My elevator pitch: “If you like Flannery O’Connor, Franz Kafka, and George Saunders, you could do worse than Joe Johnson.”

A year before the pandemic, I moved from central Washington to Portland. This city has shaped my stories so that they teem with urban wildlife, absurdism, and longing. My stories are being tested in workshops and readings, refined into whip-smart and penetrating tales. Some have snuck out into publications.

I hope you enjoy.