Daisy Johnson is a highly acclaimed British author, born in Paignton, Devon in 1990 and raised around Saffron Walden, Essex. She completed her bachelor's degree in English and Creative Writing from Lancaster University and went on to earn her master's degree in Creative Writing at Somerville College, Oxford. While studying, she also worked at Blackwell's bookshop.
Johnson has written several notable works, including her debut novel, "Everything Under" (2018), which was shortlisted for the prestigious Man Booker Prize. Her collection of short stories, "Fen" (2016), won the Edgehill prize, and she has been longlisted for the Sunday Times Short Story Award and the New Angle Award for East Anglian writing. Her work has been praised for its unique blend of realism and the uncanny, with reviewers noting its "big, dangerous vitality" and "brilliant achievement".
In "Fen," Johnson explores the angst, horror, and beauty of adolescence in magical and ingenious stories. The collection has been described as "a great, stomping, wall-knocking talent". Similarly, "Everything Under" has received high praise, with reviewers noting its "surprising, gorgeously written, and profoundly unsettling" qualities. The novel has been described as a "genderfluid retelling of Oedipus Rex" and a "hypnotic, disquieting and thrilling" read. Overall, Johnson's work has been praised for its ability to marry realism to the uncanny, creating a sense of unease and tension that lingers long after the reading is over.