Illinois Libraries Present James McBride, an award-winning author, musician, and screenwriter. His landmark memoir, The Color of Water, was published in 1996 and is considered an American classic, read in schools and universities across the United States. His 2013 novel, The Good Lord Bird, won the National Book Award for Fiction and was adapted by Ethan Hawke and Jason Blum into a Showtime series bearing the same name. His latest, The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store, was named one of the New York Times’ 100 Notable Books of 2023.

Heather Marie-Montlilla of PBS Books will join McBride in conversation.

This event is made possible by Illinois Libraries Present, a statewide collaboration between public libraries offering high-quality events. Funding for this grant was awarded by the Illinois State Library, a Department of the Office for the Secretary of State, using funds provided by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services, under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA).