Black History Month Fiction for Adults

A selection of novels and short stories by Black Canadian authors.

Updated January 25, 2025
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Broughtupsy : a novel
Cooke, Christina
Paper Book
At once cinematic yet intimate, Broughtupsy is an enthralling debut novel about a young Jamaican woman grappling with grief as she discovers her family, her home, is always just out of reach Tired of not having a place to land, twenty-year-old Akúa flies from Canada to her...
Fifteen dogs : an apologue
Alexis, André
Paper Book
An utterly convincing and moving look at the beauty and perils of consciousness. WINNER OF CANADA READS 2017 WINNER OF THE 2015 GILLER PRIZE WINNER OF THE 2015 ROGERS WRITERS' TRUST FICTION PRIZE FINALIST FOR THE 2015 TORONTO BOOK AWARDS -- I wonder, said...
Finding Edward : a novel
Murray, Sheila (Documentary filmmaker)
Paper Book
Shortlisted for the Governor General's Literary Award Longlisted for the Toronto Book Awards Longlisted for Canada Reads 2023 A Globe and Mail Best Book Cyril Rowntree migrates to Toronto from Jamaica in 2012. Managing a precarious balance of work and university he begins to...
Frying plantain : stories
Reid-Benta, Zalika
Paper Book
Set in the neighbourhood of "Little Jamaica," Frying Plantain follows a girl from elementary school to high school graduation as she navigates the tensions between mothers and daughters, second-generation immigrants experiencing first-generation cultural expectations, and Black identity in...
Hold my girl : a novel
Carr, Charlene
Paper Book
Two women. Two eggs. One life-altering mistake. Katherine finally has it all. She's spent her entire life striving for perfection--obsessing over her spotless home, maintaining her pristine reputation, building her perfect family--and her hard work has finally paid off. After seven...
The illegal : a novel
Hill, Lawrence
Paper Book
Lawrence Hill spellbound readers with Someone Knows My Name (made into the television mini-series, The Book of Negroes), hailed as "transporting" (Entertainment Weekly) and "completely engrossing" (Washington Post). The Illegal is the gripping story of Keita Ali, a refugee--like the many in today...
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...
The islands : stories
Irving, Dionne
Paper Book
The Islands follows the lives of Jamaican women - immigrants or the descendants of immigrants - who have relocated all over the world to escape the ghosts of colonialism on what they call the Island. Set in the United States, Jamaica, and Europe, these international stories examine the lives of an...
Junie
Knight, Chelene
Paper Book
Winner of the City of Vancouver Book Award Longlisted for the 2023 Carol Shields Prize for Fiction Longlisted for CBC Canada Reads 2024 A riveting exploration of the complexity within mother-daughter relationships and the dynamic vitality of Vancouver's former Hogan's...
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 ...
River Mumma
Reid-benta, Zalika.
Paper Book
"River Mumma is a love letter to culture, home, and coming of age--and will spark important, relevant book club conversations, too." --Marissa Stapley, New York Times bestselling author of Lucky Issa Rae's Insecure with a magical realist spin:...
Washington Black
Edugyan, Esi
Paper Book
ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW'S TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR * MAN BOOKER PRIZE FINALIST * "A gripping historical narrative exploring both the bounds of slavery and what it means to be truly free." --Vanity Fair Eleven-year-old George Washington...
Where we end & begin
Igharo, Jane
Paper Book
When Dunni left Nigeria for college in America, she vowed to find her way back to her boyfriend Obinna. Twelve years later, their vow is a thing of the past. Dunni is a geneticist in Seattle, engaged to a man she doesn't love. Her future is laid out for her; everything is going according to plan...

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