Todd Johnson | Author of The Sweet By and By

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A National "Best Reads" Pick

Monday, February 8, 2010

"The Sweet By and By" was selected as one of four "Best Reads" by syndicated columnist Sharon Randall of Scripps Howard News Service in Washington, D.C. Her weekly column is distributed to some 400 newspapers and an estimated 6 million readers nationwide.

"The Sweet By and By" by Todd Johnson: "Hilarious and heartrending...If I live long enough, I want Lorraine to be my nurse, April to handle my affairs, Margaret and Bernice as my bunkmates, and I surely hope Rhonda can do my hair. Also, if my life were a book, I'd want Todd Johnson to write it." - Sharon Randall, Scripps Howard News Service

Thank you, Salt Lake County Libraries!

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

The Sweet By and By is a 2010 "Reader's Choice" nominee in the Salt Lake County Library system. Click here for details.

Amazing! An All-Star Audiobook

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

I'm stunned by the team of stars that has come together THIS WEEK to record "The Sweet By and By" as an audiobook.

The role of "Margaret" is performed by the legendary LOIS SMITH whose 50-year career began in "East of Eden" with James Dean in 1955. Lois received the Drama Desk Award for her portrayal of Carrie Watts in "The Trip To Bountiful," one of my favorite plays of all time, and is well known to television audiences as a star of HBO's "True Blood."

"Lorraine" is read by ADRIANE LENOX, Tony Award winner for her performance in "Doubt" and currently featured in the box office hit "The Blind Side." Reading the role of "Rhonda" is Broadway, film and television veteran BECKY ANN BAKER, star of NBC's Emmy Award-winning "Freaks and Geeks." Rounding out the cast as "April" is multiple Audiofiles Earphones Award winner ROBIN MILES.

I've gotten to hear a few short samples so far, hot out of the recording studio, and I'll tell you this: these women have taken the book to a place beyond anything I could imagine.

"The Sweet By and By" will be released in audiobook and trade paperback simultaneously in April 2010. Both are available for pre-order now through all the usual outlets. Enjoy!

Susan B. Anthony Project Luncheon

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

For my friends in the Northwest Corner, I've been invited to be a guest speaker at the Susan B. Anthony Project Luncheon at the Torrington Country Club in Goshen, CT on November 14 at 12 noon. The Susan B. Anthony Project promotes safety, healing and growth for all survivors of domestic and sexual abuse and advocates for the autonomy of women and the end of interpersonal violence.

I'm deeply honored to be the first male ever to have been invited to speak at this event. Click here to learn more about the tremendous work of this organization.

Note: This is a ticketed event. Contact: Hickory Stick Bookshop at 860-868-0525 for details.

Home from the South

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Had a GREAT time at the 2009 Decatur Book Festival. Daren Wang and company do an unbelievable job of welcoming writers and everyone else who loves books. I was on a panel with two friends and wonderful authors, Susan Rebecca White and Kathryn Stockett. Susan also put together an AMAZING dinner party for us in her home with her husband Alan Deutschman, whose new book Walk the Walk just hit the shelves. Next I headed up to Fripp Island, SC for a few solitary writing days and time to watch ospreys and egrets. Then off to the NC Lit Festival in Chapel Hill for another great weekend, thanks to Amy Baldwin and Mary Beth Hollman. I swear that place only gets more and more beautiful. A few things I ate: fried okra, pork barbecue, creamed corn, homemade pimento cheese, shrimp and grits, peach cobbler, hushpuppies, country ribs, cheddar pecan waffles, and pound cake (a whopping wedge of which made it into my carry-on).

Rosie's Book Picks

Monday, August 31, 2009

Who knew? "The Sweet By and By" is one of Rosie O'Donnell's Book Picks on rosie.com. Click here to check it out. She has no clue that I was on her show back in the day singing backup for Manilow. Music and passion were always the fashion...