James McBride

American writer · United States · On the map · Writers · Born 1957 · age 69

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.

James McBride is read about 173 times a day, in 13 languages.

A typical day, 30 days to 4 November 2026

The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 147 days, one point a day.

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A life in dates

2024Sophie Brody MedalAward2020“When I was a kid, my mother told me about the time my sister got lost at the circus in New York in Madison Square Garden. ...”In their wordsOn writing stories that are considered unseen in "James McBride's Advice For New Writers: 'A Simple Story Is The Best Story'" in NPR (2020Read the whole statement

2017“Me personally and professionally, I haven't been that outspoken about race and class, partly because it's in my work, but in part because I don't want to get hate mail.”In their wordsOn letting his work speak regarding race and class in “James McBride Says Fiction Writing Allows Him More Freedom” in NPR (2017 Oct 1)Read the whole statement

“You ugly enough to keep ants out of a picnic, mister.”In their wordsThe Moaning Bench (pp. 172-173)Read the whole statement

“I’m in the last October of life looking for a few more Aprils. I don’t want to remember no more.”In their wordsThe Christmas Dance (p. 209)Read the whole statement

“The rest of the stories came as they came, over the years, as I traveled over hill and dale and dusty trail, moving through life.”In their wordsAuthor’s Note (p. 309)Read the whole statement

2015National Humanities MedalAward2013“Writing is the act of failing at something all the time. Do it with a sense of humor, and it ain’t no big deal.”In their wordsOn the potential failure of writing in “James McBride: How I Write” in The Writer (2013 Dec 30)Read the whole statement

National Book Award for FictionAward1997Anisfield-Wolf Book AwardsAward1957Born11 September 1957

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McBride in 2018

In their own words 4

James McBride

4 statements, newest first

I tell them that a simple story is the best story, and that time and place is really crucial to good storytelling.
2020 · On the writing advice he gives to his students in "James McBride's Advice For New Writers: 'A Simple Story Is The Best Story'" in NPR (2020, Own words
She smiled a little bit. “Most of us has a desire to mind other folks’ business,” she said. “That’s the child in you, Butter, not the man.
2017 · The Five-Carat Soul Bottom Bone Band (p. 134), Own words
Now he wanted more. That’s the problem with Smelly Ones. They got one thing Animals don’t got. They got ambition.
2017 · Mr. P. & the Wind (p. 294; “Smelly Ones” are what animals in the story call humans), Own words