Johnnie Johnson is a Tynesider, who spent his childhood in South Shields and his adolescence and early adult years in Hexham, Northumberland. After graduating from the University of Durham, he became a schoolmaster, working in selective and non-selective schools.  For twelve years he was a comprehensive school head and for another eight, a schools inspector.

Since retirement, he has devoted much of his time to writing and lecturing. He has won writing awards and prizes from several bodies including South East Arts, Torfaen Writers and the Society of Sussex Authors. He was a finalist in the Fenner Brockway Peace Prize for Literature Competition and second in the Alpha to Omega Competition which attracted many contestants from beyond Britain. For very many years Johnnie has lived in either East or West Sussex.

Allen Makepeace is a figment of Johnnie Johnson’s imagination, the name itself an amalgam of the maiden names of his grandmothers. But why change his name for this book? Probably because WH Johnson is too much associated with his non-fiction books. Or perhaps it sounds just too dull for a fiction writer.

And Such Great Names as These was judged ‘the Most Promising Novel’ in a national competition organised by the National Association of Writers’ Groups.

Return to top