Do you ever pick up a book and wonder, why have I never read this author before? And then you want to read every book that author has ever written? If you read Jette’s post about James Baldwin, you’ll know he’s one of those authors for us. He’s just one author among many. In the past year I’ve fallen in love with so many new-to-me authors. Since February is Black History Month, I wanted to highlight a few contemporary Black authors whose work has blown me away recently. This list could’ve been much longer, but I narrowed it down to six authors you need to have on your radar, not just this month, but every month of the year.
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Top 6 Contemporary Black Authors to Follow
(All quoted italicized text is pulled from the authors’ official bios on their websites.)
K. Ancrum
“K. Ancrum, is the author of the award winning thriller THE WICKER KING, a lesbian romance THE WEIGHT OF THE STARS, and the upcoming Peter Pan thriller DARLING. K. is a Chicago native passionate about diversity and representation in young adult fiction. She currently writes most of her work in the lush gardens of the Chicago Art Institute.”
The Wicker King by K. Ancrum is one of those books that I’ve had my eye on for years, but for whatever reason I hadn’t gotten around to reading it. I devoured it in just two days and it absolutely wrecked me. It follows high school boys, August and Jack, as they contend with the increasingly vivid hallucinations that Jack is experiencing. It’s raw and gut-punching and stunningly written. I was already excited for Ancrum’s upcoming release, Darling (set for release June 22), but reading The Wicker King amped that excitement up to infinity.
Her other novel, The Weight of the Stars, centres on two young girls, Ryann and Alexandria—one who dreams of traveling among the stars and one whose mother has volunteered for a one-way trip across the solar system. It is firmly on my TBR next to Darling, which is a contemporary Peter Pan reimagining.
And as if it weren’t enough for Ancrum to be an incredible writer, she’s also a delight to follow on Twitter.
Where to find her:
Leah Johnson
“Leah Johnson is an editor, educator, and author of books for young adults. Her bestselling debut YA novel, You Should See Me in a Crown was a Stonewall Honor Book, the inaugural Reese’s Book Club YA pick, and named a best book of the year by Amazon, Kirkus, Marie Claire, Publishers Weekly, and New York Public Library. Leah’s essays and cultural criticism can be found in Teen Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, and Cosmo among others. Her sophomore novel, Rise to the Sun is forthcoming from Scholastic in 2021.”
Debut author Leah Johnson absolutely knocked it out of the park with her lesbian YA romance, You Should See Me In a Crown. I don’t usually gravitate towards contemporary YA, but after this and Felix Ever After, I’m starting to wonder why. Crown was a pure delight to read. It follows high school student Liz Lighty, who’s always felt too black, too poor, too awkward, but decides to run for prom queen in order to win the scholarship that accompanies the crown. Along the way she meets and falls for fellow queen contender, Mack, and what results is a coming of age story with a whole lot of heart. I adored it.
Johnson’s next novel, Rise to the Sun, is set to be released July 6th this year. This one is also a romance, and follows best friends Olivia and Toni as they navigate a weekend music festival, alongside grief and love. I already know this one is going to earn a place on my mid-year list of anticipated 2021 releases.
Where to find her:
Kacen Callender
“Born and raised in St. Thomas of the US Virgin Islands, Kacen Callender is a bestselling and award-winning author of the middle-grade novels Hurricane Child and King and the Dragonflies, the young-adult novels This Is Kind of an Epic Love Story and Felix Ever After, and the adult novel Queen of the Conquered and its forthcoming sequel King of the Rising. They enjoy playing RPG video games in their free time. Kacen currently resides in Philadelphia, PA.”
If you listen to the podcast or follow us on social media, you’ve probably already heard me gush about Felix Ever After. This was easily one of my top five reads of 2020. I absolutely fell in love with Felix and his journey with gender, friendship, love, and growing up. I couldn’t put it down and when I finished reading it, I couldn’t stop smiling. It’s the definition of queer joy.
I received Callender’s middle grade novel, King and the Dragonflies, this past Christmas, and I can’t wait to read it. Of course, I’ve also added all their other books to my TBR, but I’m especially intrigued by the Caribbean-inspired fantasy world of Queen of the Conquered, and its sequel King of the Rising. And I know that whatever Callender writes next, it’s going on the list.
Where to find them:
N. K. Jemisin
“N(ora). K. Jemisin is a New York Times-bestselling author of speculative fiction short stories and novels, who lives and writes in Brooklyn, NY. In 2018, she became the first author to win three Best Novel Hugos in a row. She has also won a Nebula Award, two Locus Awards, and is a recipient of the MacArthur ‘Genius’ Fellowship.”
Okay, I know, N. K. Jemisin should have been on my radar years ago. Especially as a lover of fantasy. What can I say? I’m always late to the party. If it makes you feel any better, in the past year I’ve purchased her entire Broken Earth Trilogy and the first instalment of The Inheritance Trilogy. I do have to admit that I haven’t read them yet, but I’m slow. I’m sorry.
In any case, I just finished reading The City We Became and it’s perfect. It’s secured a place among my all time favourites. I’ve always loved cities, and Jemisin makes New York City come alive in this book. I mean literally. In her conception of this world, cities are alive. They have avatars in people who become the city itself. Or in New York’s case, six—one for each borough and one for the city as a whole. The way she captures New York is incredible. It’s everything I’ve ever wanted out of urban fantasy. This book is so good. Like, absolutely out of this world fantastic, and I’m kicking myself for not reading Jemisin sooner. So she’s mostly on this list in case you’re like me and just, like, really slow.
Stop putting it off! Read Jemisin now!
Where to find her:
Charlotte Nicole Davis
“Charlotte Nicole Davis is the critically acclaimed author of The Good Luck Girls series and loves comic book movies and books with maps in the front. A graduate of The New School’s Writing for Children MFA program, she currently lives in Brooklyn.”
Charlotte Nicole Davis’s debut novel, The Good Luck Girls, is one part vigilante outlaws, one part ghost story, and one part found family. Five girls, sold to a so-called “welcome house” as children, seize a chance to escape and find themselves on the run. But it isn’t just the people searching for them that they have to watch out for. The country of Arketta is also home to vengeful spirits that tear their victims to shreds. It’s full throttle from start to finish and I couldn’t put it down.
The sequel, The Sisters of Reckoning, is set to be released August 10 of this year. She also has a short story in A Phoenix First Must Burn: Sixteen Stories of Black Girl Magic, Resistance, and Hope, a collection exploring the Black experience through fantasy, science fiction, and magic.
Where to find her:
Samantha Irby
Samantha Irby is the author of three essay collections: We Are Never Meeting In Real Life, Wow, No Thank You, and Meaty. She also has a blog called “Bitches Gotta Eat.”
This is where I have to admit that I haven’t actually read anything by Samantha Irby yet. Much like Jemisin, Irby has been in the periphery of my reading vision for a while now, but for whatever reason I haven’t picked up any of her books yet. But! I decided that 2021 was going to be the Year of the Essay Collection, so I have We Are Never Meeting In Real Life and Wow, No Thank You, waiting patiently on my bookshelf. Everyone who reads Irby talks about how funny she is, so I’m looking forward to reading one of these soon. Maybe even for our book club…
Where to find her:
The ever growing list of favourite authors
Reading these authors over the past year has been an immense pleasure. It means my TBR continues to grow wildly out of control as I add their backlist books and their forthcoming books to my must-read list, but I have to admit—I wouldn’t have it any other way.
This list barely even begins to scratch the surface of the incredible Black authors out there. Tell us your own favourites in the comments below. We don’t miss out!
