20 Bestselling Fiction Books

Period: September/October - 2021

AALBC Bestseller Seal

Celebrating books written by or about Black people, the African American Literature Book Club’s Bestsellers List has been published continuously since 1998. In 2026, we began publishing our list quarterly, focusing on The BLK Bestsellers.

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.

1
Voices of the Harlem Renaissance: Originally Published as The New Negro an Interpretation

Voices of the Harlem Renaissance

by Alain Locke and Introduction by Troy Johnson
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2
Alice in Dreamland

Alice in Dreamland

by Roland S. Jefferson
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5
Palmares

Palmares

by Gayl Jones
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6
The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois

The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois

by Honoree Fanonne Jeffers
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7
The Nickel Boys: A Novel

The Nickel Boys

by Colson Whitehead
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8
The Vanishing Half

The Vanishing Half

by Brit Bennett
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9
Animal

Animal

by K’wan
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11
The Between

The Between

by Tananarive Due
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12
The Prophets

The Prophets

by Robert Jones, et al.
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14
A Death in Harlem: A Novel

A Death in Harlem

by Karla FC Holloway
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15
The Personal Librarian

The Personal Librarian

by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray
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16
Corregidora

Corregidora

by Gayl Jones
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17
Kindred

Kindred

by Octavia E. Butler
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18
Gone Missing in Harlem

Gone Missing in Harlem

by Karla FC Holloway
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19
Milk Blood Heat

Milk Blood Heat

by Dantiel W. Moniz
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20
My Monticello: Fiction

My Monticello

by Jocelyn Nicole Johnson
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