7 Books Published by African American Literature Book Club on AALBC — Book Cover Collage

Beneath the endless sands of the Sahara lies a secret, one of epic proportions that, if uncovered, would shatter mankind’s current perceptions of all that is past, and all that is possible. The Savion Sequence is the compelling account of one man’s unwitting path of discovery, a journey that takes troubled historian Brigham Elijah back through his own childhood experiences and the veiled clues they contain. Returning to North Carolina upon the gruesome murder of his uncle and mentor, Savion Elijah, Brigham is challenged by the late professor’s bizarre death, the coded messages he left behind, and the powerful and dangerous society of men vested with keeping an age-old secret—secret. This is a story of signs and symbols, of coveted knowledge and ancient truths, and of one man’s ultimate quest to uncover mankind’s hidden legacy.

Praise for The Savion Sequence
“The Savion Sequence is a masterful blend of mystery and metaphysics, spirituality and social commentary, and is as enlightening as it is engaging. Comparisons between D. Amari Jackson and contemporary authors are inevitable, but he takes us beyond Octavia Butler, Dan Brown and Stephen King into a new world in the pantheon of great fiction writers.” —Anthony T. Browder, Author & Cultural Historian

“An epic journey of discovery.” —Bakari Kitwana Author of Hip-Hop Activism in the Obama Era

“D. Amari Jackson is a skillful writer, adroit in both plotting and character. The Savion Sequence is an engrossing, metaphysical thrill-ride that will keep you reading all night.” —Stephanie Robinson, Author, Harvard Law Lecturer

Also Available in Hardcover

“Riveting.” —Amazon Book Review
A 2022 Essence, Bustle and The Root Book Pick

From the award-winning author of Speaking of Summer comes a “breathlessly suspenseful” (Lisa Unger), truthful look into the lives of women who drink to survive or just to cope, with a provocative narrator who carries readers along an emotional journey to acceptance.

Tragedy and Victor Powell have moved to the desirable but dark Grayson Glens enclave of dream homes just outside of Chicago. Stressed urbanites, they’ve got to live large in real life to stay large online. With only a few blacks in their elite gated community, they settle in but never quite feel at home. Then, a missing young black woman floats up in the Grayson River.

Is the spirit of the mysterious scarlet-lettered woman, Raven McCoy, haunting Grayson during the pandemic?

Tragedy, haunted by her own difficult checkered past versus Victor’s sterling history, thinks so. The pressure to manage his image for profit drives her to drink, even when his trying teen daughter visits. But Victor’s ex-wife, the Grayson gossip and a female detective all close in on Tragedy’s unraveling life. Then Tragedy spirals into addiction, past secrets and the local women’s fight for justice for a woman.

Editorial Reviews

2023 Independent Book Publishers Association Award Silver Winner Fiction: Mystery & Thriller
Nominated for Brown Girl Collective’s Favorite 2022 Mystery/Suspense Novel

“Atmospheric, lyrical, and full of surprises, Running to Fall is a mystery wrapped inside a moving story of love, female relationships, and how darkness lurks under even the most idyllic surfaces. Layered characters and beautiful prose pulled me into the gripping narrative, rooting for troubled Tragedy even as her life unravels. Buckhanon is a powerful writer, and one to watch, and her latest outing is as breathlessly suspenseful as it is deep.” —Lisa Unger, New York Times bestselling author of Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six

“Running to Fall is the compelling tale of a complicated woman haunted by her past, in a world haunted by a pandemic. It is the story of a woman named Tragedy, and the story behind her name. Her yearning for connection, refuge, and a stable home is masterfully juxtaposed against the isolation imposed on her by the alienating setting, as one of few Black residents of an Illinois exurb. She encounters a cast of equally complex women with their own secrets and regrets as she faces difficult truths and choices.” —Tiffany Gholar, author of A Bitter Pill to Swallow and The Unforeseeable Future

“With prose so incisive and knowing, you feel the meaning of the words as much as you understand it, Buckhanon can infuse a mystery tale with strands of isolation, addiction, secrets, and women we allow to be forgotten, and it’s riveting.” —Vannessa Cronin, Amazon Book Review

“Buckhanon’s weaving of thriller elements into a literary novel works beautifully… Readers interested in the challenges Black women face in suburban America and in drinking narratives that are not overly redemptive will appreciate this polished, insightful novel.” —BookLife Reviews

“Buckhanon’s writing is evocative as she delves into the complexities of race and belonging in a society that is often hostile to people of color. With its compelling narrative and well-drawn characters, Running to Fall is a must-read for fans of contemporary fiction and social justice.” —KB in Bloom Book Blog

Also Available in Paperback

“Riveting.” —Amazon Book Review
A 2022 Essence, Bustle and The Root Book Pick

From the award-winning author of Speaking of Summer comes a “breathlessly suspenseful” (Lisa Unger), truthful look into the lives of women who drink to survive or just to cope, with a provocative narrator who carries readers along an emotional journey to acceptance.

Tragedy and Victor Powell have moved to the desirable but dark Grayson Glens enclave of dream homes just outside of Chicago. Stressed urbanites, they’ve got to live large in real life to stay large online. With only a few blacks in their elite gated community, they settle in but never quite feel at home. Then, a missing young black woman floats up in the Grayson River.

Is the spirit of the mysterious scarlet-lettered woman, Raven McCoy, haunting Grayson during the pandemic?

Tragedy, haunted by her own difficult checkered past versus Victor’s sterling history, thinks so. The pressure to manage his image for profit drives her to drink, even when his trying teen daughter visits. But Victor’s ex-wife, the Grayson gossip and a female detective all close in on Tragedy’s unraveling life. Then Tragedy spirals into addiction, past secrets and the local women’s fight for justice for a woman.

Editorial Reviews

2023 Independent Book Publishers Association Award Silver Winner Fiction: Mystery & Thriller
Nominated for Brown Girl Collective’s Favorite 2022 Mystery/Suspense Novel

“Atmospheric, lyrical, and full of surprises, Running to Fall is a mystery wrapped inside a moving story of love, female relationships, and how darkness lurks under even the most idyllic surfaces. Layered characters and beautiful prose pulled me into the gripping narrative, rooting for troubled Tragedy even as her life unravels. Buckhanon is a powerful writer, and one to watch, and her latest outing is as breathlessly suspenseful as it is deep.” —Lisa Unger, New York Times bestselling author of Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six

“Running to Fall is the compelling tale of a complicated woman haunted by her past, in a world haunted by a pandemic. It is the story of a woman named Tragedy, and the story behind her name. Her yearning for connection, refuge, and a stable home is masterfully juxtaposed against the isolation imposed on her by the alienating setting, as one of few Black residents of an Illinois exurb. She encounters a cast of equally complex women with their own secrets and regrets as she faces difficult truths and choices.” —Tiffany Gholar, author of A Bitter Pill to Swallow and The Unforeseeable Future

“With prose so incisive and knowing, you feel the meaning of the words as much as you understand it, Buckhanon can infuse a mystery tale with strands of isolation, addiction, secrets, and women we allow to be forgotten, and it’s riveting.” —Vannessa Cronin, Amazon Book Review

“Buckhanon’s weaving of thriller elements into a literary novel works beautifully… Readers interested in the challenges Black women face in suburban America and in drinking narratives that are not overly redemptive will appreciate this polished, insightful novel.” —BookLife Reviews

“Buckhanon’s writing is evocative as she delves into the complexities of race and belonging in a society that is often hostile to people of color. With its compelling narrative and well-drawn characters, Running to Fall is a must-read for fans of contemporary fiction and social justice.” —KB in Bloom Book Blog

Out of Print — Look out for a Future Edition

The African American Literature Book Cub assessed the relative strengths of almost 300 American cities, to determine which ones are best able to provide environments that are supportive of, and conducive to, the enjoyment of African American Literature.

Our 2014 list improves on our original list, first published in 2013, by considering more factors for each city. Some of the factors we considered and evaluated included the:

• number of library visits per capita;
• number of African American book clubs;
• number of African American book stores;
• city having a minimum population of 100,000;
• percentage of African Americans relative to city’s overall population;
• number of book events for African American readers;
• number of African American owned newspapers;
• number of websites dedicated African American books (city of the web site’s founder);
• quality (length of visit, number of pages viewed, duration of stay) to the AALBC.com website, over the past 365 days; and
• more.

We also took points away from cities with strong negative indicators for African American literacy as reflected on reports like, The Schott 50 State Report on Public Education and Black Males 2010.

Finally, rather than ranking these cities, as we did last year, we decided to group the cities into tiers and sort the cities alphabetically within each tier. This article is intended to inform readers which cities are supportive of African American literature by providing the best resources for both readers and authors, and to acknowledge each city’s contribution to that effort.

Founded in 1997, AALBC.com is the largest and most frequently visited website dedicated to books by and about people of African descent.

AALBC.com’s founder, Troy Johnson’s a shares a wealth of information about books written by or about people of African descent. Readers of any background can discover a great read here

Troy also shares his insight on topics ranging from the publishing industry, technology and social media.