James McBride is an accomplished musician and author of the National Book Award-winning The Good Lord Bird, the bestselling American classic The Color of Water, and the bestsellers Song Yet Sung, Deacon King Kong, and Miracle at St. Anna, which was turned into a film by Spike Lee. He has also authored the story collection Five-Carat Soul, and Kill 'Em and Leave, a biography of James Brown. The recipient of a National Humanities Medal, McBride is also a Distinguished Writer in Residence at New York University.