Denis Johnson
American writer (novel, drama, poetry, essay; 1949-2017) · United States · On the map · Writers · Died at 67
Denis Hale Johnson was an American novelist, short-story writer, and poet. He is perhaps best known for his debut short story collection, Jesus' Son (1992). His most successful novel, Tree of Smoke (2007), won the National Book Award for Fiction. Johnson was twice shortlisted for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
Denis Johnson is read about 373 times a day, in 23 languages.
A typical day, 30 days to 6 November 2026
The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 104 days, one point a day.
Something wrong?A life in dates
People around Denis
Close ties
Steven Shainberg Directed The Prom and Hit Me
Julie Christie Denis produced The Go-Between (1971)
Michael Gough Denis produced The Go-Between (1971)
Michael Redgrave Denis produced The Go-Between (1971)
Alan Bates Denis produced The Go-Between (1971)
Edward Fox Denis produced The Go-Between (1971)
Margaret Leighton Denis produced The Go-Between (1971)
Roger Lloyd-Pack Denis produced The Go-Between (1971)
Richard Gibson Denis produced The Go-Between (1971)
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About this person
Altogether, Johnson was the author of nine novels, one novella, two books of short stories, three collections of poetry, two collections of plays, and one book of reportage. His final work, a book of short stories titled The Largesse of the Sea Maiden, was published posthumously in 2018. Ted Geltner's biography of the writer, Flagrant, Self-Destructive Gestures, appeared in late 2025.
