Martha Jean Johnson is the author of four nonfiction books on public opinion and public policy. Her debut novel, The Queen’s Musician, will be published by SparkPress on May 27, 2025 and distributed by Simon & Schuster. She also reviews historical fiction and discusses her own love of reading and writing in her biweekly Substack, Historical Magic.
During a long public policy career, she analyzed and reported on American public thinking, working with noted social analyst and public opinion pioneer, Daniel Yankelovich. She has published articles in USA Today and The Huffington Post and appeared on CNN, MSNBC, and PBS. She is the author of three nonfiction books with Scott Bittle—all from HarperCollins: Where Does the Money Go? Your Guided Tour to the Federal Budget Crisis; Who Turned Out the Lights? Your Guided Tour to the Energy Crisis; and Where Did the Jobs Go? In 2012, she published You Can’t Do It Alone: A Communications and Engagement Manual for School Leaders Committed to Reform (Rowman & Littlefield). She has also worked with the National Issues Forums Institute (NIFI), an organization that encourages civil discourse and nonpartisan deliberation on national and local issues. Recently, she partnered with NIFI and John Immerwahr to create and test an online town hall meeting prototype called Everyone’s In.
This web site describes her fiction, nonfiction, and opinion publications. She holds degrees from Mount Holyoke College, Brown University, and Simmons College.