Alaya Dawn Johnson

rhymes with papaya

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Signs of life

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Life is beautiful and I’m still writing, though not as quickly as I’d like sometimes. I have a new position as a visiting professor of creative writing for a year, which I am absurdly excited about. I feel as though I’m going to learn as much about writing as my students! I’ve had a new short story out from Clarkesworld Magazine, which I am quite proud of. And I’ve been publishing some very adventurous (for me) pieces of creative non-fiction in my newsletter, A Stranger Comes Home. I have many cool new projects in the pipeline, but in the meantime, I am still basking in the warm glow of having been nominated for the prestigious Ursula K. Le Guin Award for my novel The Library of Broken Worlds. It just takes one reader. Maybe that’s you?

Abrazos,

Alaya

Turning inward

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The Library of Broken Worlds came out this past June, and I was deeply gratified by all the support and love I received at the incredible Octavia’s Bookshelf in Pasadena, California, where I had my book launch. Thank you so much to Brandy Colbert for such excellent (and healing!) conversation and the whole Octavia’s Bookshelf team, who have made such a beautiful, welcoming space for Black books and Black voices. It was a joy to see friends, old and new, and to celebrate the launch of a book that I truly love and am proud of.

I’ve now returned home to my beloved cerro, and I’m in the process of centering myself in my work again, and figuring out what I want my career to look like from now on. I probably won’t have a ton of news to post here, but one of my big plans is to ramp up my substack, A Stranger Comes Home, so please subscribe there if you’d like to read some of my essays about life as a writer and immigrant in rural Mexico. Between the pandemic, ever-rising global inequality, and demographic shifts, the publishing industry has changed and we writers have to figure out how to adapt ourselves with it. I feel more like a whale of writer than a squid, unfortunately. It’s going to take me some energy to figure out where to go from here, but I know that I will. I hope that you, whoever you are, will be interested to go in these new directions with me.

Abrazos,

Alaya

Fire on the horizon, counting down the weeks

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We’re heading into fire season here in Oaxaca. A haze is in the air and ash floats by when the wind is in the right direction. There’s not much you can do about it but pray it doesn’t get too close. Our house is solid concrete, no danger there, but we have to keep an eye out on the straw-thatched roof of my separate office.

I’m going up north, as they say here, to promote my new novel, The Library of Broken Worlds, which N.K. Jemisin called “modern epic poetry.” I’ll be in LA for Yallwest on April 29th and I’ll be back in that town on June 6th to celebrate the book launch. I am so excited to share this book with the world but it all feels a little distant from where I’m typing. I can’t wait to share that energy with fans and friends in a few weeks. Details are up for Yallwest, and are coming VERY SOON for the book launch. I’m also lining up a few other virtual and in-person appearances for June and July, so watch this space for more info. And of course, check out the book and preorder it if you can! Even recommending it to your local library is a huge help.

Abrazos,

Alaya

Odds and Ends in 2022

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Well, hello September 2022! I have finally given this site a long-overdue update, including my incredible collaboration with Janelle Monáe on The Memory Librarian AND my forthcoming novel The Library of Broken Worlds from Scholastic in June 2023. I’ll have a lot more about the new novel, which I am SO EXCITED ABOUT, so watch this space. I’m also delighted to share that my short story collection, Reconstruction, was a finalist for the Ignyte Award for Best Anthology/Collected Work, and also for the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award for Fiction.

Also, I am excited to announce that I’m offering editorial services! You can contact me directly here, or if you prefer, via Reedsy.

Finally, if you’d like to read essays about immigrant life in Mexico, writing, and my journey as a trauma survivor, please check out and subscribe to my newsletter A Stranger Comes Home. Bonus: I am most likely to post any announcements there first.

Nebulae!

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Well, folks, this website has never been very up-to-date at the best of times, but considering that the last post I made was a year ago, I think I have exceeded myself! Still, some amazing things have been happening which I would like to share.

Love Is the Drug was nominated for the Andre Norton Award for Young Adult (and middle grade) literature by SFWA! I am so excited about this. The Summer Prince was nominated last year, and I am honored beyond words to have this recognition twice from my peers. Members of SFWA will be able to download a review copy until March 15 (though they can read it after). So please if you’re at all interested take the opportunity to get a copy during the window of its availability.

And secondly, my short story A Guide to the Fruits of Hawai’i, originally published in the July/August issue of F&SF, edited by the inimitable C.C. Finlay, is up for the novella Nebula Award! I truly feel that this is one of my best stories, though it’s in a category that is so stuffed with brilliant work I would just as happy not to win! But for the voters, SFWA members can access the story in the forums right now, and that link above also goes to an online version for easy access.

I’ve also posted this online because there are many Hugo voters who are not SFWA members. I’ve never  thought of the Hugo in a serious way before, but I am proud of this work and I would be very happy to be considered. So if you can vote for the Hugo, I hope you’ll take a look at this story and consider it for the Novella category.

That’s all for now. Greetings from sunny Mexico, where the food is delicious and I have way too much work to finish 🙂

Alaya