About the Author

Joan Clark is the author of the novels Latitudes of Melt, The Victory of Geraldine Gull and Eiriksdottir, as well as two short story collections and several award-winning novels for young adults. Born and raised in Nova Scotia, she has lived in various places across Canada with her geotechnical engineer husband Jack. While living in Calgary she became a founding member of the Alberta Writers Guild and co-founded the acclaimed literary journal Dandelion. She now lives in St. John’s, Newfoundland.

Clark notes that the idea for An Audience of Chairs came in part from her own familial legacy of depression, with which she struggled at one time and which led a grandmother to suicide. “One of the things I was interested in was exploring the idea of family pride, which was abundant in my family. So much pride, in fact, that many of them refused to admit that their grandmother had committed suicide.” Clark made two false starts at writing this novel, the first time 30 years ago. “When I picked up the novel for the third time four years ago, I was surprised that I was able to indulge my sense of humour, to let go and have fun. Once the humour kicked in, I was off and running.”

Clark wrote her first published novel as a young stay-at-home mother, writing in longhand during her infant son’s naptimes. “I had never written fiction before and was amazed that I had been walking around without knowing that there was a story inside my head. That joy of discovery has kept me writing ever since.”

Reviews

“Joan Clark dares to write about those who live with a disability that is not physically manifest, but makes of life a labyrinth of potential disasters. Her risk is our benefit — if we only have the wit to live as intensely as Moranna lives. And as William Cowper has it, ‘there is a pleasure in madness’ that we all might wish to know.”
—Aritha van Herk, The Globe and Mail

“Elegantly written and deeply grounded in place, this moving, compassionate novel is far more than a story of mental illness. Moranna’s quest is for peace, joy, and connection — the same yearnings that drive us all.”
–Quill & Quire

“Curl up in your favourite wingback for An Audience of Chairs. Clark, who excels at bringing wilful female characters to life, had me hooked on the first page with her plea to my imagination. . . . Readers are kept on knife’s edge.”
–The Daily News (Halifax)

“Heartbreaking and satisfying at the same time. An Audience of Chairs is a brilliant achievement, one that deserves a huge audience of its own.”
—Edmonton Journal

“A rich and rewarding novel.”
—The Sun Times (Owen Sound)

“Clark’s portrait of this intense and complex woman is empathetic, sensitive and credible, and without a trace of condescension. . . . A deeply felt lesson not only in what it means to be human but also in what it means to experience compassion for others.”
—Toronto Star

Praise for Latitudes of Melt:
A New York Times Notable Book

Nominated for the international IMPAC Dublin Literary Award

Nominated for the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, Caribbean and Canada Region

"[Latitudes of Melt] has wonderful moments of clarity and transcendence, but never loses sight of what an ordinary life is."
—Carol Shields

"Mesmerizing. . . The novel casts a cumulative spell of ancestral continuity that is deeply and subtly true to life."
—The New York Times

"Latitudes of Melt is a magical novel that takes us on a magical journey to places most can explore only by reading about them."
—Ottawa Citizen

"Joan Clark evokes the profound sense of place we associate with the best Canadian writing. Absorbing and thick with detail. . . as rich and sustaining as a figgy duff."
—The Gazette (Montreal)