Black Authors

Great reads by Black authors.

Updated March 19, 2024
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1

Out there screaming : an anthology of new Black horror
Peele, Jordan
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * The visionary writer and director of Get Out, Us, and Nope, and founder of Monkeypaw Productions, curates this groundbreaking anthology of all-new stories of Black horror, exploring not only the terrors of the supernatural but the chilling...
Also available in eBook format.

2

The undefeated
Alexander, Kwame
Paper Book
Winner of the 2020 Caldecott Medal A 2020 Newbery Honor Book Winner of the 2020 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award The Newbery Award-winning author of THE CROSSOVER pens an ode to black American triumph and tribulation, with art from a two-time...
Also available in eBook format.

3

Black girls must die exhausted : a novel
Allen, Jayne
Paper Book
"It's a good thing that this is only the first book of a trilogy, because after getting to know Tabitha, you won't want to leave her at the end. . . . Written intimately as if you're peering into the mind of a close friend, this book is a true testament to the stresses on women...
Also available in eBook and eAudiobook formats.

4

Between the world and me
Coates, Ta-Nehisi.
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER * NAMED ONE OF TIME'S TEN BEST NONFICTION BOOKS OF THE DECADE * PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST * NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD FINALIST * ONE OF OPRAH'S "BOOKS THAT HELP ME THROUGH" * NOW AN HBO ORIGINAL SPECIAL EVENT...
Also available in Audiobook, eBook, eAudiobook and Large Print formats.

5

The vanishing half
Bennett, Brit
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ONE OF BARACK OBAMA'S FAVORITE BOOKS OF THE YEAR NAMED A BEST BOOK OF 2020 BY THE NEW YORK TIMES * THE WASHINGTON POST * NPR * PEOPLE * TIME MAGAZINE * VANITY FAIR * GLAMOUR New York Times<...

Des jumelles inseparables choisissent de vivre dans deux mondes etrangers : celui des Blancs et celui des Noirs.

Aussi disponible en format numerique et large vision.

6

Victory. Stand! : raising my fist for justice
Smith, Tommie
Paper Book
On October 16, 1968, during the medal ceremony at the Mexico City Olympics, Tommie Smith, the gold medal winner in the 200-meter sprint, and John Carlos, the bronze medal winner, stood on the podium in black socks and raised their black-gloved fists to protest racial injustice inflicted upon...
Also available in eBook format.

7

Small country : a novel
Faye, Gaël
Paper Book
Already an international sensation and prize-winning bestseller in France, an evocative coming-of-age story of a young boy, a lost childhood and a shattered homeland.   SHORTLISTED FOR THE ALBERTINE PRIZE * NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY ESQUIRE<...

Burundi, 1992. Gabriel a dix ans et vit dans un confortable quartier d'expatries avec son pere francais entrepreneur, sa mere rwandaise et sa petite soeur Ana. Alors que le jeune garcon voit ses parents se separer, la guerre civile se profile et, par vagues successives, la violence envahit le quartier.

8

Small country : a novel
Faye, Gaël
Paper Book
Already an international sensation and prize-winning bestseller in France, an evocative coming-of-age story of a young boy, a lost childhood and a shattered homeland.   SHORTLISTED FOR THE ALBERTINE PRIZE * NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY ESQUIRE<...
Also available in eBook format.

9

House of whispers. Volume one, The power divided
Hopkinson, Nalo
Paper Book
One of four books expanding Neil Gaiman's acclaimed Sandman Universe. Welcome to the House of Dahomey, the houseboat of Erzulie Fréda, where the souls of Voodoo followers go when they sleep but even the fearsome Erzulie is powerless when her dream river turns sour, tossing her house from one...
Canadian author.

10

Yesterday is history
Jackson, Kosoko
Paper Book
One of PopSugar's Best New YA Novels of 2021 A Buzzfeed Top LGBTQ+ YA Book A Lambda Literary YA Book to Add to Your TBR Pile A Goodreads Pride Month Pick An epic, heartfelt romance about a boy torn between two loves, one in his present ... and one in...

11

King and the dragonflies
Callender, Kacen
Paper Book
A 2021 Coretta Scott King Honor Book! Winner of the 2020 National Book Award for Young People's Literature! Winner of the 2020 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Fiction and Poetry! In a small but turbulent Louisiana town, one boy's grief takes him...
Also available in eBook and eAudiobook formats.

12

The son of the house
Onyemelukwe-Onuobia, Cheluchi
Paper Book
SHORTLISTED for the Scotiabank Giller Prize 2021 * WINNER of the Nigeria Prize for Literature 2021 * SHORTLISTED for the Chinua Achebe Prize for Nigerian Writing 2021 * WINNER of the SprinNG Women Authors Prize 2020 * WINNER of the Best International Fiction Book Award, Sharjah International Book...

Also available in eBook format.

Canadian author.

13

In the upper country :
Thomas, Kai
Paper Book
Winner of the 2023 Atwood Gibson Writers' Trust Fiction Prize The fates of two unforgettable women--one just beginning a journey of reckoning and self-discovery and the other completing her life's last vital act--intertwine in this sweeping, powerful novel set at the...

Also available in eBook, eAudiobook and Large Print formats.

Canadian author.

14

Cool. Awkward. Black
Strong, Karen
Paper Book
Real or imaginary, geekdom is where it's at in this multi-genre YA anthology that celebrates "the geek," with stories by some of today's top bestselling, critically acclaimed Black authors. Contributors include Amerie, Kalynn Bayron, Terry J. Benton-Walker, Roseanne A. Brown,...
Also available in eBook format.

15

Sincerely Sicily
Burgess, Tamika
Paper Book
From debut author Tamika Burgess comes the captivating and empowering story of Sicily Jordan--a Black Panamanian fashionista who rocks her braids with pride--who learns to use her voice and take pride in who she is while confronting prejudice in the most unexpected of places. ...
Also available in eBook format.

16

Ain't burned all the bright
Reynolds, Jason
Paper Book
A Caldecott Honor winner! Prepare yourself for something unlike anything: A smash-up of art and text for teens that viscerally captures what it is to be Black. In America. Right Now. Written by #1 New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Jason Reynolds....
Also available in eBook format.

17

Between the world and me
Coates, Ta-Nehisi
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER * NAMED ONE OF TIME'S TEN BEST NONFICTION BOOKS OF THE DECADE * PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST * NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD FINALIST * ONE OF OPRAH'S "BOOKS THAT HELP ME THROUGH" * NOW AN HBO ORIGINAL SPECIAL EVENT...

« Voila ce qu'il faut que tu saches : en Amerique, la destruction du corps noir est une tradition, un heritage. Je ne voudrais pas que tu te couches dans un reve. Je voudrais que tu sois un citoyen de ce monde beau et terrible a la fois, un citoyen conscient. J'ai decide de ne rien te cacher. ». Dans cette lettre adressée a son fils de 15 ans, Ta-Nehisi Coates revient sur la condition de l'homme noir aux Etats-Unis. Une ode a l'humanite, un cri de colere contre ce mal qui gangrene la societe americaine depuis des siecles.

Aussi disponible en format numerique.

18

Born in Blackness : Africa, Africans, and the making of the modern world, 1471 to the Second World War
French, Howard W.
Paper Book
In a sweeping narrative that traverses 600 years, one that eloquently weaves precise historical detail with poignant personal reportage, Pulitzer Prize finalist Howard W. French retells the story of medieval and emerging Africa, demonstrating how the economic ascendancy of Europe, the anchoring...
Also available in eBook format.

19

Queenie : a novel
Carty-Williams, Candice
Paper Book
*NOW A HULU ORIGINAL SERIES* *ONE of NPR's and TIME's BEST BOOKS of the YEAR * NAMED A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK of the YEAR by WOMAN'S DAY, NEWSDAY, PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, BUSTLE, and BOOK RIOT!* "A book that sneaks up on...
Also available in Audiobook and eBook formats.

20

The vanishing half
Bennett, Brit
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ONE OF BARACK OBAMA'S FAVORITE BOOKS OF THE YEAR NAMED A BEST BOOK OF 2020 BY THE NEW YORK TIMES * THE WASHINGTON POST * NPR * PEOPLE * TIME MAGAZINE * VANITY FAIR * GLAMOUR New York Times<...
Also available in eBook, eAudiobook and Large Print formats.

21

Work with what you got
Clark, Zion
Paper Book
Elite wheelchair racer, wrestler, and America's Got Talent contestant Zion Clark joins with New York Times best-selling author James S. Hirsch for a stunning memoir--recounting childhood adversity, awe-inspiring perseverance, and self-invention. When a baby named...

22

Black girl rising
Barnes, Brynne
Paper Book
This enduring anthem for Black girls celebrates their power, potential, and brilliance--for themselves and for the world. You are a thousand curls unfurling in your hair. You are a thousand fists standing proudly in air. You are the song of...
Also available in eBook format.

23

We are here
Charles, Tami
Paper Book
An empowering follow-up to New York Times bestselling picture book All Because You Matter that celebrates the rich history of Black and brown men and women throughout history with soaring language and stunning illustration. Lyrical, affirmational, and bursting with love,...
Also available in eBook format.

24

Just right Jillian
Collier, Nicole D.
Paper Book
In this heartfelt middle grade novel from debut author Nicole D. Collier, fifth grader Jillian must learn to speak and break free of her shell to enter her school's academic competition and keep her promise to her grandmother.  Fifth grader Jillian will do just about anything to blend...
Also available in eBook format.

25

Dreamer
Aliu, Akim
Paper Book
This honest, engrossing graphic memoir tells the story of professional athlete and activist Akim Aliu's incredible life as a hockey prodigy in Canada. Akim Aliu -- also known as "Dreamer" -- is a Ukrainian-Nigerian-Canadian professional hockey player whose career took him all around the world and...

26

I color myself different
Kaepernick, Colin
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER An inspiring story of identity and self-esteem from celebrated athlete and activist Colin Kaepernick. When Colin Kaepernick was five years old, he was given a simple school assignment: draw a picture of yourself and your family. What young...

27

It's not bragging if it's true
Avant-garde, Zaila
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * Kids will be inspired to embrace their inner weirdness and persevere through obstacles after reading this empowering collection of true stories from teenage Scripps National Spelling Bee champ and Guinness World Record holder Zaila Avant-garde! Includes 8...

Also available in eBook format.


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