18 Bestselling Nonfiction Books for May/June - 2023

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

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.

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

White Fear

by Roland S. Martin

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#6

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

Hebrews to Negroes

by Ronald Dalton Jr.

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#9

Book cover of Starry Messenger: Cosmic Perspectives on Civilization by Neil deGrasse Tyson

Starry Messenger

by Neil deGrasse Tyson

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#11

Book cover of Medical Apartheid: The Dark History of Medical Experimentation on Black Americans from Colonial Times to the Present by Harriet A. Washington

Medical Apartheid

by Harriet A. Washington

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#12

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

CROWNED

by Kahran and Regis Bethencourt

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#14

Book cover of My Sunday Best: Pearls of Wisdom, Wit, Grace, and Style by La Verne Ford Wimberly

My Sunday Best

by La Verne Ford Wimberly

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#17

Book cover of Message to the People: The Course of African Philosophy  by Marcus Mosiah Garvey and Tony Martin (editor)

Message to the People

by Marcus Mosiah Garvey and Tony Martin (editor)

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#18

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

The Jemima Code

by Toni Tipton-Martin

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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