I’ve come to really enjoy posting this list in February and celebrating Black authors new to MG & YA. I find much pleasure in looking at the wide array of stories being told, the variety of experiences they bring to the field and the diverse ways they represent Blackness from being 1^st gen in this country, mixed race, LGBTQIA+, Caribbean, Canadian, southern, left coast, urban or rural.

I also enjoy doing this post because it’s interactive. Please, let me know the debuts I’m missing. 

Baseball’s Leading Lady :Effa Manley and the Rise and Fall of the Negro Leagues by Andrea Williams. Roaring Brook Press
@AndreaWillWrite

Happily Ever Afters by Elise Bryant.  Balzer+Bray
@elisembryant
https://elisebryant.com/

The Meet Cute Project by Rhiannon Richardson. Simon & Schuster
28 Days Later Interview: https://thebrownbookshelf.com/28days/day-3-rhiannon-richardson/

Meow or Never by Jazz Taylor. Scholastic. The author also releases Bad Witch Burning (Delacorte Press, 2021) under the name Jessica Lewis.
@JLew100
https://www.authorjessicalewis.com/

Root Magic by Eden Royce. Walden Pond Press
@EdenRoyce
http://www.edenroyce.com/
28 Days Later Interview: https://thebrownbookshelf.com/28days/day-23-eden-royce/

When You Look Like Us by Pamela T Harris. Quill Tree Books
@pamharriswrites
https://www.pamharriswrites.com/

Your Corner Dark by Desmond Hall. Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books
@AuthorDesmond
Home

Take Back the Block by Chrystal D. Giles. Random House
@creativelychrys
https://www.chrystaldgiles.com/
28 Days Later Interview: https://thebrownbookshelf.com/28days/day-12-chrystal-giles/

Wings of Ebony by J. Elle. Denene Millner Books/Simone & Schuster
@AuthorJ_Elle
https://authorjelle.com/

The Year I Flew Away by Marie Arnold. Versify
28 Days Later Interview: https://thebrownbookshelf.com/28days/day-8-marie-arnold/

Yesterday is History by Kosoko Jackson. Sourcebooks Fire
@KosokoJackson
https://kosokojackson.com/

The Gilded Ones  (Deathless #1) by Namina Forna. Delacorte
@NaminaForna
https://naminaforna.com/

Like Home by Louisa Onome. Delacorte
@louisaonome_
http://louisaonome.com/

Thanks A Lot, Universe by Chad Lucas. Amulet Books
@ChadGALucas
https://www.chadlucaswrites.com/

The Passing Playbook by Isaac Fitzsimons. Dial Books
@isaacfitzy
https://www.isaacfitzbooks.com/

Josephine Against the Sea by Shakirah Bourne. Scholastic
@shakirahwrites
https://www.shakirahbourne.com/
28 Days Later Interview: posts on 27 Feb

The Taking of Jake Livingston by Ryan Douglass. GP Putnam’s Sons
@ryandouglassw
https://ryandouglasswriter.com/

Daughters of a Dead Empire by Carolyn T. O’Neil. Roaring Brook Press
@CarolynTara
https://www.carolyntaraoneil.com/

Beasts of Prey by Ayana Gray. GP Putnam’s Sons
@AyanaGray
https://www.ayanagray.com/

When the World Turned Upside Down by K. Ibura. Scholastic
@K_Ibura
http://kiiniibura.com/

Within These WIcked Walls by Lauren Blackwood. Wednesday Books
@LJ_Blackwood