Amber McBride is an

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

author, poet, and professor. She is best known for her debut novel-in-verse, '' Me (Moth)'', which was nominated for the

National Book Award for Young People's Literature The National Book Award for Young People's Literature is one of five annual National Book Awards, which are given by the National Book Foundation (NBF) to recognize outstanding literary work by US citizens. They are awards "by writers to writer ...

and won the John Steptoe New Talent Award.

Personal life

The first book McBride remembers reading is ''Mama, Would You Love Me'' by Barbara M. Jose. McBride says she comes from a family of storytellers, which she credits her love for writing to, as she says that oral storytelling is a big part of her experience of African American culture. She wrote her first book in fifth grade. McBride was a pre-med student until her junior year of university but transitioned to creative writing after a car accident and subsequent stay in the hospital caused her to realize she didn't enjoy hospitals enough to become a doctor. McBride has a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in English from

James Madison University James Madison University (JMU, Madison, or James Madison) is a public university, public research university in Harrisonburg, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1908, the institution was renamed in 1938 in honor of the fourth president of the ...

and a

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admi ...

in poetry from

Emerson College Emerson College is a private college in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It also maintains campuses in Los Angeles and Well, Limburg, Netherlands (Kasteel Well). Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a "school of Public Speaking, o ...

. As of 2023, she is an assistant professor of Poetry and English at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

. She credits working with students as one of her inspirations for wanting to write novels for young adults. In her free time, she practices Hoodoo, and currently lives in

Charlottesville Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in Virginia, United States. It is the seat of government of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Quee ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

Career

''Me (Moth)'' (2022)

McBride's debut novel-in-verse, '' Me (Moth)'', was published in 2022 by Feiwel and Friends. It is about a

Juilliard The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became the Juilliard School, named aft ...

-bound dancer who gets into a car accident that changes the trajectory of her life, having her look to Hoodoo guided by her

Rootworker Hoodoo is a set of spiritual observances, traditions, and beliefs—including magical and other ritual practices—developed by enslaved African Americans in the Southern United States from various traditional African spiritualities and elem ...

grandfather to ease her pain and taking a trip across the United States and to the

Navajo nation The Navajo Nation (), also known as Navajoland, is an Indian reservation of Navajo people in the United States. It occupies portions of northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, and southeastern Utah. The seat of government is located in ...

. The idea of writing a novel incorporating Hoodoo came to her after her grandfather passed away in 2019. McBride says Hoodoo and magic are often involved in her work, since she considers them to be a significant part of her lived experience. The Native American elements were inspired by her Navajo aunt and a roadtrip to the reservation, which introduced her to customs she wasn't familiar with previously. McBride credits novels in verse like '' Brown Girl Dreaming'', ''

The Poet X ''The Poet X'', published March 6, 2018 by HarperTeen, is a young adult novel by Elizabeth Acevedo. Fifteen-year-old Xiomara, also known as "X" or "Xio," works through the tension and conflict in her family by writing poetry. The book, a ''New ...

,'' and ''

A Long Way Down ''A Long Way Down'' is a 2005 novel written by British author Nick Hornby. It is a dark comedy, playing off the themes of suicide, angst, depression and promiscuity. The story is written in the first-person narrative from the points of view ...

'' with inspiring her to write her own verse novel. ''Me (Moth)'' was well-received by critics, and named a Summer/Fall 2021 Indies Introduce young adult selection and a July/August 2021 Kids’ Next List pick. It was a finalist for the

in 2021, and won the John Steptoe New Talent Award in 2022.

''We are all So Good at Smiling''

McBride's second young adult novel in verse, ''We are all so Good at Smiling'', about clinical depression and healing from trauma, was published in January 2022. The novel was inspired by the author's experience with depression during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, prompted by her author friend Ally Malinenko's own novel about her lived experience with

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

, which she called inspired by her impression that "no one ever writes about the kids who live. The sentiment resonated with McBride. McBride says one of the goals of her novel was to make it clear that "not even Baba Yaga or Anansi the spider is icimmune to depression", hoping that her novel facilitates open dialogue about mental health struggles.

Gone Wolf

McBride's middle grade debut, ''Gone Wolf'', is a dual-timeline story centering two Black girls, one living in the year 2111 and escaping a dystopian U.S, and one living in Charlottesville during the COVID-19 pandemic, dealing with generational trauma through figments of her imagination. It was published by Feiwel and Friends. It was a finalist for the Heavy Medal Mock Newbery by

School Library Journal ''School Library Journal'' (''SLJ'') is an American monthly magazine containing reviews and other articles for school librarians, media specialists, and public librarians who work with young people. Articles cover a wide variety of topics, wi ...

in January 2024.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McBride, Amber Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American novelists American women novelists American writers of young adult literature American women writers of young adult literature Writers from Virginia 21st-century African-American writers African-American novelists 21st-century African-American women 21st-century American women writers James Madison University alumni Emerson College alumni University of Virginia faculty Coretta Scott King Award winners African-American women novelists