George Johnson is an award-winning writer, fascinated by the more visual (and collaborative) forms of writing: drama, screenwriting, and picture books. His first picture book, How Hope Became An Activist (Dixi Books) was a Finalist for the Eric Hoffer Awards Montaigne Medal for the most thought-provoking books in all genres. Marisa and the Mountains was a starred selection in the Canadian Children’s Book Centre’s Best Books for Kids, and it is a Finalist in the Chocolate Lily Book Awards. Sophia’s Secrets won the Pacific Northwest Writers’ Association Children’s Story competition and is published by Clavis Books.
He believes in the power of literature to create empathy, and all of his work reflects his long-time advocacy of social justice. In 2019 he was awarded the YMCA Peace Medal for his social justice work and writing. He is Professor and Chair of the English and Modern Languages Department at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, British Columbia, where for over 30 years he has taught creative writing and literature, as does his wife and sometime collaborator Nina. A Finalist in the San Francisco Writers Conference Writing Contest, Aldo Renaldo was inspired by George’s experience as a lefty who wrote a few letters backwards in the early days!
