Bernice L. McFadden (born September 26, 1965) is an American novelist. She has also written humorous erotica under the pseudonym Geneva Holliday. Author of fifteen novels, she is an Assistant Professor of Creative Writing at

Tulane University The Tulane University of Louisiana (commonly referred to as Tulane University) is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by a cohort of medical doctors, it b ...

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

Life

Bernice L. McFadden was born and raised in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. In April 2005 McFadden was a MacDowell Colony Fellow in New Hampshire. She received an El Gouna Writers’ Residency in Egypt in June 2011. In April 2013 she was Serenbe Artist-in-Residence in Georgia. In 2016 McFadden was awarded an MFA from The Writer's Foundry at St. Joseph's College in Brooklyn, NY. In 2022, Bernice McFadden created and copyrighted the word: Angelcestor ''n A divine ancestor who serves as guide and protector of the living. (U.S. Serial Number: 97288112)'' ''Mark: ANGELCESTOR'' https://angelcestor.com

Works

*''Sugar: A Novel''. Dutton Publishers. 2000, , (UK: Random House UK, Vintage. ISBN 9781784877316 * ''The Warmest December''. Dutton Publishers. 2001, , *''This Bitter Earth''. Dutton Publishers. 2002, *''Loving Donovan''. Dutton Publishers. 2003, , *''Camilla's Roses''. Dutton Publishers. 2004, *''Nowhere is a Place''. Dutton Publishers. 2006, *''Glorious''. Brooklyn, NY: Akashic Books, 2010, , *''Gathering of Waters''. New York: Akashic Books, 2012 * ''Praise Song for the Butterflies'', Brooklyn, New York:

Akashic Books Akashic Books is a Brooklyn-based independent publisher, formed in 1997. It was started by Johnny Temple (bassist), Johnny Temple, bassist of Girls Against Boys and mid-'80s Dischord band Soulside, with the mission "to make literature more part ...

, 2018. , (UK:

Jacaranda Books Jacaranda Books is a Black-owned British independent book publishing firm launched in 2012 and known for their effort promoting diversity in United Kingdom's publishing industry. History Jacaranda Books was founded in December 2011 in Lo ...

, ) *''The Book of Harlan''. Brooklyn, New York: Akashic Books, 2016 , (UK:

, )"Bernice L. McFadden Introduces her New Novel, The Book of Harlan"
October 10, 2016, ''www.foyles.co.uk''. Retrieved November 15, 2020 Writing as Geneva Holliday: * ''Groove''.

Random House Random House is an imprint and publishing group of Penguin Random House. Founded in 1927 by businessmen Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer as an imprint of Modern Library, it quickly overtook Modern Library as the parent imprint. Over the foll ...

. 2005 * ''Fever''. Random House. 2006 * ''Heat''. Random House. 2007 * ''Seduction''. Random House. 2008 * ''Lover Man''. Random House. 2009 Short fiction * "Keeper of Keys", ''USA Today Open Book Series''. July 2001 (USA) * "Luscious", ''Gumbo: A Literary Rent Party''.

Marita Golden Marita Golden (born April 28, 1950) is an American novelist, nonfiction writer, professor, and co-founder of the Hurston/Wright Foundation, a national organization that serves as a resource center for African-American writers. Background and care ...

, ed. Doubleday, 2002 (USA) * "One Night Stand", ''Black Silk''. Retha Powers, ed. Warner Books, 2002 (USA) * "Sit", ''Brown Sugar II''. Carol Taylor, ed. Washington Square Press, 2003 (USA) * "Black Power", ''On The Line''. Donna Hill, ed. Sepia Books, 2008 (USA) * "Coming to America", ''Time Out New York''. October 2014 (USA) *"OBF Inc.", ''Cutting Edge: New Stories of Mystery and Crime by Women Writers''.

Joyce Carol Oates Joyce Carol Oates (born June 16, 1938) is an American writer. Oates published her first book in 1963, and has since published 58 novels, a number of plays and novellas, and many volumes of short stories, poetry, and nonfiction. Her novels ''Black ...

, ed. Akashic Books, 2019 (USA) *"God's Work," ''Nicotine Chronicles''.

Lee Childs Lee Childs (born 6 November 1982, in Yeovil) is a retired British tennis player from England. Following match victories in 2000, Childs was hailed as "the future of British tennis" and a successor to Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski. At the 200 ...

, ed. Akashic Books, 2020 (USA) *
Tisoy.

Audible Originals
2021 (USA) Creative Non-fiction *"Forward, Prologue & Preface". ''Black Boy''. Richard Wright, Everbind Anthologies, 2003 (USA) *"Superman Has His Cape." ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', March 19, 2006 *"The Power of Prayer." ''Black Pain''. Terrie Williams, ed. Scribner, 2008 (USA) *"Black Writers in a Ghetto of the Publishing Industry's Making," ''The Washington Post''. June 26, 2010 *Review of ''If Sons, Then Heirs'' by

Lorene Cary Lorene Cary (born 1956) is an American author, educator and social activist. Biography Cary grew up in a working-class neighborhood in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1972, she was invited to the elite St. Paul's boarding school in New Hampshire ...

. ''The Philadelphia Inquirer''. May 22, 2011 *"Life in Egypt." ''Crisis Magazine''. December 2011 * Review of ''The Last Runaway'' by

Tracy Chevalier Tracy Rose Chevalier (born 19 October 1962) is an American-British novelist. She is best known for her second novel, ''Girl with a Pearl Earring'', which was adapted as a 2003 film starring Scarlett Johansson and Colin Firth. Personal backgroun ...

. ''The Washington Post''. January 10, 2013 * "Barbados", ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' (Travel Section). November 10, 2013 *"Bernice L. McFadden Introduces her New Novel, The Book of Harlan", October 10, 2016, www.foyles.co.uk. Retrieved November 15, 2020 *"15." ''What My Mother and I Don't Talk About''. Michele Filgate, ed. Simon and Schuster (2019)
"What Didn't Kill Her." Longreads
June 4, 2020 (USA) *"Zora Neale Hurston." '' Four Hundred Souls''. Ibram X. Kendi, ed., Keisha N. Blain, ed. One World, 2021 (USA)
My Seat at the Table.
''Longreads'', August 5, 2021(USA)
"Love in the Time of King Cake"
''Oldster Magazine'', November 15, 2021
Where to start with Toni Morrison
The Guardian, July 21, 2022
Add "Angelcestor" to your Vocabulary
Oldster Magazine, June 19, 2023

Awards, Honors, Recognitions, Mentions

* 2023 Librarians recommend their favorite books of all time https://www.libbylife.com/2023-07-24-librarians-recommend-their-favorite-books-of-all-time (Sugar) * 2023 Beach Reads to Keep Arkansas on Your Mind https://onlyinark.com/homegrown/beach-reads-to-keep-arkansas-on-your-mind/ (Sugar) * 2023 Opinion: A map of 1,001 novels to show us where to find the real America https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2023-05-28/american-novels-1001-literary-geography-map-states (Sugar) * 2022 Black Book Canon https://medium.com/ballasts-for-the-mind/the-100-best-books-by-black-authors-4f91042b8a65 (Sugar, Loving Donovan)
2022 Born Free: A Renaissance Reading List https://www.nypl.org/blog/2022/08/08/born-free-renaissance-reading-list
(Sugar) * 202
Battle Creek Reads
(The Book of Harlan) * 2021
Longreads Best of 2021
(My Seat at the Table) * 2021
Richard and Judy Book Club
pick (Sugar) * 2020: Mary Cadden and others, ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

'', "100 Black novelists and fiction writers you should read, from Abi Daré to Zora Neale Hurston" * 2019: ''

Essence Magazine ''Essence'' (stylized in all caps) is an American monthly lifestyle magazine covering fashion, beauty, entertainment, and culture. First published in 1970, the magazine is written for African-American women. History Edward Lewis, Clarence O ...

'' "Best Books of the Decade" (''Gathering of Waters'') * 2019: Longlist,

Women's Prize for Fiction The Women's Prize for Fiction (previously with sponsor names Orange Prize for Fiction (1996–2006 and 2009–2012), Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction (2007–08) and Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction (2014–2017) is one of the United Kingdom's ...

(''Praise Song for the Butterflies'') * 2019: BCALA Honor Award (''Praise Song for the Butterflies'') * 2019; Go On Girl Book Club Author of the Year (''The Book of Harlan'') * 2017: American Book Award (''The Book of Harlan'') * 2017: Winner 2017 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work (''The Book of Harlan'') * 2016: ''Washington Post'' Notable Books of 2016 (''The Book of Harlan'') * 2016: Historical Novel Society "November Editor’s Choice" (''The Book of Harlan'') * 2016: National Reading Group Month/ Great Group Reads Selection (''The Book of Harlan'') * 2016: Award for Excellence in Literature, Art Sanctuary, The Celebration of Black Arts Legacy Awards * 2013: Finalist, Hurston Wright Legacy Award in Fiction (''Gathering of Waters)'' * 2013: National Reading Group Month/Great Group Reads Selection (''Nowhere is a Place'') * 2012: ''The New York Times'' 100 Notable Books (''Gathering of Waters'') * 2012: ''Washington Post'' 50 Best Books (''Gathering of Waters'') * 2012: ''The New York Times'' "Editor’s Choice" (''Gathering of Waters'') February 17, 2012 * 2011: Finalist, Hurston Wright Legacy Award in Fiction (''Glorious'') * 2011: Black Caucus of the American Library Association, Fiction Award ''(Glorious)'' * 2011: Nominated for the 2011 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work ''(Glorious)'' * 2010: ''New York Times Book Review'' (''Glorious'') * 2010: Debut Selection for The One Book, One Harlem Program (''Glorious'') * 2010: ''O Magazine'' "Book to Watch" (''Glorious'') * 2010: Historical Novel Society "Editor’s Choice" (''Glorious)'' * 2007: Short-listed for the Hurston Wright Legacy Award in Fiction (''Nowhere is a Place'') * 2007: National Book Club Conference BeBe Moore Campbell Memorial Literary Award * 2006: ''Washington Post''Best Fiction (''Nowhere is a Place'') * 2004: Subject of The Lifetime Television 20th Anniversary Commercial * 2004: Black Caucus of the American Library Association, Fiction Honor Award (''Loving'', ''Donovan'') * 2002: Shortlisted for the Hurston Wright Legacy Award in Fiction (''The Warmest December'') * 2002: Zora Neale Hurston Society Award for Creative Contribution to Literature * 2001: Black Caucus of the American Library Association, Fiction Honor Award (''Sugar'') * 2001: Black Writer's Alliance, Gold Pen Award, Best Mainstream Fiction (''Sugar'') * 2001: Black Writer's Alliance, Gold Pen Award, Best New Author * 2001: Go On Girl Book Club New Author of the Year Award (''Sugar'') * 2000: ''New York Times Book Review'' (''Sugar'') * 2000: Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers (''Sugar'')

References

External links

Bernice L. McFadden website
*https://angelcestor.com
"Conversation with Bernice McFadden and Terry McMillan"
BRIC. {{DEFAULTSORT:McFadden, Bernice 21st-century American novelists African-American novelists Living people 1966 births Writers from Brooklyn Novelists from New York City Marymount College, Tarrytown alumni Fordham University alumni American women novelists 21st-century American women writers American Book Award winners Tulane University faculty American women academics 21st-century African-American women writers 21st-century African-American writers 20th-century African-American writers 20th-century African-American women