2 Bestselling Poetry Books

Period: May/June - 2023

Celebrating Black stories and authors since 1998, the AALBC Bestsellers List is now published annually. Our next list will cover the full year 2026. Explore the latest list, for first-quarter 2026, as a printable list or collage. For monthly national rankings, visit the BLK Bestsellers List, featuring America’s bestselling books by Black writers.

Fiction:
Kimberla Lawson Roby describes our #1 bestselling novel, The Thing about Home by Rhonda McKnight, as “…a beautifully written story about family, self-discovery, secrets, and forgiveness.” Rhonda McKnight, first made our bestsellers list eight years ago with her novel Live A Little.

Nonfiction:
Nonfiction books dominated sales this period. A Black History Reader: 101 Questions You Never Thought to Ask by Claud Anderson outsold all nonfiction titles this period.

Children’s Books:
Repeat After Me: Big Things to Say Every Day written by Jazmyn Simon and Dulé Hill with illustrations by Shamar Knight-Justice was not only the top selling chidlren’s book, it was the top selling of all books across all genres this period.

Poetry:
Call Us What We Carry: Poems by Amanda Gorman, has topped the poetry list three times, and has been an AALBC bestseller six times.