Amber McBride is an award-winning author and poet who writes for both children and adults—often referring to herself as a folklorist. Her books have collectively earned more than 25 starred reviews!
McBride recently resigned as an assistant professor at the University of Virginia so that she could pursue writing full time. She received her BA in English from James Madison University in 2010 and acquired her MFA in Poetry from Emerson College in 2012. She has also taught English Composition, English Literature, Poetry Composition and Poetry Workshops at James Madison University, Strayer University and Northern Virginia Community College.
Amber was formerly the media assistant and grant writer at The Furious Flower Poetry Center where she helped to organize programs and readings to honor African American poets and writers including Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison and Nikki Giovanni.
McBride’s poetry has been published in several literary magazines including Ploughshares, Blackbird, Willow Springs Magazine, On Being, Rust & Moth and many others. Her debut young adult novel, Me (Moth) was a finalist for the National Book Award and Morris Award. Me (Moth) went on to win the 2022 Coretta Scott King/ John Steptoe Award for new talent, among many other accolades. Her sophomore novel, We Are All So Good At Smiling, was critically acclaimed garnering 5 starred reviews. McBride’s middle grade debut, Gone Wolf, was also well received and went on to win the LA Times Book Award in Children’s Literature. Her adult poetry collection, Thick with Trouble, was called, “a beautiful web of interconnected pieces relating to her identity as a Black woman in the modern era,” by the Harvard Crimson. Her novel in verse The Leaving Room was long-listed for the National Book Award.
McBride is also an herbalist and practices Hoodoo (an African American folk-magick practice).