Six writers, six books and six reasons to read
By Jon Claytor, Frye Correspondent
![[The title and the name of the author are in a blue box at the top of the page. The letters are handwritten in black. The backdrop of the page is a pale teal. The title reads :] Are you the perfect audience? Six writers, six books and six reasons to read. By Frye Correspondent, Jon Claytor. [Under the blue box of the title is another box, with a white background and words handwritten in black : ] Last year at the Frye Festival, immersed in a swirl of french and english, Melikah Abdelmoumen quoted James Baldwin who wrote, "You think your pain and heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of he world, but then you read. It was books that taught me that the things that tormented me most were the very things that connected me with all the people who were alive, who had ever been alive." The words hit home and rang true. I was still thinking about them a year later when I was asked to interview these six writers who will soon be participating in the 25th Frye Festival : [The box closes there. Under it are 6 uneven boxes, with different backgrounds and sketches of the authors interviewed, with their names and infos on their book. First to the left is a grey box containing the name of TRYNNE' DELANEY. A sketch of the author with round glasses, short curly hair.] TRYNNE' DELANEY Author of A HOUSE UNSETTLED A book about all the ways in which we may be haunted.](https://i0.wp.com/discours-e.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/1-1.jpg?resize=791%2C1024&ssl=1)
This work first appeared in issue 4 of Tourniquet in March 2024.
To cite this article:
Jon Claytor
Jon Claytor is a graphic novelist, painter, and writer based in Sackville, New Brunswick.
After having established himself as an oil painter, Jon has recently found his passion and true calling in graphic storytelling. He has written many illustrated interviews for the CBC since 2021 and his memoir, Take The Long Way Home was published by Conundrum Press in 2022. His latest graphic novel, Nowhere, about growing up among monsters in a small maritime town, will be published by Goose Lane Editions in 2026. He is currently working on a book about the toxic drug supply affecting rural New Brunswick with harm reduction advocate, Ashley Legere. Jon has also run a number of creative workshops for a variety of audiences focusing on storytelling and comic memoirs.
Jon was born in San Francisco and has lived and worked in Moncton, Sackville, Halifax, Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto. He co-founded SappyFest independent music and arts festival in 2006 and opened Thunder & Lightning Ideas Ltd. in 2013. Jon holds an MFA from York University (2012), attended Nova Scotia College of Art and Design University (1991), and holds a BFA Mount Allison University (1998). He was nominated for a Juno Award for the cover of Gord Downie’s “Battle Of The Nudes” in 2004. His memoir, Take the Long Way Home, was shortlisted for the New Brunswick Book Award for Non-Fiction in 2022. His new graphic novel Nowhere will be published by Goose Lane in March 2026.
