Joanne Will

Joanne Will has covered many topics, from food and agriculture to transportation and the arts. From 2009 until 2014, she wrote a weekly column for The Globe and Mail, Canada’s national newspaper. Comprising nearly 250 columns, the focus evolved from the unlikely intersection of relationships, humour and cars, to an automotive advice column called “Ask Joanne,” and finally an in-depth look at technology trends in the auto sector. She still contributes to The Globe and Mail. For example, her feature, "The last harvest: My stepfather and the demise of the family farm" can be read here.

Born on Salt Spring Island, off Canada’s west coast, and raised in rural Saskatchewan, Joanne is a graduate of the University of Victoria’s professional writing and political science programs. In 2014, she was awarded a Knight-Wallace Journalism Fellowship at the University of Michigan.

Some of her favourite published work includes: a 100-Mile-Diet-inspired local food history series, a transatlantic crossing on the Queen Mary II retracing her war bride grandmother’s 1946 journey, a profile of Grammy Award-winning musician and producer Daniel Lanois, an interview with Booker Prize-winning author of Life of Pi Yann Martel, and standing waist deep in an icy river harvesting wapato with her bare feet, under the direction of the chief of the Katzie First Nation. To read a selection of her work, please click on the category links above.

You can read more about Joanne in this 2015 Story Board interview.