16 Bestselling Nonfiction Books for November/December - 2020

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

Fiction: The 2020 National Book Award Finalist, The Secret Lives of Church Ladies, by Deesha Philyaw was the bestselling book across all genres this period.

Nonfiction: Isabel Wilkerson’s Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents was the top-selling nonfiction book and the #2 best-selling book overall.

Children’s Books: Children’s book dominated sales this period, perhaps because of the gift giving season. The 9-time AALBC.com bestselling board book Whose Knees Are These? by Jabari Asim outsold all other children’s books.

Poetry: Make Me Rain: Poems & Prose by Nikki Giovanni, was the only book of poetry to make our bestsellers list and marks Giovanni’s 9th time, making her one of AALBC’s most popular poets.

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 Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson

Caste

by Isabel Wilkerson

Add to Cart

#2

Book cover of PowerNomics: The National Plan to Empower Black America by Claud Anderson

PowerNomics

by Claud Anderson

Add to Cart

#4

Book cover of Long Time Coming: Reckoning with Race in America (signed) by Michael Eric Dyson

Long Time Coming

by Michael Eric Dyson

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#5

Book cover of Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America by Ijeoma Oluo

Mediocre

by Ijeoma Oluo

Add to Cart

#6

Book cover of Stakes Is High: Life After the American Dream by Mychal Denzel Smith

Stakes Is High

by Mychal Denzel Smith

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#9

Book cover of The Rise: Black Cooks and the Soul of American Food by Marcus Samuelsson

The Rise

by Marcus Samuelsson

Add to Cart

#10

Book cover of Lead from the Outside: How to Build Your Future and Make Real Change by Stacey Abrams aka Selena Montgomery

Lead from the Outside

by Stacey Abrams aka Selena Montgomery

Add to Cart

#11

Book cover of Rise Up: Confronting a Country at the Crossroads by Al Sharpton

Rise Up

by Al Sharpton

Add to Cart

#14

Book cover of The Osiris Papers: Reflections on the Life and Writings of Dr. Frances Cress Welsing by Raymond A. Winbush and Dr. Denise Wright

The Osiris Papers

by Raymond A. Winbush and Dr. Denise Wright

Add to Cart

#15

Book cover of Our Time Is Now by Stacey Abrams aka Selena Montgomery

Our Time Is Now

by Stacey Abrams aka Selena Montgomery

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