Robert Rick McCammon (born July 17, 1952) is an American novelist from Birmingham, Alabama. 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) and around 5 million books in print.As seen in foreword to Mine, Pocket Books paperbackStefan Dziemianowicz, "McCammon, Robert R(ick)" in St. James Guide to Horror, Ghost & Gothic Writers, edited by David Pringle. London : St. James Press,1998, (pp. 398-99) Since 2002, he's written ten books in a historical mystery series featuring an 18th-century magistrate's clerk, Matthew Corbett, as he unravels mysteries in colonial America.
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 from the University of Alabama 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 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.
After years out-of-print, Baal, Bethany's Sin, The Night Boat, and They Thirst were re-released by Subterranean Press 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 (1987) - The first of his novels to appear on the New York Times Bestseller List Stinger (1988) – Nominated for the 1988 Bram Stoker Award for Best Novel; New York Times Bestseller 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 (November 2023) (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
+ Awards List for Robert McCammon Work Year & AwardCategory Result Ref.Usher's Passing1985 Alabama Library Association Alabama Author AwardFictionNightcrawlers1985 World Fantasy AwardShort FictionSwan Song1987 Bram Stoker AwardNovel1988 World Fantasy AwardNovel1988 Locus AwardFantasy Novel1994 Japan Adventure Fiction Association PrizeThe Deep End1987 Bram Stoker AwardShort Fiction2014 FantLab's Book of the Year AwardOnline Publication in Small FormBest Friends1988 World Fantasy AwardNovellaStinger1988 Bram Stoker AwardNovel1989 Locus AwardHorror NovelEat Me1989 Bram Stoker AwardShort FictionThe Wolf's Hour1989 Bram Stoker AwardNovel1990 Locus AwardHorror Novel1992 Grand Prix de l'ImaginaireForeign NovelBlue World and Other Stories1989 Bram Stoker AwardFiction Collection1990 World Fantasy AwardCollection1990 Locus AwardCollectionMine1990 Bram Stoker AwardNovelBoy's Life1991 Bram Stoker AwardNovel1992 World Fantasy AwardNovel1992 Locus AwardHorror/Dark Fantasy Novel1994 Grand Prix de l'ImaginaireForeign Novel1995 Japan Adventure Fiction Association PrizeSpeaks the Nightbird2003 Independent Publisher Book AwardsHistorical/Military Fiction2004 Alabama Library Association Alabama Author AwardFiction2013 Audie AwardsFictionThe Border2015 Goodreads Choice AwardsHorrorCardinal Black2019 Dragon AwardsHorrorThe Listener2019 Locus AwardHorror Novel2008 World Horror Convention Grand Master Award2009 Phoenix Award2013 Bram Stoker AwardLifetime Achievement
References
External links
Robert McCammon's official site Robert McCammon: Matthew Corbett's World Robert McCammon @ Facebook Inkwell Newswatch McCammon Interview
"Corn on Macabre – An Appreciation of Robert McCammon" – Apocalypse Confidential