Maui-native R. Kikuo Johnson recently made history as the first graphic novelist to win the prestigious Whiting Award. Each year it honors 10 up-and-coming writers for their work in poetry, fiction, nonfiction and drama with a $50,000 award.
You may recognize Johnson for his illustration work in The New Yorker, The New York Times, Vanity Fair and more. The Conversation first met Johnson in 2021 when his third novella “No One Else” was released. It went on to win an L.A. Times Book Prize (2022), Ignatz Award (2022), and Lucca Comics Award (2022).
Johnson learned he won the Whiting Award while living in Providence and teaching at the Rhode Island School of Design earlier this year in January.
"I actually had COVID and I was trying to teach my classes and I was exhausted, and I kept getting these missed calls. When the call finally came through, I picked up and the woman on the other line said to me, 'We are the Whiting Foundation, we are a literary foundation, and we offer a grant and you have won this grant, and there's money attached,'" he said. "Maybe I was just underslept and feeling weak, but I just, I sobbed for like 20 minutes."
The foundation does not accept applications or unsolicited nominations. The gift strives to allow writers to devote themselves to their work.
"I was just totally shocked and feeling partially like an imposter, partially feeling like I had this new expectation on my back. It was a strange combination of feelings. But over time after living with the news for a while, it just feels like such a gift. And I mostly just feel filled with gratitude," Johnson said.
This interview aired on The Conversation on April 10, 2023. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. on HPR-1.
