27 Bestselling Nonfiction Books for Full Year - 2023

AALBC’s Bestselling Book SealOur bestsellers list has been published continuously since 1998. Learn More ▶

These books are the bestsellers of all our bestselling books for entire year! The newest book considered was Only for the Brave at Heart: Essays Rethinking Race, Crime, and Justice by Leon E. Pettiway (Dec 14, 2023). The oldest was No Place to be Somebody: A Black-black Comedy (1969) by Charles Gordone.

View a printer-friendly version and a collage of the book covers. Also, check out links to more great books. Enjoy

#1

Book cover of The Invisible Ache: Black Men Identifying Their Pain and Reclaiming Their Power by Robin L. Smith and Courtney B. Vance

The Invisible Ache

by Robin L. Smith and Courtney B. Vance

Add to Cart

#3

Book cover of How We Do It: Black Writers on Craft, Practice, and Skill by Jericho Brown

How We Do It

by Jericho Brown

Add to Cart

#5

Book cover of White Fear: How the Browning of America Is Making White Folks Lose Their Minds by Roland S. Martin

White Fear

by Roland S. Martin

Add to Cart

#13

Book cover of Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America! by Ronald Dalton Jr.

Hebrews to Negroes

by Ronald Dalton Jr.

Add to Cart

#18

Book cover of Black History: An Inclusive Account of American History by Walter Milton, Jr. and Joel A. Freeman

Black History

by Walter Milton, et al.

Add to Cart

#19

Book cover of Black AF History: The Un-Whitewashed Story of America by Michael Harriot

Black AF History

by Michael Harriot

Add to Cart

#21

Book cover of Black Lives Matter at School: An Uprising for Educational Justice by Denisha Jones and Jesse Hagopian

Black Lives Matter at School

by Denisha Jones and Jesse Hagopian

Add to Cart

#22

Book cover of CROWNED: Magical Folk and Fairy Tales from the Diaspora by Kahran and Regis Bethencourt

CROWNED

by Kahran and Regis Bethencourt

Add to Cart

#24

Book cover of The ISIS Papers: The Keys to the Colors by Frances Cress Welsing

The ISIS Papers

by Frances Cress Welsing

Add to Cart

#26

Book cover of The Jemima Code: Two Centuries of African American Cookbooks by Toni Tipton-Martin

The Jemima Code

by Toni Tipton-Martin

Add to Cart

More About our Bestsellers List


You will learn about books selling well, in the Black community, that may never show up on lists published by corporate entities. Spread the word about our list; don’t let one or two lists, which we don’t control, determine which books are important.

We collect our bestselling titles from all our sales channels. The majority of our sales come from this website and our in-person events. We also include sales generated through our affiliate relationships, including Bookshop.org, Libro.fm (audiobooks), Black History 365 Education, and Amazon.com*.

We aggregate all formats of a book sold (print, ebook, and audio) into one format, usually the most popular print format

*For a few years, we actively boycotted Amazon but have discontinued this practice, as many of our authors have made their books exclusively available from Amazon. While we discourage giving Amazon the exclusive right to sell a book, we do not want this to be a reason to exclude an author from our site. Amazon also has an effective monopoly on eBooks and out-of-print books, which we highlight on this site.


The Most Critically Acclaimed Books

Bestselling Books By Year May be Found Here

Our All-Time Bestselling Books May be Found Here