#1
Months on List: 5
A reimagining of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn told from the enslaved Jim’s point of view.
James: A Novel
by Percival Everett • Doubleday Books (March 19, 2024) • 5 Months on List
#2
Months on List: 7
A novel about small-town secrets and the people who keep them.
The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store
by James Mcbride • Riverhead Books (August 8, 2023) • 7 Months on List
#3
Months on List: 6
A free-spirited florist and a mysterious musician discover a deep connection amidst the magic and history of modern Harlem.
A Love Song For Ricki Wilde
by Tia Williams • Grand Central Publishing (February 6, 2024) • 6 Months on List
#4
Months on List: 7
In the backdrop of a racially divided America, this historical novel explores the unlikely, formidable friendship between First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and civil rights activist Mary McLeod Bethune, illuminating how their shared commitment to justice and equality helped shape the modern civil rights movement.
The First Ladies
by Marie Benedict And Victoria Christopher Murray • Berkley Books (June 27, 2023) • 7 Months on List
#5
Months on List: 3
Olivia Jones navigates family secrets and tense drama in Highland Beach while deciding between her established life in Sag Harbor and her dream of a home in her ancestral community.
Summer On Highland Beach
by Sunny Hostin • William Morrow & Company (May 28, 2024) • 3 Months on List
#6
Months on List: 7
When the first Black sheriff of a small southern town investigates a shocking murder, he uncovers a hidden serial killer, faces community secrets, and combats systemic racism while fighting to protect his hometown from impending darkness.
All The Sinners Bleed
by S. A. Cosby • Flatiron Books (June 6, 2023) • 7 Months on List
#7
Months on List: 2
Jasmyn Williams uncovers a disturbing secret about the planned utopia of Liberty, California, challenging her family's ideals and unity.
One Of Our Kind
by Nicola Yoon • Knopf Publishing Group (June 11, 2024) • 2 Months on List
#8
Months on List: 2
Diamond Newberry navigates family secrets and self-discovery while uncovering her father’s hidden past during the summer of 1987.
Swift River
by Essie Chambers • Simon & Schuster (June 4, 2024) • 2 Months on List
#9
Months on List: 1
A young woman in a dystopian future where half the population is born invisible embarks on a mission to locate her suspected criminal brother, while outsmarting those wishing to undermine her people.
This Great Hemisphere
by Mateo Askaripour • Dutton (July 9, 2024) • 1 Months on List
#10
Months on List: 1
A skilled blacksmith from conquered Timbuktu is forced into marriage with a powerful warrior king and must navigate a treacherous world of politics and betrayal to reclaim her autonomy.
Masquerade
by O.o. Sangoyomi • Forge (July 2, 2024) • 1 Months on List
#11
Months on List: 7
In 1950s Jim Crow Florida, 12-year-old Robbie Stephens is unjustly sent to a racially segregated reform school, where he uses his ability to see ghosts to uncover the grisly secrets behind the boys' disappearances and fight for survival.
The Reformatory
by Tananarive Due • S&s/saga Press (October 31, 2023) • 7 Months on List
#12
Months on List: 6
A young woman bargains with a Fae lord to enter a deadly enchanted library, seeking magic while navigating treacherous alliances and forbidden desires with two dangerous Fae.
Lore Of The Wilds
by Analeigh Sbrana • Harper Voy (February 27, 2024) • 6 Months on List
#13
Months on List: 7
Two elven sisters are exiled from their homeland and thrust into the dangerous, alluring world of the unseen for a millennium fae, where they must reconcile their loyalties to each other, their homeland, and their hearts.
Faebound
by Saara El-arifi • Del Rey Books (January 23, 2024) • 7 Months on List
#14
Months on List: 7
This narrative explores a voyage from Southern American rice fields, through slave markets in New Orleans, and into the depth of a brutal Louisiana sugar plantation.
Let Us Descend
by Jesmyn Ward • Scribner Book Company (October 24, 2023) • 7 Months on List
#15
Months on List: 2
In a world marked by racism, a talented Black American woman, Belle da Costa Greene, conceals her true identity to become J.P. Morgan's influential personal librarian, creating a world-class art and book collection while preserving her fabricated white persona to protect her family and legacy.
The Personal Librarian
by Marie Benedict And Victoria Christopher Murray • Berkley Books (June 29, 2021) • 2 Months on List
#16
Months on List: 6
In a twisted manifestation of the American prison system, two star-crossed women gladiators battle for their freedom in the deadly, corporatized arena of the Criminal Action Penal Entertainment, while challenging the unholy trio of systemic racism, capitalism, and mass incarceration.
Chain Gang All Stars
by Nana Kwame Adjei-brenyah • Pantheon Books (May 2, 2023) • 6 Months on List
#17
Months on List: 1
When the son of Ethiopian immigrants returns to his childhood community after a distressing family death, he embarks on a journey across America unravelling family secrets and confronting his own troubled past in a desperate bid to save his crumbling marriage and find his way home.
Someone Like Us
by Dinaw Mengestu • Knopf Publishing Group (July 30, 2024) • 1 Months on List
#18
Months on List: 5
<em>Out There Screaming</em> is a groundbreaking anthology curated by visionary filmmaker Jordan Peele, featuring all-new horror stories from Black writers that delve into the terrors of the supernatural and the chilling realities of racial injustice.
Out There Screaming: An Anthology Of New Black Horror
by Jordan Peele • Random House (October 3, 2023) • 5 Months on List
#19
Months on List: 3
In the idyllic African American enclave of Sag Harbor, finance mogul, Olivia Jones, battling personal loss and a quest for truth about her father's mysterious death, fights to save her community from outsider development, whilst navigating blossoming friendships, love, and her own identity.
Summer On Sag Harbor
by Sunny Hostin • William Morrow & Company (May 2, 2023) • 3 Months on List
#20
Months on List: 2
In post-military Nigeria, a sensitive young dancer named Obiefuna grapples with his sexuality and identity against a backdrop of impending anti-gay legislation, while his mother Uzoamaka uncovers the family's buried secrets as she navigates her son's sudden absence and the societal norms that threaten to stifle his freedom.
Blessings
by Chukwuebuka Ibeh • Doubleday Books (June 4, 2024) • 2 Months on List
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Sales Data Source: Circana BookScan. Represents U.S. print sales from thousands of retailers.
Methodology: Books are categorized and filtered for Black Authors by the African American Literature Book Club. This list is a sneak peek into the Black Book Accelerator initiative.
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