Alaya Dawn Johnson
American writer of speculative fiction
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Alaya Dawn Johnson (born 1982)[1] (/əˈlaɪə/)[2] is an American writer of speculative fiction.
Born1982 (age 43–44)
Washington, D.C., U.S.
EducationColumbia University (BA)
OccupationWriter
Period2007–present
Alaya Dawn Johnson | |
|---|---|
Johnson in 2013 | |
| Born | 1982 (age 43–44) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Education | Columbia University (BA) |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Writing career | |
| Period | 2007–present |
| Genres | Science fiction, fantasy, Solarpunk |
| Notable works | The Summer Prince The Spirit Binders |
| Website | alayadawnjohnson |
Career
Apart from short fiction, Johnson has published two urban fantasy novels about "vampire suffragette" Zephyr Hollis set in an alternate 1920s New York City,[3] and two novels set on islands resembling pre-modern Polynesia where people have learned to bind elemental powers to their commands.[4][5]
Her 2013 debut in the young adult fiction sector, the standalone novel The Summer Prince, is set on a post-apocalyptic cyberpunk Brazilian arcology ruled by a nanotech-empowered matriarchy.[6][7] Love Is the Drug, her 2014 standalone young adult novel, is set in Washington, D.C., and follows a prep-school student whose memory loss may be connected to a burgeoning global influenza pandemic.[8][9]
In February 2021 Johnson was the literary guest of honor and keynote speaker at the 39th annual Life, the Universe, & Everything professional science fiction and fantasy arts symposium.[10]
Personal life
Johnson was born in Washington, D.C.[1] She graduated from Columbia University in 2004 with a Bachelor of Arts in East Asian Languages and Cultures.[11][12]
Johnson lived in New York City[11] until 2014, when she moved to Mexico City.[13] She received a master's degree in Mesoamerican studies from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México for her thesis on fermented food and its ritual symbolism in pre-Columbian Mexico.[14]
Awards and honors
- World Fantasy Awards Winner, Best Novel for Trouble the Saints, 2021[15]
- Andre Norton Award Winner, Best Young Adult Novel for Love Is the Drug, 2015[16]
- Nebula Award Winner, Best Novelette for A Guide to the Fruits of Hawai’i, 2015[16]
- Nebula Award Nominee, Best Novelette for They Shall Salt the Earth with Seeds of Glass, 2013[17]
- Andre Norton Award Nominee for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy for The Summer Prince, 2013[17]
- National Book Award Longlist, Young People's Literature for The Summer Prince, 2013[18]
- GLBTRT Top Ten Rainbow List for The Summer Prince, 2014[19]
- Junior Library Guild selection for The Summer Prince, Spring 2013[20]
- YALSA nominee for their BFYA list for The Summer Prince, 2013[20]
- Finalist for the 2011 Carl Brandon Society Parallax Award for the novel Moonshine[20]
- Finalist for the 2011 Carl Brandon Society Kindred Award for the novel The Burning City[20]
- Top Ten finalist for the 2010 Million Writers Award for the short story A Song to Greet the Sun[20]
- Winner of the 2008 Gulliver Travel Grant from the Speculative Literature Foundation[20]
- Finalist for the 2006 Carl Brandon Society Parallax Award for the short story Shard of Glass[20]
- Nominated for 2026 Ignyte Award for Outstanding Novelette for What I Saw Before the War.[21]
Bibliography
Novels
- —— (2013). The Summer Prince (hardcover 1st ed.). Arthur A. Levine Books. p. 289. ISBN 978-0545417792.
- —— (2014). Love Is the Drug (hardcover 1st ed.). Arthur A. Levine Books. p. 344. ISBN 978-0545417815.
- —— (2020). Trouble the Saints (hardcover 1st ed.). Tor Books. p. 352. ISBN 978-1250175342.
- —— (2023). The Library of Broken Worlds (hardcover 1st ed.). Scholastic Press. p. 448. ISBN 978-1338290622.
The Spirit Binders series
- —— (2007). Racing the Dark (hardcover 2008 ed.). Agate Bolden. p. 368. ISBN 978-1932841282.
- —— (2010). The Burning City (paperback ed.). Agate Bolden. p. 380. ISBN 978-1932841459.
Zephyr Hollis series
- —— (2010). Moonshine (paperback ed.). Griffin. p. 278. ISBN 9780312648060.
- —— (2012). Wicked City (hardcover 1st ed.). Thomas Dunne Books. p. 306. ISBN 978-0312565480.
- —— (2012). The Inconstant Moon (ebook ed.). Tor Books. p. 32. ISBN 978-1466820821. Quick story, published in ebook and webzine format.
Collection
- —— (2020). Reconstruction (paperback ed.). Small Beer Press. p. 271. ISBN 978-1618731777. 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
| Year | Title | First published | Reprinted/collected |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | "Shard of Glass" | —— (Feb 14, 2005). "Shard of Glass (Part 1)". Strange Horizons. —— (Feb 21, 2005). "Shard of Glass (Part 2)". Strange Horizons. |
Year's Best Fantasy 6 pp. 58–77 |
| "Third Day Lights" | —— (Sep–Oct 2005). "Third Day Lights". Interzone (200). | Year's Best SF 11 pp. 281–308 | |
| 2006 | "Among Their Bright Eyes" | —— (Winter 2006). "Among Their Bright Eyes". Fantasy (5). | —— (2007). "Among Their..." Pseudopod. |
| 2008 | "Down the Well" | —— (Aug 4, 2008). "Down the Well". Strange Horizons. | |
| 2009 | "Far and Deep" | —— (Mar–Apr 2009). "Far and Deep". Interzone (221). | |
| "The Yeast of Eire" | —— (Sep 7, 2009). "The Yeast of Eire (Part 1)". Strange Horizons. —— (Sep 14, 2009). "The Yeast of Eire (Part 2)". Strange Horizons. |
||
| "A Song to Greet the Sun" | —— (Oct 2009). "A Song to Greet the Sun". Fantasy (31). | ||
| "The Score" | —— (2009). "The Score". Interfictions 2. Small Beer Press: 46–73. | —— (2013). "The Score". Nightmare. | |
| 2010 | "Love Will Tear Us Apart" | —— (2010). "Love Will Tear Us Apart". Zombies Vs. Unicorns. Margaret K. McElderry Books: 21–48. | |
| 2011 | "Their Changing Bodies" | —— (Summer 2011). "Their Changing Bodies". Subterranean Online. Subterranean Press: 7. Archived from the original on 2022-08-14. Retrieved 2022-08-14. | |
| "A Prince of Thirteen Days" | —— (2011). "A Prince of Thirteen Days". Welcome to Bordertown. Random House: 190–219. | ||
| 2013 | "They Shall Salt the Earth with Seeds of Glass" | —— (Jan 2013). "They Shall Salt the Earth with Seeds of Glass". Asimov's. 37 (1): 10–26. | —— (2021). "They Shall..." Uncanny. |
| 2014 | "A Guide to the Fruits of Hawai’i" | —— (Jul–Aug 2014). "A Guide to the Fruits of Hawai'i". F&SF. 127 (1&2): 231–255. | |
| 2017 | "A Hundred Thousand Threads" | —— (2017). "A Hundred Thousand Threads". Three Sides of a Heart. HarperTeen: 333–369. | |
| 2020 | "The Rules of the Land" | —— (2020). "The Rules of the Land". A Phoenix First Must Burn. Viking Books: 67–84. | |
| "Reconstruction" | —— (2020). "Reconstruction". Reconstruction. Small Beer Press. | ||
| "The Mirages" | —— (Nov–Dec 2020). "The Mirages". Asimov's. 44 (11&12): 36–44. | ||
| 2021 | "Trouble the Saints" | —— (2021). "Trouble the Saints". Trouble the Saints. Tor. | |
| 2022 | "The Memory Librarian" (with Janelle Monáe) | —— (2022). "The Memory Librarian". The Memory Librarian: And Other Stories of Dirty Computer. HarperVoyager. | |
| "Wonder Woman: Heartless Volume 1" (With Natalie C. Parker, Tessa Gratton, and Heidi Heilig) | —— (2022). "Wonder Woman: Heartless". 1. Serial Box. ISBN 978-1-63855-081-5. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)CS1 maint: periodical has ISBN (link) |
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| 2023 | "The Library of Broken Worlds" | —— (2023). "The Library of Broken Worlds". Scholastic Incorporated. ISBN 978-1-338-29064-6. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)CS1 maint: periodical has ISBN (link) |
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| 2025 | "What I Saw Before the War" | —— (2025). "What I Saw Before the War". Tor Books. |
