It goes without saying that some of the most heralded works ever published have come from Black authors. From writers such as James Baldwin, Langston Hughes, Audre Lorde, Amiri Baraka and Zora Neale Hurston there is an incredibly rich history of compelling and groundbreaking literature that can only be provided through the lived experiences of Black voices. But across the literary spectrum, we tend to focus on authors that are close to home and fail to put a much-deserved spotlight on international voices.
To help you discover some of these voices, we’ve put together this list of great listens from international Black authors.
In this inspiring travelogue, celebrated traveler and photographer Jessica Nabongo—the first Black woman on record to visit all 195 countries in the world—shares her journey around the globe with fascinating stories of adventure, culture, travel musts, and human connections. It was a daunting task, but Nabongo, the beloved voice behind the popular website The Catch Me if You Can, made it happen...
An electrifying novel of enormous emotional power, Stay with Me asks how much we can sacrifice for the sake of family....
Inspired by Nigeria's folktales and war, Under the Udala Trees is a deeply searching, powerful debut about the dangers of living and loving openly. Ijeoma comes of age as her nation does; born before independence...
In her most intimate and seamlessly crafted work to date, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie turns her penetrating eye on America in 12 dazzling stories that explore the ties that bind....
From the legendary author of Things Fall Apart comes a long-awaited memoir about coming of age with a fragile new nation, then watching it torn asunder in a tragic civil war....
In this award-winning Audible Studios production, Trevor Noah tells his wild coming-of-age tale during the twilight of apartheid in South Africa.
Winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004, Wangari Maathai has been fighting for environmental responsibility and democracy in her native Kenya for over 35 years....
Stretching from the wars of Ghana to slavery and the Civil War in America, from the coal mines in the American South to the Great Migration to 20th-century Harlem, Yaa Gyasi's novel moves through histories and geographies and captures...
Jende Jonga, a Cameroonian immigrant living in Harlem, has come to the United States to provide a better life for himself; his wife, Neni; and their six-year-old son. In the fall of 2007, Jende can hardly believe his luck when he lands a job as a chauffeur...
