[4] She joined the University of Kansas English Department as assistant professor of fiction writing in fall 2012, where she is associate director of The Center for the Study of Science Fiction.

[citation needed] Johnson has worked extensively in publishing: managing editor for Tor Books and TSR (later Wizards of the Coast), collections editor for Dark Horse Comics, and content manager working on the Microsoft Reader.

In her time at Wizards of the Coast, she was also continuity manager for Magic: The Gathering and creative director for AD&D settings Greyhawk and Forgotten Realms.

Johnson serves as a final judge for the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award.

[9] In January 2013, Johnson gave the inaugural Tolkien Lecture at Pembroke College, Oxford, speaking on the topic of fantasy literature.