Robert R. McCammon
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Robert Rick McCammon (born July 17, 1952) is an American
novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...
from
Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...
. One of the influential names in the late 1970s–early 1990s American horror literature boom, by 1991 McCammon had three ''New York Times'' bestsellers ('' The Wolf's Hour'', ''Stinger'', and ''
Swan Song The swan song (; ) is a metaphorical phrase for a final gesture, effort, or performance given just before death or retirement. The phrase refers to an ancient belief that swans sing a beautiful song just before their death while they have been ...
'') and around 5 million books in print. Since 2002, he's written ten books in a
historical mystery The historical mystery or historical whodunit is a subgenre of two literary genres, historical fiction and mystery fiction. These works are set in a time period considered historical from the author's perspective, and the central plot involves th ...
series featuring an 18th-century magistrate’s clerk, Matthew Corbett, as he unravels mysteries in
colonial America The colonial history of the United States covers the period of European colonization of North America from the late 15th century until the unifying of the Thirteen British Colonies and creation of the United States in 1776, during the Re ...
.


Personal life

His parents are Jack, a musician, and Barbara Bundy McCammon. After his parents' divorce, McCammon lived with his grandparents in Birmingham. He received a B.A. in
Journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree of accuracy. The word, a noun, applies to the journ ...
from the
University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, the Capstone, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of ...
in 1974. McCammon lives in Birmingham. He has a daughter, Skye, with his former wife, Sally Sanders.


Career

McCammon has published multiple award-winning books, including '' Mine'' in 1990 and ''Boy's Life'' in 1991. After the release of'' Gone South'', McCammon chose to leave his publisher. After clashing with an editor at a new publisher over the direction for his historical fiction novel ''Speaks the Nightbird'', he retired from writing. After a long hiatus which resulted from the reorganization of the publishing industry and McCammon's personal depression and soul searching, he returned to the publishing world with ''Speaks the Nightbird'', the first book in the Matthew Corbett series. ''
Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...
'' called it a "compulsively readable yarn," and said, "McCammon's loyal fans will find his resurfacing reason to rejoice." Since 2002, seventeen new books have been published, including the ten books in the Matthew Corbett series. In 1985, McCammon's story "Nightcrawlers" was adapted into an episode of ''The Twilight Zone'' (1985). After years out-of-print, ''Baal'', ''Bethany's Sin'', ''The Night Boat'', and ''They Thirst'' were re-released by
Subterranean Press Subterranean Press is a small press publisher in Burton, Michigan. Subterranean is best known for publishing genre fiction, primarily Horror fiction, horror, suspense and dark mystery, fantasy, and science fiction. In addition to publishing novel ...
as limited edition novels. In a 2013 interview, McCammon acknowledged that some readers would like to have a complete collection of his work, and said "reading back over those books I find they’re not as poorly written as I recall them to be."


Bibliography

*''Baal'' (1978) *''Bethany's Sin'' (1980) – second published novel, but actually third written *'' The Night Boat'' (1980) – third published novel, but actually second written *'' They Thirst'' (1981) *'' Mystery Walk'' (1983) – first novel published in hardcover *'' Usher's Passing'' (1984) *''
Swan Song The swan song (; ) is a metaphorical phrase for a final gesture, effort, or performance given just before death or retirement. The phrase refers to an ancient belief that swans sing a beautiful song just before their death while they have been ...
'' (1987) - The first of his novels to appear on the
New York Times Bestseller List ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. John Bear, ''The #1 New York Times Best Seller: intriguing facts about the 484 books that have been #1 New York Times ...
*''Stinger'' (1988) – Nominated for the 1988 Bram Stoker Award for Best Novel;
New York Times Bestseller ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. John Bear, ''The #1 New York Times Best Seller: intriguing facts about the 484 books that have been #1 New York Times ...
*''Blue World and Other Stories'' (1990) (Short Story Collection) *'' Mine'' (1990) *'' Boy's Life'' (1991) *''Gone South'' (1992) – Later published in an omnibus edition with '' Boy's Life''. *''The Five'' (2011) *''The Border'' (May 2015) *''The Listener'' (February 2018) * ''A Little Amber Book of Wicked Shots'' (2020) (Short Story Collection)


Edited

* ''Under the Fang'' (1991) (Anthology)


Michael Gallatin books

*'' The Wolf's Hour'' (1989) – Nominated for the 1989 Bram Stoker Award for Best Novel; New York Times Bestseller *''The Hunter from the Woods'' (2011) (Collection)


Matthew Corbett series

*''Speaks the Nightbird'' (2002) – Later published as two paperback volumes, ''Judgement of the Witch'' and ''Evil Unveiled'' *''The Queen of Bedlam'' (2007) *''Mister Slaughter'' (2010) *''The Providence Rider'' (2012) *''The River of Souls'' (2014) *''Freedom of the Mask'' (May 2016) *''Cardinal Black'' (April 2019) *''The King of Shadows'' (December 2022) *''Seven Shades of Evil'' (Nov. 2024) (Collection) *''Leviathan'' (December 2024)


Trevor Lawson series

*''I Travel by Night'' (2013) (Novella) *''I Travel by Night 2: Last Train from Perdition'' (Fall 2016)


Uncollected Short Fiction

* ''Best Friends'' (1987) * ''A Life in the Day of'' (1987) * ''The Deep End'' (1987) * ''The Thang'' (1989) * ''Haunted World'' (1989) * ''Eat Me'' (1989) * ''Black Boots'' (1989) * ''Lizardman'' (1989) * ''Beauty'' (1990) * ''The Judge'' (1991) * ''Miracle Mile'' (1991) * ''Death Comes for the Rich Man'' (2012) * ''Blood is Thicker Than Hollywood'' (2020) * ''The Queen of Cruelty'' (2020)


Awards


References


External links


Robert McCammon's official siteRobert McCammon: Matthew Corbett's WorldRobert McCammon @ FacebookInkwell Newswatch McCammon Interview
*
"Corn on Macabre – An Appreciation of Robert McCammon"
– ''Apocalypse Confidential'' {{DEFAULTSORT:McCammon, Robert R. Writers from Birmingham, Alabama 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American horror writers American male novelists American Christians 1952 births Living people World Fantasy Award–winning writers 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers Novelists from Alabama