Recent books by African American authors and writers from the African diaspora, along with works on related topics.
Issue 16 • March/April 2025
Fiction
Amber Alert
by Kiki Swinson
A suburban mother’s criminal past endangers her children and propels her back into a world she thought she had left behind.
Autumn: A Twist of Fate
by Yasauni
A single mom raising her nephew finds an unlikely connection with a billionaire playboy.
Beautiful Broken Love
by Shanora Williams
A woman grieving her husband’s death considers the possibility of new love when an NBA star shows interest in her.
Breath of Oblivion
by Maurice Broaddus
A coalition of city-states that stretches from Earth to Titan and beyond faces renewed threats to its progress in this sequel to Sweep of Stars
Carl Weber’s Kingpins: Charlotte Part 2
by Blake Karrington
A man must fight for his freedom and life after he is falsely accused of murder.
Carl Weber’s Kingpins:
Queens 3 by Erick S. Gray
A powerful criminal organization stages a series of attacks on the rulers of New York City’s underworld.
Church Girl
by Naima Simone
Chaos in Kinshasa
by
Barly Baruti
A gangster who wins tickets to attend the “Rumble in the Jungle” becomes entangled in espionage, murder, and a plot to overthrow Zaire’s infamous President Mobutu.
A preacher’s daughter who flees her wedding and the small-town expectations of her family finds romance with a grumpy tattoo artist.
Death of the Author
by Nnedi Okorafor
A woman whose novel has been rejected by yet another publisher pens a science fiction novel that sends her on a life-altering journey.
Echo
by Tracy Clark
A Chicago police detective uncovers links to a decades-old tragedy when she investigates the murder of a wealthy college student.
Fat Girls Dance
by Cathleen Meredith
Three women determined to fight body shaming become online sensations and find their friendship stretched to the breaking point.
Guide Me Home
by Attica Locke
Good Dirt
by Charmaine Wilkerson
The daughter of an affluent family pieces together the connection between a childhood tragedy and a beloved heirloom.
A Texas Ranger facing a possible indictment investigates his mother’s dubious tale of a missing college student.
Home and Away
by Rochelle Alers
A journalist who moves to Nashville to interview her grandfather about his father’s Negro League baseball career finds inspiration to transform her own future.
Hood Defined Love
by Raevyn Renee
A young woman and young man find themselves drawn together under difficult circumstances.
Isaac’s
Song
by Daniel Black
Encouraged by his therapist to write his story, a young, queer man relates the circumstances of his life, from growing up with a difficult father to finding community in 1980s Chicago.
The Jewel of the Blues
by Monica Chenault-Kilgore
A devastating family secret casts a shadow over the life and career of an up-and-coming Jazz Era singer.
Libra Princesses
by C. N. Phillips
Twin Irish sisters in dire financial and personal straits become the hired hands of a conniving drug lord.
Love in Bloom
by Lucy Eden
The Life of Herod the Great
by Zora Neale Hurston
A new, unpublished novel from Zora Neale Hurston that reveals the historical Herod the Great as a religious and philosophical man who lived a life of valor and vision.
A hardworking city woman finds country love with the handsome manager of her family’s farm.
My Heart Still Beats for You
by Tina Marie
Romance blossoms when four lovers seek to uncover the true desires of their hearts.
Only for the Week
by Natasha Bishop
The maid of honor and best man at a wedding in Mexico agree to a one-week stand that may turn into a lifetime together.
Played by Naima Simone
A professional hockey player and a firefighter find romance while struggling to escape the weight of the past.
Pretty Hustlaz
by Blake Karrington
Power of Persuasion
by Selena Montgomery
A woman hired by the cabinet of King Damon Toca of Jafir to install her revolutionary AI system finds herself drawn to the king.
Stuck In the Country With You
by Zuri Day
A one-night stand comes back to haunt a young woman who inherits her family’s farm and discovers that her new neighbor is her one-time fling.
This Time, Baby
by Roy Glenn
The new boss of a New York City crime family targets the former NYPD officer who runs a competing criminal organization.
The Treacherous Wife
by Saundra
A decorated Arizona detective finds that his second chance at love is threatened by a new, deadly investigation.
The Trial of Mrs. Rhinelander by
Denny S. Bryce
In 1920s New York, an idealistic young woman who elopes with the white heir to a real estate fortune is drawn into a sensational divorce case and must fight for justice, legitimacy, and her future.
The Unexpected Diva
by Tiffany L. Warren
The founder of a high-class escort service tries to prevent the realities of her work from intruding on her closely guarded private life.
Somebody’s Husband
by Robbi Renee
A grieving doctor and a nurturing professor join forces on a medical study that sparks a profound romantic connection.
A chance performance launches a young woman into fame as “the Black Swan,” a celebrated opera singer navigating the dangers of 19th-century America.
Untethered
by Angela Jackson-Brown
In 1967 Alabama, a young woman who lost her twin brother to the war in Vietnam is torn between her responsibilities and her heart’s desire.
The Wind on Her Tongue
by Anita Kopacz
A woman with the ability to control storms embarks on a journey through 19th-century America under the guidance of Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau.
Non-Fiction
Arts and Literature
The African Gaze: Photograhy, Cinema and Power
by Amy Sall
An introduction to African photography and film from the mid-twentieth century to present day.
Amy Sherald: American Sublime
by Amy Sherald
A collection of almost all of the work produced by artist Amy Sherald, from her poetic early piecess to the distinctive figure paintings and portraits that have become her hallmark.
High and Rising: A Book About De La Soul
by Marcus Moore
A cultural biography detailing the influence of De La Soul, whose groundbreaking debut album revolutionized hip-hop. Reckoning: Protest. Defiance. Resilience.
A showcase of the role of visual art in African American history and culture, based on the exhibition of the same name at the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
When It’s Over
by
Roy Glenn
NYPD detectives pursuing a criminal responsible for five murders try to avert further bloodshed.
A Thousand Threads
by Neneh Cherry
Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Cherry offers an inside look at her career and her formative early years, when she called Sweden, Sierra Leone, London, and Watts home.
The Unseen Truth: When Race Changed Sight in America
by Sarah Elizabeth Lewis
Art historian Lewis explores the connection between images of the people of the Caucasus in the 1860s and American ideas about race.
Biography and Memoir
Da Baddest
by Trina
Rapper, songwriter, and television personality Trina shares the story of her coming-of-age in Miami and her ascent to stardom.
The First and Last King of Haiti: The Rise and Fall of Henry Christophe
by Marlene Daut
An exploration of the complex life of Henry Christophe that details his journey from enslavement to revolutionary leader, king, and suicide.
Malcolm Before X
by Patrick Parr
An examination of the first 27 years of Malcolm X’s life that explores his Midwestern childhood and focuses on his time in prison.
My Pisces Heart: A Black Immigrant’s Search for Home Across Four Continents
by Jennifer Neal
A memoir tracing the journey of a Black, queer woman as she searches for a place of security and acceptance to call home.
The White Peril: A Family Memoir
by Omo Moses
A multigenerational memoir that blends the author’s coming-of-age story as a Black man in America with his great-grandfather’s sermons and the civil rights work of his father.
Cooking
Trap Kitchen: Wah Gwaan Jamaican Cookbook
by Malachi Jenkins
The owners of Trap Kitchen LA delve into the history of Jamaican culinary traditions and provide new takes on more than 60 classic recipes.
Essays
If We Are Brave: Essays From Black Americana
by Theodore R. Johnson III
A collection of first-person accounts that explores how differing perspectives on national identity challenge America’s democratic ideals and hinder unity.
Justice for
Marcus Garvey : Look for Me in the Whirlwind
A collection of essays and personal narratives about Black political activist Garvey.
History
An African History of Africa
by Zeinab Badawi
A survey of Africa’s legacy from prehistory to the present that highlights African voices and perspectives to explore ancient civilizations, medieval empires, and colonialism’s impact.
Humans in Shackles: An Atlantic History of Slavery
by Ana Lucia Araujo
A sweeping narrative history of the Atlantic slave trade and slavery in the Americas.
Juneteenth Rodeo
by Sarah Bird
Photos taken between 1977 and 1982 that offer a rare portrait of the vibrant and now all-but-vanished world of small-town Black rodeos.
Kindred Creation: Parables and Paradigms for Freedom
by Aida Mariam Davis
An exploration of the impacts of settler colonialism, and a call to design better worlds rooted in African lifeways.
Law
The Gangs of Zion: A Black Cop’s Crusade in Mormon Country
by Ron Stallworth
The best-selling author of Black Klansman returns with another firsthand account of his trailblazing police work in 1990s Utah.
Never Saw Me
Coming: How I Outsmarted the FBI and the Entire Banking System by
Tanya Smith
A tech genius shares how she stole $40 million as part of a scheme designed to show up the FBI, which claimed that “these are not the kind of crimes Black people are smart enough to commit.”
No Human Involved: The Serial Murder of Black Women and Girls and the Deadly Cost of Police Indifference
by Cheryl L. Neely
An examination of the invisibility of Black women and girls as victims of targeted killings, and the lack of police interest in and media coverage of those murders.
Religion and Spirituality
The Day God Saw Me as Black : The Journey to Liberated Faith by Danyelle
D. Thomas
A cultural critique of white supremacy in the Black Pentecostal religious experience through the lenses of race, gender, and sexual expression.
Do It Anyway Devotional: 60 Days to a Bolder Faith
by
Tasha Cobbs-Leonard
The Grammy-winning author of Do It Anyway shares a plan to help readers experience the breakthrough that comes from trusting Jesus.
Get Your Spirit Back
by
Earl McClellan
Speaker and pastor McClellan calls readers to move beyond insecurity and negative self-talk and show up to life with God-given confidence.
Go Higher: Five Practices for Purpose, Success, and Inner Peace
by Big Sean
The musician known as Big Sean offers spiritual practices for self-care and self-acceptance, and recalls his journey to musical stardom and his battles with depression and anxiety.
I Once Was Lost: My Search for God in America
by Don Lemon
Former CNN anchor Lemon discusses how tests of faith can make us stronger, as individuals and as a nation.
A Kwanzaa Keepsake and Cookbook
by Jessica B. Harris
An updated edition of A Kwanzaa Keepsake, featuring proverbs, ceremonies, family projects, inspirational biographies, blessings, and recipes.
Take Your Seat at the Table
by Anthony ONeal
Best-selling author O’Neal discusses tools and strategies to help readers take ownership of their decisions and step into the life that God wants them to live.
Wake Up to Love: Meditations to Start Your Day
by Nikki Walton
GoOD Mornings podcast host Walton presents a collection of short meditations to help start one’s day with intentionality.
Social Science
Don’t Go: Stories of Segregation and How to Disrupt It by Tonika
Lewis Johnson
A collection of stories and photos that uncovers the hidden influence of the messaging that perpetuates segregation in Chicago and other “don’t go” neighborhoods.
The End of Respectability
by
Anthony Walton
In essays blending social history, analysis, and autobiography, Walton explores recent American history and race relations.
Sports
All the Smoke: All the Stars, All the Stories, No Apologies
by
Matt Barnes
NBA icons Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson take readers behind the scenes of their greatest moments and share insights from interviews with legends such as Shaquille O’Neal and Stephen Curry.
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