Stephanie Johnson

Stephanie Patricia Johnson (born 1961) is a poet, playwright, and short story writer from New Zealand. She lives in Auckland with her husband, film editor Tim Woodhouse, although she lived in Australia for much of her twenties. Many of her books have been published there, and her non-fiction book West Island, about New Zealanders in Australia, is partly autobiographical.

Career Johnson has taught creative writing at the University of Auckland, the University of Waikato, Auckland University of Technology and Massey University. She co-founded the Auckland Writers' Festival with Peter Wells, and served as creative director and trustee.

In 2025, it was reported that Johnson’s book, Obligate Carnivore, was disqualified from the 2026 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards because its cover was created using artificial intelligence.

Published works Johnson has published novels, poetry, plays, and collections of short stories.

Novels and short stories The Glass Whittler (1989, New Women's Press), short stories Crimes of Neglect (1992, New Women's Press), novel All the Tenderness Left in the World (1993, Otago University Press), short stories The Heart’s Wild Surf (1996, Random House), novel The Whistler (1998, Vintage, Random House), novel Belief (2000, Vintage, Random House), novel The Shag Incident (2002, Vintage, Random House), novel Music From A Distant Room (2004, Vintage, Random House) Drowned Sprat and Other Stories (2005, Vintage, Random House), short stories John Tomb's Head (2006, Vintage, Random House), novel Swimmers' Rope (2008, Vintage, Random House) novel The Open World (2012, Vintage, Random House), novel The Writing Class (2013, Vintage, Random House), novel The Writers’ Festival (2015, Vintage, Random House), novel Playing for Both Sides (2016, Bridget Williams Books), creative non-fiction West Island: Five Twentieth-century New Zealanders in Australia (2019, Otago University Press), creative non-fiction Everything Changes (2021, Penguin Random House), novel

Plays and radio dramas Accidental Phantasies (1985), stage play Castle In the Harbour (1987), radio drama Folie à Deux (1995, with Stuart Hoar), stage play Hard Hitting Documentary (1995), radio drama Sparrow’s Pearls (1996), radio drama Trout (1996), radio drama

Poetry The Bleeding Ballerina (1987, Hard Echo Press), poetry Moody Bitch (2003, Godwit), poetry

Honours and awards

In 1985, Johnson won the Bruce Mason Playwriting Award.

In the Montana New Zealand Book Awards, The Whistler, was shortlisted for the fiction award in 1999

Johnson also won the 1996 Dymocks/Quote Unquote Reader's Poll, Best New Zealand Book for The Heart’s Wild Surf and Crimes of Neglect, was shortlisted for the 1993 Wattie Book Awards.

Music From a Distant Room (in 2006) and John Tomb's Head (in 2008) were nominated for International Dublin Literary Award.

In the 2019 Queen's Birthday Honours, Johnson was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to literature.

In 2022, she received the Prime Minister's Award for Literary Achievement in Fiction.

Fellowships and residencies Johnson received the 2000 New Zealand Post Katherine Mansfield Prize, allowing her to travel to Menton, France.