#1
Months on List: 9
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) • 9 Months on List
#2
Months on List: 11
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) • 11 Months on List
#3
Months on List: 2
Winter Santiaga navigates the aftermath of a near-death experience, balancing spiritual reckoning with her unrelenting desires for love, revenge, and success in a vivid, hip-hop-infused narrative.
Love After Midnight
by Sister Souljah • Atria Books (October 8, 2024) • 2 Months on List
#4
Months on List: 6
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) • 6 Months on List
#5
Months on List: 3
In this dark comedy, aspiring novelist Jane navigates reinvention and the racial identity-industrial complex with Hollywood ambitions, enticing a hot-shot producer with the promise of the <em>Jackie Robinson of biracial comedies,</em> striving for success while grappling with unexpected setbacks.
Colored Television
by Danzy Senna • Riverhead Books (September 3, 2024) • 3 Months on List
#6
Months on List: 10
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) • 10 Months on List
#7
Months on List: 11
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) • 11 Months on List
#8
Months on List: 10
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) • 10 Months on List
#9
Months on List: 11
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) • 11 Months on List
#10
Months on List: 10
In the highly anticipated novel <em>Come and Get It</em> by award-winning author Kiley Reid, a senior resident assistant at the University of Arkansas becomes entangled in a web of deceit and chaos when an unusual opportunity offered by a visiting professor leads her into a world of dubious friendships, hostile dorm pranks, and illicit intrigue.
Come And Get It
by Kiley Reid • G.p. Putnam's Sons (January 30, 2024) • 10 Months on List
#11
Months on List: 10
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) • 10 Months on List
#12
Months on List: 10
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) • 10 Months on List
#13
Months on List: 3
Pulled from retirement, Detective Darren Mathews navigates a web of deception to uncover the truth behind a missing black college student from an all-white sorority, forced to rely on his dubious mother as he risks his own peace for justice in the climax of the Highway 59 trilogy.
Guide Me Home
by Attica Locke • Mulholland Books (September 3, 2024) • 3 Months on List
#14
Months on List: 3
In the wake of their mother's mysterious death, estranged siblings Byron and Benny journey through her haunting Caribbean past and confront a family secret connected to a traditional black cake recipe, aiming to reconcile their relationship and understand their lineage.
Black Cake
by Charmaine Wilkerson • Ballantine Books (February 1, 2022) • 3 Months on List
#15
Months on List: 4
In the racially charged era of Jim Crow's Florida, two unjustly sentenced boys navigate the horrors of a brutal reform school, their contrasting perspectives on survival fuelling a tension that culminates in a life-altering decision, in this Pulitzer Prize-winning novel inspired by true events.
The Nickel Boys: A Novel
by Colson Whitehead • Doubleday Books (July 16, 2019) • 4 Months on List
#16
Months on List: 3
In this captivating exploration of race and relationships, two women, Twyla and Roberta, reconnect over the years after their childhood in a shelter, their racial identities purposely ambiguous, challenging readers to grapple with their perceptions in understanding the deep bond formed through shared experience.
Recitatif
by Toni Morrison • Knopf Publishing Group (February 1, 2022) • 3 Months on List
#17
Months on List: 2
In this Southern Gothic horror set in 1960s New Orleans, a young Black woman grappling with her supernatural abilities must uncover dark family secrets and break a century-old curse to save a mysterious family who believes she is their salvation.
This Cursed House
by Del Sandeen • Berkley Books (October 8, 2024) • 2 Months on List
#18
Months on List: 6
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) • 6 Months on List
#19
Months on List: 1
In 1950s Paris, an American expatriate finds himself torn between his fiancée and a male bartender, leading to a revealing and tragic exploration of repressed desires and societal norms.
Giovanni’s Room: Introduction By Colm Toibin
by James Baldwin • Everyman's Library (March 1, 2016) • 1 Months on List
#20
Months on List: 2
Born into bondage, young Hiram Walker employs his mysterious power to escape from a Virginia plantation and embarks on a dangerous journey through the Deep South and North, fighting in an underground war against slavers in an attempt to reunite with his family, in this compelling, historical novel by famous essayist Ta-Nehisi Coates.
The Water Dancer
by Ta-nehisi Coates • One World (September 24, 2019) • 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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