A few days ago, I started writing a list on BlueSky of Black authors who I think deserve to have their work appreciated for generations to come. But after listing five or six, I realized that I wanted that list to outlast the day’s algorithm. So, I’m bringing it here instead. 

Black History Month has always been an opportunity to look back on the incredible Black people who have contributed to the world we live in today. But this year, I have felt a particular need to make sure I am using my platform to point towards the Black people who are alive and in the fight right now. It feels like the world is crashing down around us—because, you know… it kinda is—and I am determined to do my part to make sure that Black voices are never erased. 

So here are some Black voices in literature that have had a profound impact on me:

N.K. Jemisin

The Broken Earth Series is a post-apocalyptic climate disaster dystopian about a woman with the power to control the earth’s seismic activity as she enters on a quest to rescue her daughter, as well as several women who are doing their best to stop the final end of the world. In this futuristic world, it has been centuries since an apocalyptic event that sent the planet spiraling toward its end. As a result, every few generations, there is another world-ending event that brings the planet to its knees. But each and every time, what remains of humanity rallies together to rebuild. Only this time, it seems like the clock has finally run out. In the midst of trying to figure out their own crap, our main characters are thrust into a world that is determined to finally end. And they are some of very few people with enough power to do anything about it. 

This series fundamentally impacted the way I view not only literature, but also writing as a craft. I think about this story at least once a day. And I suspect I will for the rest of my life. 

Nana Kwame Adjei Brenyah

Chain-Gang All-Stars is a hard-hitting dystopian story set in a more honest modern-day America. This Dystopian is a political commentary on the American prison industrial complex. It follows two female inmates who have been recruited for a gladiator type game, where prisoners can fight for sport under the promise that, if they survive long enough, they can potentially one day win their freedom. And not only does this story point to the possibilities of future exploitation and torture of American prisoners, but also the very real and very present intentions of the prison system that exists in the world that we live in right now. I often tell people that while I thought I was an abolitionist going into this story, by the time I finished it, I actually was one. I also highly recommend his short story collection: Friday Black.

Antoine Bandele

TJ Young and the Orisha is a west-African coming of age Fantasy about a young boy who is a part of one of the most well-known families of diviners in the world. His older sister was so gifted that many considered her to be the chosen one—a diviner destined to save them all from a great threat. So, when she dies expectantly in battle, it not only shocks their entire community, but it also creates a new level of pressure for TJ, who has never really shown any promise as a diviner. In fact, some question if he has been chosen to be gifted by the Orisha at all. This story follows his journey of discovering his power, his purpose, and the community it will take to save the world from a full-on assault from the Orisha who blessed them to begin with.

Tracy Deonn

The Legendborn Cycle is a Fantasy story following a Black girl in her senior year of high school. A gifted student—she is given the opportunity to join a study program at a university away from home. But instead of just having to deal with college boys and advanced studies, she happens upon an entire world of demon-slaying and secret magical societies. Oh…and a whole lotta white people. Bree—our FMC—is forced to not only work out her own identity and the grief she is still wrestling with over the recent loss of her mother, but also how these two worlds are somehow connected. For me, Bree’s story has been a constant reminder that even though I won't always be appreciated in every space—especially when I am outperforming people with privileges over me—I will NOT be erased!

Deston Munden

Deston is one of the most gifted writers I have ever had the pleasure to come across. His book Dusk Mountain Blues was the first book where I had ever seen Black people depicted the same way that poor, southern white people often are in media. And that mattered to me, because those communities are filled with Black people who are often just expected to be ok being erased. In this story, we are following two generations of Black people who have been abandoned on a planet where they were left for dead after escaping the intergalactic corporation that accidentally unlocked mutated powers in them through unethical genetic testing. I would also recommend his other books, including: the sequel to this book, the Dargath’s Chronicles and his new cozy fantasy: Recipes for an Unexpected Afterlife.

Jordan Ifueko

The RayBearer Duology did something that very few other fantasies have managed. It didn’t just give us a story that dismantled an oppressive regime. It gave us a story that dismantled a system of oppression altogether. I’m not going to explain that too deeply, because it would be hard to do so without spoilers, but just trust me…this is a next level fantasy. It follows a young girl who is forced to get close to the future king so that she can become one of his protectors, who are the only people in the world with the power to kill him. The goal is to end the line and create space for a better ruler. But instead of fulfilling her obligation to kill the future King, she begins to wrestle with what it will take to actually make life better for the people of their country. 

Akwaeke Emezi

I have read three of their books. Pet & Bitter follow a mother and daughter who have the rare ability to pull guardians from paintings who then help them to root out and combat corruption, secrets and lies in their communities and families. It sounds simple, but…it is not. Trust me. And then Little Rot is about a horrifying weekend following a couple’s untimely breakup, where one of them ends up on a journey of self-discovery, while the other is forced to fight for their life after getting caught in a web of crime surrounding a close friend, a group of sex workers and a mob-boss clergy member. Here’s the thing about Akwaeke… you will never leave their work the same. Every single time I pick up one of their books, I am forced—and I do mean forced—to confront my complicity in systems of harm. How much pain exists simply because I refuse to pay attention to the suffering of my neighbors? How much power do I have to confront corruption? And is my job to confront it even if the answer to that last question is none? Their work is challenging, intense, horrifying and somehow… it fills me with hope that maybe the answers to the world’s problems are simpler than I’ve been told. 

Nia Davenport

The Blood Gift Duology. Are there words to explain Ikenna's magic? She is one of the most powerful women in Fantasy. And I don't just mean in regard to her physical and supernatural strength. I mean her character. We are so regularly confronted with Black characters who must be the most... human in the room. No matter their challenges, no matter their enemies, no matter their suffering, they must speak for all Black people and remain above it all. Not Ikenna. Ikenna reminds me that no matter what choices I make, they are going to see me as a monster. So my only job is to survive them, no matter the cost. She is thrust into a world of government corruption when her Grandfather dies suspiciously and she is convinced that her only opportunity to find out who killed him is to enter into a deadly competition that will put her in close proximity to most of her prime suspects. Only, it doesn't matter that she only joined ranks for answers. Her life is still on the line. As well as the lives of everyone she will come to love and respect along the way. So Ikenna must not only figure out who killed her Grandfather, and protect herself from being next, but now she must also earn her place in the military her Grandfather helped build and do her best to keep his legacy alive.

This is just the start. I could easily point you to dozens of other Black authors who are writing stories that will revolutionize your thinking. And hey, perhaps I’ll make this an entire series! But for now, let’s just start with these seven. I will attach all of the books I mentioned here. Go pick a couple of them and get started on your homework!

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