Black Readers Conference Picks

NAACP nominee and USA Today bestselling author Beverly Jenkins celebrates her beloved Blessings series with a heartwarming novel set in Henry Adams, Kansas.

“If you haven’t yet gotten your hands on [this] author’s work, you should do so immediately.”—Shondaland

Citizens of Henry Adams, Kansas, know there’s never a dull moment in their small...

Long Division

“Was life so different in 1964, 1985, 2013? This life-changing, time-traveling book within a book that explores the struggle of being a Black 14 year old in Mississippi. Laymon highlights the themes that matter most (family, love, the written word) and the racism that permeates the South - it never really goes away as the years go on, it just takes on different forms in its various cycles. This book is beautiful, thought provoking, and absolutely necessary.”

Christy, Avid Bookshop

A chance encounter and one night of passion leads to a mutually beneficial arrangement for two souls from different worlds. When love creeps into the equation, neither is sure how to feel or what to do. The only thing either is certain of, is their need for the other.

Contains mature themes. Read more »

Neither of them was looking for the other. Neither of them intended to fall in love.

And now, neither of them wants to let go.

Contains mature themes. Read more »

Invisible.

Broken.

Seen.

Nurtured.

Loved.

Contains mature themes. Read more »

When the seventh child of the Peace family, named Perfect, turns eight, her mother Emma Jean tells her bewildered daughter, "You was born a boy. I made you a girl. But that ain't what you was supposed to be. So, from now on, you gon' be a boy. It'll be a little strange at first, but you'll get used to it, and this'll be over after while." From... Read more »

Now that Logan County is safe from an eternal freeze, cousins Otto and Sheed Alston are back to their normal lives as the town’s most celebrated detectives. Well … almost normal. Otto still remembers what his future self said about Sheed getting sick. And Otto plans to stop that from happening … even if it means keeping a suspicious Sheed in the... Read more »

"Hysterical. I couldn’t put it down.” (Nic Stone) "I laughed, I gasped, I church grunted through every chapter." (Tiffany D. Jackson) "Heartfelt and hilarious on every page!" (Justin A. Reynolds)

4 starred reviews! * An Indie Next List Pick! * Named one of Bank Street College of Education's Best Children’s Books of the Year!

Two-time Edgar Award...

Two heavy-hitters in children's literature deliver a critically acclaimed, bestselling biographical novel of cultural icon Muhammad Ali. 

"This utterly delightful story about Ali's childhood is a smash hit."—School Library Journal (starred review)

Before he was a household name, Cassius Clay was a kid with struggles like any other. Kwame Alexander... Read more »

Award-winning author Sharon G. Flake crafts a remarkable story of one girl's struggle to accept herself. Maleeka Madison is a dark-skinned African-American girl. She feels uncomfortable and wishes she had lighter skin. When her teacher, Miss Saunders, who suffers from a rare skin condition, shows that there is more to people than the color of... Read more »

New York Times bestselling author Jerry Craft returns with a companion book to New Kid, winner of the 2020 Newbery Medal, the Coretta Scott King Author Award, and the Kirkus Prize. The audiobook was a 2020 Audie Awards Finalist for Middle Grade and named an Audible Best Audiobook of the Year.

This time, it’s Jordan’s friend Drew who takes center...

Tinseltown's awards season is in full swing, and everyone is obsessed with dressing up, scoring free swag, and getting invited to the biggest awards shows of the year. But when celebrity publicist Lyla Davis is killed, the festive mood comes to an abrupt halt. Apprentice private eye Dayna Anderson thinks she's uncovered the killer....

Dayna Anderson doesn't set out to solve a murder. All the semi-famous, mega-broke actress wants is to help her parents keep their house. So after witnessing a deadly hit-and-run, she pursues the fifteen-grand reward. But Dayna soon finds herself doing a full-on investigation, wanting more than just money—she wants justice for the victim. She...

It's scorched-earth, all-or-nothing war for Memphis' most merciless ride-or-die women, and even their survival skills are no guarantee. And once alliances splinter and explosive revelations rip apart their empire, one diva's revenge will become the ultimate deadly reign. Between total gang exterminations and brutal collateral damage, the stakes... Read more »

Former homicide cop turned private investigator Cass Raines gets the job done in this Chicago-set novel from award-winning author Tracy Clark.

Chicago in the dead of winter can be brutal, especially when you're scouring the frigid streets for a missing girl. Fifteen-year-old Ramona Titus has run away from her foster home. Her biological... Read more »

Former cop Cass Raines has found the world of private investigation a less stressful way to eke out a living in the Windy City. But when she stumbles across the dead body of a respected member of the community, it's up to her to prove a murderer is on the loose . . . Cops can make mistakes, even when they're not rookies. If anyone knows that... Read more »

Created by a shrewd countess, The Widow's Grace is a secret society with a mission: to help ill-treated widows regain their status, their families, and even find true love again—or perhaps for the very first time . . .

When headstrong West Indian heiress Patience Jordan questioned her English husband's mysterious suicide, she lost everything:... Read more »

Masterminded by the ton's most clever countess, the secret society The Widow's Grace helps ill-treated widows regain their reputations, their families, and even find true love again—or perhaps for the very first time . . .

Surviving a shipwreck en route to London from Jamaica was just the start of Jemina St. Maur's nightmare. Suffering from... Read more »

The first novel in USA Today Bestselling Author Beverly Jenkins’s compelling new series follows a Northern woman south in the chaotic aftermath of the Civil War . . .

Valinda Lacey’s mission in the steamy heart of New Orleans is to help the newly emancipated community survive and flourish. But soon she discovers that here, freedom can also mean...

A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year

Award-winning and New York Times bestselling author Brendan Kiely starts a conversation with white kids about race in this “well-executed and long overdue” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) introduction to white privilege and why allyship is so vital.

Talking about racism can be hard, but...

Most... Read more »