Elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences in 2015.
Former staff writer for The News Journal (Wilmington, Delaware), The Boston Globe, People and The Washington Post Style Section. He has also written for The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Essence and National Geographic.
Served as saxophonist sideman for jazz legend Little Jimmy Scott.
His parents founded the New Brown Memorial Baptist Church located at 609 Clinton Street in Brooklyn, New York in the Red Hook housing project.
His novel The Good Lord Bird won the 2013 National Book award for fiction.