Adam Johnson (born July 12, 1967) is an American

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

and

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...

writer. He won the

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

for his 2012 novel, ''

The Orphan Master's Son ''The Orphan Master's Son'' is a 2012 novel by the American author Adam Johnson. It deals with intertwined propaganda, identity, and state power themes in North Korea. The novel was awarded the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Characters *Pak ...

'', and the

National Book Award The National Book Awards (NBA) 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. ...

for his 2015 story collection '' Fortune Smiles''. He is also a professor of English at

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

with a focus on

creative writing Creative writing is any writing that goes beyond the boundaries of normal professional, journalistic, academic, or technical forms of literature, typically identified by an emphasis on craft and technique, such as narrative structure, character ...

Early life

Johnson was born in

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...

and is an enrolled member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe. He was raised in

Tempe, Arizona Tempe ( ; ''Oidbaḍ'' in O'odham language, O'odham) is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, with the Census Bureau reporting a 2020 population of 180,587. The city is named after the Vale of Tempe in Greece. Tempe is located in t ...

and attended Marcos de Niza High School.

Education

Johnson earned a BA in Journalism from

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...

in 1992, though he studied principally with the fiction writer Ron Carlson. He earned an MFA from the writing program at McNeese State University in 1996, where he studied with Robert Olen Butler and John Wood. In 2001, he earned a PhD in English from

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

. Janet Burroway directed his dissertation.

Career

Johnson is currently a

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

writer and professor in creative writing at

. He founded the Stanford Graphic Novel Project and was named "one of the nation's most influential and imaginative college professors" by ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...

'' magazine and "one of the most impressive professors at Stanford" by ''

Business Insider ''Business Insider'' (stylized in all caps: BUSINESS INSIDER; known from 2021 to 2023 as INSIDER) is a New York City–based multinational financial and business news website founded in 2007. Since 2015, a majority stake in ''Business Inside ...

''. Johnson is the author of the novel ''

'' (2012), which

Michiko Kakutani is an American writer and retired literary critic, best known for reviewing books for ''The New York Times'' from 1983 to 2017. In that role, she won the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism in 1998. Early life and family Kakutani, a Japanese Americ ...

, writing in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', called, "a daring and remarkable novel, a novel that not only opens a frightening window on the mysterious kingdom of

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

, but one that also excavates the very meaning of love and sacrifice." Johnson's interest in the topic arose from his sensitivity to the language of propaganda, wherever it occurs. Johnson also wrote the short-story collections '' Emporium'' and '' Fortune Smiles'' and the novel '' Parasites Like Us'', which won a California Book Award in 2003. His work has been published in ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...

'', ''

Harper's Magazine ''Harper's Magazine'' is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts. Launched in New York City in June 1850, it is the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the United States. ''Harper's Magazine'' has ...

'', '' Tin House,'' and ''

The Paris Review ''The Paris Review'' is a quarterly English-language literary magazine established in Paris in 1953 by Harold L. Humes, Peter Matthiessen, and George Plimpton. In its first five years, ''The Paris Review'' published new works by Jack Kerouac, ...

'', as well as ''Best New American Voices'' and ''

The Best American Short Stories ''The Best American Short Stories'' is a yearly anthology that's part of ''The Best American Series'' published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Since 1915, the ''BASS'' has anthologized more than 2,000 short stories, including works by some of the ...

''. Recently, his short story "George Orwell was a Friend of Mine" was published by 21st Editions in
The Janus Turn
' with photographs in platinum by George Tice. Johnson's work focuses on characters at the edge of society for whom isolation and disconnection are nearly permanent conditions.

described the central theme running through his tales as "a melancholy melody of longing and loss: a Salingeresque sense of adolescent alienation and confusion, combined with an acute awareness of the randomness of life and the difficulty of making and sustaining connections." According to

Daniel Mendelsohn Daniel Adam Mendelsohn (born 1960) is an American author, essayist, critic, columnist, and translator. He is currently the Charles Ranlett Flint Professor of Humanities at Bard College, the Editor at Large of the '' New York Review of Books,'' ...

, writing for ''

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

'' magazine, "Johnson's oh-so-slightly futuristic flights of fancy, his vaguely Blade Runner–esque visions of a cluttered, anaerobic American culture, illustrate something very real, very current: the way we must embrace the unknown, take risks, in order to give flavor and meaning to life." A strain of absurdity also runs through his work, causing it to be described as "a funky new science fiction that was part irony and part pure dread." "Teen Sniper" is about young sniper prodigy enlisted by the Palo Alto police department to suppress the disgruntled workers of

Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that is a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical area of the Santa Clara Valley ...

. "The Canadanaut" follows a remote team of Canadian weapons developers who race to beat the Russians to the moon.

Awards and honors

*1992 Swarthout Writing Award *2001 Kingsbury Fellowship *1999-2001

Stegner Fellowship The Stegner Fellowship program is a two-year creative writing fellowship at Stanford University. The award is named after American Wallace Stegner (1909–1993), a historian, novelist, short story writer, environmentalist, and Stanford faculty m ...

*2002

Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc., doing business as Amazon, is an American multinational technology company engaged in e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. Founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos in Bellevu ...

Debut Writer of the Year *2002

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second-largest public library in the United States behind the Library of Congress a ...

Young Lions Award, nominee *2003

Barnes & Noble Barnes & Noble Booksellers is an American bookseller with the largest number of retail outlets in the United States. The company operates approximately 600 retail stores across the United States. Barnes & Noble operates mainly through its B ...

Discover Great New Writers series *2005 Scholarship from Bread Loaf *2005 Scholarship from Sewanee writers' conferences *2009 Whiting Award *2010 National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship *2010 Gina Berriault Literary Award. *2013

Pulitzer Prize for Fiction The Pulitzer Prize for Fiction is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Letters, Drama, and Music. It recognizes distinguished fiction by an American author, preferably dealing with American life, published during ...

for ''

'' *2013 Dayton Literary Peace Prize for ''

''. *2014

Sunday Times EFG Private Bank Short Story Award The Sunday Times Short Story Award, also known as the Sunday Times EFG Short Story Award and later the Sunday Times Audible Short Story Award, was a British literary award for a single short story open to any novelist or short story writer from ...

for "Nirvana". *2015

National Book Award for Fiction The National Book Award for Fiction is one of five annual National Book Awards, which recognize outstanding literary work by United States citizens. Since 1987, the awards have been administered and presented by the National Book Foundation, bu ...

for '' Fortune Smiles'' *2016

Story Prize The Story Prize is an annual book award established in 2004 that honors the author of an outstanding collection of short fiction with a $20,000 cash award. Each of two runners-up receives $5,000. Eligible books must be written in English and first ...

for '' Fortune Smiles''

Bibliography

Novels * '' Parasites Like Us'' (2003) * ''

'' (2012) Short story collections * '' Emporium'' (2002) * '' Fortune Smiles'' (2015) * "George Orwell was a Friend of Mine" in 21st Editions
''The Janus Turn''
(2015) Story publications * "Interesting Facts" in ''

'' * "Hurricanes Anonymous" in '' Tin House'' * "The Denti-Vision Satellite" in '' Ninth Letter'' * "Cliff Gods of Acapulco" in ''

'' * "The History of Cancer" in '' Hayden's Ferry Review'' * "Watertables" in '' The Missouri Review'' * "The Canadanaut" in ''

'' * "Your Own Backyard" in '' The Southeast Review'' * "The Death-Dealing Cassini Satellite" in ''

New England Review The ''New England Review'' is an American quarterly literary magazine published by Middlebury College Middlebury College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont, ...

'' * "Teen Sniper" in ''

''
"Trauma Plate"
in ''

The Virginia Quarterly Review The ''Virginia Quarterly Review'' is a quarterly literary magazine that was established in 1925 by James Southall Wilson, at the request of University of Virginia president E. A. Alderman. This ''"National Journal of Literature and Discussio ...

'' and ''The Barcelona Review'' * "Nirvana" in ''

The Sunday Times Magazine ''The Sunday Times Magazine'' is a magazine included with ''The Sunday Times''. In 1962 it became the first colour supplement to be published as a supplement to a UK newspaper, and its arrival "broke the mould of weekend newspaper publishing". ...

''
"Dear Leader Dreams of Sushi"
in '' GQ'' * "The Third Mate" in ''Granta 116: Ten Years Later'' (Summer 2011)
"Scavengers"
in ''Granta 127: Japan'' (Spring 2014)

References

External links

Stanford profileAudio of "Trial of the Century"2012 radio interview
at The Bat Segundo Show {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Adam 1967 births Living people 21st-century American novelists Arizona State University alumni Florida State University alumni McNeese State University alumni Novelists from San Francisco Stanford University Department of English faculty Novelists from Arizona Writers from South Dakota Pulitzer Prize for Fiction winners American male novelists American male short story writers National Book Award winners 21st-century American short story writers 21st-century American male writers Cheyenne River Sioux people Lakota male writers Lakota writers Native American novelists