African-American Interest Books – Free & Bargain Priced!
When The Color Purple won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1983, its author Alice Walker became the first woman of color to win the prize. She also went on to win the National Book Award for Fiction in the same year. Mel Watkins of the New York Times Book Review described the novel as a “striking and consummately well-written novel,” praising its powerful emotional impact and epistolary structure.
Beginning in the 1970s, African American interest books reached the mainstream as literature by Black writers continually achieved best-selling and award-winning status – this was also the period when the work of African-American writers became recognised as a distinct and legitimate genre of American literature.
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What is African-American Literature?
African-American literature is the body of literature produced in the United States by writers of African descent. It begins with the works of such late 18th-century writers as Phillis Wheatley. Before the high point of slave narratives, African-American literature was dominated by autobiographical spiritual narratives. The genre known as slave narratives in the 19th century were accounts by people who had generally escaped from slavery, about their journeys to freedom and ways they claimed their lives. The Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s was a great period of flowering in literature and the arts, influenced both by writers who came North in the Great Migration and those who were immigrants from Jamaica and other Caribbean islands. African-American writers have been recognized by the highest awards, including the Nobel Prize given to Toni Morrison in 1993. Among the themes and issues explored in this literature are the role of African Americans within the larger American society, African-American culture, racism, slavery, and social equality. African-American writing has tended to incorporate oral forms, such as spirituals, sermons, gospel music, blues, or rap.
The period of the 1970s saw many African-American books on bestseller lists. One of the first to do so was Roots: The Saga of an American Family by Alex Haley. A fictionalized account of Haley’s family history which went on to win the Pulitzer Prize and became a popular tv miniseries.
Other important writers include Gayl Jones, Rasheed Clark, Ishmael Reed, Jamaica Kincaid, Randall Kenan, and John Edgar Wideman. Poet Maya Angelou read a poem at Bill Clinton’s inauguration, Rita Dove won a Pulitzer Prize and served as Poet Laureate of the United States from 1993 to 1995, and Cyrus Cassells’s Soul Make a Path through Shouting was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in 1994. Natasha Trethewey won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry with her book Native Guard. In 2004 Edward P. Jones won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for his book The Known World.
Young African-American novelists include David Anthony Durham, Karen E. Quinones Miller, Tayari Jones, Kalisha Buckhanon, Mat Johnson, ZZ Packer and Colson Whitehead, among many others.
An African-American pioneer in genre fiction is Chester Himes, who in the 1950s and ’60s wrote a series of pulp fiction detective novels featuring “Coffin” Ed Johnson and “Gravedigger” Jones, two New York City police detectives. Himes paved the way for the later crime novels of Walter Mosley and Hugh Holton. African Americans are also represented in the genres of science fiction, fantasy and horror, with Samuel R. Delany, Octavia E. Butler, Steven Barnes, Tananarive Due, Robert Fleming, Brandon Massey, Charles R. Saunders, John Ridley, John M. Faucette, Sheree Thomas and Nalo Hopkinson just at the beginning of a very long list.
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award African American Interest Book – The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Highly reviewed African American interest books – Deliverance Mary Fields by Miantae Metcalf McConnell
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The Hate U Give
8 starred reviews ? Goodreads Choice Awards Best of the Best ? William C. Morris Award Winner ? National Book Award Longlist ? Printz Honor Book ? Coretta Scott King Honor Book ? #1 New York Times Bestseller!"Absolutely riveting!" —Jason Reynolds"Stunning." —John...
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Black Card
In this NPR Best Book of the Year, a mixed-race punk rock musician must face the real dangers of being Black in America in this “wise meditation on race, authenticity, and belonging” (Nylon).Chris L. Terry’s Black Card is an uncompromising examination of American...
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Riot Baby
Winner of the 2020 New England Book Award for Fiction!"Riot Baby, Onyebuchi's first novel for adults, is as much the story of Ella and her brother, Kevin, as it is the story of black pain in America, of the extent and lineage of police brutality, racism and injustice...
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The Witches of Salix Pointe
Nestled between Little St. Simons Island and Jekyll Island, Salix Pointe is not a place that many people know of. As a part of the Golden Isles of Georgia, it’s never mentioned because of all the Weeping Willows that grow there. The surrounding town’s folk call it the...
read more
And Sometimes I Wonder About You
The welcome return of Leonid McGill, Walter Mosley's NYC-based private eye, his East Coast foil to his immortal L.A.-based detective Easy Rawlins. As the Boston Globe raved, "A poignantly real character, [McGill is] not only the newest of the great fictional...
read more
The Girl with the Hazel Eyes
Oprah Magazine calls it one of 16 Books by Caribbean Authors to add to your Reading List.JAAWP Finalist.Silver Medallist. “A perfect read. ‘The Girl with the Hazel Eyes’ is well-written and compelling. I give this novel 5/5 stars.” - Bekah’s Bookshelves.A beautifully...
read more
The Boyfriend Project
A smart and delightful romantic comedy featuring fabulous female friendships and "a great love story." --Jasmine Guillory, bestselling author of Party of Two Samiah Brooks never thought she would be "that" girl. But a live tweet of a horrific date just revealed the...
read more
Love, Lies & Consequences
"I can't marry you..." A sentiment and decision intended to set her life on the right course had the opposite effect. Raegan was all set to live a life free of sexual impurities and she thought she had that area of her life under control until she met Rico, who...
read more
The Girl with the Hazel Eyes
Oprah Magazine calls it one of 16 Books by Caribbean Authors to add to your Reading List.JAAWP Finalist.Silver Medallist. “A perfect read. ‘The Girl with the Hazel Eyes’ is well-written and compelling. I give this novel 5/5 stars.” - Bekah’s Bookshelves.A beautifully...
read more
Extraordinary, Ordinary People
This is the story of Condoleezza Rice that has never been told, not that of an ultra-accomplished world leader, but of a little girl--and a young woman--trying to find her place in a sometimes hostile world, of two exceptional parents, and an extended family and...
read more
Secret Obsession
Paige Donahue has always lived in her sister Camille's shadow. As children, Camille had the grades, the friends, and their parents' love, while Paige was left with hand-me-downs and criticism. Now as adults, Camille lives an idyllic life with her husband, Pierce, and...
read more
Freelancer
The country is tearing itself apart at the seams, but Kari is just trying to make it through high school without being discovered. With the second civil war starting any day, Kari is forced to choose to stay hidden, or to use her elite hacking/design skills to protect...
read more
Uptown Thief
International Latino Book Award Winner In this sexy, heart-stopping tale, one smart, sizzling mami robs the rich and protects the exploited--until one heist too many puts everything at stake. . . Marisol Rivera barely survived being abused with nowhere to turn. So...
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The Inheritance Trilogy
After her mother's death, a young woman is summoned to the floating city of Sky to claim a royal inheritance she never knew existed in this epic fantasy trilogy from the NYT bestselling author of The Fifth Season. Yeine Darr is an outcast from the barbarian north. But...
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Seven Minutes of Christmas Magic
From K.L. Brady, USA Today Bestseller and the Author of The 12 Daves of Christmas, Comes the Laugh-Out-Loud Christmas Story You Need This Season...Can the Distance Between Enemies and Lovers be Erased with a closet, seven minutes, and a little Christmas...
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Riot Baby
A Publishers Weekly Best of 2020 Top Ten Pick!Winner of the 2020 New England Book Award for Fiction!"Riot Baby, Onyebuchi's first novel for adults, is as much the story of Ella and her brother, Kevin, as it is the story of black pain in America, of the extent and...
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Speaking of Summer
A “powerful song about what it means to survive as a woman in America” (Jesmyn Ward), this “fiercely astute” novel follows a sister determined to uncover the truth about her twin’s disappearance (Tayari Jones). On a cold December evening, Autumn Spencer’s twin sister,...
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Black Card
In this NPR Best Book of the Year, a mixed-race punk rock musician must face the real dangers of being Black in America in this “wise meditation on race, authenticity, and belonging” (Nylon).Chris L. Terry’s Black Card is an uncompromising examination of American...
read more
Frenemy
Brock Lane goes to a club with friend and teammate Malik Thomas to let off some steam and forget about the robbery and kidnapping that just took place. He meets a girl that could potentially be competition for Naomi to win his heart and affection, but he sees through...
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Lakewood
A startling debut about class and race, Lakewood evokes a terrifying world of medical experimentation—part The Handmaid’s Tale, part The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Electric Literature: One of 55 Books by Women and Nonbinary Writers of Color to Read in 2020 |...
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An Alpha’s Desire
Daniel As heir to Titan Aerospace, the world believed my every wish was at my disposal. Yet, for my family's many accolades, we've endured just as much tragedy. In reality, I fight for my legacy, and I fought for her. At first sight, I was hypnotized by the curvy...
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Have You Seen Luis Velez?
An Amazon Charts and Wall Street Journal bestseller.New York Times bestselling author Catherine Ryan Hyde brings heartwarming authenticity to the story of two strangers who find that kindness is a powerful antidote to fear. Raymond Jaffe feels like he doesn’t belong....
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Every Pawn Is A Potential Queen
Adrianne Parker could be the poster child for “Why Good Girls Like Bad Guys.” Beautiful, intelligent and well educated, she could have any man she desires but, instead, fixes her sights upon Geno Taylor. Geno, one of Louisville’s largest drug dealers, steals...
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The Cartel 7
The saga of love, loyalty, and crime continues in the next explosive book in the Cartel series from the minds of New York Times bestselling authors Ashley & JaQuavis.After the tragic and bloody end to The Cartel’s reign, Carter is forced into isolation to evade the...
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Beauty After Brokenness
Six months ago, Deaconess Jordan Diamond suffered an unbelievable tragedy that took her husband and young child. She’s fighting her way back, one heart-wrenching minute, but it’s not been easy. Her faith and her desire to move on have been shattered. If not for Pastor...
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Best Laid Plans
The Fourth in B. Hollidae's Romance Series featuring African American CouplesSpring and Bilal Part 1 of 2 Spring's skipping the love and marriage and headed straight to the baby carriage with the decision to get artificially inseminated. But then she meets the Bilal,...
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Games Divas Play
Find out how far these divas will go to stay on top in the sexy thriller that inspired the BET show Games People Play.When entertainment writer Nia Bullock loses her job and her live-in boyfriend, she flees LA for Manhattan and a gig as editor-in-chief of the hot new...
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Is She The Reason
Yara Moreland was a complex woman, full of mystery, compassion and way too much love. She would do anything for her husband, including going to jail for ten years. When she's released things aren't the same and she's left confused and wondering whose to blame.Kamala...
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Being Black
"Honest, courageous... Williams has committed an act of love."—Alice Walker"A classic."—Jack KornfieldThere truly is an art to being here in this world, and like any art, it can be mastered. In this elegant, practical book, Angel Kyodo Williams combines the universal...
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Silver Sparrow
From the New York Times Bestselling Author of An American Marriage “A love story . . . Full of perverse wisdom and proud joy . . . Jones’s skill for wry understatement never wavers.” —O: The Oprah Magazine “Silver Sparrow will break your heart before you even know it....
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Beatrice and the Beast
After losing her father in the great fire of Chicago and being forced to sell their house and possessions in order to pay off his debts, Beatrice, is left destitute and penniless. In desperation, she agrees to become a mail order bride to a rich Texan rancher who buys...
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Odell’s Fall
"A page-turning, pot-boiler of a read." —Robert Cooper, former president, HBO Pictures Jackson Sheman is in line for the promotion of his dreams. Nothing and no one will stand in the way of partnership in one of Manhattan's top law firms. When his mentor Odell Moore,...
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The Caged Butterfly
"I must say I think that letter is a blessing and a curse." - Amazon Book Reader Review"Settle in for a sweeping drama." - Amazon Book Reader ReviewThe Caged Butterfly, a USA Best Book Award Winner, is a captivating, epic tale that spans over seven decades! A single...
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Like Lovers Do
Tracey Livesay continues her fun-filled Girls Trip series with this romance that will tug at your heartstrings.Sometimes faking it can lead to the real thing… Driven and focused, Dr. Nicole Allen is an accomplished surgeon. With a tough past, Nic’s gone above and...
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Kings of the Castle
USA Today and New York Times Bestselling Authors work together to provide you with a world you'll never want to leave. It's time to discover The Castle. Fate made them brothers. Protecting the Castle, each other, and the women they love will make them Kings.When their...
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One Click For Love
Sexy-Modern-Romance! *Completed Series*Will a spur of the moment decision to update a dating profile, change her life forever?Brihanna Lorde female relatives consider her “un-girly”. When the truth is she’s a modern young woman just trying to live her life. With her...
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African-American Interest Books…
Halsey Street
Finalist for the Kirkus Prize for Fiction.A modern-day story of family, loss, and renewal, Halsey Street captures the deeply human need to belong—not only to a place but to one another.Penelope Grand has scrapped her failed career as an artist in Pittsburgh and moved...
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Sidelined: The Contract
Bryn Charles is planning her biggest event yet after signing a love contract with her boyfriend, NFL superstar Shane Smith. Their fiery love affair only intensifies as Shane finally gives her what she wants — his heart. But when Shane's ex throws a Hail Mary pass it...
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Conjure Women
A mother and daughter with a shared talent for healing—and for the conjuring of curses—are at the heart of this dazzling first novel LONGLISTED FOR THE CENTER FOR FICTION FIRST NOVEL PRIZE • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The New York Times • NPR • Parade...
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Night in Shanghai
This novel of an American musician caught up in the dangers of 1930s China is “historical fiction at its best” (Alan Cheuse, NPR’s All Things Considered). In 1936, classical pianist Thomas Greene is recruited to Shanghai to lead a jazz orchestra of fellow African...
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Red at the Bone
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERA NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF THE YEAR"A spectacular novel that only this legend can pull off." -Ibram X. Kendi, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of HOW TO BE AN ANTIRACIST, in The Atlantic"An exquisite tale of family legacy….The...
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The Reinvention of the Rose
Desperation.Not a phenomenon Tempest could typically claim, but certainly the catalyst for where she’s landed. Not in peril, or pain, but in dire need of the very normalcy she’s often emulated, but never been able to obtain.Now... there’s nothing in her way, except...
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When No One Is Watching
An instant NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY BESTSELLER!"I was knocked over by the momentum of an intense psychological thriller that doesn’t let go until the final page. This is a terrific read." – Alafair Burke, New York Times bestselling author*Marie Claire's September...
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Bullets
"An exceptional mystery, Eli Drive's BULLETS draws you in close to its heart and reminds us that the terrible things done in the name of dollars is nearly always tragic for working people, that there's always a price in blood or in karma and, in the end, we make our...
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Escaping Exodus
"Don't be alarmed - that dizzy pleasurable sensation you're experiencing is just your brain slowly exploding from all the wild magnificent worldbuilding in Nicky Drayden's Escaping Exodus. I loved these characters and this story, and so will you." - Sam J. Miller,...
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Remembrance
"Stunning. ... Family is at the core of Remembrance, the breathtaking debut novel by Rita Woods." -- The Boston Globe. This breakout historical debut with modern resonance is perfect for the many fans of The Underground Railroad and Orphan Train. Remembrance…It’s a...
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Remembrance
"Stunning. ... Family is at the core of Remembrance, the breathtaking debut novel by Rita Woods." -- The Boston Globe. This breakout historical debut with modern resonance is perfect for the many fans of The Underground Railroad and Orphan Train. Remembrance…It’s a...
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Caribbean Crush
Meet the sweet, swoony, and gorgeous couples who make up this Caribbean BWWM trilogy!This collection includes the first three complete novels of the Caribbean Crush BWWM contemporary romance series – His Exception, Her Deception, and The Complication.His Exception...
read more The Hate U Give
8 starred reviews ? Goodreads Choice Awards Best of the Best ? William C. Morris Award Winner ? National Book Award Longlist ? Printz Honor Book ? Coretta Scott King Honor Book ? #1 New York Times Bestseller!"Absolutely riveting!" —Jason Reynolds"Stunning." —John...
read more Black Card
In this NPR Best Book of the Year, a mixed-race punk rock musician must face the real dangers of being Black in America in this “wise meditation on race, authenticity, and belonging” (Nylon).Chris L. Terry’s Black Card is an uncompromising examination of American...
read more Riot Baby
Winner of the 2020 New England Book Award for Fiction!"Riot Baby, Onyebuchi's first novel for adults, is as much the story of Ella and her brother, Kevin, as it is the story of black pain in America, of the extent and lineage of police brutality, racism and injustice...
read more The Witches of Salix Pointe
Nestled between Little St. Simons Island and Jekyll Island, Salix Pointe is not a place that many people know of. As a part of the Golden Isles of Georgia, it’s never mentioned because of all the Weeping Willows that grow there. The surrounding town’s folk call it the...
read more And Sometimes I Wonder About You
The welcome return of Leonid McGill, Walter Mosley's NYC-based private eye, his East Coast foil to his immortal L.A.-based detective Easy Rawlins. As the Boston Globe raved, "A poignantly real character, [McGill is] not only the newest of the great fictional...
read more The Girl with the Hazel Eyes
Oprah Magazine calls it one of 16 Books by Caribbean Authors to add to your Reading List.JAAWP Finalist.Silver Medallist. “A perfect read. ‘The Girl with the Hazel Eyes’ is well-written and compelling. I give this novel 5/5 stars.” - Bekah’s Bookshelves.A beautifully...
read more The Boyfriend Project
A smart and delightful romantic comedy featuring fabulous female friendships and "a great love story." --Jasmine Guillory, bestselling author of Party of Two Samiah Brooks never thought she would be "that" girl. But a live tweet of a horrific date just revealed the...
read more Love, Lies & Consequences
"I can't marry you..." A sentiment and decision intended to set her life on the right course had the opposite effect. Raegan was all set to live a life free of sexual impurities and she thought she had that area of her life under control until she met Rico, who...
read more The Girl with the Hazel Eyes
Oprah Magazine calls it one of 16 Books by Caribbean Authors to add to your Reading List.JAAWP Finalist.Silver Medallist. “A perfect read. ‘The Girl with the Hazel Eyes’ is well-written and compelling. I give this novel 5/5 stars.” - Bekah’s Bookshelves.A beautifully...
read more Extraordinary, Ordinary People
This is the story of Condoleezza Rice that has never been told, not that of an ultra-accomplished world leader, but of a little girl--and a young woman--trying to find her place in a sometimes hostile world, of two exceptional parents, and an extended family and...
read more Secret Obsession
Paige Donahue has always lived in her sister Camille's shadow. As children, Camille had the grades, the friends, and their parents' love, while Paige was left with hand-me-downs and criticism. Now as adults, Camille lives an idyllic life with her husband, Pierce, and...
read more Freelancer
The country is tearing itself apart at the seams, but Kari is just trying to make it through high school without being discovered. With the second civil war starting any day, Kari is forced to choose to stay hidden, or to use her elite hacking/design skills to protect...
read more