Below is my annual collage of new books to anticipate this year. I’ve compiled 121 new African, African-American, Black-Brit and Caribbean books that look very promising. This list/collage is just a snippet of books by Black authors 2024 has to offer!
Be sure to pre-order/purchase these books from your local bookstore, or you can use my affiliate link.
Pharmakon by Teju Cole
What new releases are you excited about? Please do share!
Below is my annual collage of new books to anticipate this year. I’ve compiled 102 new African, African-American, Black-Brit and Caribbean books that look very promising. Please note – this list/collage is just a snippetof books by Black authors 2023 has to offer!
An enthralling and original first novel about exile, diaspora, and the impossibility of Black refuge in America and beyond.
In the morning, I received a phone call and was told to board a flight. The arrangements had been made on my behalf. I packed no clothes, because my clothes had been packed for me. A cararrived to pick me up.
A man returns home to sub-Saharan Africa after twenty-six years in America. When he arrives, he finds that he doesn’t recognize the country or anyone in it. Thankfully, someone recognizes him, a man who calls him brother—setting him on a quest to find his real brother, who is dying.
In Hangman, Maya Binyam tells the story of that search, and of the phantoms, guides, tricksters, bureaucrats, debtors, taxi drivers, relatives, riddles, and strangers that will lead to the truth.
It is an uncommonly assured debut: an existential journey; a tragic farce; a slapstick tragedy; and a strange, and strangely honest, story of one man’s stubborn quest to find refuge—in this world and in the world that lies beyond it.
This incendiary debut of linked stories narrates the everyday lives of Soweto residents, from the early years of apartheid to its dissolution and beyond.
Imbued with the thrilling texture of township language and life, and uncompromising in its depiction of Black South Africa, Innards tells the intimate stories of everyday folks processing the savagery of apartheid with grit, wit, and their own distinctive, bewildering humor.
Magogodi oa Mphela Makhene—who was born in apartheid-era South Africa—plunges readers into an electrifying first collection filled with indelible characters. Meet a fake PhD and ex–freedom fighter who remains unbothered by his own duplicity, a girl who goes mute after stumbling on a burning body, and twin siblings nursing a scorching feud. Like many Americans today, Innards’ characters mirror the difficulty of navigating the shadows of a living past alongside the uncertain opportunities of the promised land.
A work of intelligence and vision—flush with forgiveness, rage, ugliness, and wild beauty—Innards heralds the arrival of a major new voice in contemporary fiction.
WOMB CITY imagines a dark and deadly future Botswana, rich with culture and true folklore, which begs the question: how far must one go to destroy the structures of inequality upon which a society was founded? How far must a mother go to save the life of her child?
Nelah seems to have it all: wealth, fame, a husband, and a child on the way. But in a body her husband controls via microchip and the tailspin of a loveless marriage, her hopes and dreams come to a devastating halt. A drug-fueled night of celebration ends in a hit-and-run. To dodge a sentencing in a society that favors men, Nelah and her side-piece, Janith Koshal, finish the victim off and bury the body.
But the secret claws its way into Nelah’s life from the grave. As her victim’s vengeful ghost begins exacting a bloody revenge on everyone Nelah holds dear, she?ll have to unravel her society’s terrible secrets to stop those in power, and become a monster unlike any other to quench the ghost’s violent thirst
Below is my annual collage of new books to anticipate this year. This year I’m not doing the most by highlighting 99 books like I did last year. I’ve compiled just 69 new African, African-American, Black-Brit and Caribbean books that look very promising.
Please note – this list/collage is just a snippetof books by Black authors 2022 has to offer!
What new releases are you excited about? Please do share!
Below is my annual collage of new books to anticipate this year. I’ve compiled 99 new African, African-American, Black-Brit and Caribbean books that look very promising. Please note – this list/collage is just a snippet of books by Black authors 2021 has to offer!
Hover over the images to read the blurbs and/or to pre-order the books.
Fifteen-year-old Mack is a hopeless romantic – he blames the films he’s grown up watching. He has liked Karim for as long as he can remember, and is ecstatic when Karim becomes his boyfriend – it feels like love.
But when Mack’s dad gets a job on a film in Scotland, Mack has to move, and soon he discovers how painful love can be. It’s horrible being so far away from Karim, but the worst part is that Karim doesn’t make the effort to visit. Love shouldn’t be only on the weekends.
Then, when Mack meets actor Finlay on a film set, he experiences something powerful, a feeling like love at first sight. How long until he tells Karim – and when will his old life and new life collide?
An unsettling tale of murder in a country whose dead slaves are shackled with stories that must be heard.
The Year of Return, linked to the 400th anniversary of slaves landing in the US, memorialised the many who died during the slave trade in Ghana, particularly at Elmina Castle, while encouraging members of the African diaspora to visit.
As Black diasporans around the world make the pilgrimage to West Africa, three African-American friends join in the festivities to explore Ghana’s colonial past and its underground queer scene. They are thrust into the hands of two guides, Kobby and Nana, whose intentions aren’t clear, yet they are the narrators we have to trust. Kobby, a modern deviant according to Nana’s traditional and religious principles, offers a more upscale and privileged tour of Ghana and also becomes the friends’ link to Accra’s secret gay culture. Nana’s adherence to his pastor’s teachings against sin makes him hate Kobby enough to want to kill.
Carefree Black Girls is an exploration and celebration of black women’s identity and impact on pop culture, as well as the enduring stereotypes they face, from a film and culture critic for HuffPost.
In 2013, Zeba Blay was one of the first people to coin the viral term “carefreeblackgirls” on Twitter. It was, as she says, “a way to carve out a space of celebration and freedom for black women online.”
In this collection of essays, Blay expands on that initial idea by looking at the significance of influential black women throughout history, including Josephine Baker, Michelle Obama, Rihanna, and Cardi B. Incorporating her own personal experiences as well as astute analysis of these famous women, Blay presents an empowering and celebratory portrait of black women and their effect on American culture. She also examines the many stereotypes that have clung to black women throughout history, whether it is the Mammy, the Angry Black Woman, or more recently, the Thot.
Michael decides to flee to America and end his life once all his savings run out. JJ Bola’s second novel is a story of millennial existential angst told through the eyes of a young Londoner who seems to have it all – a promising future, a solid career, strong friendships, a blossoming love story – but it’s the unbearable weight of life that leads him to decide to take his own.
As he grapples with issues bigger than him – political conflict, environmental desecration, police brutality – Michael seeks to find his place within a world that is complicated and unwelcoming.
Although he finds solace in the people that surround him, he alone must decide if his life is worth living.
Over the years, I’ve been slowly working my way through some compelling Black Brit reads. So far I’ve loved work by a few writers of African descent who reside in the UK (or who’ve lived there for an extended period of time), like – Diriye Osman, Yrsa Daley-Ward, Warsan Shire, Chibundu Onuzo.
I still have a ways to go with regards to reading more books from this special sector of Black literature, but below are 20 books by Black British authors that are on my radar this year! Some of these books were already highlighted in my annual New Releases To Anticipate! post in January, and majority are yet to be published this year. Obviously, this list/collage is just a snippet of books by Black Brit authors 2020 has to offer. The books highlighted in this post are just the ones on my TBR list!
Please click on the images to read the blurbs and/or to purchase the books.
Newlyweds, Celestial and Roy, are the embodiment of both the American Dream and the New South. He is a young executive and she is artist on the brink of an exciting career. They are settling into the routine of their life together, when they are ripped apart by circumstances neither could have imagined. Roy is arrested and sentenced to twelve years for a crime Celestial knows he didn’t commit. Though fiercely independent, Celestial finds herself bereft and unmoored, taking comfort in Andre, her childhood friend, and best man at their wedding. As Roy’s time in prison passes, she is unable to hold on to the love that has been her center. After five years, Roy’s conviction is suddenly overturned, and he returns to Atlanta ready to resume their life together.
This stirring love story is a deeply insightful look into the hearts and minds of three people who are at once bound and separated by forces beyond their control. An American Marriage is a masterpiece of storytelling, an intimate look into the souls of people who must reckon with the past while moving forward- with hope and pain- into the future
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Review – ★★★★★ (5 stars)
I finished reading An American Marriage yesterday. I usually take my time with my current reads, but I devoured this book in two days because I just wanted to get the pain over and done with. A book hits differently when you read it once the hype has subsided. My heart!
I initially wanted to give up on this book after the first 40 pages, but my Mom encouraged me to finish it (the book was a gift to her last year, and she loved it even though it was a painful read). I wanted to stop reading because the story was laden with a type of grief I didn’t want to deal with, especially not during this anxious time of Coronavirus. The events that led to Roy’s arrest were traumatic, painful and heartbreaking to read – especially with him being innocent. While the couple’s arguments prior the arrest were probably normal, I wasn’t encouraged by their relationship, as a whole. Reading the letters Celestial and Roy wrote each other while Roy was in prison was heavy. Their relationship before and after prison was just heavy! *sigh*… Andre, really sir?
There are no good or bad characters in this story – I’m on everyone’s side. I love that Jones showed how all the characters in this book came from imperfect (loving) families and how messy their relationships were. But I sympathize with Roy the most. Jones definitely highlights Black masculinity in all its forms, through poor Roy’s character, as well as the other men in this story – Andre, Big Roy, Carlos, Franklin, Uncle Banks. An American Marriage definitely reminds readers of the terrible effects of mass incarceration – not only for the people imprisoned, but also the friends and families involved. The last 50 pages of this book were probably the best! My heart raced as I was eager to know how the story would end. I quite liked how it ended, really. One thing that stuck out for me was how history repeated itself – with regards to how Celestial’s parents got married and Roy’s biological father in prison…
Jones made this book as Southern as possible and I loved that! Readers are acquainted with Georgia (Atlanta) and Louisiana (Eloe) via the landscape, the soul food, the accents and the lifestyles. It’s hard not to crave shrimp croquettes and blackberry jam cake while reading!
An American Marriage reminded me of Baldwin’s ‘If Beale Street Could Talk’ and Ava DuVernay’s documentary ’13th’ – both tragic explorations of the serious systemic issues America is slow to rectify. Jones’ beautiful writing kept this story captivating, emotional and very human. I know this novel is a love story at it’s core, but ultimately, I found the story to be an intimately devastating tale that exposes the effects of America’s humongous issue of mass incarceration. Read this, if you have the heart.
Last thing! Maybe its because I’m almost a Dentist, but I can’t seem to get over how pained I am about Roy’s tooth… what’s the significance of the whole tooth thing? Someone please enlighten me!
★★★★★ (5 stars) – Amazing book, I loved it. Absolutely recommend!
We are in the year 2020 – how crazy is that? 2020 sounds like a year in a Sci-Fi novel, doesn’t it?!
Below is my annual collage of new books to anticipate this year. I’ve compiled about 80 new African, African-American and Caribbean books that look very promising. Please note – this list/collage is just a snippet of books by Black authors 2020 has to offer!
Please click on the images to read the blurbs and/or to purchase the books.
In Bamboozled by Jesus, a frank and fresh advice book, Orji takes readers on a journey through twenty life lessons, gleaned from her own experiences and her favorite source of inspiration: the Bible. She infuses wit and heart along with practical pointers―such as why being talented is not as sexy as being available, and how fear is similar to food poisoning―with the goal of helping others live the most fulfilling, audacious life possible.
With bold authenticity and practical relatability, Orji will inspire everyone to catapult themselves out of the mundane and into the magnificent. Bamboozled by Jesus paints a powerful picture of what it means to say “yes” to your most rewarding life―no matter your beliefs.
An Ordinary Wonder is the powerful coming of age story of an intersex twin, Oto, who is forced to live as a boy despite his heartfelt belief that he is a girl. His wealthy and powerful family are ashamed of him and treat him cruelly to secure his silence. His twin sister’s love wavers in a world of secrets and lies that seems determined to tear them apart, and Oto must make drastic choices that will alter their lives forever.
Richly imagined with African mythology, art and folk tales, this moving and modern book follows Oto through his life at home and at boarding school in Nigeria, and his ultimate dream of emigrating to a new life in the United States. It is a novel that explores complex desires as well as challenges of family, identity, gender and culture. An Ordinary Wonder takes us on a beautiful journey of what it means to feel whole.
Big Friendship: How We Keep Each Other Close by Aminatou Sow and Ann Friedman
The Blurb
Two of the nation’s leading feminists and hosts of the hit podcast Call Your Girlfriendmake the bold and compelling argument that a close friendship is the most influential and important relationship a human life can contain—helping you improve as a person and in your relationships with others.
A stunning debut novel, from Rhodes Scholar and winner of the Caine Prize for African Writing, Tope Folarin about a Nigerian family living in Utah and their uncomfortable assimilation to American life.
Living in small-town Utah has always been an uneasy fit for Tunde Akinola’s family, especially for his Nigeria-born parents. Though Tunde speaks English with a Midwestern accent, he can’t escape the children who rub his skin and ask why the black won’t come off. As he struggles to fit in and find his place in the world, he finds little solace from his parents who are grappling with their own issues.
Tunde’s father, ever the optimist, works tirelessly chasing his American dream while his wife, lonely in Utah without family and friends, sinks deeper into schizophrenia. Then one otherwise-ordinary morning, Tunde’s mother wakes him with a hug, bundles him and his baby brother into the car, and takes them away from the only home they’ve ever known.
But running away doesn’t bring her, or her children, any relief from the demons that plague her; once Tunde’s father tracks them down, she flees to Nigeria, and Tunde never feels at home again. He spends the rest of his childhood and young adulthood searching for connection—to the wary stepmother and stepbrothers he gains when his father remarries; to the Utah residents who mock his father’s accent; to evangelical religion; to his Texas middle school’s crowd of African-Americans; to the fraternity brothers of his historically black college. In so doing, he discovers something that sends him on a journey away from everything he has known.
Sweeping, stirring, and perspective-shifting, A Particular Kind of Black Man is a beautiful and poignant exploration of the meaning of memory, manhood, home, and identity as seen through the eyes of a first-generation Nigerian-American.
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Review – ★★★★ (4 stars)
I was so excited when Simon & Schuster sent me Folarin’s debut. I’m a fan of Folarin’s Caine Prize shortlisted stories – Miracle and Genesis and I had been waiting for this debut since 2016 – when he was shortlisted for the second time for the Caine Prize.
A Particular Kind of Black Man is a coming-of-age tale that follows Tunde and his family, in Utah and later in Dallas. Throughout the novel, Tunde is trying to understand himself while enduring various changes that emotionally rock his family.
While reading this debut, I was hoping it wouldn’t be the cliché immigrant story of the first-generation American character trying to strike a balance between their American-ness and their African-ness – I’ve honestly read ENOUGH of such stories over the years. This novel did touch on those identity issues, but Folarin gave us more. I love that Folarin shed light on the importance of a mother’s love in the development of the boy child; the effect a mother’s abuse and absence have on the boy child’s psyche. Throughout the novel, it’s clear that Tunde childhood with and without his mother affected him in a plethora of ways. I always knew mothers/mother figures were important in families, but this novel somehow made me see their importance from a whole different angle, especially with Tunde’s lack of his mother’s love.
Tunde’s dad is such an important character in this book – if this debut is ever read for a literature class or discussed in a book club, soooo much can be said about him! He was a loving, strict father, who was deeply affected by the demise of his marriage(s). He was a proud Yoruba man, yet desired to assimilate into American culture (especially in his need to acquire an American accent) just so he could keep a job. Stress gets the best of him and readers see hints of depression, as he fought to stay jovial and positive for his family. Reading and relating to his character felt so real, because in real life, many immigrants don’t always achieve the ‘American dream.’ I wish Folarin gave more insight into Tunde’s dad’s life towards the end of the novel, because he just vanished when Tunde went off to college.
Folarin made this debut more exciting for me with how he played with perspective and memory throughout the novel. At one point, the novel is written in first person (Tunde’s voice) and in some chapters it’s written in the third person. With chapters that are written in first person, Tunde admits to readers that the re-telling of various events discussed in the book may be false, as he seems to suffer from double-memory. I found this both upsetting and fascinating, because Tunde himself isn’t sure of anything anymore, to the point where he thinks he possesses symptoms of his mother’s Schizophrenia. Tunde steadily tries to be a particular type of black man, and Folarin’s use of various perspectives help us witness Tunde’s performance from various aspects.
What I’ve always liked about Folarin’s writing is how lucid and artfully descriptive his stories are. This debut shows Folarin’s poetic and funny side, as various passages display bits of humor and poetic melodies. I will continue to read anything Folarin writes! Read this book if you can.
Special thanks to Simon & Schuster for a copy of this book!
by 
African Book Addict! 