Susan Johnson grew up on Sydney's north shore, finishing school in Brisbane and starting work as a cadet journalist with the Courier Mail. After three years, she joined the Australian Women's Weekly in Sydney, and worked there for a year, from 1977 to 1978, before spending a year travelling in Europe.
On her return to Australia, Johnson worked for Sydney's Sun-Herald, the National Times and the Sydney Morning Herald. From 1999 to 2001 she was editor of 'Saturday Extra' for The Age in Melbourne. She has edited anthologies of short stories, written fiction, and contributed to several newspapers and magazines. In 1987 and 1988 she won Literature Board Fellowships and has been offered two residencies at the Cite Internationale des Arts in Paris in 1989. Johnson has taught creative writing in Hong Kong, London and Australia.
Johnson's writing explores such themes as the complexity of romantic and intergenerational relationships, finding a sense of fulfilment through work and the difficulty of discovering a sense of life purpose and direction.
Johnson has lived for some years in Hong Kong and London. In early 2008 she took out British citizenship. (Johnson also retains her Australian citizenship.)