Michael Craft Johnson (born 1950),[1] who goes by the pen name Michael Craft, is an American author of gay and lesbian mystery novels. His 2019 novel ChoirMaster won the IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award for LGBTQ,[2] and four of his novels have been finalists for the Lambda Literary Award for Gay Mystery.[3][4][5][6]
Personal life
editIn 1950, Craft was born in Elgin, Illinois, where he remained until he ventured to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.[1] In the 1980s, he moved to Kenosha, Wisconsin.[1]
Craft met his now husband, Leon, in 1982.[1]
In 2005, Craft and Leon moved near Palm Springs, California.[1]
When California legalized same-sex marriage in 2013, Craft and Leon were wed.[1] The couple now lives in Rancho Mirage, California.[7]
Education
editAs a child, Craft attended Catholic grade school for eight years, then became a student at Elgin Academy, then a private boarding school, where he graduated as class valedictorian.[1]
Craft studied graphic design at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.[1] He pursued a graduate degree at the Institute for Communications Research but dropped out in 1976.[1]
Craft later received a Master of Fine Arts in Creative writing from Antioch University, Los Angeles.[7]
Career
editCraft began his career at the Chicago Tribune as an art director, a position he held for 10 years.[1] While at the Tribune, he moved to Kenosha, Wisconsin and traveled to Chicago by train, during which he wrote the first draft of his debut novel.[1]
Craft left the Tribune in 1987 to work for his partner's family-owned business, which manufactured musical wind instruments. During his time, he was able to focus on his writing.
In 1991, Craft's debut novel, Rehearsing, was accepted by Los Hombres Press, a small publisher of gay writing in San Diego.[1] The book was released in February 1993.
In the early 2000s, Craft began playwriting and screenwriting.[1] His stage play Photo Flash was performed in 2003 in Wisconsin, then in 2008 in California.[1] In 2011, he was involved in the production of Pink Squirrels, a short, independent film.[1]
Awards
edit| Year | Title | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Rehearsing | Society of Midland Authors' Adult Fiction Award | Finalist | [7] |
| 2001 | Name Games | Lambda Literary Award for Gay Mystery | Finalist | [3] |
| 2002 | Boy Toy | Lambda Literary Award for Gay Mystery | Finalist | [4] |
| 2003 | Hot Spot | Lambda Literary Award for Gay Mystery | Finalist | [5] |
| 2018 | FlabberGassed | Muse Medallion for Cat Mystery | Finalist | [8] |
| 2019 | ChoirMaster | Muse Medallion for Mystery Novel | Finalist | [9] |
| 2020 | Lambda Literary Award for Gay Mystery | Finalist | [10][6] | |
| IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award for LGBTQ | Gold | [2] |
Publications
editNovels
edit- The Macguffin (2011)
- Inside Dumont: A Novel in Stories (2016)
- Desert Getaway (2022)
Claire Gray series
edit- Rehearsing (1993)
- Desert Autumn (2001)
- Desert Winter (2003)
- Desert Spring (2004)
- Desert Summer (2005)
Mark Manning Mysteries
edit- Flight Dreams (1997)
- Eye Contact (1998)
- Body Language (1999)
- Name Games (2000)
- Boy Toy (2001)
- Hot Spot (2002)
- Bitch Slap (2004)
Mister Puss series
edit- FlabberGassed (2018)
- ChoirMaster (2019)
- HomeComing (2020)
Anthology contributions
edit- Chase The Moon: Issue One, edited by Matt Creswell (2014)
- Palm Springs Noir, edited by Barbara DeMarco-Barrett (2021)
Plays
edit- Photo Flash (2003, 2008)
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "Autobiography". Michael Craft. Retrieved 2022-02-27.
- ^ a b "Winners: LQBTQ". IBPA Book Award. Retrieved 2022-02-27.
- ^ a b Gonzalez Cerna, Antonio (2001-07-10). "13th Annual Lambda Literary Awards". Lambda Literary. Retrieved 2022-02-27.
- ^ a b Gonzalez Cerna, Antonio (2002-07-10). "14th Annual Lambda Literary Awards". Lambda Literary. Retrieved 2022-02-27.
- ^ a b Gonzalez Cerna, Antonio (2003-07-10). "15th Annual Lambda Literary Awards". Lambda Literary. Retrieved 2022-02-27.
- ^ a b Hart, Michelle (2020-03-10). "Here are the Finalists For the 2020 Lambda Literary Awards". Oprah Daily. Retrieved 2022-02-27.
- ^ a b c "Michael Craft". The Society of Midland Authors. Retrieved 2022-02-27.
- ^ "Member Books by Category". Cat Writer's Association. Retrieved 2022-02-27.
- ^ "2019 Communications Contest". Cat Writers’ Association. Retrieved 2022-02-27.
- ^ Yee, Katie (2020-03-10). "Here are the finalists for the 2020 Lambda Literary Awards!". Literary Hub. Retrieved 2022-02-27.