Black Atlantic Canadian Voices

Books by Black authors in Newfoundland and Labrador, and across Atlantic Canada. Great titles to read for Black History Month and throughout the year.

Updated January 30, 2026
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Single Dreadlock
Campbell, Xaiver Michael
Paper Book
When Lovie moves from Jamaica to Newfoundland, his classmates make fun of his single dreadlock. But with Grandma's help, Lovie learns to care for his hair -- and himself. Lovie never thought he looked different until he and his dads moved to Spruce Cove. Back in Jamaica, Grandma would tend...
The possible lives of W.H. Sailor /
Junaid, Bushra
Paper Book
"What truths would you utter from your mouth If you could tell us your story"-- The Possible Lives of W.H., Sailor In this powerful and deeply moving poetic narrative, author/artist Bushra Junaid gives presence to W.H., a mysterious nineteenth-century sailor whose remains were...
And I alone escaped to tell you /
Hamilton, Sylvia, 1950-
Paper Book
The settlement of African peoples in Nova Scotia is a richly layered story encompassing many waves of settlement and diverse circumstances-from captives to 'freedom runners' who sailed north from the United States with hopes of establishing a new life. The poems in And I Alone Escaped to Tell You...
Whylah Falls /
Clarke, George Elliott
Paper Book
The mythic community created within these poems is populated with larger-than-life characters: lovers, murderers, musicians, and muses. Winner of the Archibald Lampman Award for Poetry, Whylah Falls has inspired a drama, a stage play, and a feature film, One Heart Broken into Song. This Tenth...
Where beauty survived : an Africadian memoir /
Clarke, George Elliott
Paper Book
A vibrant, revealing memoir about the cultural and familial pressures that shaped George Elliott Clarke's early life in the Black Canadian community that he calls Africadia, centred in Halifax, Nova Scotia. As a boy, George Elliott Clarke knew that a great deal was expected from...
The quest for a "national" nationalism : E. J. Pratt's epic ambition, "race" con
Clarke, George Elliott
Paper Book
In his 2018 Pratt Lecture, The Quest for a 'National' Nationalism, renowned author and critic George Elliott Clarke investigates E.J. Pratt's poetic attempt to become the epic poet of Canada. And while Pratt's epic poems, such as Brebeuf and His Brethren and Towards the Last...
Whiteout : how Canada cancels Blackness
Clarke, George Elliott
Paper Book
In Whiteout:  How Canada Cancels Blackness, his new and essential collection of essays, George Elliott Clarke exposes the various ways in which the Canadian imagination demonizes, excludes, and oppresses Blackness. Clarke's range is extraordinary: he canvasses African-Canadian writers...
Abolitionist intimacies. [online electronic book]
Jones, El, 1979-
Ebook
The Bridge
Grant,Shauntay
Ebook
Set in a rural Black Nova Scotian community, The Bridge explores the complex relationship between two brothers strained over twenty years of secrecy, deception, and dishonour. Secrets are revealed one by one from the brothers themselves, as well as a trio of community gossips who provide...
My fade is fresh.
Grant, Shauntay
Paper Book
A little girl makes sure she walks out of the barbershop rocking the fabulous hair style she chooses. Learn the importance of speaking up for what you want through this fun and empowering picture book. When a little girl walks into her local barbershop, she knows she...
When I Wrap My Hair
Grant, Shauntay
Paper Book
In the vein of I Am Enough and Hold Them Close, this inspiring and beautiful picture book celebrates how hair wrapping ties together past and present. When I wrap, my roots run deep. As deep as an African marketplace or a city sidewalk or the...
The hanging of Angelique : the untold story of Canadian slavery and the burning of old Montre al
Cooper, Afua.
Paper Book
Writer, historian and poet Afua Cooper tells the astonishing story of Marie-Joseph Angélique, a slave woman convicted of starting a fire that destroyed a large part of Montréal in April 1734 and condemned to die a brutal death. In a powerful retelling of Angélique's story--now supported by...
The hanging of Angelique : [online electronic book] the untold story of Canadian
Cooper, Afua
Ebook
Writer, historian and poet Afua Cooper tells the astonishing story of Marie-Joseph Angélique, a slave woman convicted of starting a fire that destroyed a large part of Montréal in April 1734 and condemned to die a brutal death. In a powerful retelling of Angélique's story -- now supported by...
Amazing Black Atlantic Canadians /
Ruck, Lindsay R
Paper Book
This fascinating, full-colour illustrated book features over 50 amazing Black people from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador, sharing their incredible stories and accomplishments, past and present. Among these amazing Black Atlantic Canadians...
Amazing Black Atlantic Canadians : inspiring stories of courage and achievement
Ruck, Lindsay
Paper Book
This fascinating, full-colour illustrated book features over 50 amazing Black people from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador, sharing their incredible stories and accomplishments, past and present. Among these amazing Black Atlantic Canadians...
Grover School Pledge
Taylor, Wanda Lauren
Paper Book
A true-to-life story about the pains and triumphs of growing up, perfect for readers of Renée Watson and Lisa Moore Ramée Arlaina Jefferson is eager to prove herself. Tasked with caring for her cousin's rabbit, Obeena, Arlaina knows all that stands between her and the grown-up world of...
The Grover School pledge
Taylor, Wanda Lauren
Ebook
A true-to-life story about the pains and triumphs of growing up, perfect for readers of Renée Watson and Lisa Moore Ramée Arlaina Jefferson is eager to prove herself. Tasked with caring for her cousin's rabbit, Obeena, Arlaina knows all that stands between her and the grown-up world of...
#BlackInSchool /
Diallo, Habiba Cooper.
Paper Book
A young Black woman documents the systemic racism in her high school diary and calls for justice and educational reform. The prevalence of anti-Black racism and its many faces, from racial profiling to police brutality, in North America is indisputable. How do we stop...
We rip the world apart
Carr, Charlene
Paper Book
A sweeping multi-generational story about motherhood, race and secrets in the lives of three women, perfect for readers of Brit Bennett's The Vanishing Half and David Chariandy's Brother When 24-year-old Kareela discovers she's pregnant with a child she isn't sure she wants, it amplifies...
We rip the world apart
Carr, Charlene
Ebook
A sweeping multi-generational story about motherhood, race and secrets in the lives of three women, perfect for readers of Brit Bennett's The Vanishing Half and David Chariandy's Brother When 24-year-old Kareela discovers she's pregnant with a child she isn't sure she wants, it amplifies...
Hold my girl.
Carr, Charlene
Paper Book
For fans of Jodi Picoult, Kate Hewitt and Ashley Audrain, a heart-wrenching novel about two women whose eggs are switched during IVF   Katherine is a woman full of obsessions. Everything clean, everything perfect, all the time. After seven years of trying--and failing--to conceive,...
Hold my girl
Carr, Charlene
Ebook
For fans of Jodi Picoult, Kate Hewitt and Ashley Audrain, a heart-wrenching novel about two women whose eggs are switched during IVF   Katherine is a woman full of obsessions. Everything clean, everything perfect, all the time. After seven years of trying--and failing--to conceive,...
The underground railroad : next stop, Toronto! /
Shadd, Adrienne L.
Paper Book
"The Underground Railroad: Next Stop, Toronto! stands out as an engaging and highly readable account of the lives of Black people in Toronto in the 1800s. Adrienne Shadd, Afua Cooper and Karolyn Smardz Frost offer many helpful points of entry for readers...

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