WINOKUR, Jon 1947-

(Howard Ogden)

PERSONAL: Born August 5, 1947, in Detroit, MI; son of Martin M. (an insurance executive) and Elinor (a homemaker; maiden name, Balamut) Winokur; married Barbara Cohen, 1973 (divorced, 1980). Education: Temple University, B.A., 1970; University of West Los Angeles, J.D., 1980.

ADDRESSES: Home—P.O. Box 1117, Pacific Palisades, CA 90272-1117. Agent—Reid Boates, P.O. Box 328, Pittstown, NJ 08867-0328.

CAREER: Advertising copywriter in Los Angeles, CA, 1971–75; partner of a marketing agency in Los Angeles, 1975–77; real estate investor in Los Angeles, 1977–83; writer, 1983–.

MEMBER: California Bar Association.

WRITINGS:

Master Tips, Potshot Press (Pacific Palisades, CA), 1985.

The Pride Method, Potshot Press (Pacific Palisades, CA), 1986.

(Editor and compiler) Writers on Writing, Running Press (Philadelphia, PA), 1986.

(Editor and compiler) The Portable Curmudgeon, New American Library (New York, NY), 1987.

(Editor and compiler) Zen to Go, New American Library (New York, NY), 1988.

(Editor and compiler) A Curmudgeon's Garden of Love, New American Library (New York, NY), 1989.

(Editor and compiler) Friendly Advice, Dutton (New York, NY), 1990.

(Editor and compiler) Mondo Canine, Dutton (New York, NY), 1991.

(Editor and compiler) The Portable Curmudgeon Redux, Dutton (New York, NY), 1992.

(Editor and compiler) True Confessions, Dutton (New York, NY), 1992.

(Editor and compiler) Fathers, Dutton (New York, NY), 1993.

Je ne Sais What?: A Guide to de Rigueur French for Readers, Writers, and Speakers, Dutton (New York, NY), 1995.

(Editor and compiler) The Rich Are Different, Pantheon (New York, NY), 1996.

(With Norrie Epstein) Happy Motoring!: Canine Life in the Fast Lane, Abbeville Press (New York, NY), 1997.

(Editor and Compiler) Advice to Writers: A Compendium of Quotes, Anecdotes, and Writerly Wisdom from a Dazzling Array of Literary Lights, Pantheon (New York, NY), 1999.

How to Win at Golf without Actually Playing Well, Pantheon (New York, NY), 2000.

(Editor and compiler) The Traveling Curmudgeon: Irreverent Notes, Quotes, and Anecdotes on Dismal Destinations, Excess Baggage, the Full Upright Position, and Other Reasons Not to Go There, Sasquatch Books (Seattle, WA), 2003.

Author of aphorisms under pseudonym Howard Odgen.

WORK IN PROGRESS: Encyclopedia Neurotica, for St. Martins Press.

SIDELIGHTS: Jon Winokur is noted for his series of books that compile passages, aphorisms, and interviews on particular subjects of interest to American readers. Perhaps best known for his Portable Curmudgeon, which collects cynical remarks from the world's writers and celebrities, Winokur has also compiled books about fathers, dogs, Zen, the rich, and the writing process. Booklist correspondent Gilbert Taylor commended Winokur as a "compiler of irreverent confections."

Winokur's books have been praised for their sense of fun and their quotability. A reviewer for the Writer found Advice to Writers: A Compendium of Quotes, Anecdotes, and Writerly Wisdom from a Dazzling Array of Literary Lights to be "delightful" and full of "timeless advice." Margot Mifflin in Entertainment Weekly described The Rich Are Different as a "fun-filled teardown of the filthy rich," and Taylor thought that Je ne Sais What?: A Guide to de Rigueur French for Readers, Writers, and Speakers would be a title readers might "find themselves using every day."

In How to Win at Golf without Actually Playing Well, Winokur offers his own cheerful tips on how to finesse the game of golf using psychological warfare and other semi-legal tactics. A Publishers Weekly critic noted that, with Winokur's "hilarious" advice, "even a hopeless golfer can throw off an opponent."

Winokur once told CA: "To the chagrin of my publisher's publicity staff, I refuse to do television interviews—they sap your vital bodily fluids." However, he more recently told CA about his change of heart regarding interviews on television. "I've seen the light. To quote Truman Capote, 'a boy has to hustle his book.'"

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, April 1, 1993, review of Fathers, p. 1391; January 15, 1995, Gilbert Taylor, review of Je ne Sais What?: A Guide to de Rigueur French for Readers, Writers, and Speakers, p. 883.

Entertainment Weekly, November 22, 1996, Margot Mifflin, review of The Rich Are Different, p. 55.

Forbes, November 3, 1986, review of Writers on Writing, p. 27.

Los Angeles Times, January 15, 1990.

People, January 18, 1988, Ralph Novak, review of The Portable Curmudgeon, p. 12; February 18, 1991, Ralph Novak, review of A Curmudgeon's Garden of Love, p. 28.

Publishers Weekly, March 29, 1993, review of Fathers, p. 41; April 17, 2000, "On and Off the Green," p. 69.

Writer, October, 1999, review of Advice to Writers: A Compendium of Quotes, Anecdotes, and Writerly Wisdom from a Dazzling Array of Literary Lights, p. 47.