Denis Hale Johnson (July 1, 1949 – May 24, 2017) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and poet.

[4] His final work, a book of short stories titled The Largesse of the Sea Maiden, was published posthumously in 2018.

[1] Growing up, he also lived in the Philippines, Japan, and the suburbs of Washington, D.C.[5][6] His father, Alfred Johnson, worked for the State Department as a liaison between the USIA and the CIA.

[8] He came to prominence in 1992 with the short story collection Jesus' Son, which included vignettes originally published in The New Yorker,[8] inspired by Isaac Babel's book Red Cavalry.

In a 2006 New York Times Book Review poll, Jesus' Son was voted one of the best works of American fiction published in the last 25 years.

[26] The final book he published while still alive was the novel The Laughing Monsters, which he called a "literary thriller" set in Uganda, Sierra Leone, and Congo.

[27][28] Johnson's final work, a book of short stories titled The Largesse of the Sea Maiden, was published posthumously in January 2018.

[29][4] Johnson was twice divorced and lived with his third wife, Cindy Lee, in Phoenix, Arizona, at the time of his death.

"[31][32] Johnson died on May 24, 2017, from liver cancer at his home in The Sea Ranch,[11] a community near Gualala, California, at the age of 67.