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

Appalachia Appalachia ( ) is a geographic region located in the Appalachian Mountains#Regions, central and southern sections of the Appalachian Mountains in the east of North America. In the north, its boundaries stretch from the western Catskill Mountai ...

. McCrumb is the winner of numerous literary awards, and is the author of the best selling "Ballad" novels, set in the North Carolina/Tennessee mountains; the

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. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...

series featuring ''St. Dale;'' and the Elizabeth McPherson mystery series.

Early life

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

Wilmington, North Carolina Wilmington is a port city in New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. With a population of 115,451 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, eighth-most populous city in the st ...

Career

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

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 ...

'' best-sellers ''The Ballad of Frankie Silver'' and '' She Walks These Hills'', 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 is located at 800 East Broad Street, tw ...

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 The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

with a master's degree in English from

Virginia Tech The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...

, 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. 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 The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

, the

University of Bonn The University of Bonn, officially the Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (), is a public research university in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the () on 18 October 1818 by Frederick Willi ...

-Germany, and at the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

. 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

's " Virginia Women in History" 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,

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'' () is a collection of 24 stories written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer between 1387 and 1400. The book presents the tales, which are mostly written in verse, as part of a fictional storytelling contest held ...

''. It was

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

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 American women mystery writers 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers Novelists from North Carolina