World Literary Awards

← Back to Home

Stuart McLean

すちゅあーと・まくれーん

Sutyuāto Makurēn

Aliases: Andrew Stuart McLean

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1948-04-19 (Montreal West, Quebec, Canada)
Died
2017-02-15 (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) age 68
Nationality
Canada
Languages
English
Residence History
Montreal West, Quebec, Canada → Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Career

Occupations
Radio broadcaster, Humorist, Monologist, Author, Professor of journalism
Active Years
1974-2017
Affiliations
CBC Radio, Ryerson University (now Toronto Metropolitan University)
Memberships
Honorary Colonel of 8 Air Maintenance Squadron, Canadian Armed Forces
Nominations
Toronto Book Awards finalist (1990, The Morningside World of Stuart McLean)

Education

Lower Canada College
Country: Canada
Bishop's College School
Country: Canada
Sir George Williams University
Degree: B.A.
Year of Graduation: 1971
Country: Canada

Awards

ACTRA Award
1979
Work: Operation White Knight
Category: best radio documentary
Organization: ACTRA
Result: win
Canadian Authors Association Best Non-Fiction Book Award
1993
Work: Welcome Home: Travels in Smalltown Canada
Organization: Canadian Authors Association
Result: win
Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour
1999
Work: Home from the Vinyl Cafe
Organization: Stephen Leacock Associates
Result: win
Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour
2001
Work: Vinyl Cafe Unplugged
Organization: Stephen Leacock Associates
Result: win
Canadian Authors Association Jubilee Award
2004
Work: Vinyl Cafe Diaries
Organization: Canadian Authors Association
Result: win
Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour
2007
Work: Secrets from the Vinyl Cafe
Organization: Stephen Leacock Associates
Result: win
Officer of the Order of Canada
2011
Organization: Governor General of Canada
Result: win

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Morningside World of Stuart McLean

1989 Non-fiction/Essays

Collection of documentaries and essays from Morningside celebrating everyday people and places.

Importance of being unimportantHuman interest stories

Welcome Home: Travels in Smalltown Canada

1992 Non-fiction/Travel

Travel memoir about life in small-town Canada.

Small communitiesCanadian smalltown culture

Stories from the Vinyl Cafe

1995 Humour/Short stories

Stories about fictional record store owner Dave and his family, full of humour and heart.

Family lifeHumour and perseveranceDignity of ordinary people
Adaptations
  • [Radio] The Vinyl Cafe (1994)

Home from the Vinyl Cafe

1998 Humour/Short stories

Continuation of Vinyl Cafe stories featuring Dave's family adventures.

Family bondsHumorous mishaps

Vinyl Cafe Unplugged

2001 Humour/Short stories

Collection of Vinyl Cafe stories performed unplugged style.

Everyday comedyHumanity

Bibliography

  • The Morningside World of Stuart McLean
  • Welcome Home: Travels in Smalltown Canada
  • Stories from the Vinyl Cafe
  • When We Were Young: A Collection of Canadian Stories
  • Home from the Vinyl Cafe
  • Vinyl Cafe Unplugged
  • Vinyl Cafe Diaries
  • Stories from the Vinyl Cafe 10th Anniversary Edition
  • Secrets from the Vinyl Cafe
  • Dave Cooks the Turkey
  • When We Were Young: An Anthology of Canadian Stories
  • Extreme Vinyl Café
  • The Vinyl Cafe Notebooks
  • Revenge of The Vinyl Cafe
  • Time Now for the Vinyl Cafe Story Exchange
  • Vinyl Cafe Turns the Page
  • Christmas at The Vinyl Cafe
  • Vinyl Cafe Celebrates

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Story-telling comedyMonologue styleBlend of humour and serious themes
Recurring Motifs
Grace and humour of ordinary peopleGrowth through mishapsActs of kindness in community

Health

  • Melanoma
    2015-2017
    Halted touring and production of new episodes, cause of death

Legacy

Beloved Canadian storyteller known for The Vinyl Cafe, celebrating decency and dignity of ordinary people through humour. Tributes on CBC after death; archives donated to McMaster University.

Archives

  • McMaster University

In Popular Culture

  • CBC Radio aired 'Canada's Storyteller: A Tribute to Stuart McLean' after his death

Trivia

  • Received a Motorola radio from his father during childhood illness, sparking lifelong radio passion
  • Sponsored YMCA's Camp Kanawana, creating fund for underprivileged youth
  • Hosted annual Arthur Awards honouring unheralded acts of kindness by ordinary Canadians