Sharyn McCrumb (born February 26, 1948)"Sharyn McCrumb." Contemporary Authors Online. Detroit: Gale, 2008. Gale Biography In Context. Web. May 13, 2011. is an American writer best known for books that celebrate the history and folklore of Appalachia. McCrumb is the winner of numerous literary awards,"Sharyn McCrumb." Gale Literature: Contemporary Authors, Gale, 2017. Gale In Context: Biography, link.gale.com/apps/doc/H1000127955/BIC?u=nclivewicc&sid=bookmark-BIC&xid=e6fca62c. Accessed 5 June 2025. and is the author of the best-selling Ballad novels, set in the North Carolina/Tennessee mountains; the NASCAR 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.

Career McCrumb is a Southern writer, perhaps best known for her Appalachian Ballad novels, including The New York Times bestsellers The Ballad of Frankie Silver and She Walks These Hills, and for St. Dale, winner of a Library of Virginia 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 with a master's degree in English from Virginia Tech, 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 Bonn-Germany, and at the Smithsonian Institution. 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.Critical Study of Sharyn McCrumb's Novels. Holloway, Kimberly, ed. From a Race of Story Tellers: Critical Essays on The Ballad Novels of Sharyn McCrumb. Atlanta: Mercer University Press, 2003.

In 2008 McCrumb was honored as one of the Library of Virginia'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

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

St. Dale novels In 2005, NASCAR 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's The Canterbury Tales. It was Dale Earnhardt 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 Awarding body Year Award issued WorkNational Daughters of the American Revolution2017Woman of the Arts Award West Virginia Library Association2017Literary Merit AwardClarksville Arts and Heritage Development Council2015Patricia Winn Award for Southern FictionKing's MountainChowan University2014Mary Frances Hobson Prize for Southern LiteratureLibrary of Virginia2008Virginia Woman in History Award2006People's Choice Award for FictionSt. DaleAppalachian Writers Association2006Book of the YearSt. Dale2005Best NovelSt. Dale1992Best NovelThe Hangman's Beautiful Daughter1985Best NovelLovely in Her BonesAudio Publishers Association2004Best Recorded BookGhost RidersEast Tennessee State University2003Wilma Dykeman Award for LiteratureGhost RidersFlora MacDonald Award1999Achievement in the Arts by a Woman of Scots HeritageShepard University and the WV Heritage Council1999Appalachian Heritage Writer's AwardBerea College1998Plattner Award for Best Appalachian Short StoryFoggy Mountain BreakdownMorehead State University1998Chaffin Award for Appalachian WritingAppalachian Writers Association1997Outstanding Contribution to Appalachian Literature Agatha Award 1995 Best Novel If I'd Killed Him When I Met Him 1994 Best Novel She Walks These Hills 1992 Best Novel The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter Best Short-story "Happiness is a Dead Poet" 1989 Best Short-story "A Wee Doch and Doris" 1988 Best Novel Paying the Piper Anthony Award 1995 Best Novel She Walks These Hills Best Short-story "The Monster of Glamis" 1991 Best Novel If Ever I Return, Pretty Peggy-O Best Short-story "The Luncheon" "Remains to be Seen" 1990 Best Short-story "A Wee Doch and Doris" 1989 Best Paperback Original Paying the Piper 1988 Best Paperback Original Bimbos of the Death Sun Edgar Award 1988 Best Paperback Original Bimbos of the Death SunSherwood Anderson Short Story Award1984Best Short Story"Precious Jewel" Macavity Award 1995 Best Novel She Walks These Hills 1991 Best Novel If Ever I Return Pretty Peggy-O Nero Award 1995 Best Novel She Walks These Hills

References

External links

McCrumb's biography at the Library of Virginia 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