Kim Johnson

Honor to be on Ali Velshi as part of his Banned Book Club! #bannedbookclub #alivelshi #thisismyamerica

Thought this photo was a good one to share on this day #thefightcontinues #FreedomDay #Juneteenth #InvisibleSon #KimJohnson

Going going, back back, to Cali Cali Cali!! The news is out ✨THE COLOR OF A LIE ✨is a LA TIMES BOOK PRIZE Finalist for Young Adult Literature! This is two years in a row, with INVISIBLE SON was a finalist last year. This is a huge honor, especially with another incredible group of finalists I admire @tracicheeauthor @ka_cobell @safiamafia and @carolinaixta 🎉 I’m also so excited by the other category nominees. Should be an amazing night!! ✨ See you in LA on the weekend of April 26 at the ceremony and Festival of Books weekend for @latimesfob #latimesfob #finalist #thecolorofalie #yalit

Mother’s Day miracle to get Mom/sisters and Grandma with the grandkids to all sit down for a photo staring in the same direction! Especially with my son just finishing his first year in college, everyone was excited to see their big cousin. We enjoyed our Saturday celebration watching hours of Michael Jackson (and Janet) videos, eating, reminiscing, and dancing.

Third Annual #KidLit4Ceasefire fundraiser! The auction is almost up ending April 2nd! So many wonderful items to bid on…. Including a 50 page critique from yours truly!!! One thing I often did as a newbie unpublished author is finding good causes I wanted to support and bidding on author critiques! And now I’m giving back with an author critique! This is for an amazing cause, and because there’s so much suppression on posts, please share widely so we can get the word out!!

A day in the life of a busy DC writer. I find I’m more productive when I’ve got a few things planned combined with something to look forward to. I picked the corner of 9th and F to settle down on and hit up a cafe for breakfast and wrote 3k words, visited the National Portrait Gallery, Lunch, then dropped by the MLK Library GoGo exhibit. Done by 3!

This is the face of a girl who turned in her 4th novel! Two months ago I didn’t think I could do it, a year of writers block from stress of major life transitions, divorce, taking on teaching after years of a higher ed VP role, figuring out this new world. Then the fog lifted in the New Year and I remembered how to write. Step by step, and the words will roll in, the story will come. So, photo dump of this weekend going to Theater, libation celebration getting novel done, and AWP panel with Michelle Cole and Kayla from The Reading With Black Girls.

Its RELEASE DAY for Onward: 16 Climate Fiction Stories to Inspire Hope🌊🌎🌳 I have been so honored to be a part of this anthology collection curated and edited by the incredible @noracarpenterwrites She believed in me and so many others, and has been so amazing shepherding this through. Thank you to her and @charlesbridgepublishing You can find my first Dystopian Apocalyptic inspired story called, “The Divining” which is my Octavia Butler inspired piece on finding hope through a story about two sisters who believed the impossible and through their respect of connection to earth. Read my story and 15 others, like @noracarpenterwrites @jeffzentner @ayadeleonwrites @hdeanbrewer @erinentrada @mgarciawrites @rinchupeco @venkatraman.padma @anuradhadrajurkar along with using the resources for all our stories /pages/onward-resources About Onward: This inspiring collection of sixteen short stories is packed with fascinating characters and settings that illuminate current and possible changes to our planet and how humanity responds. Included here is prose, verse, and personal essays from a star-studded cast of authors diverse in ethnic background, geographic location, and socioeconomic status. Back matter includes concrete and practical steps to help curtail the global climate crisis, with resources specific to every story. There’s even a section specifically for the overwhelmed. #onward

Last night I enjoyed the Oregon / Maryland Basketball game with my sorority sister and UO Trustee, Renee Evans Jackman! Oregon Ducks against the World! As DJ Khaled and Sza say— it’s Just Us! I will always choose my Ducks. I’m a UO, Maryland, and Oregon State Grad, (employed by UMD and OSU) but if there’s a game match, it’s Ducks all day! Never want a blowout, just always a W! Sco Ducks! #OregonDucks #DucksBasketball #Big10

Spent a beautiful week with my dearest friend Doneka and her amazing husband Cedric as they visited their lovely daughter on study abroad in Madrid, Spain. They truly are family to me, it was so special to join them seeing not only all of Madrid but how much their daughter has grown. We stayed at a lovely flat, metro/walked everywhere, enjoying historic sites, museums, parks, shopping, eating (including the oldest continuous restaurant in the world celebrating its 300th year) and had a beautiful dinner at her host families home. Also loved seeing my Spanish come back to me quickly! I need to get back to practicing!! When I got home, my future self was so thankful my past self had the foresight to having organized a cater for our family Thanksgiving with my kids, Mom, and sisters family. We truly could just enjoy our time. Learning to rest, care for myself, not over extend to exhaustion, has done wonders for my health and my spirit. Grateful for so much after such a hard year. ❤️🍁

This serendipitous moment deserved a post all on its own from my trip to Montreal. Much of my time was being in the moment. I walked past a cute tea shop after the Basilica visit, and even though I wasn’t hungry I really wanted to check it out, I hesitated then walked back deciding I could just have tea. They went to seat me, and who do I recognize—My Chapter President of Xi Omega Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority in DC! @thatssoraven18 Such a beautiful reminder to try new things and how small the world still can be! #solotraveling #Blackwomentravel

Montreal. 🍁Fall Break 🍁 I took my first solo trip not associated with work, teaching, or family. After a tough year it was recuperative, restorative, and rejuvenating! Canada was a beautiful quick escape and beautiful time to just be by myself and choose the things that took my fancy for the moment. I took many walks through Old Montreal, sat in restaurants for hours enjoying the view, meditating in Notre Dame Basilica, writing in an old bank renovated to a coffee shop, and visiting the Museum of Fine Arts. And the coolest thing about a solo trip is when you run into someone you know, it helps remind you that we’re all still connected. I stumbled upon a really cute tea shop and ran into the President of my Xi Omega AKA Chapter in DC! #solotraveling #blackwomentravel