Official Tumblr of We Need Diverse Books

Black history is not static, limited purely to the past—it’s made year-round. Keep reading books by Black authors and amplifying Black voices when it’s not Black History Month:

Picture Books/Early Reader

• Tami Charles – ALL BECAUSE YOU MATTER
• Ibram X. Kendi – ANTIRACIST BABY 
• Nikki Grimes – BEDTIME FOR SWEET CREATURES
• Angela Joy – BLACK IS A RAINBOW COLOR
• Amyra Leon – FREEDOM, WE SING 
• Laronda Gardner Middlemiss – I LOVE ME
• Alice Faye Duncan – JUST LIKE A MAMA
• Valerie Bolling – LET’S DANCE
• Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow – MOMMY’S KHIMAR
• Malcolm Mitchell – MY VERY FAVORITE BOOK IN THE WORLD
• Tricia Elam Walker – NANA AKUA GOES TO SCHOOL
• Ashley Franklin – NOT QUITE SNOW WHITE
• Kirstie Myvett – PRALINE LADY
• Doyin Richards – WATCH ME 
• Derrick Barnes – WHO GOT GAME

Middle Grade

• B.B. Alston – AMARI AND THE NIGHT BROTHERS

• Valerie L. Williams-Sanchez – “Celebrating the Anniversary of THE BROWNIES’ BOOK by W.E.B. DuBois”

• Lisa Moore Ramée – A GOOD KIND OF TROUBLE
  

• Nikki Grimes – LEGACY

• Eden Royce – ROOT MAGIC

• Tanita S. Davis – SERENA SAYS

• Wade Hudson & Cheryl Willis Hudson – THE TALK

• Paula Chase – TURNING POINT

• Varian Johnson – TWINS

• Marie Arnold – THE YEAR I FLEW AWAY

• Victoria Bond – ZORA AND ME: THE SUMMONER

Young Adult

• Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé – ACE OF SPADES

• Echo Brown – BLACK GIRL UNLIMITED

• Christina Hammonds Reed – THE BLACK KIDS

• Ben Philippe – CHARMING AS A VERB 

• Elizabeth Acevedo – CLAP WHEN YOU LAND

• Angie Thomas – CONCRETE ROSE

• Justin A. Reynolds – EARLY DEPARTURES

• Kacen Callender – FELIX EVER AFTER

• Camryn Garrett – FULL DISCLOSURE

• Namina Forna – THE GILDED ONES

• Tiffany D. Jackson – GROWN

• Tracy Deonn – LEGENDBORN

• Sharon G. Flake – THE LIFE I’M IN

• Louisa Onomé – LIKE HOME

• Pamela Varnado – LOOKING FOR GRACE

• Emery Lee – MEET CUTE DIARY

• Tami Charles – MUTED

• Maika & Marika Moulite – ONE OF THE GOOD ONES

• Ibi Zoboi & Yusuf Salaam – PUNCHING THE AIR

• Jordan Ifueko – RAYBEARER

• Dana L. Davis – ROMAN JEWEL

• Roxane Gay & Tracy Lynne Oliver – THE SACRIFICE OF DARKNESS

• Bethany C. Morrow – A SONG BELOW WATER

• Julian Winters – THE SUMMER OF EVERYTHING

• Kim Johnson – THIS IS MY AMERICA

• Brandy Colbert – THE VOTING BOOTH

• Ronnie Davis – WHEN THE STARS LEAD TO YOU

• J. Elle – WINGS OF EBONY

• Desmond Hall – YOUR CORNER DARK

• Leah Johnson – YOU SHOULD SEE ME IN A CROWN

Further Reading & Resources

• WNDB’s Resources for Race, Equity, Anti-Racism, and Inclusion – Includes Black-Owned Bookstores, Black-led organizations, & book lists
  
  

• The Black Creatives Fund – An initiative with a mission of supporting new and existing Black writers and illustrators. It will feature three initiatives in 2021, including a Revisions Workshop (which is currently accepting applications!), a mentorship program, and a marketing symposia in partnership with the Brown Bookshelf.
  
  

• The Brown Bookshelf’s 28 Days Later – Featuring a Black creative (authors and illustrators both) every day for the month of February!
  
  
• Deadline City Podcast – Co-hosted by WNDB COO Dhonielle Clayton: “Publishing is a big scary world to many of us, and our goal is to pull back the curtain on some of the mystery by simply talking about it.”
  
  
• @minoritiesinpublishing – Podcast hosted by former WNDB team member Jennifer Baker: “An interview-format podcast where Jennifer discusses the lack of diversity in the book publishing industry with other underrepresented professionals working in/associated with the literary scene. Featured guests include VPs and executive editors, literary agents, marketers, authors, illustrators, and more.”
  
  
• J. Nailah Avery – “Black-Owned Independent Bookstores Face Unique Challenges”
• “The Free Black Women’s Library Celebrates Black Authors and Readers” 
• Kaya Thomas Created We Read Too for Readers of Color
• “Stop Calling Popular Tropes in YA Novels ‘Overused’” 
• “How Children’s Authors Create Change Outside of Their Books”
• Jas Perry, Literary Agent & WNDB Internship Grant Winner
• Autumn Allen – “Three Keys to Writing a Novel From a Boston Public Library Writer-in-Residence” 

black history month black authors black YA black bookstores black voices matter

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