James McBride

James McBride is an author, musician, and screenwriter. His landmark memoir, The Color of Water, rested on the New York Times bestseller list for two years and is considered an American classic. His debut novel, Miracle at St. Anna, was translated into a major motion picture directed by American film icon Spike Lee and released by Disney/Touchstone in September 2008. His novel Song Yet Sung was released in paperback in January 2009, and his latest novel, The Good Lord Bird, about American revolutionary John Brown, is the winner of the 2013 National Book Award for Fiction. James is also a former staff writer for the Boston Globe, People magazine, and the Washington Post. His work has appeared in Essence, Rolling Stone, the New York Times, and National Geographic. James is a native New Yorker and a graduate of New York City public schools. He studied composition at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Ohio and received his Masters in Journalism from Columbia University. He holds several honorary doctorates and is currently a Distinguished Writer in Residence at New York University.

Ten Things I Can’t Do Without

1. Yerba Mate tea
2. My saxophone
3. My three children, Azure
4. Jordan
5. and Nash
6. My cat, Minou
7. and Miles the kitten
8. One of my typewriters
9. New Brown Memorial Baptist Church
10. A normal life: taking the bus, riding my bike, normal people