Jonny Sun
{{Short description|Canadian author and illustrator}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Jonny Sun
| image = Jonny Sun at In Conversation at Indigo Chapters - 2017 - IMG 2958 (cropped).jpg
| caption = Sun in 2017
| occupation = Humorist, author, illustrator
| nationality = Canadian
| education = University of Toronto
Yale School of Architecture
MIT
| website = https://www.jonnysun.com/
}}
Jonathan "Jonny" Sun,{{Cite web |last=Irving |first=Tyler |date=21 February 2016 |title=Jonathan Sun: Engineer, architect, social media sensation |url=https://news.engineering.utoronto.ca/jonathan-sun-engineer-architect-social-media-sensation/ |access-date=2 December 2022 |website=U of T Engineering News |archive-date=2 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221202180135/https://news.engineering.utoronto.ca/jonathan-sun-engineer-architect-social-media-sensation/ |url-status=live }} occasionally known by the nickname jomny,{{cite web| url=https://cyber.harvard.edu/getinvolved/fellowships/opencall20182019| title=Open Call for Fellowship Applications, Academic Year 2018–2019| date=3 January 2018| website=Berkman Klein Center – Harvard University| access-date=10 January 2018| archive-date=10 January 2018| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180110192442/https://cyber.harvard.edu/getinvolved/fellowships/opencall20182019| url-status=live}} is a Canadian author and illustrator.{{cite news|last1=Lichtenstein|first1=Jesse|title=A Whimsical Wordsmith Charts a Course Beyond Twitter|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/15/magazine/a-whimsical-wordsmith-charts-a-course-beyond-twitter.html|accessdate=6 July 2017|newspaper=The New York Times|date=15 June 2017|archive-date=3 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170703103745/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/15/magazine/a-whimsical-wordsmith-charts-a-course-beyond-twitter.html|url-status=live}} He is the author of the 2017 illustrated novel everyone's a aliebn when ur a aliebn too and a PhD candidate in urban studies and planning at MIT. In 2018, he published Gmorning, Gnight!, (a collaboration with playwright and actor Lin-Manuel Miranda in which Sun served as illustrator) and in 2020, Sun published an essay collection called Goodbye, Again. Sun also served as a writer on the television shows BoJack Horseman and Mrs. Davis.
Early life and education
Sun is from Calgary and attended the University of Toronto, getting his Bachelor of Applied Science degree in Engineering Science, majoring in Infrastructure Engineering. For his master's degree, he attended the Yale School of Architecture. He is now a PhD candidate in urban studies and planning at MIT and a creative researcher at the Harvard metaLAB.{{cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/jonathan-sun-i-can-only-control-so-much-in-my-life-and-the-rest-will-come-as-it-happens/article35444206/|title=Jonathan Sun: 'I can only control so much in my life, and the rest will come as it happens'|date=23 June 2017|work=The Globe and Mail|accessdate=6 July 2017|language=en-ca|archive-date=7 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170707234704/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/jonathan-sun-i-can-only-control-so-much-in-my-life-and-the-rest-will-come-as-it-happens/article35444206/|url-status=live}} He studies social media, virtual place, and online community.{{Cite web |title=Jonny Sun |url=https://jonnysun.com/ |access-date=2022-04-01 |website=Jonny Sun |language=en-US |archive-date=29 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240129153315/https://jonnysun.com/ |url-status=live }}
Career
{{expand section|date=November 2021}}
In June 2017, Sun published everyone's a aliebn when ur a aliebn too.{{cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/books/2017/06/jonny-sun-how-i-wrote-everyones-a-aliebn-when-ur-a-aliebn-too.html|title=Why Jonny Sun created an alien that helps us understand what it means to be human|date=27 June 2017|work=CBC|accessdate=6 July 2017|archive-date=5 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170705114127/http://www.cbc.ca/books/2017/06/jonny-sun-how-i-wrote-everyones-a-aliebn-when-ur-a-aliebn-too.html|url-status=live}} The illustrated novel is based on a character Sun developed on Twitter,{{Cite news|url=https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/8/8/16034974/writer-jonathan-sun-interview|title=Writer Jonathan Sun on translating the Weird Twitter experience for an IRL audience|last=Rindner|first=Grant|date=8 August 2017|work=Vox|access-date=2018-07-17|archive-date=17 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180717212730/https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/8/8/16034974/writer-jonathan-sun-interview|url-status=live}} tweeting as an alien trying to learn to navigate life among humans.{{cite news|last1=Schwartz|first1=Dana|title=15 (Okay, 16) Books to Look Forward to in 2017|url=http://observer.com/2016/12/15-okay-16-books-to-look-forward-to-in-2017/|accessdate=6 July 2017|work=New York Observer|date=30 December 2016|archive-date=19 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170519054705/http://observer.com/2016/12/15-okay-16-books-to-look-forward-to-in-2017/|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last1=Mertes|first1=Micah|title=Summer book preview: 13 must-reads|url=http://www.omaha.com/living/summer-book-preview-must-reads/article_18eeb3f6-5849-11e7-afdc-6f6c6ce1648f.html|accessdate=6 July 2017|work=Omaha World-Herald|date=26 June 2017|language=en|archive-date=4 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171104135742/http://www.omaha.com/living/summer-book-preview-must-reads/article_18eeb3f6-5849-11e7-afdc-6f6c6ce1648f.html|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last1=Lui|first1=Samantha|title=Twitter star Jonathan Sun's new bot wants to make sure you're doing OK|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/twitter-star-jonathan-sun-s-new-bot-wants-make-sure-n705226|accessdate=6 July 2017|work=NBC News|date=11 January 2017|language=en|archive-date=1 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170701061913/http://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/twitter-star-jonathan-sun-s-new-bot-wants-make-sure-n705226?|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last1=Yin|first1=Maryann|title=Cover Revealed For Jonathan Sun's 'Aliebn' Book|url=https://www.adweek.com/galleycat/cover-revealed-for-jonathan-suns-aliebn-book/127837|accessdate=6 July 2017|work=GalleyCat|date=7 December 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170827230501/https://www.adweek.com/galleycat/cover-revealed-for-jonathan-suns-aliebn-book/127837|archive-date=August 27, 2017}} He has said the period in which he was beginning graduate school (and the toll that took on his mental health) was the impetus for the project, with the character offering an opportunity to work through the isolation and depression he experienced.
Sun's second book, a collaboration with musical playwright and actor Lin-Manuel Miranda, was released in October 2018. The book, Gmorning, Gnite! Little Pep Talks For Me & You, is a collection of affirmations drawn from Miranda's Twitter feed and illustrated by Sun.{{Cite magazine|url=http://ew.com/books/2018/07/17/lin-manuel-miranda-gmorning-gnite-tweets-book/|title=Lin-Manuel Miranda's inspirational 'Gmorning, Gnite!' tweets getting their own book|last=Derschowitz|first=Jessica|date=17 July 2018|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|access-date=2018-07-17|language=en|archive-date=17 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180717184513/http://ew.com/books/2018/07/17/lin-manuel-miranda-gmorning-gnite-tweets-book/|url-status=live}} The book spent ten weeks on The New York Times Best Seller list.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/books/best-sellers/2019/01/06/advice-how-to-and-miscellaneous/|title=Advice, How-To & Miscellaneous Books – Best Sellers – January 6, 2019 – The New York Times|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-01-31|language=en|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=31 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190131150929/https://www.nytimes.com/books/best-sellers/2019/01/06/advice-how-to-and-miscellaneous/|url-status=live}}
In November 2018, he started working on an animated movie called Paper Lanterns.{{Cite news|last=Kit|first=Borys|date=27 November 2018|title=Fox Family Picks Up 'Paper Lanterns' With Humorist Jonny Sun Writing|work=Hollywood Reporter|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/fox-animation-picks-up-paper-lanterns-humorist-jonny-sun-writing-1164361|access-date=17 July 2020|archive-date=19 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200919140329/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/fox-animation-picks-up-paper-lanterns-humorist-jonny-sun-writing-1164361|url-status=live}} He was a writer for season 6 of BoJack Horseman{{Cite news|last=Sun|first=Jonny|date=24 April 2020|title=Jonny Sun: You're Not Alone In Feeling Lonely|work=Ted Radio Hour|publisher=NPR|url=https://www.npr.org/2020/04/24/842572660/jonny-sun-youre-not-alone-in-feeling-lonely?t=1594990120049|access-date=17 July 2020|archive-date=17 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200717125625/https://www.npr.org/2020/04/24/842572660/jonny-sun-youre-not-alone-in-feeling-lonely?t=1594990120049|url-status=live}} and the limited series Mrs. Davis.{{Citation |title=Mrs. Davis (TV Series 2023) - IMDb |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14759574/fullcredits |access-date=2023-05-19 |language=en |archive-date=19 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230519191634/https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14759574/fullcredits |url-status=live }}
Sun's third book, Goodbye, Again: Essays, Reflections, and Illustrations, was released in April 2021. The book was written during a self-imposed break from all of his work and it became an instant New York Times bestseller, receiving praise from critics who remarked on Sun's "personal voice" and "little bits of ephemera."{{Cite news |last=Mirakhor |first=Leah |date=18 May 2021 |title=Personal Escapes From Daily Anxiety, Political Strife and Childhood Trauma |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/18/books/review/goodbye-again-jonny-sun-the-window-seat-aminatta-forna-white-magic-elissa-washuta-leaving-isnt-the-hardest-thing-lauren-hough.html |access-date=2022-04-01 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=24 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231024153131/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/18/books/review/goodbye-again-jonny-sun-the-window-seat-aminatta-forna-white-magic-elissa-washuta-leaving-isnt-the-hardest-thing-lauren-hough.html |url-status=live }}{{Cite web|title=With Steamed Eggs And Succulents, 'Goodbye, Again' Brings Us Home|url=https://www.npr.org/2021/04/22/985874871/with-steamed-eggs-and-succulents-goodbye-again-brings-us-home|access-date=2021-05-18|website=NPR.org|language=en|archive-date=13 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230413042032/https://www.npr.org/2021/04/22/985874871/with-steamed-eggs-and-succulents-goodbye-again-brings-us-home|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|title=Jonny Sun's'Goodbye, Again' Is Exactly What We All Need Right Now|url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/jonny-sun-s-goodbye-again-is-exactly-what-we-all-need-right-now/ar-BB1fRqs8|access-date=2021-04-24|website=www.msn.com|archive-date=24 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210424151506/https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/jonny-sun-s-goodbye-again-is-exactly-what-we-all-need-right-now/ar-BB1fRqs8|url-status=dead}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category|Jonathan Sun|Jonny Sun}}
- {{Official website|http://jonathan-sun.com}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sun, Jonny}}
Category:Yale School of Architecture alumni
Category:University of Toronto alumni
Category:MIT School of Architecture and Planning alumni
Category:Year of birth missing (living people)
Category:Canadian male television writers
Category:Canadian television writers
Category:21st-century Canadian screenwriters