James Carroll

James Carroll is an American author and Roman Catholic priest, born in Chicago and raised in Washington D.C. He has had a varied career, including work as a civil rights worker, an antiwar activist, and a community organizer in Washington and New York. Carroll's religious background has had a significant influence on his writing, with many of his works drawing on his experiences as a priest.

After being ordained to the priesthood in 1969, Carroll served as Catholic chaplain at Boston University. However, he later chose to leave the priesthood to pursue a career as a novelist and playwright. He currently resides in Boston with his wife, the novelist Alexandra Marshall, and their two children.

Carroll has written a total of twenty non-fiction and fiction books. His works of non-fiction include "The Truth at the Heart of the Lie: How the Catholic Church Lost Its Soul," while his fiction works include "The Cloister," which was praised by The New York Times as "incandescent." Some of his other notable books are "An American Requiem," which won the National Book Award, and "Constantine's Sword," which was adapted into a documentary. Carroll has also been recognized for his contributions to journalism, having written a weekly column for The Boston Globe for 23 years and occasionally contributing to NEWYORKER.COM. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences and an Associate of The Mahindras Humanities Center at Harvard University.