Catherine Johnson (born 1962) is a British author and screenwriter. She has written several young adult novels and co-wrote the screenplay for the 2004 drama film Bullet Boy (directed by and co-written with Saul Dibb).
Background and career Catherine Johnson was born in London, England, in 1962. Her father was Jamaican and her mother was Welsh. Johnson grew up in North London and attended Tetherdown Primary School. Later she studied film at St Martin's School of Art, before turning to writing.
Her first book, The Last Welsh Summer, was published by Welsh publisher Pont Books in 1993. She has since written and published 20 novels, including two for children about pioneering Arctic explorer Matthew Henson. In 1999, her book Landlocked was honoured as an International Youth Library White Raven book. Other accolades include the 2014 Young Quills Award for best historical fiction for over-12s for her 2013 book Sawbones, which was also shortlisted for the Rotherham Book Award, the Salford Children's Book Prize and the Hoo Kids Book Award."Books", Catherine Johnson website. Johnson won the 2019 Little Rebels Award for Radical Children's Fiction for her 2018 book Freedom."Catherine Johnson is the 2019 Little Rebels Award Winner", The Little Rebels Children's Book Award, 10 July 2019.Katie Mansfield, "Johnson triumphs at Little Rebels Award for Radical Fiction", The Bookseller, 10 July 2019.
Johnson also writes for film, television and radio, and with Saul Dibb was co-writer of the screenplay for the 2004 film Bullet Boy.
Johnson has been a Royal Literary Fund Fellow at the London Institute, a Writer in Residence at Holloway Prison and a Reader in Residence at the Royal Festival Hall's Imagine Children's Literature Festival. She has served as a judge for the Jhalak Prize, first awarded in 2017.Farhana Shaikh, "The Jhalak Prize longlist", The Asian Writer, 12 January 2017."Our Judges", Jhalak Prize, 2022.
In 2019, she was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature."Myriad authors awarded at the Royal Society of Literature summer party", Myriad Editions."RSL Elects 45 new Fellows and Honorary Fellows" , The Royal Society of Literature, 25 June 2019."Catherine Johnson", The Royal Society of Literature.
Johnson is a contributor to the 2019 anthology New Daughters of Africa, edited by Margaret Busby.Kevin Le Gendre, "Daughters Of Africa", Echoes Magazine, March 2019.Catherine Johnson at Curtis Brown.
Bibliography The Last Welsh Summer. Llandysul: Pont, 1993 Sophie's Ghost. Llandysul: Pont, 1994 Other Colours. London: Livewire, 1997 Landlocked. Llandysul: Pont, 1999 In Black and White. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000 Hero. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001 Stella. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002 Face Value. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005 Cuts Deep. London: Evans, 2007 The Dying Game. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007 A Nest of Vipers. London: Corgi, 2008 Arctic Hero. Edinburgh: Barrington Stoke, 2008 Con Men. Edinburgh: Barrington Stoke, 2009 The Munro Inheritance. London: Corgi, 2009 Nightmare Card. Edinburgh: Barrington Stoke, 2011 Brave New Girl. London: Frances Lincoln Children's Books, 2011 Sawbones. London: Walker Books Ltd, 2013 The Curious Tale of the Lady Caraboo. London: Corgi Books, 2015 Blade and Bone, London: Walker Books, 2016 Freedom, Scholastic, 2018 Riding the Tempest, 2018 Race to the Frozen North: The Matthew Henson Story, illustrated by Katie Hickey, 2018 To Liberty! The Adventures of Thomas-Alexandre Dumas. London: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2020 Dance of Resistance: The Josephine Baker Story. Barrington Stoke, 2025
Awards 1999: IBBY White Raven Award - Landlocked 1999: Wales Book of the Year Award (shortlist) - Landlocked 2002: Hampshire Book Award (shortlist) - Stella 2008: Leeds Book of the Year Award (shortlist) - A Nest of Vipers 2008: Phoenix Book Award (shortlist) - A Nest of Vipers 2009: Birmingham KS3 Chills Award (shortlist) - Arctic Hero 2014: Young Quills Award for best historical fiction for over-12s – Sawbones 2019: Little Rebels Award for Radical Children's Fiction — Freedom
References
External links Official website "Today’s pioneering woman is Catherine Johnson, novelist, tv, film and radio writer", Brighton & Hove Museums.