Tonja K. Johnson (Kiarra Ballard) is a Black American writer of gothic speculative fiction. Her work honors the rich, diverse culture of her ancestors while also representing Blackness in all its resistance, queerness, and neurodivergence. When not writing, she can be found reading, drawing and spending precious time with loved ones.

She won of the 2024 MN BIPOC Emerging Writer award and  is a recipient of the 2023 MN Write Like Us grant. She is an acquiring editor at FIYAH. Her fiction can be found in the Blue Earth Review, FIYAH Literary Magazine, Magic in the Melanin, and other publications.

One can often find Tonja curled up with a journal and hot mug of Chi, nestled next to the window on a rainy day. She loves nothing more than a good book and the patter of storm against her roof.

Tonja is a passionate writer that crafts stories she hopes her readers will want to dive back into time and time again.