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10 must-read books for Black History Month 2023

2 min
An image showing multiple book covers featured in the blog
Celebrating the theme "Black is...", Amazon's Black Employee Network partnered with Amazon Editors' Choice to select ten of the most exciting, intriguing and inspirational books by Black authors in 2023.

First celebrated in the UK in 1987, Black History Month was founded to recognise the contributions Black people have made to the UK over many generations.

Amazon Editors' Choice have worked closely with our colleagues in BEN, Amazon’s Black Employee Network, to build reading lists for Black History Month this October. BEN is an internal group of employees that champions diversity and ensures the perspectives of people of Black African and Caribbean descent are heard in our business.

Across a number of genres, themes and settings we think there’s something for everyone in this list of suggested novels.

PAGE OVERVIEW
'The List' by Yomi Adegoke
  • TABLE OF CONTENTS
    'The List' by Yomi Adegoke
  • 'The List' by Yomi Adegoke
  • 'Small Worlds' by Caleb Azumah Nelson
  • 'Queenie' by Candice Carty Williams
  • 'All About Love' by bell hooks
  • 'Maame' by Jessica George
  • 'In Every Mirror She's Black' by Lola Akinmade Akerstrom
  • 'Girl, Woman, Other' by Bernadine Evaristo
  • 'A Spell of Good Things' by Ayobami Adebayo
  • 'The Fraud' by Zadie Smith
  • 'The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store' by James McBride
Celebrating the theme "Black is...", Amazon's Black Employee Network partnered with Amazon Editors' Choice to select ten of the most exciting, intriguing and inspirational books by Black authors in 2023.

First celebrated in the UK in 1987, Black History Month was founded to recognise the contributions Black people have made to the UK over many generations.

Amazon Editors' Choice have worked closely with our colleagues in BEN, Amazon’s Black Employee Network, to build reading lists for Black History Month this October. BEN is an internal group of employees that champions diversity and ensures the perspectives of people of Black African and Caribbean descent are heard in our business.

Across a number of genres, themes and settings we think there’s something for everyone in this list of suggested novels.

  • 'The List' by Yomi Adegoke
    The List by Yomi Adegoke

    An engaging and well-crafted debut novel by the bestselling co-author of Slay in Your Lane, The List explores the sinister aspects of social media and its impact on our most intimate connections, all wrapped in captivating storytelling.

  • 'Small Worlds' by Caleb Azumah Nelson
    Small Worlds by Caleb Azumah Nelson

    Set over the course of three summers, from South London to Ghana and back again, Small Worlds is a novel about the worlds we build for ourselves. The worlds we live, dance and love within.

  • 'Queenie' by Candice Carty Williams
    Queenie by Candice Carty Williams

    Longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction, Queenie is a darkly comic take on life, love, race and family.

  • 'All About Love' by bell hooks
    All About Love by bell hooks

    A New York Times bestseller and enduring classic, All About Love is the acclaimed first volume in feminist icon bell hooks' Love Song to the Nation trilogy. All About Love reveals what causes a polarised society, and how to heal the divisions that cause suffering.

  • 'Maame' by Jessica George
    Maame by Jessica George

    Maame, New York Times bestseller us an unforgettable coming-of-age story about finally becoming the heroine of your own life

  • 'In Every Mirror She's Black' by Lola Akinmade Akerstrom
    In Every Mirror She's Black by Lola Akinmade Akerstrom

    A beautiful narrative featuring complex and profoundly emotional characters, In Every Mirror She's Black raises challenging inquiries while avoiding simplistic solutions. A novel that will linger in your thoughts well beyond the final page.

  • 'Girl, Woman, Other' by Bernadine Evaristo
    Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo

    Winner of the Booker Prize in 2019, Girl, Woman, Other looks at the lives and loves of a dozen British women through different generations and social statuses.

  • 'A Spell of Good Things' by Ayobami Adebayo
    A Spell of Good Things by Ayobami Adebayo

    A Spell of Good Things is an examination of class and desire in modern-day Nigeria. While Eniola’s poverty prevents him from getting the education he desperately wants, Wuraola finds that wealth is no barrier against life’s harsher realities. A powerful, staggering read.

  • 'The Fraud' by Zadie Smith
    The Fraud by Zadie Smith

    With inspiration to 19th century Britain, The Fraud is a dazzling novel about truth and fiction, Jamaica and Britain, fraudulence and authenticity, and the mystery of 'other people.'

  • 'The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store' by James McBride
    The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride

    The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store is an unforgettable new novel from the National Book Award-winning, Oprah Book Club-picked, and Barack Obama pick. James McBride shows us that even in dark times, it is love and community - heaven and earth - that sustain us.

Looking for more reads for Black History Month? Discover the non-fiction picks from Amazon Editors' Choice and BEN editors.

  • PAGE OVERVIEW
  • 1
    'The List' by Yomi Adegoke
  • 2
    'Small Worlds' by Caleb Azumah Nelson
  • 3
    'Queenie' by Candice Carty Williams
  • 4
    'All About Love' by bell hooks
  • 5
    'Maame' by Jessica George
  • 6
    'In Every Mirror She's Black' by Lola Akinmade Akerstrom
  • 7
    'Girl, Woman, Other' by Bernadine Evaristo
  • 8
    'A Spell of Good Things' by Ayobami Adebayo
  • 9
    'The Fraud' by Zadie Smith
  • 10
    'The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store' by James McBride