Happy New Year, everyone!
What books are you excited to read this year? Below are 56 new African, African-American and Caribbean books that look very promising. This is just a snippet of the books 2018 has to offer!
Please click on the images to read the blurbs and/or to purchase the books.
(this post contains Amazon affiliate links)
MORE books to look out for in 2018:
Image via Nylon
Well-Read Black Girl: Finding Our Stories, Discovering Ourselves
Yes! Glory Edim, aka – Well-Read Black Girl, is working on an anthology that will feature black women writers like – Zinzi Clemons, Nicole Dennis-Benn, Marita Golden, and Tayari Jones as they highlight the first time they saw themselves represented in literature. To be published by Random House.
Image via Simon & Schuster
Learning to Breathe by Janice L. Mather
I first encountered Bahamian writer – Janice Lynn Mather’s writing in the 2014 anthology, Pepperpot: Best New Stories From The Caribbean. Her short story- ‘Mango Summer’ was such a poetic, gentle and innocent tale on sisterhood and loneliness; with the abundance of mangoes being a humorous distraction to the heartfelt tale.
I loved her writing in ‘Mango Summer’ and eagerly look forward to this debut! To be published by Simon & Schuster, June 2018.
Image via Reader’s Digest
She Would Be King by Wayétu Moore
Wayétu Moore is a writer of Liberian heritage and is the founder of One Moore Book, which is a children’s book publishing company that focuses on providing culturally sensitive and educational stories for children living in regions with low literacy rates and underrepresented cultures. Her debut – She Would Be King, reimagines the dramatic story of Liberia’s early years through three characters who share an uncommon bond. I can’t wait for the book cover to be revealed soon!! To be published by Graywolf Press, September 2018.
Image via Anissa Photography
On The Come Up by Angie Thomas
If you loved The Hate You Give, you’ll probably love Angie Thomas’ second novel – On The Come Up! I hope the book cover is revealed soon. To be published by Balzer + Bray, May 2018.
Image via Ibi Zoboi
Pride by Ibi Zoboi
Haitian writer – Ibi Zoboi’s second novel, Pride is a love story inspired by Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, set in Bushwick (Brooklyn, NY). To be published by Balzer + Bray, September 2018.
What new releases are you excited about? Please do share!
African Book Addict! 
There are a lot of these that I’ve been eyeing already. It’s going to be a very rich year for writers of color. I just hope they get noticed even more this year than last. Happy New Year and Happy Reading too. 🙂 #readsoullit #readingblackout
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Yes! It should be a promising year. Happy Reading Year to you too, Didi xx
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I am so excited about these up coming reads that I can’t contain myself 😁
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Right?! And there are so many more
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Thanks for this post!
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Of course, Osondu!
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Wow, there are some really good picks here that I can’t wait to try!
https://www.bluelabelsboutique.com
https://www.fashionnnotfear.com
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So many good picks on this list! Thanks for sharing! I’m adding a lot of these to my TBR.
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My pleasure!
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So unfair, Darkowaa, so unfair! I protest! I nearly closed my laptop when I saw all those book covers and author photographs because I seriously need to set intentions for my own writing and blogging before I start salivating over these 2018 releases.
….If I didn’t love you and your blog so much I would seriously be shaking my fist!
Anyway, Thank you for curating wonderful content on African Book Addict! and elsewhere, for being an inspiration, and being a great friend to me in the blogging community in 2017. I wish you a most excellent 2018❣️
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Hahaa! So many books so little time, Leslie! I need to set my reading intentions this year too. I think I’ll read less this year, due to school work load lol. Thanks for the kind words and also for being a great friend to me in the blogging community. Keep an eye out for some mail! 🙂
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I’m going to have to agree with you on that. However I already pre-ordered a few of them last year. Yes I need to close my computer and hit my journal or the short story I’m working on. Thanks Darkowaa!!!
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oh, short story?! I’m eager to read it when you’re done, when/if you share it 🙂
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We’ll see…
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Thank you for this. All these books look amazing, 2018 is going to be a great year!!
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My pleasure! Which ones are you eager to read?
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Well, I loved T.H.U.G by Angie Thomas so I’m intrigued to see how On the Come Up. I really want to read the whole Binti series, just been struggling to find it here (in South Africa), and I read the blurb of Hold by Michael Donkor, which I thought was beautiful. Also, The Poet X looks good.
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Me too!! I really want to read Michael Donkor’s debut as well. I hope you’re able to find the Binti series. Try AbeBooks – books are cheaper there, and the variety is vast.
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Thank you. I will check AbeBooks out. 🙂
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Way too much temptation. I really don’t need to buy any new books this year but I am hopeless at resisting the lure of new titles
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😂😂..same here
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I know! It’s so hard, but I think book buying is a good habit- as long as the books are being read and you’re not going into debt! Life is short, buy ALLLLLLL the books hahaha
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Omg. Loveeeee! I am excited to read most of these books. Definitely looking to read more Caribbean books this year. I lived there for over 5 years and i barely read anything there. Thank you for this post!
– Tosin
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Hey Tosin! I’m glad you enjoyed the list and you’ve added them to your growing TBR haha. Me too, I would like to read a lot more from that region. Ohh, which Island did you live on?? How was the experience there? I’m jealous, I sooo want to visit the Caribbean Islands in the near future. It’s a dream of mine!
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Haha. I lived in Dominica. It was honestly so amazing. I didn’t appreciate that island life till I left.
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Ahh all these beaut covers!! This Will Be My Undoing has been on my radar for a while so really looking forward to that!
http://www.susanetc.co.uk
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Oh wow, look at all that inspiration, can’t wait to read some reviews and find out what are going to be the must-reads for me.
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Thanks for this!
Children of Blood and Bone is one I really want to read for it’s fantasy elements.
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I’m so grateful for this list. I’ve been trying to read more books by African writers but it’s quite a mission to find good recommendations on the Web.
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First things first I love a lot of these book covers. I’ve already read “Speak No Evil” and “We’re Only Taking What We Need”. I loved the latter so much I bought Stephanie Powell Watts “No One Is Coming to Save Us” and actually finished that this morning. I follow Oprah’s Book Club picks and so I bought “An American Marriage” but I’ve put it down so many times which is unusual because I usually love her selections. In its place I decided to purchase her older book club pick “The Underground Railroad” by Colson Whitehead and I hope to begin it this week. I’ll check out some of these novels you’ve highlighted. Thanks Darkowaa.
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Happy New Year, Osondu! It’s been long! I hope you are well. I will check out ‘We’re Only Taking What We Need’- I’ve been eyeing it for a while so this is the push I need! I’ve heard positive things about Jones’ novel ohh, I wonder why you haven’t been enjoying it… thanks for stopping by 🙂
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These books look fantastic!
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