10 Black Books By Black Authors To Add To Your Reading List

Welp, good people, Black August is here. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Black August — including our white and eternally fragile brethren who are now rolling their eyes, saying, “OMG, not another Black month, as if Black History Month wasn’t enough” — the Center for Constitutional Rights defines it as a month designated to honor “the freedom fighters, especially those inside the walls of our sprawling prison-industrial complex, who, with their vision, tenacity, and deep love for our communities, are leading us toward the horizon of abolition.” As we explained previously, Black August was “born on the unforgiving grounds of California’s San Quentin Prison,” and commemorates the lives and deaths of Black political prisoners.

Anyway, now that you’re all caught up, I’m going to do my part in celebrating this month by offering you a list of Blackity-Black books by Blackity-Black authors, because, seriously — what has been more vital to Black liberation than Black literacy? That should be celebrated.

So, whether you’re an avid reader, someone who reads sometimes, or someone who can read but knows they should be reading more and would like to support Black authors and their work, it’s time to lock in.

Sky Full of Elephants

Written by Black author Cebo Campbell and published in 2025, Sky Full of Elephants tells the story of a Black man, Charlie Brunton, who is living in a world in which white people everywhere have walked into the nearest body of water and disappeared. (Black people, please sit down, put down the champagne and, dammit, do not light those fireworks.) Brunton, who had once served time in prison after a wrongful conviction, became a professor of electrical and solar power systems at Howard University, and then other things happened that I’ll let you read about for yourself. (Fine, light the damn fireworks. But then go read the book.)

Black Birds in the Sky: The Story and Legacy of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre

In 2021, award-winning author Brandy Colbert gifted the world with the non-fiction book Black Birds in the Sky, which, of course, is a historical account of the 1921 Tulsa race massacre, one of the pivotal moments in Black history that white conservatives have sought to whitewash, as Oklahoma leaders have denied reparations, not just to direct descendants of the survivors, but to the survivors themselves. (Also, it’s the horrific event that Education Secretary Linda McMahon essentially referred to as, “The what now?”) Colbert’s book doesn’t just discuss the massacre itself, but it does a deep dive into the development of Black Wall Street, contextualizing its history and impact, and the many incentives white America had to destroy it.

Orleans

OK, so I know I’m only three books into this reading list, and already I’m hitting you with a second book of fiction about a post-apocalyptic world written by a Black author, but Orleans, written by author Sherri L. Smith and published in 2019, is just a really good book with a solid take on politics, racism, global warming, science, human nature, Mother Nature, cruelty, resilience, and the hell we will go through for those we love. Orleans follows the story of Fen de la Guerre, who is quarantined on the Gulf Coast due to a devastating outbreak of Delta Fever, which has the whole outside world thinking that life inside the Delta is pretty much extinct, when, actually, Fen is living there with her O-Positive blood tribe, until there’s an ambush and a subsequent harrowing adventure that I will let you read about for yourselves. Seriously, it’s really good. You should read it.

The Black Girl Survives in This One

Alright, let’s get into Black horror. (Yes, I know what you’re thinking: two post-apocalyptic books, a book about Tulsa, and now a book from the horror genre? Can we get a little Black levity here? Well, I don’t know what to tell you. Being Black means exploring a dark world just as much as it means moments of Black joy. Don’t worry. I’ll cover both, probably.) The Black Girl Survives in This One is a book I wanted to include for two reasons: one, I feel like before Ryan Coogler and Jordan Peele came around, people didn’t think we got into horror like that, and two, this book is an anthology that features a series of stories written by Black women and women of color, all of whom are dedicated to giving us stories in which Black people survive, as the title indicates.

Black AF History: The Un-Whitewashed Story of America

OK, before I talk about this one, I must offer a disclaimer: the author, renowned journalist Michael Harriot, and I are good friends. We were traveling spoken word artists who competed in national poetry slams; we were co-workers at one point, and I’ve written for his newsletter, and I PROMISE YOU NONE OF THIS HAS ANYTHING TO DO WITH HOW GREAT THIS BOOK IS. Y’all, I am not exaggerating when I say Black AF History is the greatest Black history book I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading. This New York Times bestseller doesn’t just correct the whitewashing of many of our stories; it provides us with history most of us had never heard, and it does so in a way that is entertaining, witty, and damn hilarious. If you ever had a rough time slogging your way through educational materials that seemed designed to induce sleep rather than educate and broaden your outlook on the world, this is the one. It’s a journey you won’t regret embarking on, unlike the first few groups of colonizers who came to this land, apparently. (Seriously, just read it and thank me later.)

Sweat the Technique: Revelations on Creativity from the Lyrical Genius

OK, this next one is for the hip-hop heads. Sweat the Technique is the 2019 book by none other than legendary emcee Rakim. This book, which takes its name from Eric B. & Rakim’s fourth and final album, Don’t Sweat the Technique, is part memoir and part how-to guide for building the lyrical skill set that solidified the “Paid in Full” artists as the true GOATs of the microphone. Most of us old-head hip-hop connoisseurs will tell you there was a pivotal moment in the evolution of the art form of emceeing when one man single-handedly kicked a door open and expanded what emcees could even imagine was possible with the written rhyme.

His lyrical complexity and intricate rhyme schemes were transformative for the culture. We’re talking about the late 1980s hip- hop era, which can literally be divided into “Before Rakim” and “After Rakim.” In Sweat the Technique, Rakim provides a writing guide that takes readers into his creative process, detailing his approach to penmanship and breaking down the technical mechanics of rap: cadence, pitch, breath control, and multisyllabic rhyme schemes (which arguably did not exist before him). He also shares all his artistic influences across musical genres that made him the lyrical genius he is. Rakim doesn’t just give you a good read; he gives you the game.

All the Sinners Bleed

OK, so how about Black authors in the crime and thriller genre? Everybody likes a good mystery novel, right? Well, to scratch that literary itch, you needn’t look any further than S. A. Cosby, who certainly has a number of good reads under his belt, but All the Sinners Bleed is probably my favorite of his that I’ve read so far. This 2023 thriller follows the story of former FBI agent Titus Crown,  the first Black sheriff to ever lay down the law in Charon County, Virginia. A year after he’s elected as sheriff, Crown ends up on the trail of a local serial killer while investigating the fatal shooting of a teacher by a former student, who also ends up shot to death by deputies, and — you know what? I’m spoiling too much already. Just gon’ and give it a read.

The Hate U Give

This New York Times bestseller, which would go on to be adapted into a feature film the year after it was published, is perfect for this reading list because it exemplifies the very kind of state-sponsored violence against Black people that Black August was created to combat. Angie Thomas‘ 2017 novel The Hate U Give follows the story of Starr, who witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. The story serves as a fictional mirror to what actually happens when the extrajudicial executions of Black people make headlines, and victims get put on trial for their own killings, while cops get the default benefit of the doubt because they supposedly “feared for their lives,” as if our fear doesn’t count any more than our lives do in the eyes of the bootlicking, anti-Black public.

The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration

Here’s another one for the Black history buffs. Written by  Pulitzer Prize–winning author Isabel Wilkerson, The Warmth of Other Suns chronicles the true story of the decades-long migration of Black people who fled from the South to northern and western cities, where they hoped to find a better life. “From 1915 to 1970, this exodus of almost six million people changed the face of America,” a description of the book on Goodreads says. “Wilkerson compares this epic migration to the migrations of other peoples in history.” In fact, she interviewed thousands of people and pored through volumes of public records and data to bring us the kind of history lesson that tends to get left out of the classroom and buried in the historical archives, which we all know is no accident.

The 1619 Project: A New American Origin Story

Speaking of Pulitzer Prize–winning Black woman journalists who highlight the parts of our history that white nationalist America would rather keep buried, y’all know this Black reading list wouldn’t be complete if I didn’t include Nikole Hannah-Jones‘ The 1619 Project: A New American Origin Story. This anthology of essays and poetry is inspired by Hannah-Jones’ Pulitzer-winning historical framework, The 1619 Project, which famously tells the history of America in a way that centers the multiple generations of enslaved people, which, of course, white conservative America has taken to swimmingly.

Welp, there you have it, folks. These are just 10 of the countless Black books by talented Black artists published in the last handful of years alone. These are just a few contributions to a deep archive of the stories, both real and fictional (but still very real), told by the deep thinkers among Black historians, creatives, academics, and activists who are dedicated to telling stories for us and by us. Feel free to add your own entries to the list, and enjoy these great reads.

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10 Black Books By Black Authors To Add To Your August Reading List was originally published on newsone.com