Kij Johnson

Kij Johnson, whose birth name is Katherine Irenae Johnson, is an accomplished American author born in Harlan, Iowa, in January 1960. She is a respected figure in the literary world, particularly known for her works in fantasy. Johnson's pseudonym "Kij" is a truncation of her given name. For her undergraduate education, she attended St. Olaf College in Minnesota, focusing on English history and culture during the 11th century, which later influenced her writing. She furthered her studies in creative writing and literature at the University of Minnesota and earned a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from North Carolina State University in 2012.

Throughout her career, Johnson has held various positions in the publishing industry, including managing editor for Tor Books and Wizards of the Coast/TSR, collections editor for Dark Horse Comics, and project manager for Microsoft Reader. She currently serves as the Associate Director for the Center for the Study of Science Fiction at the University of Kansas and is a final judge for the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award. Johnson has written three novels and over 38 short stories, gaining recognition for her adaptations of Heian-era Japanese myths. She has received numerous accolades for her work, including the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award for the best short story of 1994, the International Association for the Fantastic in the Art's Crawford Award in 2001, and the World Fantasy Award in 2009. Additionally, she has won the Nebula Award three times, in 2009, 2010, and 2011, for her short stories "26 Monkeys, Also The Abyss," "Spar," and "Ponies," respectively.