10 Bestselling Fiction Books

Period: September/October - 2023

AALBC Bestseller Seal

Celebrating books written by or about Black people, the African American Literature Book Club’s Bestsellers List has been published continuously since 1998. In 2026, we began publishing our list quarterly, focusing on The BLK Bestsellers.

Fiction:
Voices of the Harlem Renaissance makes our bestsellers list for the 19th time! Only 7 other books have accomplished this feat.

Nonfiction:
Edited by Jericho Brown How We Do It: Black Writers on Craft, Practice, and Skill; debuted on at #3 on our list and now tops the nonfiction list.

Children’s Books:
Jelani’s Key by D. Amari Jackson was the top selling book of all titles this period, largely on the strength of sales during a book signing at Sankofa Bookstore and Cafe on October 28th.

Poetry:
Poetry sales were topped by Life On Mars: Poems by Tracy K. Smith, the 12-year-old collection of poems won the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry.

1
Voices of the Harlem Renaissance: Originally Published as The New Negro an Interpretation

Voices of the Harlem Renaissance

by Alain Locke and Introduction by Troy Johnson
Add to Cart
2
Fool Me Thrice: Money Changes Everything

Fool Me Thrice

by Dean Conan
Add to Cart
3
Lone Women

Lone Women

by Victor Lavalle
Add to Cart
4
No Place to Be Somebody: A Black-Black Comedy

No Place to Be Somebody

by Charles Gordone
5
Promise Me A Miracle

Promise Me A Miracle

by Naleighna Kai, et al.
6
Babylon Sisters: A Novel

Babylon Sisters

by Pearl Cleage
7
Running to Fall: A Novel

Running to Fall

by Kalisha Buckhanon
8
Our Gen

Our Gen

by Diane McKinney-Whetstone
Add to Cart
9
The Bluest Eye

The Bluest Eye

by Toni Morrison
Add to Cart
10
Perfect Peace: A Novel

Perfect Peace

by Daniel Black
Add to Cart