The Jubilee Reader
Recent books by African American writers, writers from the African diaspora, and on related topics.
Issue 11 • May/June 2024
Fiction
Acts of Forgiveness
by Maura CheeksA single mother trying to prove she is descended from slaves in order to participate in the nation’s first federal reparations program is surprised when her family blocks her from exploring their ancestry and secrets.
The American Queen
by Vanessa MillerThe American Daughters
by Maurice Carlos RuffinA woman enslaved to a businessman in the French Quarter of New Orleans meets a free Black woman who invites her to join a society of spies called the Daughters, setting her on a journey toward liberation.
Boys in the Club
by M. T. PopeThe Blueprint
by Rae Giana RashadSet in an alternate U.S. where an algorithm determines a Black woman’s occupation, spouse, and residence, a young woman becomes the concubine of a white government official and forms a dangerous bond with him.
Losing themselves in their club personas to escape the pressures of life, four Black gay men find their excessive partying leading to bad decisions that could ruin their lives.
Brooklyn by
Tracy BrownBased on true events, this novel set in the 1860s South follows an enslaved woman who marries a reverend and leads an exodus from the plantation, starting her own self-proclaimed kingdom.
Around the Way Girls 12
by Treasure Hernandez and Marcus WeberIn these two stories, a woman accidentally becomes involved in a drug deal gone wrong, and a young woman who graduated at the top of her high school class decides she wants to lose her virginity to a local rapper.
A Manhattan hustler, master manipulator, and serial survivor recounts, while dying, the events that made her into the ruthless person she became.
Coconut Drop Dead
by Olivia MatthewsBrooklyn’s annual Caribbean American Heritage Festival is cut short when the lead singer of an upand-coming reggae band dies under mysterious circumstances that are soon investigated by a bakery owner/amateur detective.
Come and Get It
by Kiley ReidA university student’s new side hustle is jeopardized by strange new friends and illicit and vengeful dorm antics.
A Dark Place
by Travis HunterA struggling, disenfranchised man discovers he cannot turn his back on the problems of his former community, despite his desperation to leave it firmly in his past.
Dead in Long Beach, California
by Venita BlackburnA successful yet lonely author who discovers the body of her brother grows increasingly untethered from reality and begins responding to texts as her late sibling.
Dixon, Descending
by Karen OutenA former Olympic-level runner working as a school psychologist abandons his family and students to join his brother on a quest to be the first Black American men to summit Mount Everest, resulting in a tragedy that shatters his life.
Frenemy Fix-Up
by Yahrah St. JohnFaebound
by Saara El-ArifiForced into the terrifying wilderness beyond their homeland’s borders, an elven warrior and her prophet sister encounter the Fae court.
The Gardins of Edin
by Rosey LeeFour women from the same family who live side-byside in Edin, Georgia, fight to preserve their legacy, heal their wounds, and move forward together.
Girls With Bad Reputations
by Xio AxelrodAn aspiring rock drummer and her new tour bus driver — recently released from prison for a crime he didn’t commit — have their secrets exposed in this follow-up to The Girl with Stars in Her Eyes
The House of Plain Truth
by Donna HemansA woman returns to her childhood home in Jamaica when she learns her father is dying, and is puzzled by his deathbed wish that she find her siblings and discover the secret that tore her family apart.
I Love You So Much It’s Killing Us Both: A Novel, or an Annotated Mixtapeby Mariah Stovall
After a decade of estrangement, a woman who receives an invitation from a former best friend to a party for her newly adopted daughter weighs the risks and rewards of attending.
I’m Not Superwoman
by Marlon McCaulskyA corporate workaholic facing a health scare asks a former high school classmate and current yoga studio owner to help him get into shape and win back the one who got away.
A woman studying to be a doctor at Clark Atlanta University struggles to make her grades while her roommate spirals out of control and puts her in difficult, compromising positions that threaten to end her dreams.
Kinning by
Nisi ShawlTwo siblings traveling the world via aircanoe spread spores of a mysterious empathy-generating fungus that build bonds between people.
Lore of the Wilds
by Analeigh SbranaWhen her village is threatened, a young woman makes a devil’s bargain with a Fae lord and is forced to rely on two very different, dangerous, and attractive Fae males to survive.
A Love Song for Ricki Wilde
by Tia WilliamsLeaving behind her socialite family in Atlanta, a woman moves to New York to open a flower shop as the Harlem Renaissance swirls around her.
The Mayor of Maxwell Street
by Avery CunninghamIn 1921 Chicago, a wealthy young woman works with the low-level manager of the city’s swankiest speakeasy to identify the head of an underground crime syndicate.
A Motive for Murder
by Roy GlennConvinced that the American partner of an Albanian mafia organization has murdered her friend, a young woman enlists the aid of another friend to maintain a fragile peace while she investigates.
Neighbors and Other Stories
by Diane OliverSet during the 1950s and 1960s, this story collection follows a group of characters as they confront the dangers of Jim Crow racism.
The Partner Plot
by Kristina ForestOurs by
Phillip B. WilliamsSweeping through 1830s Arkansas to rescue enslaved people, a fearsome conjuror creates a town magically concealed from outsiders.
When a successful celebrity stylist and her high school boyfriend wake up married after hooking up in Vegas, they get an unexpected second shot at happily ever after.
The Queen of Sugar Hill: A Novel of Hattie McDaniel
by ReShonda Tate BillingsleyA novelization of the complicated, pioneering life of Hattie McDaniel, the first African American woman to win an Academy Award.
Redwood Court by
DéLana R. A. DameronA young woman learns important lessons from her family and her all-Black South Carolina community, who are committed to fostering joy and love in an America insistent on seeing Black people stumble and fall.
Sex, Lies and Sensibility
by Nikki PayneLeft with nothing but a rustic inn in the middle of nowhere after their father’s death, two sisters must revamp the inn or lose it, a project which pits them against an eco-tour guide determined to see them fail.
Silent Judgment
by Zaire CrownWhen a feared street executioner is ordered to protect a conservative Black TV personality who has been receiving death threats, he is drawn into a dangerous conspiracy and must fight his personal demons to survive.
Smoke Kings
by Jahmal MayfieldAfter his cousin is murdered, an activist and three grief-stricken friends kidnap the descendants of longago perpetrators of hate crimes, forcing them to pay reparations to a community fund... until he confronts the wrong man.
Stuck On You
by Monica WaltersA man in an unhappy marriage to his high school sweetheart enrolls in college, hoping for a fresh start, and meets a woman who gives him a new lease on life.
Sugar, Baby
by Celine SaintclareA young woman who moves in with a model who dates rich older men for their money is drawn into the world of high-paid sex work.
That Time I Got Drunk And Saved a Demon
by Kimberly LemmingAfter saving the fiery demon Fallon, spice trader Cinnamon finds her quiet life turned upside down when he drags her along on his quest to kill the witch enslaving his people.
Womb City
by Tlotlo TsamaaseAfter a drug-fueled evening causes her to commit a desperate crime, a young woman must unravel a political conspiracy while the ghost of her victim hunts down the people she loves.
Non-Fiction
Arts and Literature
Black Caesars and Foxy Cleopatras: A History of Blaxploitation Cinema
by Odie HendersonThe chief film critic of the Boston Globe presents a definitive history of 1970s Blaxploitation cinema and reappraises the lasting cultural impact and significance of the genre’s films.
Blackbirds Singing: Inspiring Black Women’s Speeches from the Civil War to the Twenty-First Century
by Janet Dewart BellThis collection of speeches by African American women features contributions from such trailblazers as Harriet Tubman, Barbara Lee, Josephine Baker, and Barbara Jordan.
First Things First: Hip-Hop Ladies Who Changed the Game
by Nadirah SimmonsThis reframed hip-hop history focuses on the notable firsts of female artists such as Lauryn Hill, who made history as the first rapper to win an Album of the Year Grammy.
Scratchin’ and Survivin’: Hustle Economics and the Black Sitcoms of Tandem Productions
by Adrien SebroA behind-the-scenes history of Tandem Productions, the company behind nearly all of the hit Black sitcoms of the 1970s, including Good Times, The Jeffersons, Sanford and Son, and Diff’rent Strokes
This is the Honey: An Anthology of Contemporary Black Poets
by Kwame AlexanderA poetry anthology featuring works from the most prominent and promising Black poets and writers of our time.
Biography
John Lewis: In Search of the Beloved Community
by Raymond ArsenaultThe first full-length biography of Civil Rights hero and congressman John Lewis.
Nina Simone in Comics
by Sophie AdriansenA graphic novel biography of pianist, singer, and civil rights icon Simone.
Cooking
Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts: Stories and Recipes From Five Generations of Black Country Cooks
by Crystal WilkinsonIn this memoir/cookbook hybrid exploring the heritage of Black Appalachia, an O. Henry Prize-winning writer shares family recipes, family photos, and family stories.
The Vegan Baby: Cookbook
and Guide
by Ashley NsonwuEnvironmental activist and vegan mother Nsonwu provides recipes for plant-based food for toddlers and babies, as well as discussing the benefits of veganism and navigating veganism in school and social settings.
Dating
F the Fairy Tale: Rewrite the Dating Myths and Live Your Own Love Story
by Damona HoffmanCelebrity dating coach Hoffman dismantles longheld myths that can prevent finding lasting love and provides ways to escape ideas such as instant love and finding “the One.”
Education
HBCU Made: A Celebration of the Black College Experience
A collection of essays celebrating historically Black colleges and universities, featuring contributions from alumni such as Oprah Winfrey, Stacey Abrams, and Branford Marsalis.
