13 Bestselling Fiction Books for January/February - 2022

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

Fiction: The bestselling fiction book this period is a literary Magazine, the Killens Review of Arts & Letters (Fall / Winter 2021). Published by the Center for Black Literature at Medgar Ever College and Edited by Clarence V. Reynolds, the Killens Review provides a wonderful collection of essays, poetry, and nonfiction.

Nonfiction: Nonfiction books were by far the bestselling genre this period. During Black History Month we often see a surge in nonfiction book sales. The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story created by Nikole Hannah-Jones is the bestselling book, of all, this period.

Children’s Books: Children’s Books sales were led by Born on the Water written by Nikole Hannah-Jones and Renée Watson, and illustrated by Nikkolas Smith. This book is also part of the 1619 Project and was the #1 bestselling book for all of 2021.

Poetry: Poetry sales were led by the 4-time AALBC Bestseller, Call Us What We Carry: Poems by Amanda Gorman. We are especially happy to see Cosmic Deputy: Poetry & Context by Kalamu ya Salaam make our list. Kalamu was the coeditor, with Kwame Alexander, of our first bestselling book of poetry, 360° A Revolution of Black Poets, which made the list in 1998.

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

#2

Book cover of 
The Great Mrs. Elias: A Novel Based on a True Story by Barbara Chase-Riboud

The Great Mrs. Elias

by Barbara Chase-Riboud

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#4

Book cover of In Every Mirror She’s Black by Lolá Ákínmádé Åkerström

In Every Mirror She’s Black

by Lolá Ákínmádé Åkerström

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#5

Book cover of Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison

Invisible Man

by Ralph Ellison

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#6

Book cover of While Justice Sleeps by Stacey Abrams aka Selena Montgomery

While Justice Sleeps

by Stacey Abrams aka Selena Montgomery

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#8

Book cover of Awaken by Timothy George

Awaken

by Timothy George

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#9

Book cover of Voices of the Harlem Renaissance: Originally Published as The New Negro an Interpretation by Alain Locke and Introduction by Troy Johnson

Voices of the Harlem Renaissance

by Alain Locke and Introduction by Troy Johnson

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#9

Book cover of The Between by Tananarive Due

The Between

by Tananarive Due

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#10

Book cover of Magic City: A Novel by Jewell Parker Rhodes

Magic City

by Jewell Parker Rhodes

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#11

Book cover of The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray

The Personal Librarian

by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray

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#12

Book cover of Captain Blackman by John A. Williams

Captain Blackman

by John A. Williams

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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