African American/Black Fiction

New and recommended fiction by African American/Black authors

Updated September 19, 2025
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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
A spellbinding novel about family secrets and bonds, thwarted hope and the brutal realities of life in a society rife with inequality, from the Women's Prize shortlisted author
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....
Curvy girl summer
Allen, Danielle
Paper Book
A USA TODAY BESTSELLER! Bridget Jones's Diary meets Survival of the Thickest in Danielle Allen's CURVY GIRL SUMMER, a smoking-hot, hilarious novel about the perils of online dating. "There's got to be an easier...
Yonder : a novel
Asim, Jabari
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
Despite the odds, Candace, a young invisible woman, has done everything right her entire life - school, university, and now a highly sought-after apprenticeship with one of the Northwestern Hemisphere's premier inventors, a non-invisible man belonging to the dominant population who is as eccentric...
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...
A ghost in shining armor
Beharrie, Therese
Paper Book
In this spellbinding romantic comedy from acclaimed author Therese Beharrie, a woman with a supernatural talent is haunted by one persistent spirit--and a seductive, impossible love ... BookBub Best Romances of the Second Half of 2022 ...
Yinka, where is your huzband?
Blackburn, Lizzie Damilola
Paper Book
Dead in Long Beach, California
Blackburn, Venita
Paper Book
A Finalist for the 2025 Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Fiction. Longlisted for the 2025 PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel and the 2025 PEN/Jean Stein Book Award. A New York Times Book Review Notable Book of 2024. One of NPR's 2024 Books We Love. Longlisted for the...
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
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 ...
It's elementary
Bryant, Elise
Paper Book
A fast-paced, completely delightful new mystery about what happens when parents get a little too involved in their kids' schools, from NAACP Image Award nominee Elise Bryant. Mavis Miller is not a PTA mom. She has enough on her plate with her feisty seven-year-old daughter...
Getting his game back : a novel
De Cadenet, Gia
Paper Book
"A thoroughly satisfying love story with a big, beating heart."-Publishers Weekly (starred review) "This book is emotional, steamy and sweet-a triple threat! De Cadenet tackles mental health, gender stereotypes, and interracial romance with care and creativity. I loved it!"...
Stars in your eyes
Callender, Kacen
Paper Book
The National Book Award-winning author of Felix Ever After delivers a beautifully tender story of two grumpy/sunshine, fake-dating actors navigating their love story both on and offscreen--perfect for fans of Casey McQuiston and Alexis Hall. ...
The ballad of Jacquotte Delahaye
Cameron, Briony
Paper Book
'Packed full of action, excitement, peril and romance on the high seas, this is the sapphic pirate book of my dreams' SARAH UNDERWOOD, author of Lies We Sing to the Sea 'Thrilling, heart-pounding adventure meets thoughtful feminist history . . . a rare and special...
Swift River
Chambers, Essie
Paper Book
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...
The dead cat tail assassins
Clark, P. Dje?li?
Paper Book
The Dead Cat Tail Assassins are not cats. Nor do they have tails. But they are most assuredly dead. Nebula and Alex Award winner P. Djèlí Clark introduces a brand-new world and a fantastical city full of gods and assassins. ...
Tremor : a novel
Cole, Teju
Paper Book
The new novel from the author of the celebrated Open City - a powerful and masterful exploration of what makes a meaningful life in a world of violence and wonder.
Good morning, love
Coleman, Ashley M.
Paper Book
For fans of My (Not So) Perfect Life and Jasmine Guillory's While We Were Dating, a disarmingly fun debut novel follows Carlisa Henton as her life comes undone after a chance meeting with a rising pop star. Carlisa "Carli" Henton is a musician and songwriter hoping...
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...
And so I roar
Daré, Abi.
Paper Book
A stunning, inspiring new novel from Abi Daré, New York Times bestselling author of The Girl with the Louding Voice When Tia accidentally overhears a whispered conversation between her mother--terminally ill and lying in a hospital bed in Port Harcourt, Nigeria--and...
Beyond the door of no return
Diop, David
Paper Book
From the author of the International Booker Prize-winning At Night All Blood is Black: a movingand immersive adventure story set in eighteenth century Senegal
The reformatory : a novel
Due, Tananarive
Paper Book
A gripping, page-turning novel set in Jim Crow Florida that follows Robert Stephens Jr. as he's sent to a segregated reform school that is a chamber of terrors where he sees the horrors of racism and injustice, for the living, and the dead. Gracetown, Florida
Faebound
El-Arifi, Saara
Paper Book
THE INSTANT #1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 'Exquisite fantasy, with a complex, mysterious, and sumptuous world of elves, fae, and gloriously compelling romance - so enthralling, it has wrapped its magic around my heart and set it alight' HANNAH KANER, bestselling author of...
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
'Stand-out' Caz Frear 'Captivating' Samantha Downing 'Razor-sharp' Laura Lippman 'Riveting' Liv Constantine 'Sharp and sassy' Heat **Winner of a Lefty Award for Best Mystery** **Edgar Award and...
The women could fly
Giddings, Megan
Paper Book
"Megan Giddings's prose is brimming with wonder. The Women Could Fly is a candid appraisal of grief, inheritance, and the merits of unruliness." - Raven LeilaniReminiscent of the works of Margaret Atwood, Deborah Harkness, and Octavia E. Butler, The Women Could Fly is a feminist speculative novel...
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. ...
The hypocrite
Hamya, Jo
Paper Book
ONE OF THE ATLANTIC'S 10 BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR * DAKOTA JOHNSON'S TEATIME PICTURES SEPTEMBER BOOK CLUB PICK ● From a fiercely talented writer poised to be a new generation's Rachel Cusk or Deborah Levy, a novel set between the London stage and Sicily, about a daughter who turns...
Miss Aldridge regrets
Hare, Louise
Paper Book
Long after we are gone : a novel
Harris, Terah Shelton
Paper Book
"A big, beautiful, devastating, and ultimately hopeful novel." - Erica Bauermeister, New York Times bestselling author of No Two Persons An explosive and emotional story of four siblings-each fighting their own personal battle-who return home in the wake of their father's...
An academy for liars
Henderson, Alexis
Paper Book
'Saturated with violence, desire, and power. It's a book with blood on its lips, and I loved it completely.' ALIX E. HARROW 'This darkly gorgeous story is a lavish feast for fans of gothic horror. One of my top reads of the year!' SUNYI DEAN 'Alexis...
Blackheart man : a novel
Hopkinson, Nalo
Paper Book
The magical island of Chynchin is facing conquerors from abroad and something sinister from within in this "immersive...engaging" (Kirkus Reviews) fantasy from the Grand Master Award-winning author Nalo Hopkinson. Veycosi, in training as a griot (a historian and musician),...
I'm so (not) over you
Jackson, Kosoko
Paper Book
It's been months since aspiring journalist Kian Andrews has heard from his ex-boyfriend, Hudson Rivers, but an urgent text has them meeting at a cafe. Hudson has a favour to ask - he wants Kian to pretend to be his boyfriend while his parents are in town, and Kian reluctantly agrees. The dinner...
The ballad of perilous graves
Jennings, Alex
Paper Book
WINNER OF THE 2023 COMPTON CROOK AWARD SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2023 WORLD FANTASY AWARD FOR BEST NOVEL 'Wild, witty, and profound. . . a cosmic storm of talent' Victor LaValle Put on your dancing shoes and step into New Orleans as you've never...
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
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...
Smoke Kings : a novel
Mayfield, Jahmal
Paper Book
Nate Evers, a young black political activist, struggles with rage as his people are still being killed in the streets 62 years after Emmett Till. When his little cousin is murdered, Nate shuns the graffiti murals, candlelight vigils, and Twitter hashtags that are commonplace after these senseless...
Let the games begin
Mazarura, Rufaro Faith
Paper Book
Set against a sizzling-hot Greek summer filled with sunshine and souvlaki, Rufaro Faith Mazarura's Let the Games Begin is a page-turning debut rom-com about two strangers at the top of their game. MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF JULY 2024: NPR, Kirkus, Elle, Amazon,...
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
" Join New York Times bestselling author Denene Millner as she explores the lives of three generations of women tied together by love, hope, dreams, ambition...and family secrets in this epic novel. Meet Grace: raised by her beloved grandmother in tension...
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,...
Goliath
Onyebuchi, Tochi
Paper Book
A New York Times Editors' Choice Pick! A Best Book of the Year for Time | NPR | The Guardian | Gizmodo| Portalist | New York Public Library A Most Anticipated Pick for USA Today | Bustle | Buzzfeed | Goodreads | Nerdist | io9 | WBUR |...
Parasol against the axe
Oyeyemi, Helen
Paper Book
'Oyeyemi's imagination is impressive and vast.' Guardian The glorious new novel from the landmark author - a once-in-a-lifetime trip.
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...
54 miles : a novel
Pitts, Leonard, Jr.
Paper Book
Set in mid-60s Harlem and Alabama, two families grapple with the promise and brutality of the civil rights era in the American South, reckoning with family secrets, unresolved trauma, and the heavy question of what justice demands. The free-standing successor and next...
The confessions of Matthew Strong
Power-Greene, Ousmane K.
Paper Book
Allie is a survivor. She survived the newly post-Jim Crow south, she survived cancer, and she will survive being stalked and kidnapped by Matthew Strong, who seeks to ignite a revolution. The surprise in this doesn't lie in the question of will she be taken; it lies in how she and her community...
Come and get it : a novel
Reid, Kiley
Paper Book
From the celebrated New York Times bestselling author of Such A Fun Age comes a fresh and provocative story about a residential assistant and her messy entanglement with a professor and three unruly students. It's 2017 at the University of Arkansas. Millie Cousins,...
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...
The practice, the horizon, and the chain
Samatar, Sofia
Paper Book
Nebula Award Finalist for Best Novella Named a Best Sci-Fi Book of 2024 by Esquire, The New York Times, SLATE, The Washington Post, and ELLE "I am in love with Sofia Samatar's lyricism and the haunting beauty of her imagination. Her stories...
This Cursed House
Sandeen, Del.
Paper Book
A young woman abandons her life in 1960s Chicago for a position with a mysterious family in New Orleans, only to discover the dark truth: they're under a curse 'A sinister and beautifully rendered Southern Gothic, This Cursed House explores the real-life horrors of...
Masquerade
Sangoyomi, O. O.
Paper Book
PEOPLE MAGAZINE BEST NEW BOOKNAACP IMAGE AWARD FINALISTCAROL SHIELDS PRIZE FINALIST GOODREADS CHOICE NOMINEE AUDIBLE BOOK OF THE YEARINDIE NEXT PICK Selected for best-of lists from Book Riot, Kirkus Reviews, Ms....
Colored television
Senna, Danzy
Paper Book
Jane has high hopes that her life is about to turn around. After a long, precarious stretch bouncing among sketchy rentals and sublets, she and her family are living in luxury for a year, house-sitting in the hills above Los Angeles. The gig magically coincides with Jane's sabbatical, giving her the...
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...
Africa risen : a new era of speculative fiction
Thomas, Sheree R.
Paper Book
Winner of the 2023 World Fantasy Award for Best Anthology Winner of the 2023 Locus Award for Best Anthology A 2023 NAACP Image Award Nominee A 2023 British Fantasy Award Nominee A NPR Best of the Year pick A...
Devil is fine
Vercher, John
Paper Book
LONGLISTED FOR THE PEN/FAULKNER AWARD FOR FICTION - LONGLISTED FOR THE MARK TWAIN AMERICAN VOICE IN LITERATURE AWARD - LONGLISTED FOR THE VIRGINIA LITERARY AWARDS -LONGLISTED FOR THE ASPEN WORDS LITERARY PRIZE - INDIE NEXT PICK - NAMED A BEST NOVEL OF THE YEAR BY ELECTRIC LIT - ONE OF TIME...
The Nigerwife : a novel
Walters, Vanessa
Paper Book
Nicole Oruwari has the perfect life: a handsome husband, a palatial house in the heart of glittering Lagos, Nigeria, and a glamorous group of friends. She left gloomy London and a dark family past behind for sunny, moneyed Lagos, becoming part of the Nigerwives -- a community of foreign women...
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...
Ours
Williams, Phillip B.
Paper Book
An epic, spellbinding novel of rebellion, redemption, power and humanity, and of a Black community finding freedom to live an ordinary life of love and pain in America's darkest days.
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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