Johnston, Lynn E. (Lynn Emory)

Lynn Johnston was born on May 28, 1947 Collingwood, Ontario. She attended the Vancouver School of Art for three years, with a goal of working in animation. Unable to find animation work available in Hamilton, Lynn began work as a medical artist at McMaster University. Drawings that she made while expecting her first child led to her first book, David, We're Pregnant! (1972). Two books followed, Hi, Mom! Hi, Dad! (1975) and Do They Ever Grow Up? Universal Press Syndicate sought her talents to do a daily comic strip. She sent almost two dozen strips of a comic she called The Johnstons whose characters were based on her own family. In 1978, Universal offered Lynn a 20-year contract on the basis of her ingenious work. The syndicate editor changed the name from The Johnstons to For Better or For Worse which debuted on September 9, 1979. Johnston's work has appeared in over 2,000 newspapers worldwide and translated in eight languages. Lynn Johnston's For Better or For Worse official website markets products based on the comic strip. Among the numerous honors and awards Lynn Johnston has received are the 1986 Reuben Award presented by the National Cartoonist's Society (the first woman, first Canadian and youngest artist ever to win this prestigious award), the National Cartoonist's Society's Best Newspaper Comic Strip in 1991, 1992 Honor of Canada (the country's highest civilian honor).