BSFA Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 55 (2023) Winner
Alaya Dawn Johnson
アラヤ・ドーン・ジョンソン
Araya Dōn Jonson
Profile
- Gender
- Female
- Born
- 1982 （Washington, D.C.）
- Nationality
- American
- Languages
- English
- Residence History
- Washington, D.C. → New York City → Mexico City
Career
- Occupations
- Writer, Novelist
- Active Years
- 2007-2024
- Nominations
- Nebula Award nominee, Best Novelette (2013, They Shall Salt the Earth with Seeds of Glass), Andre Norton Award nominee (2013, The Summer Prince), National Book Award Longlist, Young People's Literature (2013, The Summer Prince)
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia University | — | East Asian Languages and Cultures | Bachelor of Arts | — | United States |
| National Autonomous University of Mexico | — | Mesoamerican studies | Master's degree | — | Mexico |
Columbia University
East Asian Languages and Cultures
Degree:
Bachelor of Arts
Year of Graduation:
2004
Country:
United States
National Autonomous University of Mexico
Mesoamerican studies
Degree:
Master's degree
Country:
Mexico
Thesis on fermented food and its ritual symbolism in pre-Columbian Mexico
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | World Fantasy Award | Trouble the Saints | Best Novel | World Fantasy Convention | Winner |
| 2015 | Andre Norton Award | Love Is the Drug | Young Adult Novel | Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America | Winner |
| 2015 | Nebula Award | A Guide to the Fruits of Hawai’i | Best Novelette | Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America | Winner |
World Fantasy Award
2021
Work:
Trouble the Saints
Category:
Best Novel
Organization:
World Fantasy Convention
Result:
Winner
Andre Norton Award
2015
Work:
Love Is the Drug
Category:
Young Adult Novel
Organization:
Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America
Result:
Winner
Nebula Award
2015
Work:
A Guide to the Fruits of Hawai’i
Category:
Best Novelette
Organization:
Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America
Result:
Winner
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
The Summer Prince
2013 Science fiction 289 pagesYoung adult novel set in a post-apocalyptic cyberpunk Brazilian arcology ruled by a nanotech-empowered matriarchy.
matriarchycyberpunkqueer identity
Trouble the Saints
2020 Fantasy 352 pagesSpeculative novel set in an alternate 1940s New York.
racemagichistorical fiction
The Library of Broken Worlds
2023 Young adult fantasy 448 pagesAdventure revolving around a library of broken worlds.
knowledgedestructionregeneration
Racing the Dark
2007 Fantasy 368 pagesFantasy set on islands resembling pre-modern Polynesia where people bind elemental powers.
natureelemental bindingculture
Love Is the Drug
2014 Young adult science fiction 344 pagesPrep-school student in Washington, D.C. whose memory loss connects to a global influenza pandemic.
pandemicmemory lossromance
Bibliography
- The Summer Prince
- Love Is the Drug
- Trouble the Saints
- The Library of Broken Worlds
- Racing the Dark
- The Burning City
- Moonshine
- Wicked City
- The Inconstant Moon
- Reconstruction
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- speculative fictionurban fantasysolarpunk
- Recurring Motifs
- cultural intersectionspower and controlalternate histories
Legacy
Prominent African-American speculative fiction writer, Nebula and World Fantasy Award winner, spanning YA to adult fiction.
Trivia
- Literary guest of honor and keynote speaker at the 39th Life, the Universe, & Everything (LTUE).
- Earned a master's in Mesoamerican studies from UNAM in Mexico City after moving there.