James McBride is an American writer and musician. He is the recipient of the 2013 National Book Award for fiction for his novel The Good Lord Bird.
McBride is known as the author of several distinguished books, foremost among them, The Color of Water, “an instant classic,” in the words of a New York Times reviewer. The book is about McBride's upbringing in a family of several African-American children born to a white, Jewish mother.