Johnson Books’ Founder Dies And Love Lures Literary Agent to Denver

By Jenny Shank, 2-13-08

The Rocky Mountain News reported this week that Ada Johnson, founder of Boulder’s Johnson Publishing Company, died January 30 at the age of 97.  According to Rebecca Jones’ article, Johnson founded the company 61 years ago with her husband, Raymond:  “In 1946, the Johnsons decided to convert the barn on their property into a print shop and turned the chicken coop into a bindery. Johnson Publishing eventually became one of Colorado’s largest printing firms.”

“Tragedy struck in 1970,” Jones writes, “when her husband and a business associate were killed while taking off in Mr. Johnson’s airplane from Boulder Airport.” Ada decided to keep the business going, with the help of her son, Jerry.

Johnson Books specializes in books about the outdoors and those of regional interest, such as Home Land: Ranching and a West that Works and A Road Runs Through It, essay collections that I reviewed last year for NewWest.Net/Books.

Montana writer Russell Rowland emailed recently to say that he’s been named the Fiction Editor of the online literary magazine, The Smoking Poet, and notes that they are currently accepting submissions.  The magazine specializes in “flash fiction"—stories of 1000 words or fewer, and novel excerpts of 2000 words or fewer.  The Billings-based Rowland is keeping busy: In addition to his editorial duties, he teaches at Montana State University and with the Gotham Writers’ Workshop, and has published many novels and stories. 

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, I wanted to bring you this story of cross-continental literary love. Kate Schafer was sitting pretty as a literary agent specializing in young adult books for the successful Jankow & Nesbit agency.  But Schafer found love on the internet, prompting a move from New York to Denver, according to GalleyCat:

“When…Schafer was hanging out in the online community for the game City of Heroes, she came across another player who was writing short stories about the characters he was playing and contacted him to see if he might have a novel. He did, and she read it on her first flight out to Denver to meet him and some of their other online friends, but, she laughingly recalls, ‘I told him I preferred to date him rather than represent him.’ (Not that there was anything wrong with the manuscript, which is about to be sent out by another agent; it’s just geared towards an older audience than the YA books she was handling.) Now, after a year’s engagement, Schafer and Doyce Testerman are getting married in April, and she’s moving out to Colorado—which means she’s leaving her position at Janklow & Nesbit and setting up shop on her own as KT Literary.”

KT Literary becomes the newest literary agency to establish itself in Denver joining, most notably, Nelson Literary Agency, whose proprietor, Kristin Nelson, I interviewed for NewWest last year. KT Literary is seeking young adult and women’s fiction, among other categories. 

And check out the agency’s amusing ”Ask Daphne” feature, described as: “Shoe-obsessed superagent Daphne Unfeasible blogs about books and authors, answers your questions, and talks about publishing industry gossip.”

Finally, I wanted to mention that NewWest.Net/Books will be sponsoring a networking/mingling event for all writers, editors, publishers, and all-around literary types in the Boulder area on Monday, February 25 at Trilogy Wine Bar from 6-9 p.m.  Please if you’d like to be included on the guest list.  I’ll post more details on the event here next week.