#1
Months on List: 11
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) • 11 Months on List
#2
Months on List: 2
A pioneering editor and writer navigates love, ambition, and scandal as she helps launch the <a href="https://aalbc.com/content.php?title=The+Harlem+Renaissance">Harlem Renaissance</a> and elevates a generation of Black literary voices.
Harlem Rhapsody
by Victoria Christopher Murray • Berkley Books (February 4, 2025) • 2 Months on List
#3
Months on List: 2
A woman haunted by her brother’s unsolved death and a shattered family heirloom uncovers buried truths that tie her personal heartbreak to a deeper ancestral legacy.
Good Dirt
by Charmaine Wilkerson • Ballantine Books (January 28, 2025) • 2 Months on List
#4
Months on List: 14
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) • 14 Months on List
#5
Months on List: 2
A Nigerian American writer grapples with fame, family, and creative control after her speculative novel about AI and humanity becomes a cultural phenomenon, blurring the lines between author and story.
Death Of The Author
by Nnedi Okorafor • William Morrow & Company (January 14, 2025) • 2 Months on List
#6
Months on List: 2
A young enslaved girl haunted by her sister’s ghost confronts forbidden love, buried secrets, and the cost of freedom as she dares to challenge the world that has kept her captive.
Junie
by Erin Crosby Eckstine • Ballantine Books (February 4, 2025) • 2 Months on List
#7
Months on List: 5
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) • 5 Months on List
#8
Months on List: 6
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) • 6 Months on List
#9
Months on List: 2
In this posthumously published novel, a reimagined Herod the Great emerges not as a biblical villain but as a visionary leader navigating power, politics, and faith in a turbulent first-century Judea.
The Life Of Herod The Great
by Zora Neale Hurston • Amistad Press (January 7, 2025) • 2 Months on List
#10
Months on List: 2
In Walter Mosley's latest mystery novel, terminally-ill P.I. Joe King Oliver embarks on a personal quest to locate his estranged father, while navigating the moral complexities of a new case that challenges his professional ethics and personal principles.
Been Wrong So Long It Feels Like Right: A King Oliver Novel
by Walter Mosley • Mulholland Books (January 28, 2025) • 2 Months on List
#11
Months on List: 13
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) • 13 Months on List
#12
Months on List: 1
When a woman's secretive past in South Africa resurfaces during a dinner with an unexpected old acquaintance, she is forced to confront the haunting horrors of her past and re-evaluate her beliefs, all while wrestling with lingering questions of justice, truth, and resilience.
Casualties Of Truth
by Lauren Francis-sharma • Atlantic Monthly Press (February 11, 2025) • 1 Months on List
#13
Months on List: 2
In 1980s Chicago, a young, queer Black man named Isaac navigates personal reinvention and social unrest, rediscovering his past and artistic voice amidst the AIDS crisis and racial violence, all while a surprising discovery threatens to upend the life he's painstakingly built.
Isaac’s Song: A Novel
by Daniel Black • Hanover Sq (January 14, 2025) • 2 Months on List
#14
Months on List: 7
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) • 7 Months on List
#15
Months on List: 14
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) • 14 Months on List
#16
Months on List: 1
In <em>People of Means,</em> parallel stories of a civil-rights-era student activist in 1960s Nashville and her ambitious PR professional daughter navigating racial politics in 1992 Chicago collide, revealing their shared desire for justice, the impact of societal norms, and the unyielding strength of familial bonds.
People Of Means: A Novel
by Nancy Johnson • William Morrow & Company (February 11, 2025) • 1 Months on List
#17
Months on List: 13
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) • 13 Months on List
#18
Months on List: 9
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) • 9 Months on List
#19
Months on List: 2
In <em>Seven Days in June,</em> single mom and erotica author Eva Mercy rekindles a passionate forgotten love with reclusive novelist Shane Hall, navigating past traumas, literary intrigue, and the complexities of motherhood over a sultry Brooklyn summer, as they uncover answers to long-standing questions.
Seven Days In June
by Tia Williams • Grand Central Publishing (June 1, 2021) • 2 Months on List
#20
Months on List: 5
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) • 5 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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