Black Authors

Great reads by Black authors.

Updated February 5, 2026
W
Winnipeg Public Library
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1

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.

2

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.

3

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.

4

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.

5

The Night Piece: Collected Short Fiction
Alexis, Andre
Paper Book
A career-spanning collection of stories from the author of Fifteen Dogs, winner of the Scotiabank Giller Prize, the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize, and Canada Reads. Vivid, profound, moving, and with moments of sly humour, the stories in The Night Piece reveal...

Also available in eBook and eAudiobook formats.

Canadian author.

6

Until we are free : reflections on Black Lives Matter in Canada
Diverlus, Rodney
Paper Book
The killing of Trayvon Martin in 2012 by a white assailant inspired the Black Lives Matter movement, which quickly spread outside the borders of the United States. The movement's message found fertile ground in Canada, where Black activists speak of generations of injustice and continue the work...

Also available in eBook format.

Canadian author.

7

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.

8

Caste : the origins of our discontents
Wilkerson, Isabel
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * NEW YORK TIMES READERS PICK: 100 BEST BOOKS OF THE 21st CENTURY * OPRAH'S BOOK CLUB PICK * ONE OF BARACK OBAMA'S FAVORITE BOOKS OF THE YEAR "An instant American classic and almost certainly the keynote nonfiction book of the American...

Also available in eBook, eAudiobook and Large Print formats.

9

The girl in the middle : growing up between black and white, rich and poor
Granofsky, Anais
Paper Book
A moving and vivid memoir of a young girl--long before her starring role in the Degrassi series--who was always switching between worlds, wanting only to be loved When Anais Granofsky's parents meet in the early 1970s, they are foreign and fascinating to each other. Stanley is the son of a...

Also available in eBook and eAudiobook formats.

Canadian author.

10

Black girls must die exhausted
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 today and how...
Also available in eBook and eAudiobook formats.

11

Even though I knew the end
Polk, C. L.
Paper Book
A USA Today Bestseller! Winner of the Nebula Award! Finalist for the Hugo Award! Finalist for the World Fantasy Award! A New York Times Best Romance of 2022! C. L. Polk turns their...

Also available in eBook and eAudiobook formats.

Canadian author

12

The sleeping car porter
Mayr, Suzette
Paper Book
FEATURED ON MICHELLE OBAMA'S INSTAGRAM SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2024 DUBLIN LITERARY AWARD WINNER OF THE 2022 GILLER PRIZE WINNER OF THE CITY OF CALGARY W.O. MITCHELL BOOK PRIZE WINNER OF THE 2023 GEORGES BUGNET AWARD FOR FICTION ...

Also available in eBook and eAudiobook formats, and as a Book Club Kit.

Canadian author.

13

Finding Edward
Murray, Sheila.
Paper Book
Shortlisted for the Governor General's Literary Award Longlisted for the Toronto Book Award 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...

Also available in eBook format.

Canadian author.

14

Dans le ventre du Congo
Ndala, Blaise
Paper Book

Dans le ventre du Congo raconte l'histoire de la princesse Tshala Nyota Moelo, qui s'affranchit des codes d'une des plus prestigieuses monarchies du Congo precolonial. Seduite par un jeune colon belge, elle finira dans le dernier zoo humain de l'Europe. Nous voila plonges au coeur du « village congolais » de l'Exposition universelle et internationale de Bruxelles de 1958, ou l'on retrouve l'oeuvre coloniale dans toute son ignominie.

Aussi dispoinble en format numerique.

Auteure canadienne.

15

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.

16

We are here
Charles, Tami.
Also available in eBook format.

17

In the Belly of the Congo
Ndala, Blaise
Paper Book
A sweeping historical novel and an intergenerational family saga about the mysterious disappearance of a Congolese princess and the niece who is determined to uncover her fate more than four decades later, by the internationally acclaimed and award-winning Congolese Canadian author Blaise Ndala.<...

Canadian author.

18

In the Upper Country: A Novel
Thomas, Kai
Paper Book
*NATIONAL BESTSELLER* *WINNER OF THE 2023 WRITER'S TRUST ATWOOD GIBSON PRIZE* SHORTLISTED FOR THE GOVERNER GENERAL'S AWARD FOR FICTION SHORTLISTED FOR THE AMAZON CANADA FIRST NOVEL AWARD SHORTLISTED FOR THE RAKUTEN KOBO EMERGING WRITER PRIZE ...

Also available in eBook, eAudiobook and Large Print formats.

Canadian author.

19

Out of the sun : on race and storytelling
Edugyan, Esi
Paper Book
An insightful exploration and moving meditation on identity, art, and belonging from one of the most celebrated writers of the last decade.  What happens when we begin to consider stories at the margins, when we grant them centrality? How does that complicate our certainties about who...

Also available in eBook and eAudiobook formats.

Canadian author.

20

Black writers matter
Ebook
Also available in eBook format.

21

They said this would be fun : race, campus life, and growing up
Martis, Eternity
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER A powerful, moving memoir about what it's like to be a student of colour on a predominantly white campus. A booksmart kid from Toronto, Eternity Martis was excited to move away to Western University for her undergraduate degree. But as one of the...

Also available in eBook and eAudiobook formats.

Canadian author.

22

Disorientation : being Black in the world
Williams, Ian
Paper Book
A FINALIST FOR THE 2021 HILARY WESTON WRITERS' TRUST PRIZE FOR NONFICTION   Bestselling, Scotiabank Giller Award-winning writer Ian Williams brings fresh eyes and new insights to today's urgent conversation on race and racism in startling, illuminating essays that grow out...

Also available in eBook and eAudiobook formats.

Canadian author.

23

Black girls
Furukawa, Dominique
Paper Book
A joyful love letter to every Black girl everywhere. In an upbeat and rhythmic ode, Dominique Furukawa and Erika Lynne Jones celebrate Black girls in all their beauty and joy. Black Girls uplifts girls of every shade, size, and walk of life, reminding them that they are perfectly...

24

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 Nigerian born, Ukrainian Canadian professional hockey player whose career took him all around the...

25

Invaincus
Alexander, Kwame
Paper Book
See below for English description. C'est pour les inoubliables. Ceux qui n'ont pas peur. Ceux qui sont invaincus. Dans ce livre à la fois touchant et puissant, l'auteur à succès Kwame Alexander et l'illustrateur Kadir Nelson, récipiendaire de la médaille Caldecott, nous...

26

I color myself different
Kaepernick, Colin
Ebook

27

Viola Desmond won't be budged!
Warner, Jody Nyasha
Paper Book
Finalist for the 2011 Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children's Non-Fiction "On behalf of the Nova Scotia government, I sincerely apologize to Mrs. Viola Desmond's family and to all African Nova Scotians for the racial discrimination she was subjected to by the justice system ... We...
Canadian author.

28

Viola Desmond won't be budged
Warner, Jody
Paper Book
Finalist for the 2011 Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children's Non-Fiction "On behalf of the Nova Scotia government, I sincerely apologize to Mrs. Viola Desmond's family and to all African Nova Scotians for the racial discrimination she was subjected to by the justice system ... We...

Auteure canadienne.

29

Le grain de sable : Olivier Le Jeune, premier esclave au Canada
Webster (Rapper)
Paper Book

Originaire de l'ile de Madagascar, Olivier Le Jeune arrive dans la ville de Quebec en 1629 en tant qu'esclave. Il avait 10 ans. Au-dela de son statut d'esclave, il est la premiere personne d'origine africaine a habiter de maniere permanente au Canada.

Aussi disponible en format numerique.

Auteur canadien.

30

It's not bragging if it's true
Avante-Garde Zaila
Ebook
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.

31

What Storm, What Thunder: A Novel
Chancy, Myriam J. A.
Paper Book
American Book Award Winner Finalist for the Aspen Words Literary Prize Longlisted for the OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature A NPR, Boston Globe, New York Public Library, Chicago Public Library, and Library Journal Best Book of the Year At the...

Also available in eBook format.

Canadian author.

32

Son of Elsewhere: A Memoir in Pieces
Abdelmahmoud, Elamin
Paper Book
#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER   From one of the most beloved media personalities of his generation comes a one-of-a-kind reflection on Blackness, faith, language, pop culture, and the challenges and rewards of finding your way in the world. Professional wrestling...

Also available in eBook and eAudiobook formats.

Canadian author.

33

The fire next time
Baldwin, James
Ebook
NATIONAL BESTSELLER * The book that galvanized the nation, gave voice to the emerging civil rights movementin the 1960s--and still lights the way to understanding race in America today. * "The finest essay I've ever read." --Ta-Nehisi Coates At once a powerful evocation of James...

Also available in eBook, eAudiobook, and Audiobook formats.

34

Salvage: Readings from the Wreck
Brand, Dionne
Paper Book
A New York Times Book Review's Notable Books * A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year * Winner of the a OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature * Finalist for the 2025 Zora Awards * Trillium Book Prize-winning author Dionne Brand explores English and American literature, and the...

Also available in eBook and eAudiobook formats.

Canadian author.

35

How to be a (young) antiracist
Kendi, Ibram X.
Paper Book
The #1 New York Times bestseller that sparked international dialogue is now in paperback for young adults! Based on the adult bestseller by Ibram X. Kendi, and co-authored by bestselling author Nic Stone, How to be a (Young) Antiracist will serve as a guide for teens seeking a way...

Also available in eBook format, and a Book Club Kit.

36

The Kids Book of Black History in Canada
Sadlier, Rosemary.
Paper Book
This narrative journey through Black history in Canada begins with the arrival in 1604 of Mathieu Da Costa, the first known African in the country, and continues through the Black Lives Matter movement and the ongoing fight for social justice. A one-of-a-kind book, it contains inspiring and thought...

Also available in eBook format.

Canadian author.

37

La coiffure d'une princesse
Forges, Marie-Aliette.
Paper Book

Aussi disponible en format numerique.

Auteure canadienne.

38

For King and Country
Wesley, Gloria
Paper Book
Shovels Not Rifles is the story of Will, a young Black man from a small Nova Scotia town who enlists and goes to war in the historical Black Battalion in 1916. When Coloured men are finally allowed to enlist in the Canadian military, Will Coleman has a chance to make his late father proud,...

Canadian author.

39

Queenie : a novel
Carty-Williams, Candice
Paper Book
NAMED ONE OF THE MOST ANTICIPATED BOOKS OF 2019 BY WOMAN'S DAY, NEWSDAY, PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, BUSTLE, AND BOOK RIOT! "[B]rilliant, timely, funny, heartbreaking." --Jojo Moyes, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Me Before You<...

Also available in eBook and Audiobook formats.

Aussi disponible en format numerique.

40

Inheritance : a visual poem
Acevedo, Elizabeth
Ebook
They tell me to "fix" my hair. And by fix, they mean straighten, they mean whiten; but how do you fix this shipwrecked history of hair? In her most famous spoken-word poem, author of the Pura Belpré-winning novel-in-verse The Poet X Elizabeth Acevedo embraces all the...

Also available in eBook format.

41

A ladder of bones
Oyinsan, Bunmi
In intertwined stories, A Ladder of Bones tells a series of narratives that take place in West Africa, Canada, the United States and the Caribbean. Siaka becomes a child soldier in Sierra Leone after being compelled to shoot his six-year-old brother. Melvin witnesses the murder of his parents by...

Canadian author.

42

As the Earth Dreams: Black Canadian Speculative Stories
Mason Pierre, Terese
A CBC Best Book of 2025 A groundbreaking anthology of haunting stories by Black Canadian writers Edited by esteemed poet Terese Mason Pierre, this bold and innovative anthology of speculative short fiction reveals and uplifts the spectacular imaginings, reveries, reflections,...

Canadian author.

43

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,...

44

Policing Black lives : state violence in Canada from slavery to the present
Maynard, Robyn
Paper Book
Delving behind Canada's veneer of multiculturalism and tolerance, Policing Black Lives traces the violent realities of anti-blackness from the slave ships to prisons, classrooms and beyond. Robyn Maynard provides readers with the first comprehensive account of nearly four hundred years of state...

Canadian author.

Also available in eBook and eAudiobook formats.

45

The skin we're in : a year of Black resistance and power
Cole, Desmond
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER WINNER OF THE 2020 TORONTO BOOK AWARD A bracing, provocative, and perspective-shifting book from one of Canada's most celebrated and uncompromising writers, Desmond Cole. The Skin We're In will spark a national conversation, influence policy, and...

Canadian author.

Also available in eBook and eAudiobook formats.

46

How the word is passed : a reckoning with the history of slavery across America
Smith, Clint
Paper Book
This "important and timely" (Drew Faust, Harvard Magazine) #1 New York Times bestseller examines the legacy of slavery in America--and how both history and memory continue to shape our everyday lives. Beginning in his hometown of New Orleans, Clint...

Also available in eAudiobook format.

47

Brown girl in the snow
Marshall, Yolanda T.
A Globe & Mail Best Book of the Year 2025 A CBC Best Book of the Year 2025 A 2026 Pedro and Daniel Intersectionality Book Awards Commended Book Perfect for kids aged 4-8 comes a stunning picture book about persistence,...

Canadian author.

48

The trailblazing life of Viola Desmond : a civil rights icon
Kehoe, Rachel
Paper Book
Years before Rosa Parks famously refused to give up a bus seat in Montgomery, Alabama, Viola Desmond took a similar stand against racial segregation in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia. On November 8, 1946, she was arrested for refusing to move from the "whites-only" section of a movie theater....

Canadian author.


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