black fiction

  • PageTurners: We’re in for a Helluva Literary Year
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    PageTurners: We’re in for a Helluva Literary Year

    One of my New Year’s resolutions is to find joy in reading again. I had this same goal last year–and let’s face it, every year for a while now–and even felt the hope of achieving that goal when we all went into lockdown, assuming I would have plenty of time to read and get back…

  • Here’s an Exclusive Excerpt of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Newest Fiction (You’re Welcome!)
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    Here’s an Exclusive Excerpt of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Newest Fiction (You’re Welcome!)

    For Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie fans, it’s been a long seven years since Americanah, her last novel, and winner of the 2013 National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction. She’s been active on Instagram and it’s always a joy to revisit her catalog of beautiful writing—Purple Hibiscus, Half of a Yellow Sun, The Thing Around Your…

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    The Inheritance

    I was tiptoeing past my mama’s bedroom—hoping not to disturb her afternoon nap, a crime I’m accused of committing most every other Saturday—when I caught a glimpse of something that made me take a couple of giant steps back. A dress hanging outside her closet door. A black dress with a short jacket, burgundy accents,…

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    Talon of God

    My tears have been my food day and night, while people say to me all day long, “Where is your God?” —Psalm 42 Prologue “Spare some change for a veteran?” His words were empty, barely loud enough to be heard over the trains thundering on the elevated rail overhead. Some days, Lenny didn’t know why…

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    Beyond the Blue

    Vibrantly glowing inside a dark hall, a small ball of fire burned suspended midair. The flaming orb bounced upward, lingering shortly, before landing in Princess Inara’s palm. Her brown eyes stared intently into the flame as if it were a mystical crystal ball. Unfortunately, she found no answers to her problems hidden within the circular…

  • Dominate
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    Dominate

    I wanted to believe it didn’t mean anything. The smell of whiskey on his breath. The hurried kiss and his tongue latched around my left nipple. The gentle suckling as my abrasive wool sweater remained bunched against my throat. I told myself it meant nothing and I was nothing but an ends to a means.…

  • The Takedown
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    The Takedown

    “And that was when Mr. Bailey groped you?” the human resources manager’s face showed no trace of emotion. He had put a box of tissues on the table, setting it down with a dull thud. The tissue sticking up looked like a staircase that went nowhere. “Yes,” Megan said. “He closed the blinds, locked the…

  • Birthday Boy
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    Birthday Boy

    Kuokoa B. Mchango was certain that it was the last night he would be alive, for you see, tomorrow was his 28th birthday. As he lay in his fold-out cot and stared at the low ceiling, he realized with a twinge of sadness that this fact didn’t bother him nearly as much as it used…

  • We Head South
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    We Head South

    October 17—9:43 p.m. EST The two gradually exited Carmine’s restaurant in midtown Manhattan, fully satisfied and slightly tipsy from the fine cuisine and red wine. As they made their way onto the other side of the restaurant door, the cool October night air immediately greeted them. “Wow,” Marie uttered through a smile. “It really got…

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    Champion

    I like to tell folks I don’t have a storyBut I also like to fuck with peopleThat in itself tells a story.You confused yet?Good, now we have something in commonI think that’s how friendships begin.Not sure if I can maintain it but that’s part of the story tooPay attention to the detailsThat’s where the angels…