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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Where I'm coming from : selected strips 1991-2005
Brandon-Croft, Barbara
Paper Book
A seasoned cartoonist of epic proportions, Brandon-Croft carves out space for Black women's perspectives in her nationally syndicated strip Few Black cartoonists have entered national syndication, and before Barbara Brandon-Croft, none of them were women. From 1989 to 2005, she...
House of cotton
Brashears, Monica
Paper Book
FINALIST for the 2024 NYPL Young Lions Fiction Award * NPR BEST BOOK OF 2023 * An enchanting Black Southern gothic debut, perfect for readers of Mexican Gothic... "Fresh, haunting...In her roller-coaster ride of a gothic debut novel, Monica Brashears upends expectations at...
You never know : a novel of domestic suspense
Briscoe, Connie
Paper Book
"The thing I love about Connie Briscoe now is the same thing I've always loved about Connie Briscoe--she writes highly commercial, pacey, character-driven stories. She was made for domestic suspense." --Karin Slaughter, New York Times bestselling author The revered New York...
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
Longlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize A Phenomenal Book Club Pick "A great and engrossing read, Kashana humanizes a way of life that is often made fun of and makes the reader understand why someone would go to such great lengths to prepare for the future, so...
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...
Pomegranate : a novel
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,...
Trinity : a novel
Lockhart, Zelda
Paper Book
The Hurston-Wright Award Finalist makes her long-awaited return with this electrifying saga--as moving and indelible as The Twelve Tribes of Hattie, The Turner House, and The Love Songs of W. E. B. DuBois--that explores three generations of a family trying to overcome trials and...
Lush lives : a novel
Lyon, J. Vanessa
Ebook
Zora books her happy ever after
McCoy, Taj
Ebook
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...
One blood
Millner, Denene
Paper Book
A People Magazine Pick. "In delicious, decadent prose, Denene Millner does what few authors can-compose a sprawling multigenerational tale that is necessary American reading. One Blood sings the song of the South in a voice that is heartbreaking, hopeful, and...
Beloved : a novel
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...
Queen of exiles : a novel
Riley, Vanessa
Ebook
Women of the post
Sanders, Joshunda
Ebook
  "What a beautifully imagined and important narrative. Sanders' clear-eyed and powerful writing made this a hard one to stop reading!" --Jacqueline Woodson, National Book Award-Winning Author "This is a novel to cherish and share. And this is a...
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.
We are a haunting : a novel
White, Tyriek
Paper Book
WINNER - 2023 Center for Fiction First Novel Prize National Book Foundation "5 Under 35" Honoree Longlisted for the Brooklyn Public Library Book Prize A Best Book of 2023 - NPR, Electric Literature, Largehearted Boy, Black Girl Nerds, Le Noir Auteur...
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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