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Writing a book is often a grueling, years-long process of emotions ranging from disappointment and joy. And then, a release date that coincides with a global pandemic. Authors are now met with cancelled book tours, potentially flat sales numbers, and, perhaps most importantly, stories unheard.
In recent weeks, we’ve watched the nation and the world in justifiable outrage and exhaustion in response to generations of endured oppression and injustices for the black community. Not only now, but always, these books should be supported and celebrated. Here, you’ll find 25 new and forthcoming books written by black authors to buy and pre-order for your summer reading lists, as well as a list of black-owned, small business bookstores across the nation to support.
Trouble Is What I Do by Walter Mosely
The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin
It’s Not all Downhill From Here by Terry Mcmillan
I Don’t Want to Die Poor by Michael Arceneaux
Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
Stop Telling Women to Smile by Tatyana Fazlalizadeh
Parable of the Brown Girl: The Sacred Lives of Girls of Color by Khristi Lauren Adams
We Want Our Bodies Back by Jessica Care Moore
Wow, No Thank You by Samantha Irby
Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick: Stories from the Harlem Renaissance by Zora Neale Hurston
Saving Savannah by Tonya Bolden
Riot Baby by Tochi Onyebuchi
Hood Feminism by Mikki Kendall
The Last Negroes at Harvard by Kent Garrett and Jeanne Ellsworth
Memorial Drive: A Daughter’s Memoir by Natasha Trethewey
Real Life by Brandon Taylor
Lakewood by Megan Giddings
These Ghosts are Family by Maisy Card
Remembrance by Rita Woods
The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Daré
This is What I Know about Art by Kimberly Drew
Deacon King Kong by James McBride
Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi
Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid
Black-owned bookstores to purchase from:
Sister’s Uptown BookStore, New York City
Grandma’s Place, New York City
LaUnique African American Bookstore & Cultural Arts Center, NJ
DTR 360 Books, interactive online bookstore
The Key Bookstore, interactive online bookstore
Semicolon Bookstore and Gallery, IL
Blackstone Bookstore & Cultural Center, MI
For more options in your area you can visit www.africanbookstore.net to shop virtually.