Craig Johnson (author)

Craig Johnson
Craig Johnson in 2011
Born	Craig Allen Johnson (1961-01-16) January 16, 1961 Huntington, West Virginia
Occupation	novelist, short story writer, and playwright
Language	English
Nationality	American
Genre	Mystery, Crime fiction, Detective fiction, Westerns
Notable works	The Cold Dish, Death Without Company, Kindness Goes Unpunished, Another Man's Moccasins, The Dark Horse, Junkyard Dogs, Hell Is Empty
Website
www.craigallenjohnson.com

Craig Allen Johnson (born January 16, 1961) is an American novelist, short story writer, and playwright. He lives in Ucross, near Buffalo, Wyoming. As of March 2015, Johnson has written numerous short stories and 13 novels, including the Walt Longmire novels adapted as a popular eponymous TV series, and won multiple writing awards.

Longmire novels

His Sheriff Walt Longmire novels include The Cold Dish (first in the series) and The Dark Horse (which received starred reviews from Booklist, Kirkus, Library Journal, and Publishers Weekly, and was named one of Publishers Weekly's best books of the year in 2009). Two Longmire novels (The Dark Horse and The Cold Dish) were Dilys Award finalists, and another (Death Without Company) was named the Wyoming Historical Association's Book of the Year. Other Longmire novels to earn awards are Another Man's Moccasins (Western Writers of America Spur Award for best novel of 2008 and the Mountains and Plains award for fiction book of the year) and Hell is Empty (Library Journal's Mystery Novel of the Year).

Longmire TV series

The former A&E TV series Longmire (now on Netflix), based on Johnson's novels, premiered on June 3, 2012. Longmire debuted as A&E's #1 original-series premiere of all time with 4.1 million total viewers. All existing episodes are now available to view on Netflix; future seasons being produced by Netflix will be, as well. The TV series is filmed in New Mexico.

Longmire Days

Johnson's success is celebrated in an annual festival, called Longmire Days, in Buffalo, Wyoming. The author, many of the actors, and (on occasion) the publishers and producers attend this huge event. Close to 10,000 people visit this small town (the real life inspiration for the series' fictional setting, Durant) to meet Craig and celebrate his success.

Personal life

Johnson was a board member of the Mystery Writers of America (MWA).

Craig was born in Huntington WV and grew up near Garden Farms subdivision. He attended Beverly Hills Jr High where he fell into cahoots with fellow rock and rollers. With Craig on the drums, Gemini graced the bandstands of proms at junior highs throughout the tri state region. (Blather)

Bibliography

Walt Longmire Series (published by Viking unless noted otherwise)

1. The Cold Dish (December 2004), Wyoming
2. Death Without Company (March 2006), Wyoming
3. Kindness Goes Unpunished (March 2007), Wyoming and Philadelphia
4. Another Man’s Moccasins (May 2008), Wyoming
5. The Dark Horse (May 2009), Wyoming
6. Junkyard Dogs (May 2010), Wyoming
7. Hell is Empty (May 2011), Wyoming
   • Divorce Horse (eBook short story, April 2012)
8. As the Crow Flies (May 2012)
   • Christmas in Absaroka County (eBook short stories, Penguin, December 2012)
   • Messenger, (short story, April 2013)
9. A Serpent's Tooth (June 2013)
10. Spirit of Steamboat (October 2013)
11. Any Other Name (May 2014)
    • Wait for Signs (short stories, October 2014)
12. Dry Bones (May 2015)
13. The Highwayman (May 2016)
14. An Obvious Fact (Sept 2016)

External links

• "Longmire Series Premiere", A&E network
• "Craig Johnson makes crime pay", Los Angeles Times, July 20, 2008
• "Le cow-boy du Wyoming", le Nouvel Observateur, July 16, 2009
• "Television series based on Craig Johnson’s Wyoming sheriff in the works", The Buffalo Bulletin, July 26, 2010
• "With a Little Help from His Friends: The Functions of Diversity in Craig Johnson's Walt Longmire Series" by Rachel Schaffer, Clues: A Journal of Detection 28.2 (2010)
• Mr Johnson's website