16 Extraordinary Bestseller Books By Black Authors That You’ll Love

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Being a Bestselling Author is A Big Deal

Being a bestselling author generally means that an author’s (new) book has exceeded its expected sales. Depending on which bestselling list books end up on, these sales must be within/exceed a specific range and/or have diverse sales.

Some of the most well-known bestseller lists are hosted by, the New York Times, Goodreads, Barnes and Noble, and Amazon. Even with their own curated lists, these lists feature many of the same books.

Imagine your favorite family member shopping on Amazon and seeing your book top 10 on their book bestseller list. Or your inspiration reading a New York Times book review of your debut novel, top 5 on their bestseller list. To have that official stamp or sentence at the top of your book, that is being sold and read in places you’ve never been is a big deal.

For any author who publishes their book traditionally, having a best seller is a big deal. For black authors, I say, an even bigger deal if not the same.

That sort of literary success contributes to positive racial stereotypes and pushes the probability of black authors succeeding financially higher. These bestseller books especially catch the attention of black audiences and use the medium to educate, uplift, affirm, testify, comfort, and inspire.

For this Black History Month, here are 18 Bestselling books by back authors to put on your shelf

1. The Yellow House by Sarah M. Broom

Nonfiction, memoir

Reviewed in articles featured in The Atlantic, The Guardian, and the New York Times The Yellow House by Sarah M. Broom has received much praise. Her book sheds light not only on her intriguing upbringing in the yellow house but also on her local and the larger communities of New Orleans.

2. Call Us What We Carry by Amanda Gorman

3. Will by Will Smith

Nonfiction, memoir

4. Blood in The Garden by Chris Herring

Nonfiction, Sports

5. Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson

6. Laura Coates: Just Pursuit

7. The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalia Harris

8. Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah

Nonfiction, comedy

9. The Heaven & Grocery Store by James McBride

10. Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson

11. Crook Manifesto by Colson Whitehead

12. Madness: Race and Insanity in a Jim Crow Asylum by Antonia Hylton

Nonfiction

13. Legacy: A Black Physician Reckons with Racism in Medicine by Uché Blackstock, MD

14. Our Hidden Conversations: What Americans Really Think About Race and Identity by Michele Norris

15. Maame by Jessica George

16. I Did a New Thing: 30 Days to Living Free By Tabitha Brown

Until my next words (on here that is)
Christa

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