Donald McCaig

Donald McCaig is a critically acclaimed essayist, poet, and novelist. His most recent novel, Rhett Butler’s People, spent 12 weeks on The New York Times Bestseller List. It is a sequel to Gone with the Wind, authorized by the Margaret Mitchell estate. His other novels include Canaan, Jacob’s Ladder, Nop’s Trials, and The Butte Polka.

McCaig’s nonfiction works include Eminent Dogs, Dangerous Men; An American Homeplace; A Useful Dog; and The Dog Wars.

Among his many honors, McCaig has received the American Library Association Award for best military fiction, the John Esten Cooke Award for best southern fiction, the Michael Shaara Award for best Civil War novel, and the Library of Virginia Award for best fiction. McCaig was named Honorary Doctor of Humanities by Christopher Newport University. His novel Rhett Butler’s People was nominated for the Library of Virginia 2008 fiction award.

McCaig has appeared on national television on the Pete Rose show, Good morning America, the Late Late Show, and CBS Nightline.

In addition to his novels, McCaig has also written highly praised poems and essays. His poems appear in Harpers, Extensions, and Clear Creek, and in one book, Last Poems. He has contributed articles to The Atlantic, Harper's, GQ, Sports Illustrated, Outside, Country Journal, The Smithsonian Magazine, and The New York Times Magazine. His reviews and opinion pieces have appeared in The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and New York Newsday.