Meet James McBride at the library on Thursday, March 16, 7:30 p.m.

James McBride is an award-winning writer and composer. His critically acclaimed memoir, The Color of Water, won the 1997 Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for Literary Excellence, was an ALA Notable Book of the Year, and spent more than two years on the New York Times bestseller list. In 2002 it was chosen by The New York Women's Agenda as the book for New York City Reads Together, the first book selected for that honor. The Color of Water has sold more than 1.5 million copies in the United States alone and is now required reading at numerous colleges and high schools across the country. It is a perennial favorite among book clubs and community-wide reading groups, and has been published in 16 languages and in more than 20 countries.

McBride's latest book, Miracle at St. Anna, an historical novel released in January 2002, is the story of an Italian orphan who befriends a black American soldier in Italy during World War II. It has been hailed as "an outstanding novel" by The Dallas Morning News, called "greathearted, hopeful, and deeply imaginative" by Elle Magazine, and is described as "searingly, soaringly beautiful" by The Baltimore Sun. McBride is a former staff writer for The Washington Post, People Magazine, and Boston Globe. His work has also appeared in Essence, Rolling Stone and The New York Times. Aside from his literary honors, McBride is also a musician. McBride is currently writing his newest book, a novel about jazz, and tours with his 12 piece R&B/jazz band. McBride has appeared in numerous newspapers and magazines including People, Newsweek, Savoy and USA Today. He has appeared on several national radio and television shows including The Rosie O'Donnell Show, NPR's All Things Considered, Fresh Air, Morning Edition, and in major news outlets in Australia, New Zealand, Great Britain, Canada, Germany, Belgium, and Italy. James is a native New Yorker and graduate of New York City public schools. He studied composition at The Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Ohio and received a Masters in Journalism from Columbia University in New York at age 22. He also holds an Honorary Doctorate of Human Letters from Whitman College and The College of New Jersey.

To learn more about James McBride, visit his official website at www.jamesmcbride.com.