Ten Black Authored Books To Read Now That Black History Month Is Over

A Black authored book for each remaining month of 2025

Black History Month, to me, has always felt like a constraint on the consumption of Black culture; Black art, Black movies, Black books… Black history are all binged within this month while largely ignored throughout the rest of the year. While I appreciate the intent of the month, and the spotlight it brings, I think that spotlight is too small, and it is too often aimed at the things that aren’t as beneficial to Black progress as one might believe. When it comes to fiction during Black History Month, the books given the spotlight tend to revolve around slavery, Black struggle, and Black trauma, creating the stereotype that Black books only cover the abovementioned limited range of subject matter. And that’s just not true. There are so many books by Black authors covering a wide range of subject matter, across a plethora of genres. It is my hope that these books are more often explored throughout the year, so I’ve made a list of ten Black authored books for the ten remaining months of 2025, each with subject matter that relates to a theme or relevant occasion occurring during the month it has been assigned to. A Black Authored book for every month.

March: Women’s History Month

The Good House by Tananarive Due

I’m always hesitant to read a book about a house, because it often feels like if you’ve read one haunted house story, you’ve read them all. But this is as unique and well thought out a haunted house story as I can recall reading. Half history lesson, half haunting, The Good House is so much more than just a tale of ghosts. We follow a mother whose life has fallen apart after a recent tragedy at her family’s home. She returns to that home to confront what happened there, only to find herself in a battle of wills against an entity determined to destroy her. Due meshes Haitian and West African mythology with mysticism to create a magical book that I wish was talked about far more than it is.

April: Earth Month

The Lilith’s Brood/Xenogenesis Trilogy: Dawn, Adulthood Rites, and Imago by Octavia E. Butler

The Lilith’s Brood series includes some of the weirdest sci-fi I’ve ever read. And some of the most brilliant. Humans have nearly annihilated each other and have destroyed the planet in the process. The only hope of survival for humanity comes in the form of a highly intelligent and heavily tentacled alien species called the Oankali, who specialize in trading and combining the genes of other sentient species with their own. They are able to save what remains of humanity but will only do so to change the biology of human beings and alter what humanity is forever. Full disclosure, I am currently reading Imago, which is book three of the Lilith’s Brood/Xenogenesis saga, so I can’t say how I feel about the entire series yet, but I will say that books one and two offer some of the most interesting and informative sci-fi I’ve read thus far. While not exactly action-packed, this series is far from dull, as we navigate a post-apocalyptic existence that is as alien as it is human. And we investigate the nature of humanity and our self-destructive tendencies.

May: Haitian Heritage Month

The Black God’s Drums by P. Djèlí Clark

How does a story about an alternate reality that takes us back to the American Civil War, and revolves around the fictionalized events of the Haitian Slave Revolt make it on to a list that is supposed to avoid Black struggle and trauma? Because P. Djèlí Clark’s The Black God’s Drums focuses on this subject matter not from the perspective of Black inferiority and victimhood, but from Black strength and ingenuity. This steampunk setting is also used as a backdrop to showcase the awesomeness of Haitian and West African mythology, which I badly wanted more of. The story follows Creeper, a young vagabond in an alternate 1884 New Orleans. As the Crescent City is on the brink of being destroyed by a weapon which was critical to the Haitian Revolt, Creeper has to use all of her resources to save New Orleans, including those of a Godly nature. If you appreciate or are curious about mythology from a perspective and culture that isn’t familiar to you, you might want to give this one a go.

June: Pride Month

Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby

I was hesitant to use Razorblade Tears as my selection for Pride Month. While it does center around several characters in the 2SLGBTQI+ community, it also centers around trauma. If I have grown weary of trauma in Black authored books, I feel it’s safe to assume that many people in the 2SLGBTQI+ community are tired of their trauma being exploited as well. But I do feel there is a place for these specific traumas in books when presented in a way that is not exploitative, and when the trauma is necessary to a story that helps put the traumatized group’s experience into better perspective for readers. I feel that this is what Cosby did with Razorblade Tears, a story that follows two homophobic fathers during their quest for revenge after the murder of their sons – a recently married couple with a child. This is an important book that anyone would benefit from reading. Oh, and it’s wild as hell.

July: American Independence

The Earthseed Duology: The Parable of the Sower, and The Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler

Octavia E. Butler makes the list again with her dystopian duology set in a broken United States of America. The Earthseed series is a lot of things, one of which is a scathing look at the direction Butler believed America was headed. And based on everything going on today, her outlook on the American future, bleak as it was, was almost prescient at times. Butler paints a picture of a dismally dark United States, where violence, robbery, arson, rape, human trafficking, slavery, and all kinds of general lawlessness are the norm. This is, at times, a difficult series to read because of how raw and violent Butler’s writing is. But this story is worth the discomfort because of what is says about humanity and where we might be headed.

Not so fun fact: Butler had imagined the Earthseed series being seven books long, and had started the third book, Parable of the Trickster. Unfortunately, years of writer’s block before her untimely death stopped her from completing her vision.

August: National Fishing Month (Canada and The United Kingdom)

The Fishermen by Chigozie Obioma

I will never stop singing the praises of Chigozie Obioma for writing this brilliant book, which immediately became one of my favourites. The Fishermen is a story about four Nigerian brothers, and their forbidden adventures of fishing in a river they have been warned is cursed. One of those brothers eventually carries that curse home with them. And things get insane after that. This is a book that allows you to learn of the differences of another culture while appreciating similarities you might not have considered. For me, being from Nigeria, I appreciated seeing in fiction many of the traditions and customs I grew up with. And I am glad Obioma was able to share those with the world surrounded by this highly emotional and entertaining tale.

September: Back to School

Where Sleeping Girls Lie by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé

I read Where Sleeping Girls Lie by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé entirely because of the cover. To be fair, I read almost every book because of the cover, due to the fact that I don’t often read synopses (they’re too spoiler-y). So I was not expecting a Young Adult Mystery set in a boarding school in England when I picked this one up. Still, I enjoyed my visit to Alfred Noble Academy, where a student has gone missing and only her roommate, and best friend seem to care what might have happened to her. Where Sleeping Girls Lie is a bit of an education on being a modern day teenager, and how dark things can get at that age. It made me glad that I’m not a youth living in this digital world. If you enjoy a whodunit with soap opera levels of drama, and a cast of colourful characters, you might want to give this one a go.

October: Spooky Season

The Spite House by Johnny Compton

I hinted at my feelings above when I described The Good House by Tananarive Due, but the plain truth of the matter is I’ve been tired of haunted house movies and stories for years. That’s blasphemy for a horror writer and horror fan to say, I know. But there are so many of them. And most of the time the solution to these hauntings is to just leave the house, call up the realtor who arranged the purchase of said house, and tell them a mistake has been made. Despite my reservations regarding the subgenre, I was intrigued by all the hype around The Spite House by Johnny Compton. So, when I found the ebook on sale one day, I decided to put my prejudices towards haunted houses aside, and I went into The Spite House with an open mind. I wasn’t disappointed. The nature of the haunting is unique, as is the house the haunting occurs in; there is a mystery throughout this story that is wonderfully twisty, and this book taught me something new: Spite houses are a real thing. They are odd or irregular houses built completely out of spite by people who want to piss off their neighbours. I have to appreciate that level of pettiness, just as I appreciated this haunted house story.

A few spite houses across America. Collage courtesy of weburbanist.com

November: Children’s Month

Lucretia and the Kroons by Victor Lavalle

Every once in a while, you stumble upon a story that reminds you of what it was like to be a child, and how big and scary everything could be during that time. Victor Lavalle’s Lucretia and the Kroons is one of those stories. An early publication of Lavalle’s, this is a wildly imaginative tale that touches on the ups and downs of childhood, and the power of a young friendship in the face of true monstrosities.

December: Winter Tales

Us in Pieces: Stories of Shattered Souls by Felix I.D. Dimaro

Okay, I’m not usually the type to insert one of my own books into a list like this, but I have yet to read a winter or holiday related book by a Black author. Which is why, when I was stuck on an option for December, I remembered that I am a Black author, and my book, Us in Pieces: Stories of Shattered Souls, happens to be a collection of four interconnected stories, all of which are set in the winter. This is a broken novel following the misadventures of a pair of wayward outcasts, and the path of destruction that is their lives during their decades together. Us in Pieces happens to be one of the best things I’ve ever written while also being my biggest disappointment. I had no clue how to market this book without spoiling it (and thus no idea how to market it at all), resulting in Us in Pieces falling into obscurity pretty quickly after being released. Please pardon this bit of shameless self promotion as I attempt to get eyes on a book I am always hoping more people discover.

Thanks For Reading!

There you have it, a Black authored book for every remaining month of 2025. I’ll be reviewing each of these stories in more detail at the end of each month over on Patreon. I hope you check them out and share your thoughts. If you have any Black authored book recommendations (not revolving around Black trauma) feel free to leave them in the comments. And feel free to share your non-spoiler-y thoughts about any of the books listed above. Happy reading!