He spent much of his boyhood in Talbot County, graduating from Easton High School. Today he lives on the Wye River on Maryland's Eastern Shore. Junkin is the author of The Waterman, Good Counsel, and Bloodsworth. He also founded Midshore Riverkeeper Conservancy which became ShoreRivers, a Maryland river protection non-profit, and has received several environmental awards. He graduated from the University of Maryland in 1973, and completed his law studies at Georgetown University Law Center in 1977. He has taught at American University, Georgetown University Law Center, Harvard University Law School, and the Bethesda Writer’s Center.