Sharyn McCrumb (born February 26, 1948) is an American writer whose books celebrate the history and folklore of

Appalachia Appalachia () is a cultural region in the Eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York State to northern Alabama and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Newfoundland and Labrador, C ...

. McCrumb is the winner of numerous literary awards, and the author of the Elizabeth McPherson mystery series, the Ballad series, and the St. Dale series.

Early life

Sharyn McCrumb was born Sharyn Elaine Arwood on February 26, 1948, in

Wilmington, North Carolina Wilmington is a port city in and the county seat of New Hanover County in coastal southeastern North Carolina, United States. With a population of 115,451 at the 2020 census, it is the eighth most populous city in the state. Wilmington is t ...

Career

McCrumb is a Southern writer, perhaps best known for her Appalachian "Ballad" novels, including the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' best sellers ''The Ballad of Frankie Silver'' and ''

She Walks These Hills ''She Walks These Hills'' is a 1994 book written by Sharyn McCrumb and published by Charles Scribner's Sons, which later went on to win the Anthony Award The Anthony Awards are literary awards for mystery writers presented at the Bouchercon W ...

'', and for ''St. Dale'', winner of a

Library of Virginia The Library of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia, is the library agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia. It serves as the archival agency and the reference library for Virginia's seat of government. The Library moved into a new building in 1997 and ...

Award and featured at the National Festival of the Book. ''The Devil Amongst the Lawyers'' (2010) deals with the regional stereotyping of rural areas by national journalists. ''The Ballad of Tom Dooley'' (2011) tells the true story behind the celebrated folk song. In 2008 McCrumb was named a Virginia Woman of History for Achievement in Literature. Educated at the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United State ...

with a master's degree in English from

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also has educational facilities in six re ...

, McCrumb was the first writer-in-residence at King College in Tennessee. In 2005 she was honored as the Writer of the Year at

Emory & Henry College Emory & Henry College (E&H or Emory) is a private liberal arts college in Emory, Virginia. The campus comprises of Washington County, which is part of the Appalachian highlands of Southwest Virginia. Founded in 1836, Emory & Henry College i ...

. Her novels, studied in universities throughout the world, have been translated into eleven languages, including French, German, Dutch, Japanese, Arabic, and Italian. She has lectured on her work at

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, the

University of Bonn The Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (german: Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn) is a public research university located in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the ( en, Rhine ...

-Germany, and at the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Found ...

. McCrumb has also taught a writers workshop in Paris and served as writer-in-residence at King College in Tennessee and at the Chautauqua Institute in western New York. In 2008 McCrumb was honored as one of the Library of Virginia's "

Virginia Women in History Virginia Women in History was an annual program sponsored by the Library of Virginia that honored Virginia women, living and dead, for their contributions to their community, region, state, and nation. The program began in 2000 under the aegis of th ...

" for her career.

Novels

McCrumb is the author of ''The Ballad Novels'', a series set in the Appalachian Mountains. These books weave together the legends, geography and contemporary issues of Appalachia, and each centers on an event from North Carolina history. She is also the author of the ''Elizabeth MacPherson'' mystery series, though her career has evolved beyond genre fiction.

Ballad series

* * * * * * * * * *McCrumb, Sharyn (2013). ''King's Mountain''. Thomas Dunne Books. *McCrumb, Sharyn (2014). ''Nora Bonesteel's Christmas Past.'' Abingdon Press. *McCrumb, Sharyn (2016). ''Prayers the Devil Answers''. Atria Books. *McCrumb, Sharyn (2017). ''The Unquiet Grave''. Atria Books.

St. Dale novels

In 2005,

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and ...

racing fan McCrumb wrote ''St. Dale''. Her inspiration for the novel came from her study of medieval literature at Virginia Tech and her desire to update

Geoffrey Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer (; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for '' The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He w ...

's ''

The Canterbury Tales ''The Canterbury Tales'' ( enm, Tales of Caunterbury) is a collection of twenty-four stories that runs to over 17,000 lines written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer between 1387 and 1400. It is widely regarded as Chaucer's '' magnum opus ...

''. It was

Dale Earnhardt Ralph Dale Earnhardt Sr. (; April 29, 1951February 18, 2001) was an American professional stock car driver and team owner, who raced from 1975 to 2001 in the former NASCAR Winston Cup Series (now called the NASCAR Cup Series), most notably dri ...

who became the saint of her tale, complete with the Dale Earnhardt Pilgrimage of fans. * * *

Elizabeth MacPherson novels

* * * * * * * * *

Jay Omega novels

These are satirical novels set in the world of science fiction conventions and fandom. * *

Short story collections

* (Co-author: Mona Walton Helper) *

Awards

''Winners are in bold''

References

External links

*
McCrumb's biography
at the

Excerpts from “Keepers of the Legend: An Essay on the Influences of Family Legends and Folklore on Fiction” By Sharyn McCrumb
at the Library of Virginia {{DEFAULTSORT:McCrumb, Sharyn 1948 births Living people 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American mystery writers American women novelists Appalachian writers Edgar Award winners Agatha Award winners Writers from Wilmington, North Carolina University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni Virginia Tech alumni Nero Award winners Anthony Award winners Macavity Award winners Women mystery writers 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers Novelists from North Carolina