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

Loree Griffin Burns

Faculty, MFA in WCYA

Veera Hiranandani

Faculty, MFA in WCYA

Martine Leavitt

Faculty, MFA in WCYA; Alumnx Mini-Residency

A.S. King

Faculty (On Leave), MFA in WCYA

Martha Brockenbrough

Faculty, MFA in WCYA

William Alexander

Faculty, MFA in WCYA

Cynthia Leitich Smith

Faculty, MFA in WCYA

David Macinnis Gill

Faculty, MFA in WCYA

Anna-Marie McLemore

Faculty, MFA in WCYA

Sheela Chari

Faculty, MFA in WCYA

Alex Sanchez

Faculty, MFA in WCYA

Sara Ryan

Faculty, MFA in WCYA

Emily X.R. Pan

Faculty, MFA in WCYA

Fran Wilde

Faculty, MFA in WCYA

Varian Johnson

Faculty, MFA in WCYA

Melanie Crowder

Faculty, MFA in WCYA

An Na

Faculty, MFA in WCYA; Writing Novels for Young People Retreat

Liz Garton Scanlon

Faculty Co-Chair, MFA in WCYA

Jane Kurtz

Faculty, MFA in WCYA

Jennifer Ziegler

Faculty Co-Chair, MFA in WCYA

Louise Hawes

Faculty, MFA in WCYA

Evan Griffith

Faculty, MFA in WCYA

K.A. Holt

Faculty, MFA in WCYA

Corey Ann Haydu

Faculty, MFA in WCYA

Laura Shovan

Faculty, MFA in WCYA

Kekla Magoon

Faculty Emerita, MFA in WCYA

Cory McCarthy

Faculty (On Leave), MFA in WCYA

Jasmine Warga

Faculty, MFA in WCYA

Mary Quattlebaum

Faculty, MFA in WCYA

Linda Urban

Faculty, MFA in WCYA

Anica Mrose Rissi

Faculty, MFA in WCYA

Erica Perl

Faculty, MFA in WCYA