Black Voices & Culture: Fiction Books for Adults

Explore our curated list of fiction books by Black and African American voices in celebration of Black History Month.

Updated January 10, 2024
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Chain-gang all-stars
Adjei-Brenyah, Nana Kwame
Paper Book
A NEW YORK TIMES TOP TEN BOOK OF THE YEAR * FINALIST FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD IN FICTION * A READ WITH JENNA BOOK CLUB PICK * NATIONAL BESTSELLER * Two top women gladiators fight for their freedom within a depraved private prison system not so far-removed from...
Everything Is Not Enough
Akerstrom, Lola Akinmade.
Paper Book
From Lolá Ákínmádé Åkerström, international bestselling author of In Every Mirror She's Black, comes the highly anticipated second novel, focusing on the lives of three Black women as they fight their own personal struggles in one of the most egalitarian societies, Sweden. Can a...
The new naturals : a novel
Bump, Gabriel
Paper Book
Critically acclaimed, for readers of Paul Beatty's The Sellout and Jennifer Egan's The Candy House, a moving and darkly funny novel about an attempt to found an underground Utopia. An abandoned restaurant on a hill off the highway in Western...
The five sorrowful mysteries of Andy Africa : a novel
Buoro, Stephen
Paper Book
The Los Angeles Times Book Prizes Finalist Shortlisted for the 2024 Betty Trask Prize Longlisted for the 2024 Aspen Words Literary Prize Named a Best of the Year Book by NPR Crackling with energy and intelligence, this debut is the "<...
The survivalists : a novel
Cauley, Kashana
Paper Book
In the wake of her parents' death, Aretha, a habitually single Black lawyer, has had only one obsession in life - success - until she falls for Aaron, a coffee entrepreneur. Moving into his Brooklyn brownstone to live along with his Hurricane Sandy - traumatized, illegal-gun-stockpiling, optimized...
Juneteenth : a novel
Ellison, Ralph
Paper Book
From the author of bestselling Invisible Man--the classic novel of African-American experience--this long-awaited second novel tells an evocative tale of a prodigal of the twentieth century. Brilliantly crafted, moving, and wise, Juneteenth is the work...
Invisible man
Ellison, Ralph
Paper Book
Selected by the Modern Library as one of the 100 best novels of all time * Nominated as one of America's best-loved novels by PBS's The Great American Read Invisible Man is a milestone in American literature, a book that has continued to engage readers since its...
Maame
George, Jessica
Paper Book
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! * A Today Show #ReadWithJenna Book Club Pick * A February 2023 Indie Next Pick "Sparkling." --The New York Times "An utterly charming and deeply moving portrait of the joys<...
Life and other love songs
Gray, Anissa
Paper Book
"Musical in structure--the octaves rise when the music calls for it; truths are revealed by the invisible beats of this gorgeous, rich story" -Ann Napolitano, New York Times bestselling author of Hello Beautiful (Oprah's Book Club Pick) "Riveting, rhythmic, transcendent...
The love songs of W.E.B. Du Bois : a novel
Jeffers, Honorée Fanonne
Paper Book
An instant New York Times, Washington Post and USA Today Bestseller * AN OPRAH BOOK CLUB SELECTION * ONE OF THE ATLANTIC'S "GREAT AMERICAN NOVELS" * BARACK OBAMA'S FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2021 * WINNER OF THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD FOR FICTION A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: New York...
The house of Eve : a novel
Johnson, Sadeqa
Paper Book
"Amazing...I was completely surprised by the ending of this beautifully told and written book." --Reese Witherspoon "A triumph of historical fiction" (The Washington Post), an instant New York Times bestseller, and a Reese's Book Club pick, set in 1950s...
The known world
Jones, Edward P.
Paper Book
Henry Townsend, a farmer, boot maker, and former slave, through the surprising twists and unforeseen turns of life in antebellum Virginia, becomes proprietor of his own plantation--as well his own slaves. When he dies, his widow Caldonia succumbs to profound grief, and things begin...
Flipping boxcars : a novel
Kyles, Cedric
Paper Book
The first novel from one of the original Kings of Comedy, Cedric "The Entertainer," an engaging and entertaining crime caper that is a valentine to close-knit black families and tightly woven communities struggling to get by during the Depression and World War II. Babe is a charismatic and...
Pomegranate
Lee, Helen Elaine
Ebook
LONGLISTED FOR THE 2024 ANDREW CARNEGIE MEDAL FOR EXCELLENCE IN FICTION The acclaimed author of The Serpent's Gift returns with this "deep and beautiful" (Jaqueline Woodson, New York Times bestselling author) story about a queer Black woman working to stay clean,...
Zora books her happy ever after
McCoy, Taj
Paper Book
Named a Most Anticipated Book of 2023 by Entertainment Weekly · EBONY magazine · PopSugar · Paste Magazine · BuzzFeed · BiblioLifestyle · Culturess  "Taj McCoy offers readers a yummy love triangle with her latest...
Beloved
Morrison, Toni
Paper Book
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, Toni Morrison's Beloved is a spellbinding and dazzlingly innovative portrait of a woman haunted by the past. One of The Atlantic's Great American Novels of the Past 100 Years Sethe was born a slave and escaped to Ohio,...
Every man a king
Mosley, Walter
Paper Book
In this highly anticipated sequel from Edgar Award-winning "master of craft and narrative," Walter Mosley, Joe King Oliver is entangled in a dangerous case when he's asked to investigate whether a white nationalist is being unjustly set up (National Book Foundation). When...
Notes on her color : a novel
Neal, Jennifer
Paper Book
Winner of the Vulgar Geniuses Award Florida kitsch swirls together with magical realism in this glittering debut novel about a young Black and Indigenous woman who learns to change the color of her skin Gabrielle has always had a complicated relationship with her...
Small worlds
Nelson, Caleb Azumah
Paper Book
The one thing that can solve Stephen's problems is dancing. Dancing at Church, with his parents and brother, the shimmer of Black hands raised in praise; he might have lost his faith, but he does believe in rhythm. Dancing with his friends, somewhere in a basement with the drums about to drop, while...
Queen of exiles : a novel
Riley, Vanessa
Paper Book
"You may not know Marie-Louise Christophe but once you have met her, you won't forget her. Vanessa Riley's historical novel feels timely and relevant, commemorating a time when Black women were queens." --Jodi Picoult, #1 New York Times bestselling author Acclaimed historical...
The color purple
Walker, Alice
Paper Book
The Pulitzer Prize-winning novel that tells the story of two sisters through their correspondence. With a new Preface by the author.
Crook manifesto : a novel
Whitehead, Colson
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * The two-time Pulitzer Prize winner and bestselling author of Harlem Shuffle continues his Harlem saga in a powerful and hugely-entertaining novel that summons 1970s New York in all its seedy glory. A Best Book of the Year: The New...

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