Black History Month is a fantastic opportunity to discover and celebrate the rich diversity of voices in literature. While we encourage book clubs to read books by Black authors year-round, Black History Month offers a dedicated space to acknowledge and center Black contributions to arts and culture.
Whether your club regularly reads Black literature and fiction and seeks fresh inspiration, or you're looking to diversify your bookshelves and explore new perspectives or deepen your understanding of the Black experience, our list of 15 compelling books by Black authors is for you.
The books on our lists, spanning literary fiction to memoir, were primarily published in the past year (with a few notable, classic exceptions), and are perfect for meaningful book club discussion. To explore books published in previous years, refer to our Black authors reading list from 2024.
Best Book Club Books by Black Authors
Harlem Rhapsody by Victoria Christopher Murray
From the coauthor of The Personal Librarian comes the extraordinary story of the woman who ignited the Harlem Renaissance. Based on the real life of Jessie Redmon Fauset, a pioneering literary editor turned writer herself who discovered and fostered the careers of Countee Cullen, Langston Hughes, and Nella Larsen, among others.
James by Percival Everett
One of the most popular book club books of 2024, and winner of the 2024 National Book Award for Fiction, this brilliant, action-packed reimagining of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, told from the enslaved Jim's point of view, has dazzled critics and book clubs alike.
Red Clay by Charles B. Fancher
An astounding multigenerational saga, Red Clay chronicles the interwoven lives of an enslaved Black family and their white owners as the Civil War ends and Reconstruction begins. With a vivid sense of place and a cast of memorable characters, Fancher draws upon his own family history to weave a riveting tale of triumph over adversity, set against a backdrop of societal change and racial animus that reverberates in contemporary America.
Sky Full of Elephants by Cebo Campbell
An astonishing debut novel that asks the question: in a world without white people, what does it mean to be Black? One day, a cataclysmic event occurs: all of the white people in America walk into the nearest body of water. A year later, Charlie Brunton receives a call from his daughter Sidney, a nineteen-year-old left behind by her white mother and step-family. As Charlie and Sidney meet for the first time and travel across a truly “post-racial” America, neither are prepared for this new world and how they see themselves in it.
Let Us March On by Shara Moon
A stirring novel inspired by the life of an unsung heroine, and real-life crusader, Lizzie McDuffie, who as a maid in FDR’s White House spearheaded the Civil Rights movement of her time. Let Us March On looks at the unsung and courageous crusader who is finally getting the recognition she so richly deserves.
Lovely One by Ketanji Brown Jackson
In her "vulnerable, tender, and infinitely inspirational" (Oprah Daily) memoir, the first Black woman to ever be appointed to the Supreme Court of the United States chronicles her extraordinary life story. With this unflinching account, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson invites readers into her life and world, tracing her family's ascent from segregation to her confirmation on America's highest court within the span of one generation.
Colored Television by Danzy Senna
A Good Morning America Book Club pick, Colored Television is a brilliant take on love and ambition, failure and reinvention, and the racial-identity-industrial complex. The novel follows biracial writer Jane as she housesits in luxury in the Hollywood Hills, attempts to finish her second novel, turns her hand to screenwriting, and then sees it all come crashing down.
Isaac's Song by Daniel Black
A poignant, emotionally exuberant novel about a young queer Black man finding his voice in 1980s Chicago. At a therapist's encouragement, Isaac begins to write down his story. In the process, he taps into a creative energy that will send him on a journey back to his family, his ancestral home in Arkansas and the inherited trauma of the nation's dark past. But a surprise discovery will either unlock the truths he's seeking or threaten to derail the life he's fought so hard to claim.
Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler
The 1993 speculative fiction novel by trail-blazing science fiction writer Butler continues to resonate with audiences over 30 years after its original publication. Set in California in 2024, the prescient novel follows 15-year-old protagonist Lauren Olamina as she navigates an American future beset by climate change, economic crisis, and social chaos.
Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor
In this exhilarating tale by New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Nnedi Okorafor, a disabled Nigerian American woman pens a wildly successful Sci-Fi novel, but as her fame rises, she loses control of the narrative--a surprisingly cutting, yet heartfelt drama about art and love, identity and connection, and, ultimately, what makes us human.
The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
In this 2020 Pulitzer Prize-winning, New York Times bestselling follow-up to The Underground Railroad, Colson Whitehead brilliantly dramatizes another strand of American history through the story of two boys unjustly sentenced to a hellish reform school in Jim Crow-era Florida. Now a major motion picture nominated for best picture at the 2025 Academy Awards.
Black in Blues by Imani Perry
A meditation on the color blue--and its role in Black history and culture--from National Book Award-winner Imani Perry, who traces both blue and Blackness from their earliest roots to their embodiments of contemporary culture, drawing from her own life as well as art and history. One of Bookclubs' most anticipated nonfiction books for book clubs in 2025.
Good Dirt by by Charmaine Wilkerson
This new novel from the author of Black Cake -- and one of our most anticipated book club books of 2025 -- is a multi-generational epic that examines how the past informs the present. After a high-profile romance falls apart, Ebby flees to France. But her past follows her -- including the unsolved crime of her brother's death, and the legacy of a handcrafted jar that shattered when he was shot.
This Motherless Land by Nikki May
A stunning reimagining of Jane Austen's Mansfield Park: Split between England and Nigeria, two extraordinary cousins are set on vastly different paths as they come to terms with their shared family history. This masterful exploration of race, identity, and love was a Read With Jenna pick.
Grown Women by Sarai Johnson
In this stunning debut novel, selected as a New Yorker best book of the year, four generations of complex Black women contend with motherhood and daughterhood, generational trauma and the deeply ingrained tensions and wounds that divide them as they redefine happiness and healing for themselves.
skin & bones by Renée Watson
At 40, Lena Baker is at a steady and stable moment in life until a confession on her wedding day shifts her world. Unmoored and grieving a major loss, Lena finds herself trying to teach her daughter self-love while struggling to do so herself. skin & bones is a soulful and lyrical novel exploring sisterhood, motherhood, faith, love, and ultimately what gets passed down from one generation to the next.
These book picks are a combination of titles chosen by the Bookclubs editorial staff, and the top titles recommended for book clubs by publishing sponsors, including Blackstone, HarperCollins, and Doubleday. If you buy books through links on this page, we may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.
Related Content:
Looking for more books by diverse authors? Check out our how-to guide to diversifying your bookshelf, and our suggested reading lists for diverse books and authors:
- Must Read Books for Women's History Month
- Must Read Books by AAPI Authors
- The Ultimate LGBTQ+ Pride Book List
- The best books for Latinx and Hispanic Heritage Month
- 5 must-reads for Native American Heritage Month
Find a public book club focusing on books by diverse authors:
- Book clubs reading books by women
- Book clubs reading books by BIPOC or other underrepresented authors
- Book clubs reading books by queer and LGBTQ+ authors