Michael Craft

Michael Craft Johnson (born 1950), who publishes under the pen name Michael Craft, is an American author of more than 20 novels, many of which are in the mystery genre, with gay protagonists. The first installment of his Dante & Jazz mystery series, Desert Getaway, was a 2023 MWA Edgars nominee for the Lilian Jackson Braun Award. The second installment, Desert Deadline, was a Gold Winner of the IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award for LGBTQ, as was his 2019 mystery, ChoirMaster. Four of the books in his Mark Manning mystery series were finalists for the Lambda Literary Award for Gay Mystery.

Education As a child, Craft attended Catholic grade school for eight years, then high school at Elgin Academy, where he graduated in 1968 as class valedictorian.

Lambda Literary Award for Gay Mystery

Lambda Literary Award for Gay Mystery

2018 FlabberGassed Muse Medallion for Cat Mystery Finalist 2019

Muse Medallion for Mystery Novel Finalist

Lambda Literary Award for Gay Mystery

IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award for LGBTQ Gold 2024 Desert Deadline IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award for LGBTQ Gold Publications

Stand-alone novels

Rehearsing (1993) The MacGuffin (2011) Inside Dumont: A Novel in Stories (2016)

Claire Gray mystery series

Desert Autumn (2001) Desert Winter (2003) Desert Spring (2004) Desert Summer (2005)

Mark Manning mystery series

Flight Dreams (1997) Eye Contact (1998) Body Language (1999) Name Games (2000) Boy Toy (2001) Hot Spot (2002) Bitch Slap (2004)

Mister Puss mystery series

FlabberGassed (2018) ChoirMaster (2019) HomeComing (2020)

Dante & Jazz mystery series

Desert Getaway (2022) Desert Deadline (2023) Desert Reunion (2024)

Anthology contributions

Outer Voices, Inner Lives, edited by Mark McNease (2014) Palm Springs Noir, edited by Barbara DeMarco-Barrett (2021)

Plays

Photo Flash (2003, 2008)