Biography.
I write what I want to read.
I'm a work in progress.
I was raised in a secluded pocket of Salt Lake City Utah in a suburban apartment by a single mother, at least for a while.
I went to public school but spent my high school senior year in Denmark as a traumatized and tantalized foreign exchange student.
I attended the University of Utah until they kicked me out. As a parting gift, they gave me a Magna Cum Laude BA in English and a Master's in American Studies.
I married my Junior Prom date and have two sons.
We lived in Eugene, Oregon for nearly a decade. Armed with two humanities degrees, I naturally gravitated to the food service industry. I opened a bakery and ran it successfully until the Oregon rain got under my skin and softened my bones to collapsing. We moved back to Utah.
After a series of other businesses and adventures, including a front line posting in the drug war, I found myself in a position to pursue my passion for writing.
So here in the in-between, with the clock ticking and the sound of the starting gun a long forgotten echo, I begin very late my professional writing career.
I heard Johnny Boggs speak about his writing career, how he and his wife chucked it all in and moved to Santa Fe confident they could achieve their dreams. They just up and did it. His wife had told him that "if you jump a net will appear." And it did.
I'm in mid-air, the ground rushing up, the wind in my hair, my screams half terror, half exhilaration.
"Going where the climate suits my clothes."
— Grateful Dead, Goin' Down the Road Feeling Bad
Awards and Stuff:
To make things easier for a lazy man like me, I've collected my professional achievements in a convenience Curriculum Vitae document. Okay, two documents; one short one that gets to the point, and one ridiculously long which serves more as a scrapbook. Here they are:
Johnny’s to-the-point Literary CV
Johnny’s stunningly long Literary CV
If you want to book me for a presentation talk or whatnot, feel free to email at: johnny@johnnyworthen.com You might also want to check my schedule of Events
Publicity Bio's - feel free to copy and paste as needed
Short Version:
“I write what I like to read,” says Johnny. “That guarantees me at least one fan.”
JOHNNY WORTHEN is an award-winning, multiple-genre, hybrid, tie-dye-wearing author, voyager, and damn fine human being! Trained in literary criticism and cultural studies, he writes upmarket fiction, long and short, mentors others where he can, and teaches at the University of Utah.
He is Utah Writer of the Year and Past President of the League of Utah Writers.
Long Version:
JOHNNY WORTHEN is an award-winning, multi-genre, hybrid, tie-dye-wearing author, voyager, and damn fine human being! Trained in literary criticism and cultural studies he earned his Bachelor's and Master's degrees from the University of Utah. Beyond English on a good day, he speaks Danish and reads Latin. He is a Utah Writer of the Year.
An avowed Deconstructionist, Johnny writes up-market stories from the inside out, beginning with theme and pursuing an idea through whatever genre will best serve it. So far he has published fiction novels as mystery, young adult, comedy, urban fantasy, horror and science fiction, both traditionally and independently.
A frequent presenter and panelist at writing conferences and fan conventions, he is active in local communities of artists and writers. A long-time volunteer for the League of Utah Writers, the state’s oldest and largest writing organization, he has served several high positions of leadership there, including President from 2018-2020.
When not writing his own stuff, Johnny mentors, edits professionally, and teaches Creative Writing at the University of Utah as an Associate Instructor. He lives in Sandy, Utah with his wife, sons and cats. There’s also a lawn.
