Alaya Dawn Johnson (born 1982)
() is an American writer of
speculative fiction.
Career
Apart from short fiction, Johnson has published two
urban fantasy
Urban fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy which places imaginary and unreal elements in an approximation of a contemporary urban setting. The combination provides the writer with quixotic plot-drivers, unusual character traits, and a platform for c ...
novels about "vampire
suffragette" Zephyr Hollis set in an alternate 1920s New York City, and two novels set on islands resembling pre-modern
Polynesia
Polynesia () "many" and νῆσος () "island"), to, Polinisia; mi, Porinihia; haw, Polenekia; fj, Polinisia; sm, Polenisia; rar, Porinetia; ty, Pōrīnetia; tvl, Polenisia; tkl, Polenihia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of ...
where people have learned to bind elemental powers to their commands.
Her 2013 debut in the
young adult fiction
Young adult fiction (YA) is a category of fiction written for readers from 12 to 18 years of age. While the genre is primarily targeted at adolescents, approximately half of YA readers are adults.
The subject matter and genres of YA correlate ...
sector, the standalone novel ''The Summer Prince'', is set on a
post-apocalyptic
Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which the Earth's (or another planet's) civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; ast ...
cyberpunk
Cyberpunk is a subgenre of science fiction in a dystopian futuristic setting that tends to focus on a "combination of lowlife and high tech", featuring futuristic technological and scientific achievements, such as artificial intelligence and c ...
Brazilian
arcology
Arcology, a portmanteau of "architecture" and "ecology",. is a field of creating architectural design principles for very densely populated and ecologically low-impact human habitats.
The term was coined in 1969 by architect Paolo Soleri, who be ...
ruled by a
nanotech
Nanotechnology, also shortened to nanotech, is the use of matter on an atomic, molecular, and supramolecular scale for industrial purposes. The earliest, widespread description of nanotechnology referred to the particular technological goal o ...
-empowered
matriarchy
Matriarchy is a social system in which women hold the primary power positions in roles of authority. In a broader sense it can also extend to moral authority, social privilege and control of property.
While those definitions apply in general ...
. ''Love Is the Drug'', her 2014 stand-alone
young adult
A young adult is generally a person in the years following adolescence. Definitions and opinions on what qualifies as a young adult vary, with works such as Erik Erikson's stages of human development significantly influencing the definition of ...
novel, is set in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
and follows a prep-school student whose memory loss may be connected to a burgeoning global
influenza pandemic.
In February 2021 Johnson was the literary guest of honor and keynote speaker at the 39th annual
Life, the Universe, & Everything
''Life, the Universe, & Everything: The Marion K. "Doc" Smith Symposium on Science Fiction and Fantasy'' is an academic conference held annually since 1983 in Provo, Utah. It is the longest-running science fiction and fantasy convention in Utah, ...
professional science fiction and fantasy arts symposium.
Personal life
Johnson was born in Washington, D.C.
[ She graduated from ]Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
in 2004 with a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...
in East Asian Languages and Cultures.[ until 2014, when she moved to Mexico City.]
Awards and honors
*World Fantasy Awards
The World Fantasy Awards are a set of awards given each year for the best fantasy fiction published during the previous calendar year. Organized and overseen by the World Fantasy Convention, the awards are given each year at the eponymous annu ...
Winner, Best Novel for '' Trouble the Saints'', 2021National Book Award
The National Book Awards are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors.
The Nat ...
Longlist, Young People's Literature for ''The Summer Prince'', 2013Junior Library Guild
Junior Library Guild, formerly the Junior Literary Guild, is a commercial book club devoted to juvenile literature. It was created in 1929 as one of the enterprises of the Literary Guild, an adult book club created in 1927 by Samuel W. Craig and H ...
selection for ''The Summer Prince'', Spring 2013YALSA
The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), established in 1957, is a division of the American Library Association. YALSA is a national association of librarians, library workers and advocates whose mission is to expand the capacity of l ...
nominee for their BFYA list for ''The Summer Prince'', 2013Million Writers Award Million Writers Award was a short story literary award presented annually by storySouth. It honored the best online short stories. The award was structured to be egalitarian allowing for anyone to nominate a story including readers, authors, editor ...
for the short story ''A Song to Greet the Sun''
Bibliography
Novels
*
*
*
;''The Spirit Binders'' series
#
#
;''Zephyr Hollis'' series
#
#
# Quick story, published in ebook and webzine format.
Collection
* Includes 10 short stories:
*# "A Guide to the Fruits of Hawai’i"
*# "Their Changing Bodies"
*# "They Shall Salt the Earth with Seeds of Glass"
*# "Down the Well"
*# "Third Day Lights"
*# "The Score"
*# "Far and Deep"
*# "The Mirages"
*# "Reconstruction"
*# "A Song to Greet the Sun"
Short fiction
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Alaya Dawn
1982 births
Living people
21st-century American novelists
21st-century American women writers
American fantasy writers
American science fiction writers
American women novelists
American writers of young adult literature
Asimov's Science Fiction people
Columbia College (New York) alumni
Women science fiction and fantasy writers
Women writers of young adult literature
Writers from Washington, D.C.
African-American novelists
Afrofuturist writers
21st-century African-American women writers
21st-century African-American writers
20th-century African-American people
20th-century African-American women
Nebula Award winners