Maura Johnston | |
|---|---|
 Johnston in 2013 | |
| Born | May 28, 1975 Syosset, New York, United States |
| Occupation | Music critic, music journalist |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Northwestern University |
| Years active | 1997–present |
| Website | |
| www | |
Maura K. Johnston (born May 28, 1975) is a writer, editor and music critic. A member of Boston College's journalism faculty, she has written for Rolling Stone, The Boston Globe, Pitchfork, The Awl, The New York Times, Spin and The Guardian. She is working on a critical biography of Madonna for the Harlequin Enterprises subsidiary Hanover Square Press.[1]
Johnston was a founding editor of Gawker Media's Idolator, where she worked until November 2009.[2] In April 2011, she became the music editor of The Village Voice,[3] holding that position until September 2012.[4] In 2013, she launched the culture periodical Maura Magazine, which was published by 29th Street Publishing through 2015.[5]
She is an adjunct professor at Boston College, which named her the inaugural Institute for Liberal Arts Journalism Fellow in 2013.[6] From 2010 to 2013, she taught at New York University's Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music.
Johnston is involved with Boston College's non-commercial radio station WZBC as a DJ and advisory board member and has DJed at WNUR and WPRB. She has discussed music and popular culture on NPR, WNYC, WBUR and CBC Radio. She has appeared in a handful of music videos, including Speedy Ortiz's "The Graduates",[7] and contributed violin and viola to records by artists including Lefty's Deceiver and Kincaid.[8]
A native of Hicksville, New York, Johnston graduated from Northwestern University in 1997.