12 Must-Read Books By Black Authors
A year-long reading journey featuring 12 powerful books by Black authors across genres.
For centuries, Black voices in literature were often silenced or ignored, yet their contributions continue to shape our understanding of identity, culture, and society. From history to fantasy, these books illuminate the human experience.
Here are 12 must-read books by Black authors, each a unique perspective that deserves your attention.
The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
In the early 1960s, Elwood Curtis is a studious Black teenager sent to the Nickel Academy – a reform school that hides brutality behind its polished reputation. There, he forms a bond with Turner, whose worldview clashes with Elwood’s belief in justice and moral progress. Their experiences at the school expose the deep violence embedded in American institutions.
The Nickel Boys is based on the true story of a Florida school, where investigations uncovered decades of abuse, torture, and the unmarked graves of at least 55 children. The school was not closed until 2011.
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
Angelou’s memoir recounts her early life in the segregated American South, detailing experiences of racism, sexual abuse, and displacement. Through her resilience, love of literature, and the support of her family, she emerges with a powerful sense of identity and voice.
Maya Angelou – poet, author, civil rights activist, singer, dancer, and actress – was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the country’s highest civilian honor.
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
The novel follows twin sisters, Desiree and Stella, who grow up in a small Southern community but choose radically different paths in adulthood – one living openly in her hometown, the other passing as white in a distant city. As their lives diverge and intersect across decades, the story explores identity, family, and the choices that shape who we become.
The Vanishing Half had one of the most successful debuts of 2020, becoming an immediate New York Times best-seller.
Beloved by Toni Morrison
Beloved follows Sethe, a formerly enslaved woman haunted by the trauma of her past and the ghost of her daughter. As the story unfolds, Sethe confronts buried memories, generational trauma, and the cost of survival in a world still shaped by slavery. The novel received the Pulitzer Prize and is a staple of American literature.
Beloved is inspired by the true story of Margaret Garner, an escaped slave who killed her infant daughter to prevent her from being returned to slavery.
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
The novel follows Janie Crawford as she recounts her life across three marriages, each shaping her understanding of love, independence, and her own voice. Set in early 20th-century Florida, the story blends Southern Black folklore with a personal search for fulfillment beyond society’s expectations.
Their Eyes Were Watching God was out of print for nearly 30 years due to readers’ rejection of its strong, black female protagonist.
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
Whitehead’s novel reimagines the historical Underground Railroad as a literal network of subterranean trains helping enslaved people escape to freedom. The story follows Cora, a young woman who flees a Georgia plantation, confronting the horrors of slavery with each stop.
The Underground Railroad won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, National Book Award for Fiction, Arthur C. Clarke Award, and Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence.
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
Okonkwo, a respected leader in the Igbo community of Nigeria, navigates the complexities of traditional African society. The arrival of European missionaries and colonial forces disrupts the community, challenging traditions and sparking cultural conflict.
Achebe’s debut novel has sold over 10 million copies in 45 languages, becoming the standard-bearer of modern African literature.
Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
Ellison’s novel follows an unnamed Black narrator whose journey takes him from the Deep South to the streets and political movements of Harlem. Through a series of shifting environments and identities, he attempts to understand his place in a world that renders him “invisible.”
For Invisible Man in 1953, Ralph Ellison was the first African-American writer to win the U.S. National Book Award for Fiction.
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
The Color Purple explores the life of Celie, a young Black woman living in rural Georgia in the early 1900s. While attempting to overcome abuse, rape, and oppression, Celie writes letters to God, eventually finding her voice and identity.
Walker’s masterpiece won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and is #17 on the “100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 2000–2010.”
The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin
In the Stillness, catastrophic geological disasters shape every aspect of life, including the rigid caste system that governs those born with seismic abilities. The novel follows three orogenes whose stories gradually converge as they navigate political danger, personal loss, and a continent on the edge of collapse.
It received the Hugo Award, the most prestigious honor in science fiction and fantasy.
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Thomas’s novel follows Starr Carter, a sixteen-year-old girl who witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood friend by a police officer. Navigating between her predominantly Black neighborhood and her mostly white private school, Starr grapples with trauma, systemic injustice, and the courage to speak out.
Expanded from a short story she wrote in college, Thomas’s novel debuted #1 on The New York Times best-seller list, where it remained for 50 weeks.
Go Tell It On The Mountain by James Baldwin
Baldwin’s novel follows 14-year-old John Grimes as he comes of age in 1930s Harlem, navigating the tensions of family, religion, and identity. Against the backdrop of a devout Pentecostal community, John confronts personal struggles and the weight of generational expectations.
This semi-autobiographical tale was included in Time’s 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century.
