Bernice McFadden


Bernice L. McFadden is an American novelist. She has also written humorous erotica under the pseudonym Geneva Holliday. Author of fifteen novels, she is an Assistant Professor of Creative Writing at Tulane University in New Orleans.

Life

Bernice L. McFadden was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York.
In April 2005 McFadden was a MacDowell Colony Fellow in New Hampshire. She received an El Gouna Writers’ Residency in Egypt in June 2011. In April 2013 she was Serenbe Artist-in-Residence in Georgia.
In 2016 McFadden was awarded an MFA from The Writer's Foundry at St. Joseph's College in Brooklyn, NY.
In 2022, Bernice McFadden created and copyrighted the word: Angelcestor n A divine ancestor who serves as guide and protector of the living.
Mark: ANGELCESTOR
https://angelcestor.com

Works

  • Sugar: A Novel. Dutton Publishers. 2000,,
  • The Book of Harlan. Brooklyn, New York: Akashic Books, 2016,
Writing as Geneva Holliday: Groove. Random House. 2005Fever. Random House. 2006 Heat. Random House. 2007Seduction. Random House. 2008Lover Man. Random House. 2009
Short fiction
  • "Keeper of Keys", USA Today Open Book Series. July 2001
  • "Luscious", Gumbo: A Literary Rent Party. Marita Golden, ed. Doubleday, 2002
  • "One Night Stand", Black Silk. Retha Powers, ed. Warner Books, 2002
  • "Sit", Brown Sugar II. Carol Taylor, ed. Washington Square Press, 2003
  • "Black Power", On The Line. Donna Hill, ed. Sepia Books, 2008
  • "Coming to America", Time Out New York. October 2014
  • "OBF Inc.", Cutting Edge: New Stories of Mystery and Crime by Women Writers. Joyce Carol Oates, ed. Akashic Books, 2019
  • "God's Work," Nicotine Chronicles. Lee Childs, ed. Akashic Books, 2020
  • ",", 2021
Creative Non-fiction
  • "Forward, Prologue & Preface". Black Boy. Richard Wright, Everbind Anthologies, 2003
  • "Superman Has His Cape." The Washington Post, March 19, 2006
  • "The Power of Prayer." Black Pain. Terrie Williams, ed. Scribner, 2008
  • "Black Writers in a Ghetto of the Publishing Industry's Making," The Washington Post. June 26, 2010
  • Review of If Sons, Then Heirs by Lorene Cary. The Philadelphia Inquirer. May 22, 2011
  • "Life in Egypt." Crisis Magazine. December 2011
  • Review of The Last Runaway by Tracy Chevalier. The Washington Post. January 10, 2013
  • "Barbados", The New York Times. November 10, 2013
  • "Bernice L. McFadden Introduces her New Novel, The Book of Harlan", October 10, 2016, www.foyles.co.uk. Retrieved November 15, 2020
  • "15." What My Mother and I Don't Talk About. Michele Filgate, ed. Simon and Schuster
  • June 4, 2020
  • "Zora Neale Hurston." Four Hundred Souls. Ibram X. Kendi, ed., Keisha N. Blain, ed. One World, 2021
  • "" Longreads, August 5, 2021
  • , Oldster Magazine, November 15, 2021
  • , The Guardian, July 21, 2022
  • Oldster Magazine, June 19, 2023

Awards, Honors, Recognitions, Mentions

  • 2023 Librarians recommend their favorite books of all time https://www.libbylife.com/2023-07-24-librarians-recommend-their-favorite-books-of-all-time
  • 2023 Beach Reads to Keep Arkansas on Your Mind https://onlyinark.com/homegrown/beach-reads-to-keep-arkansas-on-your-mind/
  • 2023 Opinion: A map of 1,001 novels to show us where to find the real America https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2023-05-28/american-novels-1001-literary-geography-map-states
  • 2022 Black Book Canon https://medium.com/ballasts-for-the-mind/the-100-best-books-by-black-authors-4f91042b8a65
  • 2022
  • 2021:
  • 2021: pick
  • 2020: Mary Cadden and others, USA Today, "100 Black novelists and fiction writers you should read, from Abi Daré to Zora Neale Hurston"
  • 2019: Essence Magazine "Best Books of the Decade"
  • 2019: Longlist, Women's Prize for Fiction
  • 2019: BCALA Honor Award
  • 2019; Go On Girl Book Club Author of the Year
  • 2017: American Book Award
  • 2017: Winner 2017 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work
  • 2016: Washington Post Notable Books of 2016
  • 2016: Historical Novel Society "November Editor’s Choice"
  • 2016: National Reading Group Month/ Great Group Reads Selection
  • 2016: Award for Excellence in Literature, Art Sanctuary, The Celebration of Black Arts Legacy Awards
  • 2013: Finalist, Hurston Wright Legacy Award in Fiction
  • 2013: National Reading Group Month/Great Group Reads Selection
  • 2012: The New York Times 100 Notable Books
  • 2012: Washington Post 50 Best Books
  • 2012: The New York Times "Editor’s Choice" February 17, 2012
  • 2011: Finalist, Hurston Wright Legacy Award in Fiction
  • 2011: Black Caucus of the American Library Association, Fiction Award '
  • 2011: Nominated for the 2011 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work '
  • 2010: New York Times Book Review
  • 2010: Debut Selection for The One Book, One Harlem Program
  • 2010: O Magazine "Book to Watch"
  • 2010: Historical Novel Society "Editor’s Choice"
  • 2007: Short-listed for the Hurston Wright Legacy Award in Fiction
  • 2007: National Book Club Conference BeBe Moore Campbell Memorial Literary Award
  • 2006: Washington PostBest Fiction
  • 2004: Subject of The Lifetime Television 20th Anniversary Commercial
  • 2004: Black Caucus of the American Library Association, Fiction Honor Award
  • 2002: Shortlisted for the Hurston Wright Legacy Award in Fiction
  • 2002: Zora Neale Hurston Society Award for Creative Contribution to Literature
  • 2001: Black Caucus of the American Library Association, Fiction Honor Award
  • 2001: Black Writer's Alliance, Gold Pen Award, Best Mainstream Fiction
  • 2001: Black Writer's Alliance, Gold Pen Award, Best New Author
  • 2001: Go On Girl Book Club New Author of the Year Award
  • 2000: New York Times Book Review
  • 2000: Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers