Jon Doust
Jon Doust is a comedian, writer, novelist and professional speaker from Western Australia. Doust was born in Bridgetown. He studied English at Curtin University[1] and worked in farming, retailing and journalism before pursuing a career in comedy and writing.
Comedy
He has performed at a number of comedy venues and festivals, including the Amnesty International Comedy Festival in Sydney and the Palandri International Comedy Festival in Margaret River. He has supported local and international comedy acts including Alexei Sayle, Hale and Pace, Richard Stubbs, Rachel Berger and illusionist Robert Gallop.
Doust was the driving force behind the formation of Laugh Resort Inc,[2] an association of stand-up comedians, who continue to run Laugh Resort at the Brass Monkey in Perth, now one of the longest running comedy rooms in Australia. It has been the breeding ground for a number of Australia's current crop of leading comedians, including Rove McManus, Dave Hughes and Dave Callen.
He has been a regular voice on local ABC radio stations, including at one stage a regular inhabitant of Sunday radio programmes of Peter Holland among others. He was regular guest on ABC Radio's Ted Bull program.[3]
Doust was a guest lecturer at the Curtin University Business School's Centre for Entrepreneurship [4] and for many years ran a University of Western Australia Extension Program course entitled How to Laugh Your Way out of a Paper bag, in collaboration with others including Steve Wells and Don Smith.
As well as comedy interests, Doust has studied and based much of his writing on the work of Carl Jung and is an accredited Myers Briggs Practitioner.
Politics
In the 1993 Australian federal election, he unsuccessfully stood for the seat of Curtin against incumbent Allan Rocher making only 428 votes. His campaign slogan was "Put me last!". In the 1998 election he stood against sitting member Geoff Prosser in the seat of Forrest failing again.
Writing
Doust has co-authored with Ken Spillman two children's books, Magpie Mischief (2002)[5] and Magwheel Madness (2005) - both published by Fremantle Arts Centre Press, as well as short stories published in anthologies and The West Australian newspaper. He has also self-published two small books titled How to lose an election and Letters to the police and other species.
Early in his career he was a writer for the Sunday Times as a reviewer of computer technology. He later was a columnist on the weekend edition of the West Australian newspaper, with clearly autobiographical references in his work.
His novels Boy on a Wire[6][7] and To the Highlands have been published by Fremantle Press [8][9]
Notes
- ↑ http://www.bbcentertainment.com.au/artist-detail209/jon-doust/
- ↑ http://www.laughresort.com.au/
- ↑ ABC Radio, Ted Bull
- ↑ Bio from Curtin Business School
- ↑ Book Review - Magpie Mischief
- ↑ "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
- ↑ 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. Bookseller+Publisher
- ↑ http://www.fremantlepress.com.au/books/adultfiction/1084
- ↑ http://www.fremantlepress.com.au/books/adultfiction/1319
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External links
Works
- (1992) Letters to the police - and other species with George Gosh. Lesmurdie, W.A : Wordplay.
- (1993) Better than a poke in the eye : a few notes, tips and things to do to help you increase the laughage in your life Lesmurdie W.A. : Wordplay.
- (1993) How to - lose an election Lesmurdie, W.A : Wordplay.
- (2002) with Ken Spillman Magpie mischief (illustrations by Marion Duke). Fremantle, W.A. Fremantle Arts Centre Press. ISBN 1-86368-355-0
- (2005) with Ken Spillman Magwheel madness (illustrations by Marion Duke). Fremantle, W.A. Fremantle Arts Centre Press. ISBN 1-920731-76-8
- (2009) Boy on a Wire, Fremantle Press, ISBN 978-1-921361-45-6
- (2012) To the Highlands, Fremantle Press, ISBN 978-1-921888-77-9
Anthologies
- (1997) Great Australian Bites, ed. Dave Warner, Fremantle Arts Centre Press.
- (1997) Fathers in Writing, ed. Ross Fitzgerald and Ken Spillman, Tuart House.
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