02/21/2026 Black History Month: Did you say you need more Black Authors? Here are a few...
- Candace Nola
- 7 hours ago
- 3 min read
I often hear, usually during Black History month, that "I need to read more books by Black authors, can you show me a few?"
My answer is always "sure, here you go," and a second later I send them a list that I keep handy on my phone. An ongoing list that I add to every day...a list that is not hard at all to find.
Here's a list compiled from Goodreads, and below it, you'll find more links to other such lists that are published every year by various sites aimed toward promoting authors of color.
I hope you will check a few of these out and continue to expand your reading by adding more authors of many backgrounds, races, and cultures.
Supernatural & Paranormal Horror
• The Good House — Tananarive Due (2006)
A modern haunted‑house epic rooted in generational trauma and supernatural vengeance. https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Good-House/Tananarive-Due/9780743449015
• The Reformatory — Tananarive Due (2023)
Ghosts, racial terror, and a reform school inspired by real history. https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-reformatory-tananarive-due
• Fledgling — Octavia E. Butler (2005)
A vampire novel that reimagines the genre through genetics, identity, and power. https://www.grandcentralpublishing.com/titles/octavia-e-butler/fledgling/9780446696166
• The Between — Tananarive Due (Reissue 2021)
A man’s reality unravels as supernatural forces close in. https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-between-tananarive-due
• The Possessed — Amina Akhtar (2024)
A darkly funny supernatural thriller involving jinn, desert spirits, and mental unraveling. https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/734020/the-possessed-by-amina-akhtar
Psychological Horror & Dark Thrillers
• My Sister, the Serial Killer — Oyinkan Braithwaite (2018)
A sharp, stylish thriller about two sisters and a trail of bodies. https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/600671/my-sister-the-serial-killer-by-oyinkan-braithwaite
• The Weight of Blood — Tiffany D. Jackson (2022)
A horror‑thriller inspired by Carrie, exploring racism, bullying, and secrets. https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-weight-of-blood-tiffany-d-jackson
• Jackal — Erin E. Adams (2022)
A missing‑girls mystery in a Pennsylvania town haunted by something in the woods. https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/688953/jackal-by-erin-e-adams
• The Perfect Find — Temi Oh (2024)
A near‑future psychological horror about surveillance, identity, and paranoia. https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Perfect-Find/Temi-Oh/9781668032314
Cosmic, Speculative & Dark Fantasy Horror
• The Ballad of Black Tom — Victor LaValle (2016)
A Harlem musician gets entangled in eldritch forces; a powerful response to Lovecraft. https://www.tor.com/2016/02/16/the-ballad-of-black-tom
• The Changeling — Victor LaValle (2017)
A dark fairy‑tale‑infused horror story about fatherhood and myth. https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/317028/the-changeling-by-victor-lavalle
• The Devil in Silver — Victor LaValle (2012)
A surreal horror novel set in a psychiatric ward with something monstrous inside. https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/309861/the-devil-in-silver-by-victor-lavalle
• Ring Shout — P. Djèlí Clark (2020)
A supernatural reimagining of the KKK as literal monsters. https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250767011/ringshout
• The Afrofuturist Anthology: Out There Screaming — Edited by Jordan Peele (2023)
Original horror stories by Black authors across speculative subgenres. https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/705438/out-there-screaming-by-edited-by-jordan-peele
Folk Horror, Gothic Horror & Historical Horror
• Ghost Summer: Stories — Tananarive Due (2015)
Short stories blending Southern gothic, ghosts, and coming‑of‑age dread. https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Ghost-Summer/Tananarive-Due/9781982101344
• The Year of the Witching — Alexis Henderson (2020)
A dark witch‑cult novel set in a puritanical settlement with forbidden magic. https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/612313/the-year-of-the-witching-by-alexis-henderson
Black Authors by Name & Best-known genre:
HORROR
Tananarive Due
Victor LaValle
P. Djèlí Clark
Nalo Hopkinson
Octavia E. Butler
Jewelle Gomez
Wrath James White
Erin E. Adams
Tiffany D. Jackson
Ryan Douglass
Tracey Baptiste
Kai Ashante Wilson
Sylvester Barzey
Felix I.D. Dimaro
Johnny Compton
L. Marie Wood
R.J. Joseph
Kenya Moss-Dyme
Mo Moshaty
Nicole Givens-Kurtz
Jamal Hodge
Michelle Renee Lane
Markus Redmond
Marc Avery
Zin E. Rocklyn
Besu Tadesse
Ashon Ruffins
Tamika Thompson
Denise Tapscott
Marc L. Abbott
Kirk A. Johnson
Steven Van Patten
Rob Grimoire
Vaughn Jackson
SCIENCE FICTION
Octavia E. Butler
Samuel R. Delany
N.K. Jemisin
Tade Thompson
Tochi Onyebuchi
Steven Barnes
Nisi Shawl
Andrea Hairston
Cadwell Turnbull
Linda D. Addison
Eugen Bacon
LITERARY FICTION
Toni Morrison
James Baldwin
Alice Walker
Zadie Smith
Jesmyn Ward
Colson Whitehead
Ralph Ellison
Gayl Jones
Percival Everett
Brit Bennett
Eden Royce
MYSTERY / CRIME / THRILLER
Walter Mosley
Attica Locke
S.A. Cosby
Rachel Howzell Hall
Valerie Wilson Wesley
Chester Himes
Gary Phillips
Nikki Dolson
P.M. Raymond
POETRY
Maya Angelou
Gwendolyn Brooks
Lucille Clifton
Tracy K. Smith
Terrance Hayes
Danez Smith
Jericho Brown
Rita Dove
Claudia Rankine
Linda D. Addison
Jamal Hodge
Sumiko Saulson
Need Some More? Check these links out!
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