Joel Yanofsky, Social Science Alumnus

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Joel Yanofsky wins the 2011 Mavis Gallant Award for Non-fiction at the QWF Literary Awards

"I loved Cegep and I loved Vanier," says writer Joel Yanofsky, a Social Science 1974 alumnus. "I'd not been a good student in high school. I was mediocre and below average which bothered me because there's nothing worse than being mediocre. You want to either be very bad or very good."

At Vanier he was encouraged to become a writer

These days, Joel Yanofsky is very good. Indeed, at the 2011 Quebec Writers Federation Annual Awards, he won the 2011 Mavis Gallant Award for Non-fiction for his latest book, Bad Animals: a Father's Accidental Education in Autism published by Viking Canada. It was fitting that Joel won a prize, because the Mavis Gallant Award is sponsored by the English Cegeps, including Vanier College. Furthermore, in accepting his prize, Joel thanked Vanier in particular for encouraging him to become a writer.

Almost by chance

Things changed for Joel when he came to Vanier, something that happened almost by chance. "At that time, Montreal universities were also Cegeps," explains Joel. "I got an early acceptance from Concordia but hadn't heard from Vanier where I'd also applied. I lived in Laval and was about to go sign papers at Concordia when my mother said, 'Let's just call Vanier before heading downtown.' So we called and they told me I was accepted. And that's how I ended up at Vanier."

Studying What I Wanted

"I thought Cegep was great. It was the first time I could do what I wanted. I could take whatever courses I wanted. I knew I wanted to write so I took extra English courses and extra Humanities and Philosophy courses. I was able to read great books and I had great teachers. I was 17 and I didn't realize it then but the teachers were just a few years older than me. They were really enthusiastic and introduced me to writers I didn't know and had never heard of."

Inspiring teachers

"One teacher in particular, Denis Sampson, was interesting. I wanted to impress him but the first paper he handed back to me said 'interesting idea but the writing needs to be stronger…' Not exactly what a would-be writer wants to hear."

Writing is "work"

"Another English teacher, Tom Lozar, taught a course on Nabokov. He also taught a creative writing class. It was the first and last creative writing course I ever took. But it was a useful course. It taught me the notion that writing is "work" and you need to put in the hours working at it."

The best and the worst

"In one class, Tom handed out an assignment and said he'd read two stories to the class – one to show how to write and the other how not to write. Well, they were both mine! The bad one was full of flowery language and pretentions, and the good one was funny. That's what really started me thinking I could do this."

First time published

"Vanier was also the first place I was published. There was a magazine called "More Than Apples" that published poetry and other writings. I wrote a long short story that I slid under the door late at night, and it got published! My mother bought ten copies of it! It was a pretty bad story – very personal, all about lost love, but people seemed to like it. All that encouraged me to keep writing."

Making friends for life

"Cegep was a sharp contrast with high school where I didn't have many close friends. I had arranged my courses to be able to stay at school and planned to study between classes but of course I didn't. I ended up in the cafeteria with a group of guys from my high school and we played "Hearts" all day. Although we came from the same high school I didn't know them before cegep. But we became friends and I'm still friends with many of them. It was the first time I became friends with non Jewish guys – with Gentiles. All this was important to me in finding my path and what I wanted to do."

Doing well

"Unlike high school I did really well at Vanier – 90% on my papers. I loved the openness of the system. The teachers challenged us and when we handed in a paper it came back with significant and useful comments."

"I got good grades so I went to McGill where I got a Bachelor of Arts and a Masters in English, but from the moment I walked through the front gates I knew it wasn't Vanier. I knew it wasn't the best fit for me. But I stayed."

Teaching and writing

"I've been teaching in the Journalism program at Concordia for ten years now. I've also done workshops for the Quebec Writers' Federation and I'm part of a "Writers in the School" program at Rosemere high school. That's kind of fun – the teachers and the students both like it."

Freelancing

"I always claim my greatest accomplishment as a writer is that I never had a real job. I've always been a freelancer. And I can trace that back to Vanier as well. There was a freedom there to do what I liked and wanted to do – it was all about reading and writing. One of my teachers used to say – "You just have to write every day."

"Teaching never really appealed to me and I never wanted an office type job. At first I wanted to write novels but at one point I made the shift from creative writing to journalism and started writing book reviews. I got on-the-job training from my editors. I've been writing reviews for The Gazette for 16 years." Joel has also written for The Globe and Mail, Chatelaine, The Village Voice, Reader's Digest, and Quill and Quire. He's also the author of the novel Jacob's Ladder and a book of humor, Homo Erectus.

Personal writing

"I've always written personal stuff. "Real newspaper" reporters used to laugh if a journalist used "I" in a newspaper piece, but I've managed to do it. Writing personal stuff is more engaging for the writer and it engages the reader."

Have fun with Cegep

"My best advice to high school students coming into Cegep is to take advantage of it. It's your best chance to find out what you want to do. Follow your heart rather than your practical side. Do what you like to do. Cegep is fun so have fun with it. It's more fun than high school – it's a whole different experience."