20 Bestselling Fiction Books for September/October - 2021

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

Fiction: Number one in fiction is Voices of the Harlem Renaissance: Originally Published as The New Negro an Interpretation, was edited by Alain Locke and featuring a new introduction by AALBC’s Founder, Troy Johnson. This classic title was republished in hardcover by Konecky & Konecky, in March of 2020, and has made our bestsellers list seven times. In 1999, QBR: The Black Book Review included the book on their list of “100 Essential Black Books.”

Nonfiction: Topping our nonfiction category is Chasing Me to My Grave which tells the hearth wrenching, yet inspiring, story of Winfred Rembert who was arrested after fleeing a demonstration, survived a near-lynching at the hands of law enforcement, and spent seven years on chain gangs. Years later, at the age of fifty-one, he started drawing and painting scenes from his youth using leather tooling skills he learned in prison.

Children’s Books: Our #1 bestselling children’s book is Gabrielle Union’s 2020 picture book, Welcome to the Party made our bestsellers list for the second time this year. Union has really made her mark on the literary scene, as she has also penned her 2nd memoir this year, You Got Anything Stronger?

Poetry: Two titles, Vice: New and Selected Poems by Ai Ogawa and Second Line Home: New Orleans Poems by Mona Lisa Saloy, were popular with readers this period. Discover more excellent poetry books.

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 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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#2

Book cover of Alice in Dreamland by Roland S. Jefferson

Alice in Dreamland

by Roland S. Jefferson

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#5

Book cover of Palmares by Gayl Jones

Palmares

by Gayl Jones

Add to Cart

#7

Book cover of The Nickel Boys: A Novel by Colson Whitehead

The Nickel Boys

by Colson Whitehead

Add to Cart

#11

Book cover of The Between by Tananarive Due

The Between

by Tananarive Due

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#12

Book cover of The Prophets by Robert Jones, Jr.

The Prophets

by Robert Jones, et al.

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#14

Book cover of A Death in Harlem: A Novel by Karla FC Holloway

A Death in Harlem

by Karla FC Holloway

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#15

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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#17

Book cover of Kindred by Octavia Butler

Kindred

by Octavia Butler

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#19

Book cover of Milk Blood Heat by Dantiel W. Moniz

Milk Blood Heat

by Dantiel W. Moniz

Add to Cart

#20

Book cover of My Monticello: Fiction by Jocelyn Nicole Johnson

My Monticello

by Jocelyn Nicole Johnson

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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.


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Bestselling Books By Year May be Found Here

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