James McBride To Appear at Baltimore Book Festival

Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:
Andrea Lewis, 410-685-6161, alewis@mdhc.org

James McBride, author of Song Yet Sung, to appear at Baltimore Book Festival

The Maryland Humanities Council is pleased to bring the celebrated author of Song Yet Sung, James McBride, to the 2009 Baltimore Book Festival in Baltimore's Mount Vernon Place. He will speak in the festival's Literary Salon, Sunday, September 27, 2009, at noon in the East Park.

Song Yet Sung was selected by the Maryland Center for the Book, a program of the Maryland Humanities Council, as the 2009 One Maryland One Book. Song Yet Sung is set on Maryland's Eastern Shore in the 1850s, and weaves an intricate and gripping tale of escaped slaves, free blacks, and slave catchers. It was selected to offer Marylanders the opportunity to discuss topics such as race, identity, the intricacy of relationships, and Maryland history.

Honorary One Maryland One Book Chair, Maryland's First Lady Katie O'Malley,, says, "On behalf of the State of Maryland, I am delighted to invite you to participate in One Maryland One Book, our state's community reading project... I encourage you to take this opportunity to make a little time for reading and conversation in your life, and hope that you will join me and thousands of Marylanders by going to your local public library or bookstore to get a copy of Song Yet Sung."

James McBride is an author, musician and screenwriter. His landmark memoir, The Color of Water, is considered an American classic and is read in schools and universities across the United States. His debut novel, Miracle at St. Anna, was made into a major motion picture directed by Spike Lee, for which McBride wrote the screenplay. It was released by Disney/Touchstone in September 2008, and is now available on DVD. McBride also wrote the script for the film, now available on DVD. His newest novel, Song Yet Sung, was released in paperback in January 2009.

McBride is also a saxophonist who tours with his six piece jazz/R&B band. He served as a sideman with jazz legend Jimmy Scott, among others. He has written songs (music and lyrics) for Anita Baker; Grover Washington, Jr.; Purafe; Gary Burton; and even for the PBS television character "Barney." (He did not write the "I Love You" song for Barney, but wishes he did.)

He is a former staff writer for The Boston Globe, People Magazine, and The Washington Post. His work has appeared in Essence, Rolling Stone, and The New York Times. His April 2007 National Geographic story entitled "Hip Hop Planet" is considered a respected treatise on African American music and culture. He has been featured on national radio and television programs in America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.
McBride is a native New Yorker and a graduate of New York City public schools. He studied composition at The Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Ohio and received his Masters in Journalism from Columbia University in New York at age 22. He holds several honorary doctorates and is currently a Distinguished Writer in Residence at New York University. He is married with three children.

One Maryland One Book, Maryland's first and only statewide community reading project, is designed to bring together diverse people in communities across the state through the shared experience of reading the same book and participating in book-centered discussions and other related programs at public libraries, high schools, colleges and universities, museums, bookstores, and other organizations. The Maryland Humanities Council has at the core of its mission a deep commitment to providing Marylanders with an opportunity to gather and discuss issues important to their lives, believing that a great work of literature provides an excellent springboard to do so.

McBride will also speak at Bridgeway Community Church, 9189 Red Branch Road, Columbia, MD on Sunday, September 27, 2009, at 4 p.m. For more information call 410-730-4855.

For a complete calendar of the 2009 One Maryland One Book author tour around Maryland, go to www.mdhc.org/programs/one-maryland-one-book/author-tour.

One Maryland One Book is funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, LSTA grant funds, through the Division of Library Development & Services, Maryland State Department of Education; Bank of America Foundation; Verizon; Constellation Energy; and Baltimore Office of Promotion & the Arts.

The Maryland Humanities Council is a statewide, educational, nonprofit organization that is affiliated with the National Endowment for the Humanities. The mission of the Council is to stimulate and promote informed dialogue and civic engagement on issues critical to Marylanders.