Books
Thirty early-career writers recommend some of their favorite books.
If youre looking to build a reading list for Black History Month, youre in luck.
Below, find 30 books to read for Black History Month, as chosen by 2022s debut authors.
1
Charity Alyse recommendsThe Black Kids
The Black Kidsis everything I needed as a teenager.
Reed didnt just tell a coming-of-age story, she expertly fashioned together a coming-into-Blackness story!
I loved seeing Ashley given permission to make mistakes and grow from them slowly.
Her story taught me how bravery isnt something were born with.
2
Jendella Benson recommendsThe Love Songs of W.E.B.
DuBois
A book I havent been able to shake since completing it a few weeks ago.
Jendella Bensons debut novel,Hope and Glory, is out on Apr.
19 and is available for pre-order today.
I still cant understand why more people were not shouting about this book from the rooftops.
The sheer scope of the story, the unforgettable characters and the gorgeous prose make this a must-read.
It also upends the traditional migration narrative that people expect from Caribbean diaspora novels.
I absolutely loved it.
Ayanna Lloyd Banwos debut novel,When We Were Birds, is out on Mar.
15 and is available for pre-order today.
Lizzie Damilola Blackburns debut novel,Yinka, Where Is Your Huzband?, is out now.
Rereading the novel after watching the film felt enlarging: like coffee paired with ice cream.
As I journey with her, I am reminded of the constraints and dreams of my own life.
Larsens attention to the sensual and sensory make for a luscious, thought-provoking read.
Dabiri takes the reader on a historical, sociological, and anthropological journey that goes beyond beauty and style.
Its an arrestingly powerful book that will stick with the reader for years to come.
He expects a warm welcome but instead encounters privations and prejudice.
Lianne Dillsworths debut novel,Theatre of Marvels, is out on Apr.
12 and is available for pre-order today.
8
Tiffanie Drayton recommendsIs Marriage for White People?
9
Saara El-Arifi recommendsThe Unbroken
As magnificent as it is fraught, C.L.
Clarks epic fantasyThe Unbrokentransports you to the battlefield of a new world.
Deborah Falayes debut novel,Blood Scion, is out on Mar.
8 and is available for pre-order today.
Fortunately, there are writers like Bridgett Davis doing their part to course-correct.
The writing is powerful and authentic.
That is, until I picked up Deesha Philyaw’sThe Secret Lives of Church Ladies.
Each character, each story, each world is its own.
The stories are complex and intimate, rich and subtle.
My favorite thing about reading this collection was how often I saw myself in its characters.
How often I laughed at inside jokes and was compelled to reminisce on my own Black girlhood/womanhood.
There’s nothing like that feeling.
I am sure I will read this one again and again!
Kai Harris debut novel,What the Fireflies Knew, is available now.
Critiques about the use of second person, as heavy-handed or suffocating, be damned.
The offense always comes fast, doesnt it?
A flick of their tongue leaves you whirling.
Anytime a poet writes prose, I am terrified in the best way.
Ive been overlooked and targeted in restaurants and bakeries.
Ive fought a prestigious PWI for my spouses tenure.
Ive been pulled over for swerving when the street was lined by parked cars.
But his new life of freedom brings its own particular brand of challenges.
And we root for him every step of the way.
Tammye Hufs debut novel,A More Perfect Union, is available now.
As a Haitian American reader,Prideis a comfort.
As a teen librarian, its my go-to recommendation.
As a writer, its something to aspire to.
May we all live with the wit and confidence of Zuri Benitez.
S. Isabelles debut novel,The Witchery, is out on July 26 and is available for pre-order today.
She paved the way for many of the Black women writers who would emerge in the decades to come.
Chantal James debut novel,None But the Righteous, is available now.
Chantal V. Johnsons debut novel,Post-Traumatic, is out on Apr.
5 and is available for pre-order today.
Even those that don’t normally read cowboy romance will find something to love in this absorbing book.
*And Marcella’s author’s note is a particularly informative read.
Ebony LaDelles debut novel,Love Radio, is out on May 31 and is available for pre-order today.
Kristen R. Lees debut novel,Required Reading for the Disenfranchised Freshman, is available now.
22
Erica Martin recommendsMe (Moth)
I highly recommendMe (Moth)by Amber McBride.
This novel-in-verse is absolutely stunning.
Theres a lot of subtle beauty and depth behind her words, the sign of a skilled writer.
Of one who understands how to say more with less.
Pick this one up; you wont regret it.
Erica Martins debut poetry collection,And We Rise, is available now.
Funny, irate, and important, its perfectly observed.
My heart broke for my father who experienced similar ugliness 20 years later.
The flawed characters show that things arent always black or white.
Nikki Mays debut novel,Wahala, is available now.
24
Moses McKenzie recommendsNobody Knows My Name
A collection of Baldwin’s early essays.
25
Shirlene Obuobi recommendsYinka, Where Is Your Huzband?
Shirlene Obuobis debut novel,On Rotation, is out on June 21 and available for pre-order today.
I’m cold, and you’re gonna wanna leave.But hear me out.
Reading this gorgeous romance by Tia Williams is sure to warm you down to your toes.
Fifteen years pass, then Eva’s quiet, ordered life is turned upside down when Shane reappears.
Dear reader, when they meet again… all bets are off.
Equal parts swoony and razor-sharp, when it’s done, you’ll want to go again.
Nikki Paynes debut novel,Pride and Protest, is out on Nov. 15 and available for pre-order soon.
Acevedo delivers a novel-in-verse navigating loss, forgiveness, raw emotion, and the will to survive.
This lyrical story is breathtaking, poignant yet hopeful.
The novel provides social commentary on the #MeToo Movement and is both charming and inquisitive.
Laila Sabreens debut novel,You Truly Assumed, is available now.
It helped me see how beautiful it is to be black and daring in our world.
I wanted to bring that energy to my own life.
Joy L. Smiths debut novel,Turning, is out on Mar.
1 and is available for pre-order today.
This article was originally published onFeb.
