Profile

Varian Johnson is the author of several novels for children and young adults, including The Parker Inheritance, which won both Coretta Scott King Author Honor and Boston Globe/Horn Book Honor awards; The Great Greene Heist, an ALA Notable Book for Children and Kirkus Reviews Best Book; and the graphic novel Twins, illustrated by Shannon Wright, which won a BCALA Children & Youth Literary Award for best graphic novel and was named an Eisner Award nominee.

Originally from South Carolina, he received an MFA in Writing for Children & Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts and is honored to now be a member of the faculty. Varian currently lives outside of Austin, Texas, with his family.

Education

MFA - WCYA | VCFA

BS - Civil Engineering | University of Oklahoma

Selected work

Louise Hawes

Faculty, MFA in WCYA & 2025-2026 Katherine Paterson Chair

Sara Ryan

Faculty, MFA in WCYA

Matt Phelan

Faculty, MFA in WCYA

Linda Urban

Faculty Chair, MFA in WCYA; Interim Dean of Faculty and Academic Affairs

Alex Sanchez

Faculty, MFA in WCYA

Mary Quattlebaum

Faculty, MFA in WCYA