Last year during Black History Month, I not only enjoyed looking to see what new releases were being published by black authors, but I also saw the importance of highlighting the hard work of authors of color. Like in 2021, there is an abundance of upcoming books by Black Authors releasing that you can’t wait to get your hands on!
I went up only to May because I wanted to save the June releases for a summer blog post. If you think I missed a book that I should definitely highlight, please post the title in the comments below!
January Releases
- Manifesto: On Never Giving Up by Bernardine Evaristo
- Wahala by Nikki May
- How We Can Win: Race, History and Changing the Money Game That’s Rigged by Kimberly Jones
- You Don’t Know Us Negroes and Other Essays by Zora Neale Hurston
Yinka, Where Is Your Huzband? by Lizzie Damilola Blackburn
Yinka’s Nigerian aunties frequently pray for her delivery from singledom, her work friends think she’s too traditional (she’s saving herself for marriage!), her girlfriends think she needs to get over her ex already, and the men in her life…well, that’s a whole other story. But Yinka herself has always believed that true love will find her when the time is right.
Still, when her cousin gets engaged, Yinka commences Operation Find-A-Date for Rachel’s Wedding. Aided by a spreadsheet and her best friend, Yinka is determined to succeed. Will Yinka find herself a huzband? And what if the thing she really needs to find is herself?
Yinka, Where is Your Huzband? brilliantly subverts the traditional romantic comedy with an unconventional heroine who bravely asks the questions we all have about love. Wry, acerbic, moving, this is a love story that makes you smile but also makes you think–and explores what it means to find your way between two cultures, both of which are yours. (Credit: Pamela Dorman Books)
Must Love Books by Shauna Robinson
When Nora landed an editorial assistant position at Parsons Press, it was her first step towards The Dream Job. Because, honestly, is there anything dreamier than making books for a living? But after five years of lunch orders, finicky authors, and per my last emails, Nora has come to one grand conclusion: Dream Jobs do not exist.
With her life spiraling and the Parsons staff sinking, Nora gets hit with even worse news. Parson’s is cutting her already unlivable salary. Unable to afford her rent and without even the novels she once loved as a comfort, Nora decides to moonlight for a rival publisher to make ends meet…and maybe poach some Parson’s authors along the way.
But when Andrew Santos, a bestselling Parsons author no one can afford to lose is thrown into the mix, Nora has to decide where her loyalties lie. Her new Dream Job, ever-optimistic Andrew, or…herself and her future. (Credit: Sourcebooks Landmark)
February Releases
- Cherish Farrah by Bethany C. Morrow
- Me and White Supremacy: Young Readers Edition by Layla F. Saad
- Breaking the Maafa Chain by Anni Domingo
- Hey You!: An Empowering Celebration of Growing Up Black by Dapo Adeola
- Kemosha of the Carribbean by Alex Wheatle
- Black Girls Must Be Magic by Jayne Allen
- I‘m So Not Over You by Kosoko Jackson
- Even When Your Voice Shakes by Ruby Yayra Goka
The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb
Growing up Black in rural North Carolina, Ray McMillian’s life is already mapped out. If he’s lucky, he’ll get a job at the hospital cafeteria. If he’s extra lucky, he’ll earn more than minimum wage. But Ray has a gift and a dream–he’s determined to become a world-class professional violinist, and nothing will stand in his way. Not his mother, who wants him to stop making such a racket; not the fact that he can’t afford a violin suitable to his talents; not even the racism inherent in the world of classical music.
When he discovers that his great-great-grandfather’s beat-up old fiddle is actually a priceless Stradivarius, all his dreams suddenly seem within reach. Together, Ray and his violin take the world by storm. But on the eve of the renowned and cutthroat Tchaikovsky Competition–the Olympics of classical music–the violin is stolen, a ransom note for five million dollars left in its place. Ray will have to piece together the clues to recover his treasured Strad … before it’s too late.
With the descendants of the man who once enslaved Ray’s great-great-grandfather asserting that the instrument is rightfully theirs, and with his family staking their own claim, Ray doesn’t know who he can trust–or whether he will ever see his beloved violin again. (Credit: Anchor Books)
Asking For A Friend by Andi Osho
Forty-something Jemima’s life is on track – well, sort of, she just needs to bat her troublesome ex away for good.
Twenty-something Meagan is in the midst of her five-phase plan and is nearly ready for phase three: a relationship.
While thirty-something Simi has had more it’s not yous than any I dos.
These best friends decide it’s time to ditch the dating apps and play the love game by their own rules. They’re going to ask people out in real life…but only for each other. What could possibly go wrong? (Credit: HQ)
March Releases
- Right Where I Left You by Julian Winters
- Savvy Sheldon Feels Good As Hell by Taj McCoy
- Survive the Dome by Kosoko Jackson
- Bless The Daughter: Raised By A Voice In Her Head by Warsan Shire
- The Secret Sunshine Project by Benjamin Dean
- Like A Sister by Kellye Garrett
- When Our Worlds Collided by Danielle Jawando
- Girl On Fire by Alicia Keys & Andrew Weiner and illustrated by Brittney Williams
April Releases
- The Memory Librarian And Other Stories of Dirty Computer by Janelle Monáe
- Nothing Burns as Bright as You by Ashley Woodfolk
- The Offline Diaries by Yomi Adegoke and Elizabeth Uviebinene
People Person by Candice Carty-Williams
If you could choose your family… you wouldn’t choose the Penningtons.
Dimple Pennington knew of her half siblings, but she didn’t really know them. Five people who don’t have anything in common except for faint memories of being driven through Brixton in their dad’s gold jeep, and some pretty complex abandonment issues. Dimple has bigger things to think about.
She’s thirty, and her life isn’t really going anywhere. An aspiring lifestyle influencer with a terrible and wayward boyfriend, Dimple’s life has shrunk to the size of a phone screen. And despite a small but loyal following, she’s never felt more alone in her life. That is, until a dramatic event brings her half siblings Nikisha, Danny, Lizzie and Prynce crashing back into her life. And when they’re all forced to reconnect with Cyril Pennington, the absent father they never really knew, things get even more complicated. (Credit: Orion Publishing Co)
May Releases
- How to Live Without You by Sarah Everett
- You Made A Food of Death With Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi
- Patience Is A Subtle Thief by Abi Ishola-Ayodeji
- Confessions of An Alleged Good Girl by Joya Goffney
- The Marvellers by Dhonielle Clayton
- Love Radio by Ebony LaDelle
- Swim Team by Johnnie Christmas
- Wildseed Witch by Marti Dumas
Only On The Weekends by Dean Atta
Fifteen-year-old Mack is a hopeless romantic–likely a hazard of growing up on film sets thanks to his father’s job. Mack has had a crush on Karim for as long as he can remember and he can’t believe it when gorgeous, popular Karim seems into him too.
But when Mack’s father takes on a new directing project in Scotland, Mack has to move away, and soon discovers how painful long-distance relationships can be. It’s awful to be so far away from Karim, and it’s made worse by the fact that Karim can be so hard to read.
Then Mack meets actor Finlay on set, and the world turns upside down again. Fin seems fearless–and his confidence could just be infectious.
Award-winning author Dean Atta crafts a beautifully nuanced and revelatory story in verse about the exquisite highs and lows of first love and self-discovery.
Burn Down, Rise Up by Vincent Tirado
For over a year, the Bronx has been plagued by sudden disappearances that no one can explain. Sixteen-year-old Raquel does her best to ignore it. After all, the police only look for the white kids. But when her crush Charlize’s cousin goes missing, Raquel starts to pay attention—especially when her own mom comes down with a mysterious illness that seems linked to the disappearances.
Raquel and Charlize team up to investigate, but they soon discover that everything is tied to a terrifying urban legend called the Echo Game. The game is rumored to trap people in a sinister world underneath the city, and the rules are based on a particularly dark chapter in New York’s past. And if the friends want to save their home and everyone they love, they will have to play the game and destroy the evil at its heart—or die trying. (Credit: Sourcebooks Fire)
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