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Meet Yaa Gyasi, the Author of the Slavery Novel Everyone Is Talking About
Yaa Gyasi is having the kind of year every first-time novelist dreams about. The Ghanaian-born, American-raised writer’s debut novel, Homegoing, has been lauded by critics ranging from those writing for the New York Times to the Wall Street Journal. Her book, which sparked a bidding war that led to a seven-figure deal, has landed at the…
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Discovery of Book Published by Black Woman in 1891 Shines Light on 19th-Century Novels by Black Americans
When one thinks of 19th-century America, slavery and the Civil War come to mind. American slavery, as we know, was a heinous, painful institution characterized by terrifying acts of violence. Whether it was the systematic rape of black women, the sale of black children away from their parents, squalid living conditions or enforced hard labor, slavery was…
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Book Review: Terry McMillan Writes What Breaks Her Heart
Terry McMillan is known for such best-selling novels as Waiting to Exhale, How Stella Got Her Groove Back, Mama, and A Day Late and a Dollar Short. Her novels deftly explore the inner workings of black women’s lives, and watching McMillan’s characters navigate love, friendship, work and family has been an inspiration for generations of…
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15 New Books by Black Authors to Dive Into This Summer
Summer is just around the corner—and with it comes some time for a restful vacation. Whether you’re stuck on a crowded flight or relaxing on the beach, here are some stellar books published by black authors during the first half of 2016—just in time to take along with you for some exhilarating summer reading. Hope…
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11 Summer Must-Reads for Young Readers
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the publication of Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, by Mildred D. Taylor. Taylor, one of the first African-American children’s-book authors to gain widespread acclaim, later won the Newbery Medal for the book. Her work was pivotal in empowering black children to see themselves in young adult literature—inspiring…
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Rachel Howzell Hall Crafts a New Type of Hero in Her Detective Mysteries
The detective-mystery genre is dominated by male heroes—white male heroes, to be precise. There is Lee Child’s Jack Reacher. Raymond Chandler’s Philip Marlowe. Ian Fleming’s James Bond. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes. Elmore Leonard and Dashiell Hammett’s leading men. Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot. And many, many more. The few black faces we have in…
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In Search of the Truth About James Brown
In 2013 James McBride won the prestigious National Book Award for his novel The Good Lord Bird, which follows a teenage slave who joins abolitionist John Brown’s 1859 rebellion. Prior to that, McBride had authored the best-selling memoir The Color of Water and two works of fiction: Song Yet Sung and Miracle at St. Anna.…
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In a Kafkaesque Turn, a Black Man Wakes Up White, Except for His Blackass
In Franz Kafka’s classic novel The Metamorphosis, young Gregor Samsa wakes up one morning to find himself turned into a giant cockroach—and his entire life is upended. Gregor’s family shuns him, he cannot get work, his life is threatened at every moment; he retreats into isolation and depression, unable to understand the violence and anger…
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Review: 9 Short Stories in What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours
Born in Nigeria in 1984, author Helen Oyeyemi has lived in the United Kingdom since age 4. Oyeyemi made a name for herself as a writer early on—winning the 2010 Somerset Maugham Award and a 2012 Hurston/Wright Legacy Award and being named one of Granta’s Best Young British Novelists in 2013. Oyeyemi, who wrote her…
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A Lifelong Lover of Books Breaks Ground Atop the Literary World
At 36 years old, Lisa Lucas is a woman of firsts. A little less than four years ago, she was appointed the first African American and first female publisher of Guernica magazine. This month she was appointed the first African American and first woman to be executive director of the National Book Foundation. “The National…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
