Johnson, Annabel, 1921-

Annabel Jones Johnson worked in publishing companies before beginnig a writing career with her husband in 1957. Edgar Raymond Johnson was a ceramic artist, model-maker, jeweler, and woodcarver, in addition to occasionally restoring antique instruments for the Smithsonian Institution and writing (mainly) in collaboration with his wife, as A. E. Johnson, or as Annabel and Edgar Johnson. The Johnsons received the Spring Book Festival Award (1959, 1960), Friends of American Writers Award (1962), the Golden Spur Award from the Western Writers of America (1966), and the William Allen White Children's Book Award (1967). Most of the Johnsons' work is for juveniles, but they also wrote some adult fiction.

Annabell (Jones) Johnson was born June 18, 1921, in Kansas City, Missouri. Prior to her writing career she worked in publishing houses as a librarian, as a legal secretary, and in other secretarial posts. She began writing in 1957, and wrote mainly in collaboration with her husband, Edgar Johnson. Edgar Johnson was born October 12, 1912, in Washoe Montana, and died December 2, 1990. He first worked as a ceramic artist, and was head of the ceramics department at the Kansas City Art Institute. He was also a model-maker, jeweler, and woodcarver. He became a free-lance writer, mostly in collaboration with his wife, Annabell Johnson. The Johnsons have co-authored many popular works of historical and science fiction both for young adults and adults. They began their career together, however, with several novels set in the Old West, intending to bring thate period to life for children far removed from the country. They spent several years traveling throughout the western United States, seeking out little known facets of western history, and compiling accounts of old-timers they met, and of their own experiences. As time passed they shifted their focus more toward the present era, in an effort to help their readers come to terms with today's world.

Biographical Source: Something About the Author, vol. 72