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

Evan Griffith

Faculty, MFA in WCYA

Matt Phelan

Faculty, MFA in WCYA

Corey Ann Haydu

Faculty, MFA in WCYA

Melanie Crowder

Faculty, MFA in WCYA

Linda Urban

Faculty Chair, MFA in WCYA

An Na

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