C. S. Giscombe is the author or coauthor of fourteen books, including Giscome Road, winner of the Carl Sandburg Prize; Prairie Style, winner of an American Book Award; Border Towns; Ohio Railroads; and Train Music, in collaboration with the book artist Judith Margolis. He is the recipient of the 2010 Stephen Henderson Award given by the African-American Literature and Culture Society. His work has been supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Council for the International Exchange of Scholars, the Canadian Embassy to the United States, and others. He is professor and Robert Hass Chair in English at the University of California, Berkeley.