No doubt about it: 2025 was a rough one for Black America. So if there was ever a time to pick up a good book by and about Black people, it’s now — particularly if it’s paired with a comfy sofa and a mug (or glass) of a favorite beverage.
But finding the best-selling Black books of the year can be challenging, particularly if there are no Black-owned or independent bookstores in your area.
That’s where Word In Black comes in. Whether you’re shopping for a loved one or yourself, we’ve curated a list of books that speak to the fullness of Black life. And if some of these titles flew under your radar, that’s no accident: books by, about, or for Black people are often under-promoted by major publishers.
While many were published in 2025, we’ve also included standout titles from recent years — books that may not be new, but deserve more attention and remain deeply necessary.
The list spans memoir, fiction, young adult literature, and health, with selections recognized by Black Boys Read Too and Freedom Reads — including a few winners of the Inside Literary Prize, a national award created by Freedom Reads and judged entirely by those for whom imagination remains vital, even when freedom is limited.
Together, these books offer clarity, comfort, and possibility — reminders that even in hard years, Black stories illuminate the way forward.
Fiction
“Happy Land”
By Dolen Perkins-Valdez
In “Happy Land,” a woman learns the astonishing truth of her family’s ties to a vanished American Kingdom in this riveting new novel from The New York Times bestselling, NAACP Image Award-winning author of “Take My Hand.” Publisher: Penguin/Random House
“James”
By Percival Everett
This radical reimagining of ”Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” told from the perspective of Jim, the enslaved man at the center of Mark Twain’s classic, won a slew of awards, including the 2024 Inside Literary Prize. In “James,” Percival Everett gives Jim intelligence, agency, and moral clarity, transforming a familiar story into a searing examination of freedom, language, and survival in America. Publisher: Doubleday (Penguin Random House)
RELATED: Percival Everett: ‘Reading Is the Most Subversive Thing We Can Do’
“Let Us Descend”
By Jesmyn Ward
An epic, lyrical novel, “Let Us Descend” follows a young, enslaved girl sold from the Carolinas to New Orleans, guided by the spirit of her dead mother. Drawing inspiration from Dante Alighieri’s “Inferno,” Ward crafts a haunting meditation on love, memory, and the endurance of Black humanity. Publisher: Scribner
“The Fifth Season”
By N.K. Jemisin
On a continent plagued by constant geological catastrophe, three women — each with the power to control the earth — navigate oppression, survival, and loss. A Hugo Award for Best Novel winner, “The Fifth Season” opens a world where environmental collapse and social cruelty are deeply intertwined. Orvit (Hachette)
“The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store”
By James McBride
Set in a tight-knit, racially diverse neighborhood in 1970s Pennsylvania, “The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store” uncovers a long-buried secret involving a missing child and a community bound together by loyalty and love. McBride blends humor, history, and compassion in a story about who gets protected — and who doesn’t. Publisher: Riverhead Books
“The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois”
By Honorée Fanonne Jeffers
The 2022 Inside Literary Prize winner, “The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois” is a sweeping, multigenerational novel tracing one Black family’s lineage from enslavement to the present. Blending history, poetry, and archival imagination, Jeffers explores inheritance, memory, and the enduring search for truth. Publisher: Harper
“Red at the Bone”
By Jacqueline Woodson
Beginning at a Brooklyn coming-of-age ceremony, “Red at the Bone” moves backward and forward through generations to explore class, family choices, and the quiet moments that shape a life. A concise, emotionally rich story about consequence and belonging. Publisher: Riverhead Books
“Sky Full of Elephants”
By Cebo Campbell
“Sky Full of Elephants” is set in a speculative future where white Americans have mysteriously vanished, and a Black man must navigate grief, freedom, and the weight of history. Campbell’s debut blends satire, philosophy, and social commentary to ask what justice looks like after catastrophe. Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Nonfiction / Memoir
“Episodes: The Diary of a Recovering Mad Man”
By Gucci Mane
In “Episodes: The Diary of a Recovering Mad Man,” Hip-hop star Gucci Mane offers an unfiltered account of addiction, incarceration, bipolar disorder, and recovery. The memoir confronts mental-health stigma head-on while documenting the personal cost of fame and survival. Publisher: Simon & Schuster
“Generation M:
Living Well in Perimenopause and Menopause“
By Dr. Jessica Shepherd
OB-GYN Faith Ohuoba recommends “Generation M: Living Well in Perimenopause and Menopause” for its coverage of the latest advancements in understanding and treating perimenopause and menopause. With new research highlighting the fact that over half of Black women experience symptoms like hot flashes during perimenopause and face disparities in care, this topic is crucial for improving health outcomes and quality of life for Black women specifically. Publisher: Hachette
“Legacy: A Black Physician
Reckons with Racism in Medicine”
By Uché Blackstock, M.D.
Physician and health equity advocate Uché Blackstock traces her journey through medicine while exposing how racism shapes patient care, medical education, and health outcomes. Part memoir, part call to action, “Legacy” connects personal loss to systemic reform. Publisher: Viking
“The Double Tax: How Women of Color Are Overcharged and Underpaid”
By Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman
In “The Double Tax,” Harvard researcher Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman exposes how sexism and racism combine to make everyday life more expensive for women — especially Black women — across work, housing, health care, childcare, and more. Grounded in data and lived experience, the book not only names this “double tax,” but offers clear-eyed solutions for dismantling it and building a more equitable economy. Publisher: Portfolio
“The Look”
By Michelle Obama
In this celebration of style, “The Look” captures the moment Michelle Obama entered the public eye during Barack Obama’s U.S. Senate campaign through her time as the first Black First Lady and today as one of this country’s most influential figures. Michelle Obama shares how she uses the beauty and intrigue of fashion to draw attention to her message. Publisher: Penguin/Random House.
“The Message“
By Ta-Nehisi Coates
In “The Message,” Ta-Nehisi Coates examines how stories are told — and who gets to tell them — through reporting and reflection on conflict, censorship, and political power. The book interrogates language itself as a tool that can liberate, obscure, or justify violence. Publisher: One World (Penguin Random House)
Young Adult & Youth
“Black Girl You Are Atlas“
By Renée Watson
“Black Girl You Are Atlas” is a lyrical celebration of Black girlhood told through poems about joy, friendship, grief, and self-discovery. Watson offers young readers affirmation, reflection, and space to see themselves fully. Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
“Just Mercy”
By Bryan Stevenson
Civil rights lawyer Bryan Stevenson recounts his work defending people condemned by a broken criminal legal system. Blending memoir with advocacy, “Just Mercy” argues for mercy, dignity, and the possibility of redemption. Publisher: One World
“Long Way Down“
By Jason Reynolds
“Long Way Down” is an intense, heart-wrenching story told in short, fierce verse. Fifteen-year-old Will knows the rules: No crying. No snitching. Get revenge. But as he rides the elevator down to carry out that revenge, ghosts from his past step on, one by one, forcing him to reconsider everything. Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers (Simon & Schuster)
“We Alive, Beloved”
By Frederick Joseph
Frederick Joseph explores a new genre in “We Alive, Beloved,” a captivating poetry collection that seeks to find joy in moments of difficulty, whether through illuminating the beauty of being Black, highlighting the hope that can be found in childhood, or by sharing intimate truths revealed on a mental health journey. Publisher: Simon & Schuster
