Kill 'Em and Leave (27 page)

The Good Lord Bird

Song Yet Sung

Miracle at St. Anna

The Color of Water

Kill 'Em and Leave

J
AMES
M
C
B
RIDE
is an author, musician, and screenwriter. His memoir,
The Color of Water
(Riverhead), is an American literary classic that has been translated into more than sixteen languages. His novel
The Good Lord Bird
won the 2013 National Book Award for fiction. His novel
Miracle at St. Anna
became a 2008 Touchstone Disney film. His novel
Song Yet Sung
was the One Book, One Maryland choice of 2010. He has written screenplays and teleplays for film icon Spike Lee (
Miracle at St. Anna
,
Red Hook Summer
) and television pioneer David Simon (
Parting the Waters
). McBride is a former staff writer for
The News Journal
(Wilmington, Delaware),
The Boston Globe, People,
and
The Washington Post
Style Section. His work has appeared in
The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Essence,
and
National Geographic
. He is the recipient of the 1997 Anisfield-Wolf Book Award.

McBride holds several awards for his work as a musical theater composer, including the American Academy of Arts and Letters Richard Rodgers Award, the ASCAP Foundation Richard Rodgers New Horizons Award, and the American Music Theatre Festival's Stephen Sondheim Award. He has written songs (music and lyrics) for Anita Baker, Grover Washington, Jr., Gary Burton, Silver Burdett music textbooks, and for the PBS television character Barney. He served as a saxophonist sideman with jazz legend Little Jimmy Scott. James was born and raised in New York City and attended New York City public schools. He studied at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and holds a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University. He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2015, holds several honorary doctorates, and is currently a Distinguished Writer in Residence at the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute at New York University. McBride still tours with his Good Lord Bird band, playing gospel music.

jamesmcbride.com

Facebook.com/​JamesMcBrideAuthor