Biography | Photos | Book Covers | Awards & Accolades for SWIM TEAM | Awards & Accolades for GAMERVILLE

Johnnie Christmas is a #1 New York Times bestselling graphic novelist and the author of Gamerville. His 2022 middle-grade graphic novel debut, Swim Team, earned a spot on the National Book Awards longlist and received a Coretta Scott King Award Illustrator Honor. It also won the BCALA Literary Award, the Black-Eyed Susan Award, the Maud Hart Lovelace Award, and the Yellowhammer Award, with many nominations, including the Eisner and Harvey Awards. He is the writer and co-creator of the sci-fi series Tartarus, and his book Firebug earned a Joe Shuster Outstanding Cartoonist nomination. Additionally, he co-created the series Angel Catbird with celebrated writer Margaret Atwood and adapted William Gibson’s lost screenplay for Alien 3 into a critically acclaimed graphic novel of the same name. A graduate of Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York, he earned a BFA in Communication Design/Illustration.

A dual citizen of the United States and Canada, Johnnie makes his home in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Photos of Johnnie

All photos by Amanda Palmer

Awards & Nominations
2023 Coretta Scott King Award Honor Illustrator
2022 National Book Award for Young People's Literature Longlist
2023 BCALA & SLJ Children & Young Adult Literary Award winner for Graphic Novel
2023 Barnes & Noble Children’s & YA Book Award Young Reader nominee
2023 Eisner Award for Best Publication for Kids nominee
2022 Harvey Award for Best Children's or Young Adult Book nominee
2023 National Council of Teachers of English's Notable Children’s Book in the Language Arts Award
2023 Forest of Reading Silver Birch Fiction Award Honour Book #1
2022 Cybils Awards Finalist
2023 Jane Addams Children’s Book Award Honor
2023 Children’s Book Council Favorites Award for Children’s 6th-8th Grade
2023 Children’s Book Council Librarian Favorites Award for Children’s 6th-8th Grade
2023 Children’s Book Council Teacher Favorites Award for Children’s 6th-8th Grade
2023 California State Library First Partner’s Summer Book Club selection
2024 Sakura Medal Middle School Nominee
2023-24 SGIS Librarians Group Golden Cowbell Book Award in the Evolène category

State Awards & Nominations
2022-23 Yellowhammer Book Award Middle Grade Winner
2023-24 Black-Eyed Susan Award Graphic Novels Grades 3-5 Winner
2024 Maud Hart Lovelace Division II Winner
2023 Michigan Library Association YouPer Award nominee
2023-24 3 Apples Teen’s Book Award Grades 7-12 (New York)
2023-24 Great Stone Face Book Award nominee (New Hampshire)
2023-24 Sunshine State Young Readers Award nominee (Florida)
2023-24 Vermont Golden Dome Book Award Grade 4-8 Kids Choice nominee
2024 Nēnē Award Graphic Novel Shortlist nominee (Hawai’i)
2024 New Mexico Land of Enchantment Book Award Lizard Award nominee
2024 North Carolina Children’s Junior Book Award
2024 Nutmeg Book Award Middle School for Grades 7-8 nominee (Connecticut)
2024 Pennsylvania Young Reader’s Choice Award nominee
2024 Rhode Island Children's Book Award 3rd place finish
2024 South Dakota Teen Choice Book Award nominee
2024 Surrey Schools Book of the Year nominee
2024-25 Louisiana Readers’ Choice Grades 6-8 nominee
2024-25 Massachusetts Children’s Book Award nominee
2024-25 Virginia State Literacy Association Readers’ Choice Elementary nominee
2024-25 Young Hoosiers Book Award for Middle Grade nominee (Indiana)
2023 California Department of Education Recommended Literature List
2023 Capitol Choices Noteworthy Books for Children and Teens (Washington DC)
2023 Little Maverick Graphic Novel Reading List 2023 (Texas)
2023 Maverick Graphic Novel Reading List 2023 (Texas)
2023 Michigan Association for School Librarians MISelf in Books List
2023-24 Oregon Battle of the Books 3rd to 5th Grade Division selection

Best of Lists
Kirkus Reviews'  Best Middle Grade Books of 2022
CBC Books' best Canadian books for kids and young adults of 2022
Booklist Editors’ Choice: Books for Youth 2022
New York Public Library's Best Books of 2022
Chicago Public Library’s Best Fiction for Older Readers of 2022
King County Library's Best Children's Books of 2022
Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year 2023
Amazon's Best Books of May

Selections
Scripp’s National Spelling Bee's Book Shelf's Book of the Month
FOLD Kids Book of the Month
Bookopolis Book Pick
The Week Junior Book of the Week
ADL Education Monthly Featured Book for April 2023
ABA Kids Indie Next List selection for May/June
Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

Starred reviews from
★ Kirkus Reviews
★ Booklist
★ Publishers Weekly
★ School Library Journal

Residencies
The Betsy Writer’s Room - May 2024

Awards & Nominations
Barnes & Noble's Best Books of 2024: Best Young Reader Books of 2024
Good Housekeeping Kids’ Book Award
Indigo Best Kids’ Books of 2024
2025 Forest of Reading Silver Birch Award nominee

Best of Lists
ABA Indie Bestseller List
CBC Books Bestseller
Indigo Staff Pick

Starred review from
★ Publishers Weekly