African American Literature Fiction

Inside this harrowing collection, you’ll uncover three thought-provoking and classic novels about slavery, civil rights, and the plight of African Americans before the abolition of slavery. With timeless narratives and poignant, dramatic prose, these books have stood the test of time to provide unique and moving accounts of life as a slave.

A retired employee of the Illinois Department of Motor Vehicles, Mrs. Washington runs the mean, cold streets of Chi-town messing with all types of young thugs with multiple felonies. A widow for some time now, Vernita is determined to make up for her stale marriage. However, when a major health scare sets her back, she finds herself losing everything. Reality sets in that her time on Earth is about to come to a close. Now faced with a death sentence, Vernita seeks to live out her remaining days being the biggest old super freak.

On the eve of trial, Assistant District Attorney Lainey Abbott gets a disturbing phone call. Her baby sister, Stephanie, who should have been back at her college dorm after visiting for the weekend, never arrived. At first, she isn’t too worried, because she’s a system insider and has plenty of resources available to locate her sister quickly, including Russ Sanders, the police detective she’s been on and off with for years. It’ll take a couple days, tops. They’ll find Steph and give her a piece of their mind for being so irresponsible.

African American literature is the body of literature produced in the United States by writers of African descent. It begins with the works of such late 18th-century writers as Phillis Wheatley. Before the high point of enslaved people narratives, African-American literature was dominated by autobiographical spiritual narratives. The genre known as slave narratives in the 19th century were accounts by people who had generally escaped from slavery, about their journeys to freedom and ways they claimed their lives.

Emery Thompson hates Calvin Chamberlain. From the way he acts like he’s better than everyone to the way he moves through the world thinking his podcast is the cream of the crop, every little thing about the man gets to him. Even that dashing, oh-so-confident smile. He’d rather be caught dead than be around the man any longer than necessary—or admit that last part out loud.

Everett and Kincaid present a fictitious chronicle of South Carolina Senator Strom Thurmond's desire to pen a history of African Americans—his and his aides' belief being that he has done as much, or more, than any American to shape that history. An epistolary novel, A History follows the letters of loose-cannon congressional office workers, insane interns at a large New York publishing house, and disturbed publishing executives, along with homicidal rival editors, kindly family friends, and an aspiring author named Septic.

Having just celebrated her 26th birthday in 1976 California, Dana, an African-American woman, is suddenly and inexplicably wrenched through time into antebellum Maryland. After saving a drowning White boy there, she finds herself staring into the barrel of a shotgun and is transported back to the present just in time to save her life. During numerous such time-defying episodes with the same young man, she realizes she's been given a challenge.

This is a novel in the guise of the tape-recorded recollections of a black woman who has lived 110 years, who has been both a slave and a witness to the black militancy of the 1960s. Miss Jane Pittman has "endured," has seen almost everything and foretold the rest.

Jimmy Lee Hickam grew up along Red Dog Road, a dead-end strip of gravel and mud buried deep in the bowels of Appalachian Ohio. It is the poorest road, in the poorest county, in the poorest region of the state. To make things worse, the name Hickam is synonymous with trouble. Jimmy Lee hails from a heathen mix of thieves, moonshiners, drunkards, and general anti-socials that for decades have clung to both the hardscrabble hills and the iron bars of every jail cell in the region. This life, Jimmy Lee believes, is his destiny, someday working with his drunkard father at the sawmill, or sitting next to his arsonist brother in the penitentiary.

A Charleston belle with slavery on her conscience. A slave with rebellion in her heart. In South Carolina in 1858, no friendship could be more dangerous.

It seems as if Camaiyah has not learned her lesson. Ce'Anna (from A Husband, a Boyfriend, & a Side Dude) is not much better. Follow their journey as the two stumble through the consequences caused by their shady behavior. Will they come out on top? Or will their actions catch up to them, causing them to be broken all the way down?

June is still reeling from the heartbreak caused by betrayal. She thought Kelvin was her best friend - she never saw it coming that he would betray her. Camaiyah seems to be unbothered by the fact that Kelvin took the fall, but can Iliana hold the secret? Or will her devotion to her sister force her to tell the truth? Secrets are revealed, and things take an interesting turn, but one thing is for sure: Someone in June's circle definitely cannot be trusted.

In 1992, Los Angeles burned. In the aftermath of the Rodney King beating and subsequent riots, a ground-breaking ceremony at the infamous intersection of Florence and Normandie unearths the body of a Korean liquor store owner. Black private eye Ivan Monk searches for the killer—many suspect the motives for the murder were racial. But then another body turns up, and while the FBI and the Rolling Daltons, the largest gang in the city, dog Monk’s trail, Monk questions who the real perpetrators are and whether he can prevent more from dying, including himself, before he uncovers the truth.

With brains, beauty, and a four-carat diamond engagement ring, Pasha Willow seems to have the perfect life. She's the successful owner of a trendy hair salon, lives in a posh condo with her handsome soon-to-be husband, drives an expensive car, and indulges in relentless shopping sprees. But behind the high-end fashion, captivating smile, and mesmerizing eyes belies a woman with a deep, dark secret.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER A PARADE BEST BOOK OF ALL TIME From the acclaimed Nobel Prize winner—a powerful examination of our obsession with beauty and conformity that asks questions about race, class, and gender with characteristic subtlety and grace. With a new introduction by...

Maleeka Madison is a dark skinned African-American girl. She feels uncomfortable and wishes she had lighter skin. When her teacher, Miss Saunders, who suffers from a rare skin condition, shows that there is more to people than the color of their skin, Maleeka learns to appreciate and accept who she truly is.

The Witch Sphere is in turmoil. In the years since a stunning betrayal sent shockwaves through society, the Sphere was hit with another crisis: witches are giving birth to more typics (non-witches) and their numbers are diminishing. Nadia is determined to help but finds hers efforts at the Witch Health Organization entangled with the political machinations of her powerful mother.

June is in an online relationship with the man of her dreams, Jermaine. He is the first person she met that seemed to know her before they ever even spoke. Although they have never met in person, she is sure he is "the one", but there's only one problem: Her beloved "Jermaine" isn't real. She is being catfished by someone very close to her - someone she thought she could trust.

Monck’s Corner, South Carolina, 1739. When Mae Briscoe learns that a small group of slaves plans to flee to Florida for freedom among the Spanish, she knows she must go with them. The master’s son has been far too friendly lately, and there’s no one to protect her. She knows the trek will be rough, and it will be hard adapting to a new culture, but given the circumstances, the call of freedom is too strong to resist. Thus, she begins an adventure of a lifetime, heading south to freedom.

They say when it comes to hood love it’s double or nothing and all is fair when it comes to the streets. Although it may not show up in a fairytale fashion, love shows up when you least expect it. After dealing with a heartbreak, Jania learns the hard way until an unexpected love drops in her lap during one of the most fearful nights of her life. Jania would do anything to get her ex off of her mind just for something to do until she realizes just how official her new love interest proves to be.