Black SF & Fantasy

A selection of recommended of science-fiction and fantasy stories written by Black authors. These are just some of the great titles by Black authors writing in these genres. See our catalogue for more. Or check out our similar list on Overdrive/Libby: https://elibrary.overdrive.com/collection/1527183

Updated February 10, 2026
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Death of the author
Okorafor, Nnedi
Paper Book
Son of the morning
Emezi, Akwaeke
Paper Book
Make me a monster
Bayron, Kalynn
Paper Book
New York Times bestselling author Kalynn Bayron is back with a Frankenstein-tinged horror romance. Meka is used to death. After all, it's the family business. As a mortician's assistant at her parents' funeral home, Meka's days are not...
(S)Kin
Zoboi, Ibi Aanu.
Paper Book
A FINALIST FOR THE 2025 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD SIX STARRED REVIEWS A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection From award-winning, New York Times bestselling author Ibi Zoboi comes her groundbreaking contemporary fantasy debut--a novel in verse based...
Infinity alchemist
Callender, Kacen
Paper Book
Swoony romance meets epic fantasy as Ash Wood racesto find the legendary Book of Source - the debut YAfantasy from the bestselling and award-winning KacenCallender.
Chain-Gang All-Stars
Adjei-Brenyah, Nana Kwame
Paper Book
A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF THE YEAR
Sing me to sleep
Burton, Gabi
Paper Book
Words sting. Songs kill. 'Everything about Burton's debut is razor-sharp' NATASHA NGANThe Cruel Prince meets To Kill a Kingdom in this seductive YA fantasy debut, in which a siren must choose between protecting her family and following her heart in a...
Black candle women
Brown, Diane Marie
Paper Book
'[An] evocative and tender book . . . everyone who reads it will be enchanted like I was' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ reader reviewA Read with Jenna Book Club Pick as Seen on the Today Show and named a Best Book of the Month by: Shondaland, MS. Magazine, TODAY.com, Reader...
The memory librarian : and other stories of dirty computer
Monaae, Janelle
Paper Book
In The Memory Librarian music, fashion, film and futurist icon Janelle Monáe returns to the Afrofuturistic world of her critically acclaimed album, Dirty Computer, to explore how different threads of liberation - queerness, race, gender plurality, love - become tangled in a totalitarian landscape...
Blood scion.
Falaye, Deborah
Paper Book
"Equal parts soaring fantasy, heart-pounding action, and bloody social commentary, Blood Scion is a triumph of a book." --Roseanne A. Brown, New York Times bestselling author of A Song of Wraiths and Ruin  This is what they deserve. They wanted me to be a monster....
Bad witch burning
Lewis, Jessica
Paper Book
For fans of Lovecraft Country and Candyman comes a witchy story full of Black girl magic as one girl's dark ability to summon the dead offers her a chance at a new life, while revealing to her an even darker future. Katrell can talk to the dead. And she wishes it...
Beasts of prey.
Gray, Ayana
Paper Book
In this blockbuster fantasy series, perfect for fans of Firekeeper's Daughter and Iron Widow, fate binds two Black teenagers together as they journey into a magical jungle to hunt down a vicious monster. "Rich in magic and mythos, Beasts of Prey is a feast...
Far sector. [graphic novel]
Jemisin, N. K.
Paper Book
Winner of the 2022 Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story or Comic! The first murder in 500 years. Twenty billion suspects. One hope. The City Enduring, a booming metropolis at the edge of the universe, hasn't experienced a violent crime in generations. The Emotion...
Remote control.
Okorafor, Nnedi
Paper Book
An alien artifact turns a young girl into Death's adopted daughter in Remote Control, a thrilling sci-fi tale of community and female empowerment from Nebula and Hugo Award-winner Nnedi Okorafor "She's the adopted daughter of the Angel of Death. Beware of her. Mind...
This poison heart
Bayron, Kalynn
Paper Book
_______________ 'Kalynn Bayron does more than re-write a fairy-tale ... She breaks it apart and rebuilds it into a wholly original and captivating story where girls finally decide for themselves who lives happily ever after' - Brigid Kemmerer 'A...
Witches steeped in gold
Smart, Ciannon
Paper Book
The first in a duology, an epic, fierce and magnetically addictive Caribbean-inspired YA fantasy from an incredible new talent.
Skin of the sea
Bowen, Natasha
Paper Book
An epic love story infused with West African mythology. For fans of The Gilded Ones, Children of Blood and Bone, and Circe, this book is a powerful new imagining of a devastating time in history, told through the eyes of a bold and unforgettable heroine. This is the story of a...
The unbroken
Clark, C. L.
Paper Book
***Nominated for the Goodreads Choice Award and a Nebula Award*** EVERY EMPIRE DEMANDS REVOLUTION. Touraine is a soldier. Stolen as a child and raised to kill and die for the empire, her only loyalty is to her fellow conscripts. But now, her company has...
Within these wicked walls.
Blackwood, Lauren.
Paper Book
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERREESE'S BOOK CLUB FALL 2021 YA PICK "Lauren Blackwood's can't-miss debut is a magical, Ethiopian-inspired remix of Jane Eyre." - Harper's Bazaar What the heart desires, the...
The city we became.
Jemisin, N. K.
Paper Book
An instant NYT Bestseller! Four-time Hugo Award-winning author N.K. Jemisin crafts her most incredible novel yet, the first book in The Great Cities Duology, a crackling tale of culture, identity, magic, and myths in contemporary New...
The gilded ones
Forna, Namina
Paper Book
Outcasts by blood. Warriors by choice. THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTELLER!The must-read new bold and immersive West African-inspired fantasy series, as featured on Cosmo, Bustle, Book Riot and Refinery 29. In this world, girls are outcasts by blood and warriors by choice, perfect for...
Legendborn
Deonn, Tracy
Paper Book
An Instant New York Times Bestseller! Winner of the Coretta Scott King - John Steptoe for New Talent Author Award Filled with mystery and an intriguingly rich magic system, Tracy Deonn's YA contemporary fantasy Legendborn offers the dark allure of...
The midnight bargain.
Polk, C. L.
Paper Book
2021 World Fantasy Award Finalist for Best Novel | 2021 Nebula Award Finalist for Best Novel | 2021 FIYAHCON Ignyte Award Finalist for Best Novel | 2021 Canada Reads Finalist | NPR Best Books of 2020 | November 2020 Indie Next Pick | Apple Books: Best Books of October  "A sleek,...
Black sun : a novel
Roanhorse, Rebecca
Paper Book
NOMINATED FOR THE 2021 HUGO AWARDS AND THE 2020 NEBULA AWARDS FOR BEST NOVEL From the New York Times bestselling author of Star Wars: Resistance Reborn comes the first book in the Between Earth and Sky trilogy, inspired by the civilizations of the Pre-Columbian...
Black leopard, red wolf
James, Marlon
Paper Book
One of TIME's 100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time Winner of the L.A. Times Ray Bradbury Prize Finalist for the 2019 National Book Award The New York Times Bestseller Named a Best Book of 2019 by The Wall Street...
Black Panther : the young prince
Smith, Ronald L.
Paper Book
Book 1 in The Young Prince series by award-winning author Ronald L. Smith! Black Panther. Ruler of Wakanda. Avenger.This is his destiny. But right now, he's simply T'Challa--the young prince. Life is comfortable for twelve-year...
Parable of the sower
Butler, Octavia E.
Paper Book
This acclaimed post-apocalyptic novel of hope and terror from an award-winning author "pairs well with 1984 or The Handmaid's Tale" and includes a foreword by N. K. Jemisin (John Green, New York Times). When global climate change and economic crises lead to...
Children of blood and bone
Adeyemi, Tomi
Paper Book
Soon to be a major movie starring Wicked's Cynthia Erivo, Amandla Stenberg, Viola Davis, Idris Elba, Lashana Lynch and Chiwetel Ejiofor. Enter Tomi Adeyemi's stunning world of dark magic and danger in her West African-inspired fantasy...
The belles.
Clayton, Dhonielle.
Paper Book
Camellia Beauregard is a Belle. In the opulent world of Orleans, Belles are revered, for they control Beauty, and Beauty is a commodity coveted above all else. In Orleans, the people are born gray, they are born damned, and only with the help of a Belle and her talents can they transform and be...
Sing, unburied, sing
Ward, Jesmyn
Paper Book
*WINNER of the NATIONAL BOOK AWARD for FICTION *A TIME MAGAZINE BEST NOVEL OF THE YEAR and A NEW YORK TIMES TOP 10 OF 2017 *Finalist for the Kirkus Prize *Finalist for the Andrew Carnegie Medal *Finalist for the Aspen Words Literary Prize...
The rage of dragons.
Winter, Evan
Paper Book
Game of Thrones meets Gladiator in this blockbuster debut epic fantasy about a world caught in an eternal war, and the young man who will become his people's only hope for survival. ONE OF TIME MAGAZINE'S TOP 100 FANTASY BOOKS OF ALL TIME ...
The fifth season.
Jemisin, N. K.
Paper Book
At the end of the world, a woman must hide her secret power and find her kidnapped daughter in this "intricate and extraordinary" Hugo Award winning novel of power, oppression, and revolution. (The New York Times) This is the way the world ends. . .for the last time. ...
Dorothy must die
Paige, Danielle
Paper Book
The New York Times bestselling first book in a dark new series that reimagines the Oz saga, from debut author Danielle Paige. I didn't ask for any of this. I didn't ask to be some kind of hero. But when your whole life gets swept up by a tornado--taking you with it--you have...

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