African American/Black Fiction

New and recommended fiction by African American/Black authors

Updated September 19, 2025
Rochester Public Library RPL Staff
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African American/Black Fiction

New and recommended fiction by African American/Black authors

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While justice sleeps : a novel
Abrams, Stacey
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER * A gripping, complexly plotted thriller set within the halls of the U.S. Supreme Court, where a young law clerk finds herself embroiled in a shocking mystery crafted by one of the most preeminent judges in America--from celebrated national...
Jackal : a novel
Adams, Erin E.
Paper Book
RECOMMENDED BY GILLIAN FLYNN ON THE TODAY SHOW * A young Black girl goes missing in the woods outside her white rust belt town. But she's not the first--and she may not be the last. . . . "I read this thriller that is Get Out meets The Vanishing Half<...
A spell of good things
Adebayo, Ayobami
Paper Book
BOOKER PRIZE NOMINEE * A NEW YORKER AND NPR BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR * GMA BUZZ PICK * A dazzling story of modern Nigeria and two families caught in the riptides of wealth, power, romantic obsession, and political corruption from the celebrated author of Stay with Me,...
Chain-gang all-stars
Adjei-Brenyah, Nana Kwame
Paper Book
A NEW YORK TIMES TOP TEN BOOK OF THE YEAR * FINALIST FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD IN FICTION * A READ WITH JENNA BOOK CLUB PICK * NATIONAL BESTSELLER * Two top women gladiators fight for their freedom within a depraved private prison system not so far-removed from...
Dead dead girls
Afia, Nekesa
Paper Book
Louise spends her days working at Maggie's Cafe and her nights at the Zodiac, Manhattan's hottest speakeasy. When a girl turns up dead in front of the cafe, Louise is forced to confront something she's been trying to ignore - several local black girls have been murdered over the past few weeks....
0101815928953
ASI
Paper Book
The Water Dancer meets The Prophets in this spare, gripping, and beautifully rendered novel exploring love and friendship among a group of enslaved Black strivers in the mid-19th century. They call themselves the Stolen. Their owners call them captives. They...
This great hemisphere : a novel
Askaripour, Mateo
Paper Book
"A thrilling page-turner."-Brit Bennett, #1 New York Times bestselling author "Wildly imaginative."-The Washington Post "Askaripour soars."-The Boston Globe A rallying cry for anyone who has ever felt invisible....
Honey and spice : a novel
Babalola, Bolu
Paper Book
INSTANT NATIONAL BESTSELLER * A REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK * A TIKTOK BOOK CLUB PICK "Sexy, messy and wry, Honey and Spice more than delivers." -- New York Times Book Review "A vibrant debut novel . . . Babalola is incisively funny, capturing the kick and sweetness of her title with her...
Temple folk
Bilal, Aaliyah
Paper Book
Finalist for the 2023 National Book Award for Fiction A groundbreaking debut collection portraying the lived experiences of Black Muslims grappling with faith, family, and freedom in America. In Temple Folk, Black Muslims contemplate the convictions of their...
Yinka, where is your huzband?
Blackburn, Lizzie Damilola
Paper Book
"Yinka is a lovable and relatable disaster--which is to say, she isn't actually a disaster at all...I adore her."--Emily Henry, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Book Lovers "Feel good, funny, and clever, it's got smash-hit written all over it!" -Josie...
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...
Black candle women : a novel
Brown, Diane Marie
Paper Book
A Read with Jenna Book Club Pick as Seen on the Today Show "If you like Practical Magic... you will love Black Candle Women." --Jenna Bush Hager Named a Best Book of the Month by: Shondaland, MS. Magazine, TODAY.com, Reader's Digest,...
Society of lies : a novel
Brown, Lauren
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER * REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK * "A dark and haunting debut that explores secret societies, the bonds of sisterhood, and the intricacies of privilege at an elite college . . . I couldn't put this twisty tale down."--Julia Bartz, author of The Writing Retreat ...
The ballad of Jacquotte Delahaye : a novel
Cameron, Briony
Paper Book
This "thrilling, swashbuckling story" (People) based on true events illuminates a woman of color's rise to power as one of the few female pirate captains to sail the Caribbean, and a forbidden love story that will shape the course of history. In the tumultuous town of...
Swift River
Chambers, Essie
Paper Book
A READ WITH JENNA TODAY SHOW BOOK CLUB PICK | A National Bestseller | Winner of the Ernest J. Gaines Award | Longlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize | One of The Washington Post's Best Books of 2024 | An NPR Best Book of 2024 | An Elle Best Book of 2024 | A...
The unbroken
Clark, C. L.
Paper Book
On the far outreaches of a crumbling desert empire, two women--a princess and a soldier--will haggle over the price of a nation in this richly imagined, breath-taking sapphic epic fantasy filled with rebellion, espionage, and assassinations.   ...
Tremor : a novel
Cole, Teju
Paper Book
An "extraordinary, ambitious" (The Times UK) novel that masterfully explores what constitutes a meaningful life in a violent world--from the award-winning author of Open City New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice * "Cole's mind is so agile that it's easy to...
Business not as usual
Cooper, Sharon C.
Paper Book
A modern take on forbidden love with the nuances of career goals and finance thrown in: Dreamy Daniels is desperate for her big break out of an unfulfilling life, where as Karter might have it all, but he can't have Dreamy. Determined to carve out her own success, Dreamy perseveres through a bad...
All the sinners bleed
Cosby, S. A.
Paper Book
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * USA Today Bestseller * Washington Post's The Twelve Best Thrillers of the Year * TIME's 100 Must Read Books of the Year * Goodreads Choice Award Nominee * USA Today's Best Reviewed Books of the Year * BookPage's Best...
Great expectations : a novel
Cunningham, Vinson
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER * A historic presidential campaign changes the trajectory of a young Black man's life in this "coming of age story that captures the soul of America" (The Washington Post), the debut novel from The New Yorker staff writer and Pulitzer Prize finalist Vinson...
Beyond the door of no return
Diop, David
Paper Book
A Finalist for the 2023 National Book Award for Translated Literature | Longlisted for the Dublin Literary Award One of The Atlantic's 10 Best Books of 2023 A Financial Times Best Book of 2023 | Named a best book of the year by...
The reformatory : a novel
Due, Tananarive
Paper Book
*Los Angeles Times Book Prize Winner * New York Times Notable Book * Locus Award Finalist * Winner of the Bram Stoker Award and the Shirley Jackson Award * "You're in for a treat...one of those books you can't put down...Due hit it out of the park." --Stephen King ...
You made a fool of death with your beauty : a novel
Emezi, Akwaeke
Paper Book
A Good Morning America Buzz Pick, a Best Romance of 2022 by The New York Times and The Washington Post, and a Most Anticipated Book of 2022 by Oprah Daily, Vulture, Harper's Bazaar, Thrillist,...
If I survive you
Escoffery, Jonathan
Paper Book
FINALIST FOR THE 2023 BOOKER PRIZE. LONGLISTED FOR THE 2022 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR FICTION. Finalist for the 2023 Pen/Faulkner Award, the DUBLIN Literary Award, the Southern Book Award, and the Gordon Burns Award. Nominated for the 2022 National Book...
James : a novel
Everett, Percival
Paper Book
A brilliant, action-packed reimagining of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, both harrowing and ferociously funny, told from the enslaved Jim's point of view. From the "literary icon" (Oprah Daily), Pulitzer Prize Finalist, and one of the most decorated writers of our...
The neighbor favor
Forest, Kristina
Paper Book
Shy, bookish, and admittedly awkward, Lily Greene has always felt inadequate compared to the rest of her accomplished family, who strive for Black excellence. She dreams of becoming a children's book editor, but she's been frustratingly stuck in the nonfiction division for years without a promotion...
Like a sister
Garrett, Kellye
Paper Book
In this "crackling domestic suspense" filled with "wry humor and deft pacing" (Alyssa Cole), no one bats an eye when a Black reality TV star is found dead--except her estranged half-sister, whose refusal to believe the official story leads her on a dangerous search for the truth.
The women could fly : a novel
Giddings, Megan
Paper Book
Reminiscent of the works of Margaret Atwood, Shirley Jackson, and Octavia Butler, a biting social commentary from the acclaimed author of Lakewood that speaks to our times--a piercing dystopian novel about the unbreakable bond between a young woman and her mysterious mother, set in a world in...
The conductors
Glover, Nicole
Paper Book
"A seamless blending of magic, mystery, and history . . . Glover's worldbuilding, characters, and attention to historical detail create a delightfully genre-bending debut!" -- Tananarive Due, American Book Award winner, author of Ghost Summer: Stories From a bold new voice in speculative...
By the book
Guillory, Jasmine
Paper Book
From New York Times best-selling author Jasmine Guillory comes the much-anticipated second book in the Meant to Be collection inspired by the classic fairy tale stories we all know and love, perfect for adult readers who crave contemporary, escapist rom-coms. ...
Miss Aldridge regrets
Hare, Louise
Paper Book
"Super cinematic and every bit as Agatha Christie-esque as its sounds... ifyou like murder mysteries, pick this one up!"   -Emily Henry, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Book Lovers Named A Most Anticipated Mystery of Summer by...
Long after we are gone : a novel
Harris, Terah Shelton
Paper Book
The Solomon siblings are not perfect. Far from it. CeCe, the oldest daughter and an NYC lawyer, has embezzled thousands of dollars from her firm's clients. Junior, the oldest, married to his wife for 11 years, is secretly living in the closet as a gay man. Mance, the second son, can't control his...
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...
All we were promised : a novel
Lattimore, Ashton
Paper Book
A housemaid with a dangerous family secret conspires with a wealthy young abolitionist to help an enslaved girl escape, in volatile pre-Civil War Philadelphia--"a gripping novel about standing up to impossible odds" (People, Best New Books) The rebel . . . the...
Lone women : a novel
LaValle, Victor
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER * Blue skies, empty land--and enough wide-open space to hide a horrifying secret. A woman with a past, a mysterious trunk, a town on the edge of nowhere, and an "absorbing, powerful" (BuzzFeed) new vision of the American West, from the award-winning author of...
Bluebird, bluebird
Locke, Attica
Paper Book
A "heartbreakingly resonant" thriller about the explosive intersection of love, race, and justice from a writer and producer of the Emmy-winning Fox TV show Empire (USA Today). "In Bluebird, Bluebird Attica Locke had both mastered the thriller and exceeded it...
The unsettled
Mathis, Ayana
Paper Book
A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK * A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR *  From the best-selling author of The Twelve Tribes of Hattie, a searing multi-generational novel--set in the 1980s in racially and politically turbulent Philadelphia and in the tiny town of Bonaparte, Alabama--about...
The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store
McBride, James
Paper Book
In 1972, when workers in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, were digging the foundations for a new development, the last thing they expected to find was a skeleton at the bottom of a well. Who the skeleton was and how it got there were two of the long-held secrets kept by the residents of Chicken Hill, the...
Someone like us
Mengestu, Dinaw
Paper Book
A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK * The son of Ethiopian immigrants seeks to understand a hidden family history and uncovers a past colored by unexpected loss, addiction, and the enduring emotional pull toward home. After abandoning his once-promising career as a...
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...
The memory librarian : and other stories of dirty computer
Mona?e, Janelle
Paper Book
New York Times bestseller! In The Memory Librarian: And Other Stories of Dirty Computer, singer-songwriter, actor, fashion icon, futurist, and worldwide superstar Janelle Monáe brings to the written page the Afrofuturistic world of one of her critically acclaimed albums,...
What you leave behind : a novel
Morris, Wanda M.
Paper Book
Award-winning author Wanda Morris returns with a powerful, haunting thriller following a lawyer who after the mysterious disappearance of a local landowner and the death of his sister just months before, uncovers a conspiracy that dates back to Reconstruction and persists in half the United...
Between friends & lovers : a novel
Obuobi, Shirlene
Paper Book
"Between Friends & Lovers was an absolute joy to read, with messy, realistic, and deeply lovable characters... Obuobi's perfect balance of humor and wisdom made this one a true standout." -- Emily Henry, #1 New York Times bestselling author An influencer, an actor,...
Parasol against the axe
Oyeyemi, Helen
Paper Book
ONE OF BIBLIOLIFESTYLE'S "BEST LITERARY FICTION OF 2024" "A shape-shifting novel about the power of stories...Helen Oyeyemi is a literary pied piper -- her voice is the kind that readers gamely follow into the most bewildering and unnerving of situations." - The New York Times...
The monsters we defy
Penelope, L.
Paper Book
"[P]itch perfect, with wit, romance, and a lovable found family." ―Publishers Weekly (starred review) "This smart and entertaining, magical heist novel hits all the right notes!" ―T.L. Huchu NPR...
One-shot Harry
Phillips, Gary
Paper Book
Los Angeles, 1963: African American Korean War veteran Harry Ingram earns a living as a news photographer and occasional process server: chasing police radio calls and dodging baseball bats. When Ingram hears a call over the police scanner to the scene of a deadly automobile accident, he recognises...
Come and get it : a novel
Reid, Kiley
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER National Bestseller A Good Morning America Book Club Pick An Indie Next Pick A LibraryReads Pick Acclaimed author Kiley Reid's fresh and provocative story about desire, consumption, and bad behavior.
Before I let go
Ryan, Kennedy
Paper Book
"Real, raw, magnificent--Before I Let Go is the beautiful angst I love to read." --Colleen Hoover, #1 New York Times bestselling author A Good Morning America Book Buzz Pick! Their love was supposed to last...
Colored television
Senna, Danzy
Paper Book
A NATIONAL BESTSELLER A GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK A WASHINGTON POST TOP 10 BOOK OF THE YEAR A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF 2024 "A laugh-out-loud cultural comedy... This is the New Great American Novel, and Danzy...
River sing me home
Shearer, Eleanor
Paper Book
A GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK * This beautiful, page-turning and redemptive story of a mother's gripping journey across the Caribbean to find her stolen children and piece her family back together is a "celebration of motherhood and female resilience" (The Observer). ...
Symphony of secrets
Slocumb, Brendan
Paper Book
A gripping page-turner from the celebrated author of book club favorite The Violin Conspiracy: Music professor Bern Hendricks discovers a shocking secret about the most famous American composer of all time--his music may have been stolen from a Black Jazz Age prodigy named Josephine Reed....
The fraud
Smith, Zadie
Paper Book
The New York Times bestseller * One of the New York Times 10 Best Books of the Year * One of NPR's Best Books of the Year * Named a Best Book of the Year by Publishers Weekly and BookPage * One of Oprah Daily's Best Novels of 2023 "[A] brilliant...
God bless you, Otis Spunkmeyer
Thomas, Joseph Earl
Paper Book
An "intoxicating, propulsive...utterly mesmerizing" novel about Black life in Philadelphia and the struggle to build intimate connections through the eyes of a struggling ex-Army grad student (Kaveh Akbar, author of Martyr!) After a deployment in the...
The Nigerwife : a novel
Walters, Vanessa
Paper Book
GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK "The perfect beach read...catapults you into a world that most of us have never seen before--and will have you glued to every page." --HuffPost "White Lotus meets Big Little Lies" (...
Let us descend : a novel
Ward, Jesmyn
Paper Book
OPRAH'S BOOK CLUB PICK * Instant New York Times Bestseller * Named one of the best books of 2023 by The Washington Post, Vanity Fair, The Boston Globe, Time, The New Yorker, and more. "Nothing short of epic,...
Harlem shuffle
Whitehead, Colson
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * From the two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Underground Railroad and The Nickel Boys, this gloriously entertaining novel is "fast-paced, keen-eyed and very funny ... about race, power and the history of Harlem all disguised as a thrill...
Slaveroad
Wideman, John Edgar
Paper Book
"Master of language" (The New York Times) John Edgar Wideman uses his unique generational position to explore what he calls the "slaveroad," offering "a fresh perspective of slavery's impact and a confirmation of Wideman's exalted status in American letters" (New York...
A love song for Ricki Wilde : a novel
Williams, Tia
Paper Book
In this sexy modern-day fairytale from the New York Times bestselling author of Seven Days in June, a free-spirited florist and an enigmatic musician share a soul mate connection told through the history, art, and the magic of Harlem. A ...
The last dreamwalker
Woods, Rita
Paper Book
From Hurston/Wright Legacy Award-winning author Rita Woods, The Last Dreamwalker tells the story of two women, separated by nearly two centuries yet inextricably linked by the Gullah-Geechee Islands off the coast of South Carolina--and their connection to a mysterious and extraordinary...
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