinctive, masterfully inhabited adolescent narrator recalls the narrator in darkly funny coming-of-age memoir Hoi Polloi (Craig Sherborne)—as does the juxtaposition of stark naivety and carefully mined knowingness.’ — Bookseller+Publisher”
“The novel is apparently autobiographical and is being publicised as such but Doust has done with his material what so many autobiographical novelists fail to do: he has turned it into a shapely story, with no extraneous material or diversions and with an absolutely consistent and convincing narrative voice.’ — Sydney Morning Herald”
“…a hilarious, angry and sympathetic portrait of boys behaving badly, teeming with sadistic bullies, imperfect heroes, adolescent onanists and ice-cream gorging hedonists.’— The West Australian”
“From the opening sentence, it is clear that we are in the presence of a writer with a distinctive voice and uncanny ability to capture the bewilderment and burgeoning anger of a boy struggling to remain true to himself while navigating the hypocritical system he finds himself trapped in … what makes Boy on a Wire much more than a bleak coming-of-age story is Doust’s sharp wit. “Justice not only prevails at Grammar School, it is rampant.” If you know an angry teenager, give this to him.’ — The Age”