This Goodly Land

Robert R. McCammon (July 17, 1952–present)

Other Names Used

Alabama Connections

Selected Works

Literary Awards

Biographical Information

Robert R. McCammon was born and raised in Birmingham, Ala. His parents divorced when he was very young, and he was raised by his grandparents. His grandfather read to him and told him ghost stories when he was growing up. He wrote his own stories as well, but he didn’t realize that anyone else might be interested in them until he read one to a class while in high school. McCammon decided to become a writer and majored in journalism at the University of Alabama, where he earned a BA in 1974. After graduation, he worked in several advertising jobs, then as a copy editor at the Birmingham Post-Herald.

During this period, McCammon was writing short stories and novels in his spare time and trying to get them published. In 1978, his first novel, Baal, was published, and he resigned from the newspaper to write full-time. McCammon was one of the founders of the Horror Writers of America organization (now the Horror Writers Association). He continued to publish a book every year until the early 1990s when he took a break from writing to rest and to focus on his family. He resumed writing again a few years later. He had trouble finding a publisher for his historical novel Speaks the Nightbird because it was so different from his earlier work. It was eventually published in 2002. McCammon lives in Birmingham with his family. His books are published worldwide and have been translated into many languages.

Interests and Themes

Most of Robert McCammon’s novels fall into the supernatural horror genre. His more recent works, although not supernatural, still examine the nature of evil. Two of his books, Mystery Walk and Boy’s Life, are set in Alabama.

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Reference Book Chapters and Encyclopedia Entries

Reference Web Sites

Photo by Sally McCammon; courtesy of Hunter Goatley.

Last updated on May 30, 2008.

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