#1
Months on List: 2
Two childhood friends from a small Louisiana town grow into very different lives, and years later their paths converge again as they confront the lasting impact of family loss, identity, and a devastating tragedy.
Kin: A Novel
by Tayari Jones • Knopf Publishing Group (February 24, 2026) • 2 Months on List
#2
Months on List: 25
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) • 25 Months on List
#3
Months on List: 2
Three intertwined lives spanning post-WWII Germany to 1960s Maryland explore identity, family, and the far-reaching impact of one woman’s efforts to care for abandoned children of mixed heritage.
Keeper Of Lost Children
by Sadeqa Johnson • 37 Ink (February 10, 2026) • 2 Months on List
#4
Months on List: 3
The book is a searing portrayal of resistance and defiance among enslaved people in the American South, focusing on characters such as quick-witted Luke, defiant Henri, sharp Josephine, formidable Charity Butler and ruthless Nathaniel, as they navigate a deeply unjust system and try to ignite sparks of justice.
Burn Down Master’s House
by Clay Cane • Dafina Books (January 27, 2026) • 3 Months on List
#5
Months on List: 2
A Black ex-police officer is shot during a traffic stop on the night of Barack Obama’s election, and a determined lawyer races to uncover the truth and fight a corrupt system to save him from a wrongful conviction.
Worse Than A Lie: A Beau Lee Cooper Novel
by Ben Crump • Bantam (February 17, 2026) • 2 Months on List
#6
Months on List: 3
This multigenerational saga explores seven generations of Dupree women, bound by a strange curse to only have daughters, navigating familial secrets, enduring hardship, displaying resilience, and maintaining unbreakable bonds from the time of slavery to the modern day.
The Seven Daughters Of Dupree
by Nikesha Elise Williams • Gallery/scout Press (January 27, 2026) • 3 Months on List
#7
Months on List: 8
A heartbreaking story about a woman who embarks on an international journey to retrieve the lost possessions of her late friend, entangling her life with the last woman he loved, and exploring intricate themes of love, memory, and ambiguous loss.
Loved One
by Aisha Muharrar • Viking (August 12, 2025) • 8 Months on List
#8
Months on List: 10
A financial whiz uncovers his family's deep-seated secrets and fights dangerous criminals to protect his loved ones, navigating a web of family duty, crime, and looming mortality in a Southern town.
King Of Ashes
by S. A. Cosby • Flatiron Books: Pine & Cedar (June 10, 2025) • 10 Months on List
#9
Months on List: 7
The narrative follows five Black women navigating their careers, relationships, and personal ambitions over two decades, while dealing with the challenges and volatility of modern American life.
The Wilderness
by Angela Flournoy • Mariner Books (September 16, 2025) • 7 Months on List
#10
Months on List: 3
A determined Black editor abandons a prestigious fashion magazine to rescue a struggling hip-hop music and lifestyle magazine, navigating a world of wealth, power, and tempting romances while confronting a vengeful ex-boss and her own desires.
If I Ruled The World
by Amy Dubois Barnett • Flatiron Books (January 27, 2026) • 3 Months on List
#11
Months on List: 6
A dedicated journalist unravels her family's secret connection to unsolved missing girls cases in North Carolina while battling her troubled past and struggling to maintain her crumbling marriage.
We Don’t Talk About Carol
by Kristen L. Berry • Bantam (June 3, 2025) • 6 Months on List
#12
Months on List: 7
This novel explores the upheaval caused by a favorite son's sins in a small Mississippi town, illustrating the ongoing violence and casual sins of the patriarchy as told through the perspectives of the women who love him.
Dominion: A Novel
by Addie E. Citchens • Farrar Straus And Giroux (August 19, 2025) • 7 Months on List
#13
Months on List: 1
In a transformed America devoid of white people, a father and daughter, both grappling with their identities and past traumas, embark on a journey to reconnect and understand their place in a radically changed society.
Sky Full Of Elephants
by Cebo Campbell • Simon & Schuster (September 10, 2024) • 1 Months on List
#14
Months on List: 12
When a woman answers her estranged grandmother’s summons to rural North Carolina, she uncovers her family’s hidden connection to a forgotten kingdom founded by freed people and must decide how to protect its legacy.
Happy Land
by Dolen Perkins-valdez • Berkley Books (April 8, 2025) • 12 Months on List
#15
Months on List: 13
Four women navigate love, identity, and loss across continents and generations, confronting the truths they’ve avoided and the lives they’ve built amid personal and societal upheaval.
Dream Count
by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie • Knopf Publishing Group (March 4, 2025) • 13 Months on List
#16
Months on List: 2
A woman who has fled an abusive past finds refuge in the haunted forests of southern Georgia, where she becomes a healer and must confront both ancestral violence and unsettling new desires that threaten her hard-won peace.
On Sundays She Picked Flowers
by Yah Yah Scholfield • S&s/saga Press (January 27, 2026) • 2 Months on List
#17
Months on List: 5
The book is a comprehensive reinterpretation of African mythology, adorned with impressive paintings throughout.
Chronicles Of Ori: An African Epic
by Harmonia Rosales • W. W. Norton & Company (October 14, 2025) • 5 Months on List
#18
Months on List: 1
A generous businesswoman faces the unraveling of her relationships and her own morality when betrayal by her fiancé and best friend leads her to confront dark truths about trust and justice.
Bad Seeds
by Mary Monroe • Dafina Books (March 31, 2026) • 1 Months on List
#19
Months on List: 5
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) • 5 Months on List
#20
Months on List: 12
In a surreal present where historical icons return, a disgraced hip-hop producer joins forces with Harriet Tubman to craft an album that reclaims freedom, confronts trauma, and reimagines legacy through music.
Harriet Tubman: Live In Concert
by Bob The Drag Queen • Gallery Books (March 25, 2025) • 12 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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