AustLit

Born in New Zealand, Stephanie Johnson has lived in Auckland for most of her life, but she also lived in Sydney from 1985-1990. Apart from being a writer, Johnson has a keen interest in history, drama and music (she plays the cello). After completing her BA degree, she did a diploma in Drama and worked as an actress in Australia and New Zealand. She has published poetry and short stories in Australian periodicals and anthologies, and some of her novels and short stories have Australian characters or settings. She has also written stage and screen plays, and in 1986 won the Bruce Mason Playwrights Award (New Zealand). Johnson's often satirical or humorous stories 'deal with loneliness, ageing, death and failed or failing relationships' (Oxford Companion to Australian Literature 1994, 410).