Mark Steyn was born in Toronto, Canada on December 8, 1959. He worked as a disc-jockey before becoming musical theatre critic for The Independent in 1986. He became a film critic for The Spectator in 1992. After writing predominantly about the arts, he shifted his focus to political commentary. He has written for numerous publications including the Chicago Sun-Times, National Review, The New York Sun, The Australian, Maclean's, The Atlantic Monthly, Western Standard and New Criterion. He received the Eric Breindel Award for Excellence in Opinion Journalism in 2006 and the Sappho Award from the International Free Press Society in 2010. He has written several books including Broadway Babies Say Goodnight: Musicals Then and Now, America Alone: The End of the World As We Know It, and After America: Get Ready for Armageddon.