Juneteenth is a day commemorating the emancipation of enslaved African Americans. What better way to celebrate than to support Black authors and creators? Not all of the authors on this list are African Americans, but I’ve enjoyed their works and would like to promote Black authors generally. I’ve linked to the books on bookshop.org because while supporting Black authors, you can also support a Black-owned bookstore (map and list here).
Some of these books I’ve discussed before, some are new and some are older, but they all have one thing in common: I enjoyed them. To keep this from being a very long post, I’m only going to provide links rather than reviews. There are also many other amazing Black authors not included in this blog post (more on my read and to-read lists as well), but I hope folks find an author they enjoy below, and that they share their joy with their friends.
Speculative Fiction (Sci-fi and Fantasy)
Adult & YA
- Binti Trilogy – Nnedi Okorafor
- Dread Nation – Justina Ireland
- Far from the Light of Heaven – Tade Thompson
- How Long ‘Til Black Future Month – N. K. Jemisin
- Legendborn – Tracy Deonn
- The Ballad of Black Tom – Victor LaValle
- The Black God’s Drums – P. Djèlí Clark
- The Kingston Cycle Series – C. L. Polk
- The Midnight Bargain – C. L. Polk
- The Murders of Molly Southbourne – Tade Thompson
- This Poison Heart – Kaylnn Bayron
- Wings of Ebony – J. Elle
Middle Grade
- Amari & The Night Brothers – B. B. Alston
- The Jumbies – Tracey Baptiste
Non-SFF Fiction
Adult & YA
- The Other Black Girl – Zakiya Dalila Harris
- The Secret Lives of Church Ladies – Deesha Philyaw
- Slay – Brittney Morris
Middle Grade
- From the Desk of Zoe Washington – Janea Marks
Graphic Novel
- M.F.K. Volume One – Nilah Magruder
Romance
- Get a Life, Chloe Brown – Talia Hibbert
- The Summer of Everything – Julian Winters
Children’s Books
- The Day You Begin – Jacqueline Woodson
- I Am Enough – Grace Byers
BONUS: Titles I haven’t read yet, but want to read:
- A Little Devil in America: Notes in Praise of Black Performance – Abdurraqib Hanif
- Eden’s Everdark – Karen Strong
- Me: Moth – Amber McBride
- My Super Hero is Black – John Jennings
- The 1916 Project: Born on the Water – Nikole Hannah-Jones
- What a Match – Mimi Grace
A. K. Hudson 