Shawn Andre Cosby (born August 4, 1973, in Newport News, Virginia) is an American author of Southern noir crime fiction.Note: S.A. Cosby is the author's pen name, but also his initials. He resides in Gloucester, Virginia on the York River. Cosby has published five crime novels: My Darkest Prayer, Blacktop Wasteland, Razorblade Tears, All the Sinners Bleed, and King of Ashes.
Early life Cosby grew up in Mathews County, Virginia. His mother was partially disabled and raised Cosby and his brother. His father was a scallop boater on the Chesapeake Bay. Cosby describes his childhood as “a pastoral, almost Huck Finn type.” He spent much of his time reading, and was encouraged by his mother to try writing books of his own. He attended Lee-Jackson Elementary School.
After high school, Cosby began attending college courses, but dropped out due to financial issues. He continued writing while moving around Virginia, eventually settling back in Mathews County. He worked multiple jobs including as a bouncer, in construction, and at a Lowe's while finding some initial publishing success with short stories.
Career Cosby self-published his first novel, Brotherhood of the Blade, in 2014.
His first traditionally published novel, My Darkest Prayer, was released in 2018 by a small press. His career breakthrough came after he impressed agent Josh Getzler during a crime writing symposium. Getzler was able to place Cosby's second novel, Blacktop Wasteland, with Flatiron Books. This was followed by Razorblade Tears in 2021, All the Sinners Bleed in 2023, and King of Ashes in 2025.
Cosby's writing is informed by his experiences growing up and living in the South. His works explore masculinity, racism, and the tension between Southern history and the present. Cosby says of the South: "If there's a place that is more haunted by its past and more overwhelmed by its original sin than the South, I'm unaware of it."
Awards and accolades Cosby's 2021 novel, Razorblade Tears, debuted #10 on The New York Times Best Seller list. The book was featured on Jimmy Fallon's The Tonight Show for Fallon's 2021 Summer Reads Book Club. The book was one of six contenders for a Jimmy Fallon read. It won or was nominated for a slew of awards, particularly ones that honor thrillers, suspense, and mystery, such as the Anthony Award, Barry Award, Edgar Award, Gold Dagger, ITW Award, Macavity Award, and Lefty Award. It was received positively by critics and audiences.
His previous novel, Blacktop Wasteland "...won a landslide of awards, including a Los Angeles Times Book Prize in 2020." Notably, it is a 2021 Anthony Award and Macavity Award winner. The International Thriller Writers, an association spanning 49 countries, with a membership of 4,500 authors of the genre, voted Blacktop Wasteland the ITW Award Best Hardcover Novel of 2021. It also was chosen as a 2020 New York Times Notable Book and charted at #22 on that list.
+YearWorkAwardResult2020Blacktop WastelandGoodreads Choice AwardsMystery & ThrillerLos Angeles Times Book PrizeMystery/Thriller2021Anthony AwardNovelBarry AwardNovelBCALA Literary AwardsFictionCWA Gold Dagger—ITW Award Hardcover NovelLefty AwardMystery NovelMacavity AwardMystery NovelRUSA CODES Reading ListAdrenalineRazorblade TearsGoodreads Choice AwardsMystery & ThrillerLos Angeles Times Book PrizeMystery/Thriller2022Anthony AwardNovelAudie AwardThriller/SuspenseBarry AwardNovelBCALA Literary AwardsFictionEdgar AwardsNovelCWA Gold Dagger—Hammett Prize—ITW AwardAudiobookHardcover NovelLefty AwardMystery NovelMacavity AwardMystery NovelRUSA CODES Reading ListAdrenaline 2023 All the Sinners Bleed Crime Fiction Lovers Award Book of the Year Goodreads Choice Awards Mystery & Thriller Los Angeles Times Book Prize Mystery/Thriller Libby Book Award Audiobook 2024 Anthony Award Hardcover Novel Retrieved 2026-05-10. Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence Fiction Audie Award Audiobook of the Year CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger — Edgar Award Novel ITW Award Hardcover Novel Lefty Award Mystery Novel Macavity Award Mystery Novel Retrieved 2026-05-10. Southern Book Prize Fiction The Strand Critics Award Novel 2025 King of Ashes Los Angeles Times Book Prize Mystery/Thriller Retrieved 2026-05-10. 2026 Barry Award Best Novel Retrieved 2026-05-10. PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction Fiction Retrieved 2026-05-10. Aspen Words Literary Prize — Retrieved 2026-05-10.
Bibliography
Adaptations Blacktop Wasteland and Razorblade Tears have been optioned for films. Jerry Bruckheimer Films "was among the group that won the film rights in an auction" for Razorblade Tears. All the Sinners Bleed is being adapted by Netflix into a nine-episode limited series starring Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù, Nicole Beharie, and John Douglas Thompson, with Joe Robert Cole as showrunner, executive producer, and writer. Hans Zimmer and his composer collective Bleeding Fingers Music are set to score the music.
References
External links
S. A. Cosby at Macmillan
S. A. Cosby, Pain is Universal – That's What Binds all of Crime Fiction Together", CrimeReads, July 21, 2020 "Interview With an Author: S.A. Cosby". Los Angeles Public Library. "In All the Sinners Bleed, Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù Hunts an Unholy Serial Killer". Netflix