It starts with the list I maintain all year. Then, it’s edited to list only Black authored books for middle grade (ages 8-12) and young adult (ages 12-18) readers that are traditionally published in the US. This list doesn’t contain self pulished books so that it can trace the progress of Blacks who publish youth literature over the years. Please, do feel free to mention self-published books in the comments. A link to previous lists can be found here. The number of books this year seems a bit higher than last year, but many books due out in 2020 were postphoned to 2021. We can’t deny that the numbers are slowly increasing and hopefully efforts to eliminate the presence of Blacks as well as Asian Americans and LGBTQIA+ and people with disabilities will quickly lose traction. We’re not going anywhere.

This year, I’ve taken care to note the diversity within Blackness. You’ll find US publishers are incorporating writers from Canada, the Caribbean and the UK. It’s important to realize that vast expressions of Blackness in these stories.

We’re seeing a wider representation of gender identities and sexual orientations that before. I noticed quite a few debuts coming into youth lit with well established careers (and large social media followings which really means greater sales potention). Celebrities have always had a presence in Black youth literature and this year is no exception with books on the list from Misty Copeland, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Eve Ewing and Kevin Hart as well as both Michelle and Barack Obama.

Several of these authors have film contracts, something it took quite awhile for Black authors to achieve. Maybe someone with more time than me will dig in and examine diversity across genre; who’s getting backed to make appearances and who has a deal for another book, or two. I noticed many authors from the south, particularly Alabama and Louisiana. Imagine what it feels like for a child to read a book set in their home state!

I’ve worked on this for a few days now! I think this is as close as I can get to a complete list. I think I’ve done better with graphic novels this year, but maybe not so much with nonfiction. Please, tell me what’s not here. I appreciate the help.

Happy holidays!

1. The Awakening of Malcolm X by Ilyasah Shabazz and Tiffany D. Jackson. FSG
2. The Scrumptious Life of Azaleah Lane (Azaleah Lane #3) by Nikki Shannon Smith and Gloria Felix. Picture Window Books. 
3. Baseball’s Leading Lady: Effa Manley and the Rise and Fall of the Negro Leagues by Andrea Willams. Roaring Brook Press DEBUT
4. Happily Ever Afters by Elise Bryant.  Balzer+Bray
5. Legacy: Women Poets of the Harlem Renaissance ed. by Nikki Grimes. Bloomsbury
6. The Life I’m In by Sharon G. Flake. Scholastic
7. Meow or Never by Jazz Taylor [Jessica Lewis]. Scholastic. DEBUT
8. Becoming: Adapted for Young Readers by Michelle Obama. Delacorte
9. One of the Good Ones by Maika Moulite and Maritza Moulite (Haitian American). Inkyard
10. The Ravens by Kass Morgan and Danielle Paige. HMH
11. Roman and Jewel by Dana L. Davis. Inkyard
12. Root Magic by Eden Royce. Walden Pond Press. YA Debut
13. When You Look Like Us by Pamela N. Harris. Quill Tree Books
14. A Universe of Wishes ed. by Dhonielle Clayton. Crown Books
15. Angel of Greenwood by Randi Pink. Feiwel and Friends.
16. The Beautiful Struggle by Ta-Nahisi Coates. Delacorte.
17. Chlorine Sky by Mahogany L. Brown. Crown Books.
18. Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas. Balzer+Bray
19. The Meet Cute Project by Rhiannon Richardson. Simon & Schuster. DEBUT
20. Amari and the Night Brothers by B.B. Alson. Balzer+Bray
21. Your Corner Dark by Desmond Hall (Jamaican American). Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books
22. Take Back the Block by Chrystal D. Giles. Random House. DEBUT
23. Wings of Ebony by J. Elle. Denene Millner Books/Simone & Schuster. DEBUT
24. Muted by Tami Charles. Scholastic
25. Love is A Revolution by Renée Watson. Bloomsbury
26. Shuri: The Vanished (Black Panther #2) by Nic Stone. Scholastic
27. The Year I Flew Away by Marie Arnold (Haitian American) Versify. DEBUT
28. Yesterday is History by Kosoko Jackson. Sourcebooks Fire. DEBUT
29. One Carefree Day by Whitney Amazeen. Swan Pages Publishing DEBUT
30. The Gilded Ones (Deathless #1) by Namina Forna (Sierra Leonean American) Delacorte. DEBUT
31. Kingston and the Magician’s Lost and Found by Rucker Moses and Teho Gangi. GP Putnam’s Sons
32. Reaper of Souls (Kingdom of Souls #2) by Rena Barron. HarperTeen
33. Like Home by Louisa Onome (Nigerian Canadian). Delacorte. DEBUT
34. Nubia Real One by L L McKinney. DC Comics
35. Some Other Now by Sarah Everett (Afro Canadian). HMH
36. Home Is Not A Country by Safia Elhillo (Sudanese American). Make Me A World
37. Simon B. Rhymin’ by Dwayne Reed. Little, Brown
38. Noelle The Mean Girl by Ashley Woodfolk. Penguin Workshop
39. Can’t Stop Won’t Stop (Young Adult Edition): A History of the Hip Hop Generation by Jeff Chang and Dave ‘Davey D’ Cook. Wednesday Books
40. The Cost of Knowing by Brittney Morris. Simon and Schuster
41. The Place Beyond Her Dreams by Oby Aligwekwe (Nigerian Canadian). Eclat Books
42. Amber’s Song by Kaitlyn Pitts, Camryn Pitts and Olivia Pitts. ZonderKidz
43. A Queen of Gilded Horns by Amanda Joy. GP Putnam’s Sons
44. Squad Goals by Erika J. Kendrick. Little, Brown 
45. It Doesn’t Take a Genius by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich. Six Foot Press
46. Witches Steeped in Gold by Ciannan Smart (British Jamaican). HarperTeen
47. Sculptor Woodrow Nash: How I Search for My Ancestors by Woodrow Nash with Shelley Fraser Mickle. Pelican Publishing
48. Last Gate of the Emperor by Kwame Mbalia and Prince Joen Makonnen. Scholastic
49. Hurricane Summer by Asah Bromfield (Afro Jamaican). Wednesday Books
50. Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry by Joya Goffney. HarperTeen
51. Meet Cute Diary by Emery Lee (mixed race). HarperCollins
52. Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Boy by Emmanuel Acho (Nigerian American). Roaring Brook Press
53. Thanks A Lot, Universe by Chad Lucas (Afro Canadian). Amulet Books.
54. Where the Rhythm Takes You by Sarah Dass (Caribbean). Balzer + Bray
55. Planting Peace: The Story of Wangari Maathai by Gwendolyn Hooks and Margaux Carpentier. Crocodile
56. Off the Record by Camryn Garrett. Knopf
57. Ophie’s Ghost by Justina Ireland (biracial) Balzer + Bray
58. A Sitting in St. James by Rita Williams Garcia. Quill Tre25 May
59. A Chorus Rises A Song Below Water Novel by Bethany Morrow. Tor Teen
60. Instructions for Dancing by Nicola Yoon (Jamaican American). Delacorte
61. Kevin Makes a Movie by Kevin Hart, Geoff Rodkey and David Cooper. Crown Books
62. Mile Morales Shock Waves, an original Spider-Man graphic novel by Justin Reynolds, illustrated by Pablo Leon. Graphix
63. The Passing Playbook by Isaac Fitzsimons. Dial Books. DEBUT
64. Simone Breaks All the Rules by Debbie Rigaud (Haitian American). Scholastic
65. Josephine Against the Sea by Shakirah Bourne (Barbadian) Scholastic. DEBUT
66. The Marvelous by Claire Kann. Swoon Reads
67. Ace of Spades by Faridah Abike-Iyimide (Black British). Feiwel and Friends. DEBUT
68. Harriet Tubman: Toward Freedom by Whit Taylor, illus. by Kazimir Lee. Little, Brown
69. Blood Like Magic by Liselle Sambury. Margaret K. McElderry Books
70. Blackout by Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, NicStone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk and Nicola Yoon. Quill Tree
71. Darling by K. Ancrum. Imprint
72. This Poison Heart by Kalynn Bayron. Bloomsbury
73. Escape from …Hurrican Katrina by Judy Allen Dodson and Nigel Chilvers. Little Bee Books
74. Trials (The Lost Tribes) by Christine Taylor-Butler. Move Books
75. Maya and the Robot by Eve Ewing. Kokila
76. Quincredible #2: The Hero Within by Rodney Barnes and Selina Epiritu. Oni Press
77. The Right Side of Reckless by Whitney D. Grandison. Inkyard
78. The Taking of Jake Livingston by Ryan Douglass. GP Putnam’s Sons. DEBUT
79. Rise to the Sun by Leah Johnson. Scholastic
80. Pax Sampson #1: The Cookout by Rashad Doucet and Jason Reeves. Oni Press
81. Black Boy Joy: 17 Stories Celebrating Black Boyhood edited by Kwame Mbalia. Random/Delacorte
82. Sugar Town Queens by Maila Nunn (African Australian). G. P. Putnam’s Sons
83. Zion Unmatched by Zion Clark, James S. Hirsch. Candlewick
84. The Sisters of Reckoning by Charlotte Nicole Davis. Tor Teen
85. Call and Response: The Story of Black Lives Matter by Veronica Chambers (Afro Latina)and the New York Times. Versify
86. Me (Moth) by Amber McBride. Feiwel and Friends
87. Dovey Undaunted : A Black Woman Breaks Barries in the Law, the Military and the Ministry by Tonya Bolden. Norton Young Readers
88. Fast Pitch by Nic Stone. Crown Books
89. Tobyn the It Girl (Flyy Girls) by Ashley Woodfolk. Penguin Workshop
90. African and Caribbean Folktales, Myths and Legends by Wendy Shearer (Black British). Scholastic
91. The Bones of Ruin by Sarah Raughley (Black Canadian). Margaret K. McElderry
92. Hoop Kings 2: New Royalty by Charles R. Smith. Candlewick
93. Partly Cloudy by Tanita S. Davis. Katherine Tegen Books
94. The Problem With the Other Side by Kwame Ivery. Soho Teen
95. So Many Beginnings: A Little Women Remix by Bethany C. Morrow. Feiwel and Friends
96. We Are Not Broken by George M. Johnson. Little, Brown Books
97. Zero O’Clock by C. J. Farley (Jamaican American). Black Shee
98. Kneel by Candace Buford. Inkyard Press
99. Mighty Inside by Sundee T. Frazier (mixed race). Levine Querido
100. Paradise on Fire by Jewell Parker Rhodes. Little, Brown
101. A Soft Place to Land by Janae Marks. Katherine Tegen Books
102. White Smoke by Tiffany D. Jackson. Katherine Tegen Books
103. Black Was the Ink by Michelle Coles, illus. by Justin Johnson. Tu Books
104. The Leopard Behind the Moon by Mayonn Paasewe-Valchev (Liberian American). Greenwillow Books
105. A Man Called Horse: John Horse and the Black Seminole Underground Railroad by Glennette Tilley Turner. Abrams
106. Maya and the Return of the Godlings by Rena Barron. Clarion
107. Things We Couldn’t Say by Jay Coles. Scholastic
108. We’re Better Than This: Young Readers’ Edition: My Fight for the Future of Our Democracy by Elijah Cummings. HarperCollins
109. Beasts of Prey by Ayana Gray. GP Putnam’s Sons
110. For All Time by Shanna Miles. Simon and Schuster
111. Spellbound (The Black Panther) by Ronald L. Smith. Marvel Press
112. Black Birds in the Sky: The Story and Legacy of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre by Brandy Colbert. Balzer + Bray
113. Dreams of My Father Young People’s Edition: A Story of Race and Inheritance by Barack Obama (European American and Kenyan). Delacorte
114. Feminist AF: A Guide to Crushing Girlhood by Brittney Cooper, et al. Norton Young Readers
115. African Icons: Ten People Who Shaped History by Tracey Baptiste (Caribbean American). Algonquin
116. Playing the Cards You’re Dealt by Varian Johnson. Scholastic
117. Rise Up! How You Can Join the Fight Against Racism by Crystal Fleming. Holt
118. Why We Fly by Kimberly Jones and Gilley Segal. Sourcebook Fires
119. Black Artists Shaping the World by Sharna Jackson (Black British) Thames and Hudson
120. Defiant: Growing Up in the Jim South by Wade Hudson. Crown Books
121. Polo Cowboy by G. Neri (mixed race), illus. by Jesse Joshua Watson. Candlewick
122. Recognize: An Anthology Honoring and Amplifying Black Life ed. by Wade Hudson & Cheryl Hudson. Crown Books
123. Keeping It Real by Paula Chase. Greenwillow
124. Within These Wicked Walls by Lauren Blackwood. Wednesday Books
125. The Last Chance for Logan County (A Legendary Alston Boys Adventure) by Lamar Giles, illus. by Derick Brooks. Versify
126. Rest Easy by Warona Jolomba (Black British) Wattpad
127. Listen, Layla by Yassmin Abdel-Magied (Sudanese Australian). Penguin Australia
128. Black Ballerinas by Misty Copeland and illustrated by Salena Barnes. Aladdin
129. The Swag is in The Socks by Kelly J. Baptist. Crown Books
130. A Psalm of Storms and Silence by Roseanne A. Brown (Ghanaian American). Balzer + Bray
131. Skin of the Sea by Natasha Bowen (Nigerian Welsh). Random House
132. Segregated Skies: David Harris’s Trailblazing Journey to Rise Above Racial Barriers by Michael Cottman. National Geographic Books
133. The Shadow Prince by David Anthony Durham.(Caribbean American). Tu Books
134. fThe Book of Black Inventors and Scientists by M. J. Fievre (Haitian American) and illustrated by Kim Balacuit. Dragonfruit
135. Revolution in Our Time: The Black Panther Party’s Promise to the People by Kekla Magoon. Candlewick
136. Stuntboy, In the Meantime by Jason Reynolds and illustrated by Raúl the Third. Atheneum
137. Wild Tongues Can’t Be Tamed by Saraciea J. Fennell (Black Honduran.) Flatiron Books
138. Income Inequality and the Fight over Wealth Distribution by Elliott Smith. ReadWokeBooks/Lerner
139. Mass Incarceration, Black Men and the Fight for Justice by Cicely Lewis. ReadWokeBooks/Lerner
140. The Opioid Epidemic and the Addiction Crisis by Elliott Smith. ReadWokeBooks/Lerner She Persisted: Harriet Tubman by Andrea Davis Pinkney and Chelsea Clinton. Philomel Books
141. She Persisted: Claudette Colvin by Lesa Cline-Ransome and Chelsea Clinton. Philomel Books
142. She Persisted: Florence Griffith Joyner by Rita Williams-Garcia and Chelsea Clinton. Philomel Books
143. She Persisted: Ruby Bridges by Kekla Magoon (European American and Cameroonian American) and Chelsea Clinton. Philomel Books
144. Honest June by Tina Wells and Brittney Bond. Random House