{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2022}} {{short description|British author of romantic fiction}} {{Infobox writer <!-- for more information see :Template:Infobox writer/doc --> | name = Milly Johnson | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1964|2|23|df=yes}} | birth_place = Barnsley, West Riding of Yorkshire, England | occupation = Writer | genre = Romantic comedy | website = {{URL|http://millyjohnson.co.uk}} | children = 2 | alma_mater = University of Exeter }} '''Milly Johnson''' is a British author known for her work in romantic fiction.<ref>{{Cite web |date=9 March 2020 |title=Need cheering up right now? Try reading a romance novel |url=http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2020/mar/09/need-cheering-up-right-now-try-reading-a-romance-novel |access-date=2020-09-07 |website=The Guardian |language=en}}</ref> In addition to her novels, she has worked as an after-dinner speaker, poet, professional joke writer, short story writer, and newspaper columnist.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Milly's romantic recognition... – Barnsley News from the Barnsley Chronicle |url=https://www.barnsleychronicle.com/article/milly-s-romantic-recognition |access-date=2020-09-07 |website=Barnsley Chronicle}}</ref>
==Biography== Born in Barnsley, Johnson was educated at Agnes Road Primary School, Longcar Junior School, and Hall Balk School for Girls. She later studied drama and teacher training at St Luke's Campus, University of Exeter.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Barnsley author Milly Johnson on hope, romantic fiction and being 'a poster girl for giving it your best shot' |url=https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/people/barnsley-author-milly-johnson-hope-romantic-fiction-and-being-poster-girl-giving-it-your-best-shot-2530308 |access-date=2020-09-07 |website=www.yorkshirepost.co.uk |language=en}}</ref>
She lived for many years in Haworth, West Yorkshire, where she became acquainted with author Stan Barstow, who also resided in the area.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-07-20 |title=The books that shaped me: Milly Johnson |url=https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/uk/lifestyle/editors-choice-book-reviews/a33216411/milly-johnson-the-books-that-shaped-me/ |access-date=2025-02-03 |website=Good Housekeeping |language=en-GB}}</ref> During this time, Johnson held various administrative positions while supplementing her income by writing jokes and poems for the greetings card industry. She also worked as a ghost-writer for ''Purple Ronnie'' in its early stages.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Milly Johnson |url=https://www.fantasticfiction.com/j/milly-johnson/ |access-date=2020-09-07 |website=www.fantasticfiction.com}}</ref> She later became a professional copywriter within the greetings card sector.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-06-02 |title=Yorkshire Businesswoman meets author Milly Johnson |url=https://yorkshirebusinesswoman.co.uk/yorkshire-businesswoman-meets-author-milly-johnson/ |access-date=2025-02-03 |website=Yorkshire Businesswoman |language=en}}</ref>
Johnson’s breakthrough into publishing came at the age of 41 with the submission of her manuscript ''The Yorkshire Pudding Club'', which was inspired by her experience of being pregnant simultaneously with two friends.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-06-02 |title=Yorkshire Businesswoman meets author Milly Johnson |url=https://yorkshirebusinesswoman.co.uk/yorkshire-businesswoman-meets-author-milly-johnson/ |access-date=2025-02-03 |website=Yorkshire Businesswoman |language=en}}</ref> In 2005, she secured her first two-book deal with Simon & Schuster.
Her work has received multiple accolades, including a nomination for the Melissa Nathan Award for Romantic Comedy in 2012,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Colgan wins Melissa Nathan Award |url=https://www.thebookseller.com/news/colgan-wins-melissa-nathan-award |access-date=2025-02-03 |website=The Bookseller |language=En}}</ref> and two wins of the RoNA Award for Comedy Romance in 2014<ref>{{Cite web |title=RNA – Romantic Novelist Association |url=https://romanticnovelistsassociation.org/ |access-date=2020-09-07 |language=en-GB}}</ref> and 2016. She also appeared as a winner on a regional edition of Channel 4’s ''Come Dine With Me''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Programmes |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/programmes/m001gjjj |access-date=2025-02-03 |website=BBC Food |language=en}}</ref> In 2020, Johnson was honoured with the Romantic Novelists' Association's Outstanding Achievement Award.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Johnson wins RNA Outstanding Achievement Award |url=https://www.thebookseller.com/news/johnson-wins-rna-outstanding-achievement-award-1165561 |access-date=2025-02-03 |website=The Bookseller |language=En}}</ref>
==Awards and honours== {| class="wikitable" |+ !Year !Awarding Body !Category !Nominee/ Nominated Work !Result |- |2012 |Melissa Nathan Award |Comedy Romance |''An Autumn Crush'' | {{nom}} |- |2014 |Romantic Novelists' Association Awards |Romantic Comedy Novel |''It's Raining Men'' | {{won}} |- | rowspan="2" |2015 |Yorkshire Society Awards |Arts and Culture |Milly Johnson | {{won}} |- | rowspan="4" |Romantic Novelists' Association Awards | rowspan="2" |Romantic Comedy Novel |''The Teashop on the Corner'' | {{nom}} |- |2016 |''Afternoon Tea at the Sunflower Café'' | {{won}} |- |2017 |Contemporary Romantic Novel |''The Queen of Wishful Thinking'' | {{nom}} |- |2020 |Outstanding Achievement |Milly Johnson | {{won}} |- |2021 |Goldsboro Books Awards |Romantic Contemporary Fiction |''My One True North'' | {{won}} |} In recognition of her contributions to literature and her strong connection to the region, Johnson was appointed Vice President of the Yorkshire Society in 2018. Her work has earned her a number of accolades and nominations throughout her career, reflecting both her popularity with readers and her standing within the literary community.
== Bibliography == {| class="wikitable" |+ !Year !Title !Publisher !ISBN !Notes |- |2007 |''The Yorkshire Pudding Club'' | rowspan="21" |Simon & Schuster |978-1849834100 | |- |2008 |''The Birds and the Bees'' |978-1849834094 | |- |2009 |''A Spring Affair'' |978-1847392824 | |- |2010 |''A Summer Fling'' |978-1847392831 | |- | rowspan="2" |2011 |''Here Come The Girls'' |978-1849832052 | |- |''An Autumn Crush'' |978-1849832038 | |- | rowspan="3" |2012 |''White Wedding'' |978-0857208965 | |- |''The Wedding Dress'' |978-1471111785 |E-book exclusive. |- |''A Winter Flame'' |978-1471187773 | |- | rowspan="2" |2013 |''The Four Seasons Collection'' |978-1471128776 |A compilation of ''A Spring Affair'', ''A Summer Fling'', ''An Autumn Crush'' and ''A Winter Flame''. E-book exclusive. |- |''It's Raining Men'' |978-1471114618 | |- | rowspan="2" |2014 |''The Teashop on the Corner'' |978-1471114649 | |- |''Here Come The Boys'' |978-1471133886 |E-book exclusive. |- | rowspan="2" |2015 |''Afternoon Tea at the Sunflower Café'' |978-1471140464 | |- |''Ladies Who Launch'' |978-1471152160 |E-book exclusive. |- | rowspan="2" |2016 |''Sunshine Over Wildflower Cottage'' |978-1471140488 | |- |''The Barn on Half Moon Hill'' |978-1471158711 |E-book exclusive. |- |2017 |''The Queen of Wishful Thinking'' |978-1471161735 | |- | rowspan="2" |2018 |''The Perfectly Imperfect Woman'' |978-1471161773 | |- |''The Mother of All Christmases'' |978-1398535145 | |- | rowspan="2" |2019 |''The Magnificent Mrs Mayhew '' |978-1471178474 | |- |''A Cat-Shaped Space'' |Self-published |979-8764585741 |Poetry book. |- | rowspan="3" |2020 |''The Little Dreams of Lara Cliffe'' | rowspan="8" |Simon & Schuster |978-1471186202 |Quick Reads production. |- |''My One True North'' |978-1471178528 | |- |''I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day'' |978-1471178566 | |- |2021 |''The Woman in the Middle'' |978-1471199028 | |- |2023 |''Together, Again'' |978-1471199066 | |- |2024 |''The Happiest Ever After'' |978-1398523562 | |- | rowspan="2" |2025 |''Same Time Next Week'' |978-1398523616 | |- |''Let the Bells Ring Out'' |978-1398547063 | |- |2025 |''Lift Me Up'' |Amazon Original Stories |978-1662543234 |E-book exclusive. |}
== Literary Projects and Charitable Works == In addition to her 23 novels, Johnson has published several shorter works, many of which were released exclusively as e-books. These include ''The Wedding Dress'' (2012), a collection of short stories themed around weddings, and ''Here Come the Boys'' (2014). In 2015, she released ''Ladies Who Launch'', which serves both as a sequel to ''Here Come the Boys'' and as a prequel to ''Afternoon Tea at the Sunflower Café''. In May 2016, Johnson published the 16,000-word short story ''The Barn on Half Moon Hill'' to raise funds for the Care for Claire campaign, established in support of Claire Throssell, whose children were killed in a domestic abuse-related murder–suicide. In 2019, she released a poetry collection titled ''A Cat-Shaped Space'', with all proceeds donated to Yorkshire Cat Rescue.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gibson |first=Words: Bethan Hyatt-Photos: Kevin |title=Milly Johnson – the best-selling on her love of Barnsley |url=https://www.yorkshirelife.co.uk/people/milly-johnson-barnsley-1-6556444 |access-date=2020-09-07 |website=Yorkshire Life |language=en}}</ref> In 2020, she contributed the novella ''The Little Dreams of Lara Cliffe'' to the relaunched ''Quick Reads'' initiative, which aims to encourage reading among adults.
== References == {{Reflist}}
==External links and articles==
*[http://www.millyjohnson.co.uk The Milly Johnson Website] *[http://www.daftoldbag.blogspot.com Milly Johnson’s Blog]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Milly}} Category:1964 births Category:Alumni of the University of Exeter Category:British romantic fiction writers Category:Living people Category:People from Barnsley Category:Writers from Barnsley