Maine Trivia

Author, humorist, and radio host John McDonald (1944-2022) performed in Maine for nearly fifty years and is now regarded as a dean of traditional Maine storytelling. John got his start as a performer playing at local Maine events in the 1970s before catching a big break when he performed on stage with the legendary Marshall Dodge and Kendall Morse at Ellsworth’s Strand Theater in 1980. McDonald has performed for audiences across New England, released two audio recordings, and written four books for Islandport Press, including Down the Road a Piece and the now-classic, A Moose and a Lobster Walk into Bar.

Dean L. Lunt was born in the Maine island fishing village of Frenchboro, a member of the eighth generation of Lunts that called the remote island home. He attended the island’s one-room school and Mount Desert Island High School before earning a dual degree from Syracuse University. Following graduation, he worked as an award-winning newspaper reporter in three New England states for nearly twelve years, and later worked as a freelance writer, editor and project manager. Lunt founded Islandport Press in 2000 and has since edited or published more than 200 books, most tied in some way to the culture and heritage of Maine or New England. Lunt also founded Islandport Magazine in 2017 and has written two nonfiction books, Hauling by Hand and Here for Generations. He has two daughters and now lives in Yarmouth with his wife, Michelle.