Chelsey Johnson

{{Short description|American author and professor}}

{{infobox writer

|name=Chelsey Johnson

|birth_place=Minnesota, U.S.

|occupation={{flatlist|

• Author
• former professor

}}

|nationality=American

|education=Iowa Writers' Workshop (MFA)

|website={{url|http://www.chelseyjohnson.com}}

}}

Chelsey Johnson is an American author and former professor, known for her 2018 debut novel Stray City.{{cite web | last=French|first=Agatha|title=Carrie Brownstein interviewed Chelsey Johnson about 'Stray City,' her novel set in Portland | website=Los Angeles Times | date=2018-03-23 | url=https://www.latimes.com/books/la-et-jc-chelsey-johnson-carrie-brownstein-20180323-story.html | access-date=2021-09-02}}

Stray City takes place in Portland, Oregon in the 1990s and is told in partial epistolary style.{{cite web | title=Stray City Is a Love Story about Friendship, Portland, and Chelsey Johnson's Queer Community | website=Autostraddle | date=2019-02-12 | url=https://www.autostraddle.com/stray-city-is-a-love-story-about-friendship-portland-and-chelsey-johnsons-queer-community/ | access-date=2021-09-02}} It tells the story of a young lesbian who has a fling with a man, gets pregnant, and decides to keep the baby while dealing with the fallout from her community.{{cite web | last=Jernigan | first=Jessica | title=STRAY CITY | website=Kirkus Reviews | url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/chelsey-johnson/stray-city/ | access-date=2021-09-02}} Johnson lived in Portland from 2002 to 2009; the book was released with its own online mixtape.

Johnson was an associate professor of fiction and coordinated the creative writing program at Northern Arizona University.{{cite web | title=NAU Directory | website=NAU Directory | url=https://directory.nau.edu/person/cj752 | access-date=2021-09-03}}{{cite web |last1=McCarthy |first1=Maureen |title=Review: 'Stray City,' by Chelsey Johnson |url=https://www.startribune.com/review-stray-city-by-chelsey-johnson/480300343/ |website=Star Tribune |access-date=3 September 2021}} Prior to coming to NAU, she taught at the College of William & Mary and at Oberlin College.{{cite web | title=Chelsey Johnson | website=HarperCollins | url=https://www.harpercollins.com/blogs/authors/chelsey-johnson | access-date=2021-09-03}}

Johnson was born in Northern Minnesota. She received an MFA from the Iowa Writers' Workshop. She has written for Ploughshares, The Rumpus, Elle, One Story, and NPR's Selected Shorts, and was an editor of Out.{{cite web | last=Johnson | first=Chelsey | title=Chelsey Johnson Had to Write Her Queer Life Before Living It | website=Out Magazine| date=2018-03-20 | url=https://www.out.com/out-exclusives/2018/3/20/chelsey-johnson-had-write-her-queer-life-living-it | access-date=2021-09-03}}{{cite web | title=Introducing 2018 Debutante: Chelsey Johnson | website=One Story Blog | date=2019-01-02 | url=https://www.one-story.com/blog/?p=6602 | access-date=2021-09-07}}{{cite web | last=Krueger | first=Katherine | title=Lost and Found: One Year in Quarantine | website=ELLE | date=2021-04-30 | url=https://www.elle.com/life-love/a35746749/lost-and-found-one-year-in-quarantine/ | access-date=2021-09-07}}

Johnson was awarded a Stegner Fellowship from Stanford University in 2003.{{cite web | title=Former Stegner Fellows | website=Creative Writing Program | url=https://creativewriting.stanford.edu/stegner-fellowship/current-fellows/former-stegner-fellows | access-date=2021-09-03}} She has also received fellowships to the MacDowell Colony and the Virginia Center for Creative Arts.{{cite web | title=Chelsey Johnson - Artist | website=MacDowell | url=https://www.macdowell.org/artists/chelsey-johnson | access-date=2021-09-03}} She currently lives in Flagstaff, Arizona with her partner.{{cite web | last=Conrad | first=SVEA|title=A reverse coming out story: Chelsey Johnson discusses debut novel 'Stray City' | website=Arizona Daily Sun | date=2020-03-02 | url=https://azdailysun.com/entertainment/books-and-literature/a-reverse-coming-out-story-chelsey-johnson-discusses-debut-novel-stray-city/article_8b32d04c-f5ab-5f31-b239-8d9d75e9167e.html | access-date=2021-09-02}}{{cite web | title=ABOUT | website=CHELSEY JOHNSON | url=http://www.chelseyjohnson.com/about | access-date=2021-09-02}}