Meet The FicStack Team: Tonja K. Johnson

New Curator!

Who I Am

I am a Black American speculative fiction writer. My work honors the rich, diverse culture of my ancestors while also representing Blackness in all its resistance, queerness, and neurodivergence. It’s important for me as a griot to infuse tales of my elder’s history with the story I tell, so the ones who came before me can never be forgotten or erased. I am an acquiring editor for FIYAH. I won the 2024 MN BIPOC Emerging Writer award in fiction and am a recipient of the 2023 MN Write Like Us grant. I am a Go Back & Fetch It fellow and ‘26 Tin House Winter Workshop alum. My work can be found or forthcoming in The Blue Earth Review, tordotcom, FIYAH Literary Magazine, and other publications.

You can find me at https://tonjakjohnson.com/links

Speculative Recommendations

The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin is a genre-breaking work of speculative fiction that rewired how I digest stories. Jemisin expertly crafts worlds that are both real and complex, forcing the reader to reconsider traditional methods of storytelling. This is for people who want to be challenged by the fiction they consume.

Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica made me uncomfortable in all the best ways. By the end of the book, I could hardly stand to be in my own skin. This story explores what it means to be human and who gets to decide where that line is drawn. Perfect for readers who aren’t afraid of dark thematic questions and even darker answers.

This is How you Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone stole my heart. This queer science fiction novella about two rival assassins falling in love was one of the most beautiful pieces of fiction I’ve ever read. The prose was lush, and the atmosphere so sweeping that the world leapt off the pages. This is the kind of story that doesn’t leave you.

What I’ll Be Curating

I’m seeking prose and poetry with heart from BIPOC writers with an emphasis on fiction from the Black diaspora. When I step into a piece I want to feel something real whether that be thematic elements or the character struggling in a world that doesn’t quite fit against their skin. I want to be transported entirely beyond myself and for the story to stick to my ribs long after the final lines. My goal is to support writing from marginalized communities that are often overlooked and shine much needed light on diverse stories.

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