All Booked | Celebrating Black Authors

Writers Who Deserve to Be Celebrated All Year Long

This edition of All Booked was originally emailed to subscribers on February 28, 2023. To receive our literary newsletter in your inbox, sign up at independent.com/newsletters.

Hello, book lovelies!

This newsletter is going out on the last day of Black History Month, and I want to share some of my favorite books written by Black authors. While February is deemed Black History Month, Black authors should be read and celebrated all year long. The publishing industry is getting more diverse, but unfortunately, it is still dominated by white voices. One of the main reasons I enjoy reading so much is because I get to read and learn from other perspectives that I otherwise may not be exposed to in real life. One of my main reading goals for 2023 is to read more diversely. In the past, white authors have taken up the majority of my reading list, but this year, I am being more intentional and actively searching and picking up novels from non-white authors. Below, you will find a few of my favorites from this past year.

I am a big believer in going into a book knowing as little as possible. I try not to read too much of the synopses or reviews, since most of them over-share. My pitches below are short and sweet just for that reason.

Isiah and Derek are a biracial gay couple who are murdered. We follow their two fathers, neither of whom ever truly accepted his son for who he was. Now on their quest for revenge, the two fathers team up to find their sons’ killer. On their journey, they are forced to look within and confront their own biases.

I originally picked Razorblade Tears by SA Cosby up for an online book club. I was so pleasantly surprised by this read. I went into it expecting a western-style action-packed novel, but this book delivered so much more heart and emotion than I anticipated.

Roxane Gay gives us a deep look into her relationship with food with her memoir Hunger. Never have I read a more honest and vulnerable memoir. Gay talks about her trauma, the resulting consequences, and how those things are still affecting her decades later.

Everyone would gain something from reading this book. Everyone. The world is not an accessible or accepting place for anyone who is different, and this memoir doesn’t just shine a light on that fact but lights it up like a neon sign. We can do better as a society, and that starts with doing better as an individual. Read this book.

If you like twists and turns in your thriller novels, then All Her Little Secrets by Wanda M. Morris is the book for you. We follow Ellice, who is a lawyer for a hotshot law firm in Atlanta. Her life seems pretty perfect until her boss suddenly turns up dead. Ellice takes is upon herself to try and find out what happened.

This thriller is certainly a wild ride. I would recommend for fans of Alyssa Cole’s When No One Is Watching.

As always, I would love to hear from you. Who are some of your favorite Black authors? Do you have any specific book recommendations you’d think I’d enjoy? Let me know!

Your smitten bookworm, Emily