— from Mary Pugh for Orcas Island Library —
Join us as we talk with multiple award-winning author Kij Johnson, in her own words a “writer, dreamer, fritterer.” She did not start writing until she was twenty-five, yet still has an impressive lineup: novels, short stories, essays, poetry, script, and a blog.
“Especially now, in a world where people can get replacement hearts and some cars even drive themselves, there’s a narrow line between fantasy and reality,” says Kij Johnson.
Johnson likes to waver over it, experiment with the expectations of her genre, and never write the same thing twice. She aims to take people away — but not necessarily completely.
“Fiction is manipulative,” she said. “Fiction is trying to craft an experience for somebody that they don’t know they want, but find out they want in the middle.” (ljworld.com)
Kij has taught creative writing at Louisiana State University and is currently at the University of Kansas, where she is also an Associate Director at the Center for the Study of Science Fiction. She enjoys teaching fantasy and science fiction writing workshops at some of the nation’s most popular comic-con conventions and conferences, and lecturing at bookstores and community events nationwide.
Amazingly, Kij Johnson originally was not interested in being a writer. She has, however, always loved books.
“My mom was a school librarian, so she would bring home whatever books came in – on a Friday, she’d bring home a huge armload of books and hand them to my brother and me. We would read them all over the weekend, and then we’d tell her the ones we liked and some reasons why we liked them.
“My parents read everything. I had no interest at all in being a writer, but I come from a publishing family: my grandfather was a big-deal publisher of agriculture magazines, and my grandparents and parents were editors and copyeditors.” (locusmag.com/2012)
Some of Kij Johnson’s other past endeavors hearken back to her family’s work in publishing. She was a managing editor for Tor Books and Dark Horse Comics; editor and creative director for Wizards of the Coast, of Dungeons and Dragons and Magic: The Gathering fame; managing editor of user communications at Real Networks; and content manager for Microsoft Reader.
Kij enjoys both U.S. and international readership. Her work has been translated for European audiences and other languages including Japanese, Turkish, and Icelandic.
Kij has been awarded some heavy-duty honors in the fantasy and science fiction genre. She is a three-time Nebula award winner; a three-time World Fantasy Award winner; and a Hugo winner and finalist. She won the William L. Crawford Award; the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award; the James Tiptree, Jr. Literary Award; and others.
Kij has a cat, survived a recent scooter accident, and once waitressed in a strip club! Let’s learn more . . .
This Library event is on Thursday, July 16 at 6 p.m., via Zoom. Register HERE.
