Clyde Edgerton was born on May 20, 1944 in Durham, North Carolina , and attended the University of North Carolina, where he received his B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. Edgerton was a pilot in the U. S. Air Force until he decided to return to teaching at both the high school and university levels. Edgerton's classic southern novels are set in North Carolina, where he has firsthand experience. His novels have received notable books of the year awards from the New York Times and Publisher's Weekly, and he has also received a Guggenheim Fellowship and a Lyndhurst Fellowship.