View source for Mat Johnson

{{short description|American fiction writer (born 1970)}}
{{use mdy dates|date=May 2023}}
{{Infobox writer
| name = Mat Johnson
| image = Mat johnson 2011.jpg
| imagesize = 200px
| caption = Johnson at the 2011 [[Texas Book Festival]]
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1970|08|19}}
| birth_place = [[Philadelphia]], [[Pennsylvania]], U.S.
| death_date = 
| death_place = 
| occupation = 
| nationality = American
| citizenship = 
| education = [[Greene Street Friends School]]<br />[[West Chester University of Pennsylvania|West Chester University]]<br />[[University of Wales, Swansea]]
| alma_mater = [[Earlham College]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])<br>[[Columbia University School of the Arts]] ([[Master of Fine Arts|MFA]])
| period = 
| genre = 
| subject = 
| movement = 
| notableworks = ''[[Pym (novel)|Pym]]'' (2011)<br />''[[Incognegro (comics)|Incognegro]]'' (2008)<br /> ''[[Loving Day (novel)|Loving Day]]'' (2015)
| spouse = 
| partner = 
| children = 
| relatives = 
| awards = 
| signature = 
| website = {{URL|MatJohnson.info}}
| portaldisp = 
}}
'''Mat Johnson''' (born August 19, 1970, in [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]]) is an American fiction writer who works in both [[prose]] and the [[comic book|comics]] format. In 2007, he was named the first USA James Baldwin Fellow by [[United States Artists]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=United States Artists » Mat Johnson |url=https://www.unitedstatesartists.org/fellow/mat-johnson/ |access-date=2024-03-03 |language=en-US |archive-date=March 3, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240303022752/https://www.unitedstatesartists.org/fellow/mat-johnson/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Life and career==
{{BLP sources section|date=December 2016}}
Johnson was born and raised in the [[Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|Germantown]] and [[Mount Airy, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|Mount Airy]] communities in [[Philadelphia]]<ref>Gross, Terry. “Writer Mat Johnson On 'Loving Day' And Life As A 'Black Boy' Who Looks White” ''Fresh Air'', NPR, 29 June. 2015, https://www.npr.org/2016/09/16/494234198/writer-mat-johnson-on-loving-day-and-life-as-a-black-boy-who-looks-white {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231119103534/https://www.npr.org/2016/09/16/494234198/writer-mat-johnson-on-loving-day-and-life-as-a-black-boy-who-looks-white |date=November 19, 2023 }}</ref>

His mother is [[African Americans|African-American]] and his father is [[Irish Catholics|Irish Catholic]]. Johnson attended [[Abington Friends School]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Shengold |first=Nina |title=Harlem Renaissance Man |url=https://www.chronogram.com/arts/harlem-renaissance-man-2171959 |access-date=2024-03-03 |website=Chronogram Magazine |language=en |archive-date=March 3, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240303022753/https://www.chronogram.com/arts/harlem-renaissance-man-2171959 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Greene Street Friends School]], [[West Chester University of Pennsylvania|West Chester University]], [[University of Wales, Swansea]], and ultimately received his B.A. from [[Earlham College]]. In 1993 he was awarded a [[Thomas J. Watson Fellowship]]. Johnson received his [[Master of Fine Arts|M.F.A.]] from [[Columbia University School of the Arts]] in 1999.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mat Johnson {{!}} Creative Writing Program |url=https://crwr.uoregon.edu/people/johnson-2/ |access-date=August 30, 2022 |website=crwr.uoregon.edu |archive-date=September 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220920204337/https://crwr.uoregon.edu/people/johnson-2/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Johnson has taught at [[Rutgers University]], [[Columbia University]], [[Bard College]], and ''[[The Callaloo Journal]]'' Writers Retreat. He was a faculty member at the [[University of Houston#Academics|University of Houston Creative Writing Program]]. He is currently a professor at the [[University of Oregon|University of Oregon's]] Creative Writing Program.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mat Johnson {{!}} Creative Writing Program |url=https://crwr.uoregon.edu/people/johnson-2/ |access-date=2024-03-03 |website=crwr.uoregon.edu |archive-date=September 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220920204337/https://crwr.uoregon.edu/people/johnson-2/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Johnson's first novel, ''Drop'' (2000), was a [[Bildungsroman|coming-of-age novel]] about a self-hating Philadelphian who thinks he has found his escape when he takes a job at a [[Brixton]]-based advertising agency in [[London]], UK. The work was a [[Barnes & Noble]] Discover Great New Writers selection; ''[[Interview (magazine)|Interview]]'' magazine named Johnson as a "Writer on the Verge"; and ''Drop'' was listed among "Best Novels of the Year" by ''Progressive Magazine.''{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}

In 2003, Johnson published ''Hunting in Harlem'' (2003), a satire about gentrification in [[Harlem]] and an exploration of belief versus fanaticism. ''Hunting in Harlem'' won the [[Zora Neale Hurston]]/[[Richard Wright (author)|Richard Wright]] Legacy Award for Novel of the Year in 2004.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Legacy Awards |url=https://www.hurstonwright.org/awards/legacy-awards/ |access-date=2024-03-03 |website=Hurston/Wright Foundation |language=en-US |archive-date=December 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231207180636/https://www.hurstonwright.org/awards/legacy-awards/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Johnson made his first move into the [[comics]] form with the publication of the five-issue [[Limited series (comics)|limited series]] ''Hellblazer Special: [[Papa Midnite]]'' ([[Vertigo (DC Comics)|Vertigo]] 2005), where he took an existing character of the [[Hellblazer]] franchise and created an origin story that strove to offer depth and dignity to a character who was arguably a racial stereotype of the [[noble savage]]. The work was set in 18th-century Manhattan, and was based on the research that Johnson was conducting for his first historical work, ''The Great Negro Plot''.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}

''The Great Negro Plot'' is a creative nonfiction that recounts the [[New York Slave Insurrection of 1741]] and the resultant trial and hysteria.<ref>[http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=4547 Johnson Tells the Unknown Origin of "Hellblazer's" Papa Midnite in New Mini] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303205402/http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=4547 |date=March 3, 2016 }}, [[Comic Book Resources]], February 2, 2005.</ref>

In February 2008, [[Vertigo Comics]] published Johnson's [[graphic novel]] ''[[Incognegro (comics)|Incognegro]]'', a noir mystery that deals with the issue of [[Passing (racial identity)|passing]] and the [[lynching]] past of the American South. The work is illustrated by British artist [[Warren Pleece]] with cover artwork by Stephen John Phillips.<ref>[http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=137901 Mat Johnson on Incognegro]{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, newsarama.com, November 29, 2007.</ref>

From 2006 to 2007, Johnson wrote the blog ''[[Niggerati]] Manor'', which discussed [[African-American literature]] and culture.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}

== Awards ==
In 2004, Johnson's ''Hunting in Harlem'' won the [[Hurston/Wright Legacy Award]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=The Hurston/Wright Legacy Award |url=https://aalbc.com/books/hw-award-winning-books.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230331061640/https://aalbc.com/books/hw-award-winning-books.php |archive-date=March 31, 2023 |access-date=2024-04-29 |website=[[African American Literature Book Club]] |language=en}}</ref>

Johnson was named a 2007 USA James Baldwin Fellow<ref>"About the Artists & Writers," ''African-American Classics, Graphic Classics'' vol. 22 (Eureka Productions, 2011).</ref> and awarded a $50,000 grant by [[United States Artists]], a public charity that supports and promotes the work of American artists. On September 21, 2011, Johnson was awarded the [[Dos Passos Prize]] for Literature for his body of work focused on American themes and the human experience.<ref>Emery, Mike. [http://www.uh.edu/news-events/stories/2011articles/Sept2011/0912DosPassos.php "2011 DOS PASSOS PRIZE AWARDED TO UH PROFESSOR MAT JOHNSON: AWARD RECOGNIZES AUTHORS WITH WORKS FOCUSED ON AMERICAN THEMES, HUMAN EXPERIENCE"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111011091739/http://www.uh.edu/news-events/stories/2011articles/Sept2011/0912DosPassos.php |date=October 11, 2011 }}, University of Houston website (September 12, 2011).</ref>

==Works==

=== Comics ===
*''[[Hellblazer]] Special: [[Papa Midnite]]'' ([[Vertigo (DC Comics)|Vertigo]], 5-issue [[Limited series (comics)|limited series]], 2005; [[trade paperback (comics)|tpb]], 2006, {{ISBN|1-4012-1003-1}})
*''[[Incognegro (comics)|Incognegro]]'' ([[Vertigo (DC Comics)|Vertigo]], [[graphic novel]], 2008, hardcover, {{ISBN|1-4012-1097-X}})
*''Dark Rain: A New Orleans Story''<ref name="PW_too">{{cite web |last=Staff |date=August 9, 2010 |title=Dark Rain: A New Orleans Story |url=http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/book-news/comics/article/44126-comics-reviews-8-9-10-.html |accessdate=September 12, 2012 |work=[[Publishers Weekly]] |archive-date=August 22, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100822112647/http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/book-news/comics/article/44126-comics-reviews-8-9-10-.html |url-status=live }}</ref> ([[Vertigo (DC Comics)|Vertigo]], [[graphic novel]], 2010, 160 pages, {{ISBN|978-1-4012-2160-7}})
*''Right State''<ref name="ValerieGallaher">{{cite web |last=Gallaher |first=Valerie |date=August 8, 2012 |title=Review: Vertigo's 'Right State' A Tense And Topical Thriller Pulled Straight From The Headlines |url=http://geek-news.mtv.com/2012/08/08/right-state-vertigo-review |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130127041135/http://geek-news.mtv.com/2012/08/08/right-state-vertigo-review |archive-date=January 27, 2013 |accessdate=September 12, 2012 |work=MTV Geek}}</ref> ([[Vertigo (DC Comics)|Vertigo]], [[graphic novel]], 2012, 144 pages, {{ISBN|1-4012-2943-3}})
*Incognegro: Renaissance<ref>{{Cite web |last=Alverson |first=Brigid |date=2018-01-15 |title=Racial Drama Incognegro Returns with New Edition, Prequel Miniseries |url=https://www.cbr.com/incognegro-renaissance-mat-johnson-warren-pleece-interview/ |access-date=2024-03-03 |website=CBR |language=en |archive-date=January 29, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210129230820/https://www.cbr.com/incognegro-renaissance-mat-johnson-warren-pleece-interview/ |url-status=live }}</ref> ([[Vertigo (DC Comics)|Vertigo]], [[graphic novel]], 2018, 128 pages, {{ISBN|978-1506705637}})

=== Novels ===
*''Drop'' ([[Bloomsbury USA]], 2000)
*''Hunting in Harlem'' ([[Bloomsbury USA]], 2003)
*''[[Pym (novel)|Pym]]'' ([[Random House|Random]]/[[Spiegel & Grau]], 2011)
*''[[Loving Day (novel)|Loving Day]]'' ([[Spiegel & Grau]], 2015)
*''Invisible Things'' (One World, 2022)

=== Nonfiction ===
*''The Great Negro Plot'' ([[Bloomsbury USA]], 2007)

=== Anthologies ===
*''Gumbo: Anthology of African American Literature'' (Harlem Moon, 2002)
*''Not Guilty: Twelve Black Men Speak Out on Law, Justice, and Life'' (Amistad Press, 2002)
*''Mixed: An Anthology of Short Fiction on the Multiracial Experience'' (W. W. Norton, 2006)
* ''Black Cool: One Thousand Streams of Blackness'' ([[Soft Skull Press]], February 2012)<ref name=PW>Staff (December 12, 2011). [http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-59376-417-3 "Black Cool: One Thousand Streams of Blackness] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120214001621/http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-59376-417-3 |date=February 14, 2012 }}. Edited by [[Rebecca Walker]].", ''[[Publishers Weekly]]''.</ref><ref name=Kirkus_BC>Staff (December 15, 2011). [http://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/fiction/mat-johnson/pym/ "BLACK COOL – A collection of essays focused on the "cool" cultural legacy of African-Americans."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713154020/http://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/fiction/mat-johnson/pym/ |date=July 13, 2011 }}, ''[[Kirkus Reviews]]''.</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* {{official website|http://www.matjohnson.info}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160303172738/http://www.nathanielturner.com/coalcharcoalandchocolatecomedy.htm Literary Criticism of ''Hunting in Harlem'']
* [http://www.chronogram.com/issue/2007/2/Books/Harlem-Renaissance-Man Profile of Mat Johnson]
* [https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7236322 "'Great Negro Plot' Tells of Manhattan on the Edge"], ''News and Notes'', [[National Public Radio]], February 7, 2007. (Links to [[RealPlayer]] or [[Windows Media Audio]])
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070309145721/http://www.wnyc.org/shows/lopate/episodes/2007/02/28 "Rumors of a Slave Revolt"], ''[[Leonard Lopate Show]]'', [[WNYC]], February 28, 2007. (Links to [[MP3]] audio)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20071120133136/http://www.unitedstatesartists.org/Public/USAFellows2007/USAFellows2007/MatJohnson/index.cfm Mat Johnson's United States Artist Page ]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110728144753/http://www.unitedstatesartists.org/Public/USADonors/USANationalLeadershipCommittee/JamesBaldwin/index.cfm James Baldwin Foundation Fellows 2007]
*[http://www.unitedstatesartists.org United States Artists Arts Advocacy Organization.]

{{Portal bar|United States|Biography|Philadelphia|Pennsylvania|Comics|Novels}}
{{Mat Johnson}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Mat}}
[[Category:1970 births]]
[[Category:20th-century African-American writers]]
[[Category:20th-century American male writers]]
[[Category:20th-century American novelists]]
[[Category:21st-century African-American academics]]
[[Category:21st-century American academics]]
[[Category:21st-century African-American writers]]
[[Category:21st-century American male writers]]
[[Category:21st-century American novelists]]
[[Category:African-American comics creators]]
[[Category:African-American male writers]]
[[Category:African-American novelists]]
[[Category:Alumni of Swansea University]]
[[Category:American Book Award winners]]
[[Category:American comics creators]]
[[Category:American graphic novelists]]
[[Category:American male novelists]]
[[Category:American people of Irish descent]]
[[Category:Bard College faculty]]
[[Category:Columbia University School of the Arts alumni]]
[[Category:Earlham College alumni]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Novelists from New York (state)]]
[[Category:Novelists from Texas]]
[[Category:University of Houston faculty]]
[[Category:Watson Fellows]]
[[Category:Novelists from Philadelphia]]