Black Authors
Listen to audiobooks by Black authors.
The House of Hidden Meanings
By: RuPaul
Narrated by: RuPaul
Length: 7 hours 7 minutes
Abridged: No
***An Instant #1 New York Times Bestseller!***From international drag superstar and pop culture icon RuPaul, comes his most revealing and personal work to date--a deeply intimate memoir of discovery, found family, and self-acceptance. The House of Hidden Meanings is a self-portrait of the legendary icon on the road to global fame and changing... Read more
View audiobookThe House of Eve
By: Sadeqa Johnson
Narrated by: Ariel Blake, Nicole Lewis & Sadeqa Johnson
Length: 10 hours 37 minutes
Abridged: No
“Amazing…I was completely surprised by the ending of this beautifully told and written book.” —Reese Witherspoon
“A triumph of historical fiction” (The Washington Post), an instant New York Times bestseller, and a Reese’s Book Club pick, set in 1950s Philadelphia and Washington, DC, that explores what it means to be a woman and a mother, and how... Read more
The Bluest Eye
By: Toni Morrison
Narrated by: Toni Morrison
Length: 7 hours 5 minutes
Abridged: No
The Bluest Eye, published in 1970, is the first novel written by Toni Morrison, winner of the 1993 Nobel Prize in Literature.
It is the story of eleven-year-old Pecola Breedlove--a black girl in an America whose love for its blond, blue-eyed children can devastate all others--who prays for her eyes to turn blue: so that she will be beautiful, so... Read more
Cobalt Red
By: Siddharth Kara
Narrated by: Peter Ganim
Length: 11 hours 20 minutes
Abridged: No
This program includes an author's note read by the author.
An unflinching investigation reveals the human rights abuses behind the Congo’s cobalt mining operation—and the moral implications that affect us all.
Cobalt Red is the searing, first-ever exposé of the immense toll taken on the people and environment of the Democratic Republic of the... Read more
When No One Is Watching
By: Alyssa Cole
Narrated by: Susan Dalian & Jay Aaseng
Length: 8 hours 54 minutes
Abridged: No
""I was knocked over by the momentum of an intense psychological thriller that doesn’t let go until the final page. This is a terrific read."" – Alafair Burke, New York Times bestselling author
Rear Window meets Get Out in this gripping thriller from a critically acclaimed and New York Times Notable author, in which the gentrification of a... Read more
The Shadowed Sun
By: N. K. Jemisin
Narrated by: Sarah Zimmerman
Length: 17 hours 55 minutes
Abridged: No
In the final book of NYT bestselling and three time Hugo-Award winning author N. K. Jemisin's Dreamblood Duology, a priestess and an exiled prince must join together to free the city of dreams from imperial rule.
Gujaareh, the city of dreams, suffers under the imperial rule of the Kisuati Protectorate. A city where the only law was peace now... Read more
The Violin Conspiracy
By: Brendan Slocumb
Narrated by: JD Jackson & Brendan Slocumb
Length: 12 hours 4 minutes
Abridged: No
GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK! • Ray McMillian is a Black classical musician on the rise—undeterred by the pressure and prejudice of the classical music world—when a shocking theft sends him on a desperate quest to recover his great-great-grandfather’s heirloom violin on the eve of the most prestigious musical competition in the world.
“I... Read more
The Neighbor Favor
By: Kristina Forest
Narrated by: Keylor Leigh & Malik Rashad
Length: 10 hours 6 minutes
Abridged: No
A shy bookworm enlists her charming neighbor to help her score a date, not knowing he’s the obscure author she’s been corresponding with, in this sparkling and heart-fluttering romance by Kristina Forest.
Shy, bookish, and admittedly awkward, Lily Greene has always felt inadequate compared to the rest of her accomplished family, who strive for... Read more
Parable of the Talents
By: Octavia E. Butler
Narrated by: Patricia R. Floyd, Sisi Aisha Johnson & Peter J...
Length: 15 hours 28 minutes
Abridged: No
Best-selling author Octavia E. Butler's acclaimed novels have won numerous awards, and she is a recipient of a "genius" grant from the MacArthur Foundation. Parable of the Talents was selected as one of the best books of the year by Publishers Weekly. Environmental devastation and economic chaos have turned America into a land of horrifying... Read more
View audiobookJust Mercy
By: Bryan Stevenson
Narrated by: Bryan Stevenson
Length: 11 hours 10 minutes
Abridged: No
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE STARRING MICHAEL B. JORDAN AND JAMIE FOXX • A powerful true story about the potential for mercy to redeem us, and a clarion call to fix our broken system of justice—from one of the most brilliant and influential lawyers of our time.
“[Bryan Stevenson’s] dedication to fighting for justice... Read more
Transcendent Kingdom
By: Yaa Gyasi
Narrated by: Bahni Turpin
Length: 8 hours 40 minutes
Abridged: No
NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • A TODAY SHOW #ReadWithJenna BOOK CLUB PICK! • Finalist for the WOMEN'S PRIZE
Yaa Gyasi's stunning follow-up to her acclaimed national best seller Homegoing is a powerful, raw, intimate, deeply layered novel about a Ghanaian family in Alabama.
Gifty is a sixth-year PhD candidate in neuroscience at the Stanford... Read more
Their Eyes Were Watching God
By: Zora Neale Hurston
Narrated by: Ruby Dee
Length: 6 hours 44 minutes
Abridged: No
“A deeply soulful novel that comprehends love and cruelty, and separates the big people from the small of heart, without ever losing sympathy for those unfortunates who don’t know how to live properly.” —Zadie SmithOne of the most important and enduring books of the twentieth century, Their Eyes Were Watching God brings to life a Southern love... Read more
View audiobookAll That She Carried
By: Tiya Miles
Narrated by: Janina Edwards
Length: 9 hours 29 minutes
Abridged: No
NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER • NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A renowned historian traces the life of a single object handed down through three generations of Black women to craft a “deeply layered and insightful” (The Washington Post) testament to people who are left out of the archives.
WINNER: Frederick Douglass Book Prize, Harriet Tubman Prize,... Read more
The Sum of Us
By: Heather McGhee
Narrated by: Heather McGhee
Length: 11 hours 8 minutes
Abridged: No
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • LONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD • One of today’s most insightful and influential thinkers offers a powerful exploration of inequality and the lesson that generations of Americans have failed to learn: Racism has a cost for everyone—not just for people of color.
WINNER OF THE PORCHLIGHT BUSINESS BOOK AWARD • ONE... Read more
The Darkest Child
By: Delores Phillips
Narrated by: Bahni Turpin
Length: 15 hours 22 minutes
Abridged: No
A new edition of this award-winning modern classic, with a new introduction In 1958 Georgia, the shade of a 13-year-old black girl's skin can make the difference in her fate. Tangy Mae is the smartest of her mother's ten children, but she is also the darkest-complected. The Quinns-all different skin shades, all with unknown fathers-live with... Read more
View audiobookAct Your Age, Eve Brown
By: Talia Hibbert
Narrated by: Ione Butler
Length: 10 hours 51 minutes
Abridged: No
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERIn Talia Hibbert’s newest rom-com, the flightiest Brown sister crashes into the life of an uptight B&B owner and has him falling hard—literally.Featured on Parade, PopSugar, Marie Claire, Oprah Mag, Bustle, Shondaland, CNN.com, Kirkus Magazine, Vulture, Bookpage, USA Today, Bookish, Bookriot, and more!Eve... Read more
View audiobookFour Hundred Souls
By: Ibram X. Kendi & Keisha N. Blain
Narrated by: Various
Length: 14 hours 1 minute
Abridged: No
A chorus of extraordinary voices comes together to tell one of history’s great epics: the four-hundred-year journey of African Americans from 1619 to the present—edited by Ibram X. Kendi, author of How to Be an Antiracist, and Keisha N. Blain, author of Set the World on Fire.
The story begins in 1619—a year before the Mayflower—when the White Lion... Read more
D'Vaughn and Kris Plan a Wedding
By: Chencia C. Higgins
Narrated by: Rebecca Lee
Length: 8 hours 47 minutes
Abridged: No
Instant I Do could be Kris Zavala’s big break. She’s right on the cusp of really making it as an influencer, so a stint on reality TV is the perfect chance to elevate her brand. And $100,000 wouldn’t hurt either. D’Vaughn Miller is just trying to break out of her shell. She’s sort of neglected to come out to her mom for years, so a big splashy... Read more
View audiobookThe Other Black Girl
By: Zakiya Dalila Harris
Narrated by: Aja Naomi King, Joniece Abbott-Pratt, Heather A...
Length: 13 hours 33 minutes
Abridged: No
Now a Hulu Original Series
“Riveting, fearless, and vividly original” (Emily St. John Mandel, New York Times bestselling author), this instant New York Times bestseller explores the tension that unfurls when two young Black women meet against the starkly white backdrop of New York City book publishing.
Twenty-six-year-old editorial assistant... Read more
Heavy
By: Kiese Laymon
Narrated by: Kiese Laymon
Length: 6 hours 17 minutes
Abridged: No
*Named a Best Book of the Year by The New York Times, Publishers Weekly, NPR, Broadly, Buzzfeed (Nonfiction), The Undefeated, Library Journal (Biography/Memoirs), The Washington Post (Nonfiction), Southern Living (Southern), Entertainment Weekly, and The New York Times Critics*
In this powerful, provocative, and universally lauded memoir—winner... Read more
Honey Girl
By: Morgan Rogers
Narrated by: York Whitaker
Length: 10 hours 11 minutes
Abridged: No
Named Most Anticipated of 2021 by Oprah Magazine * Marie Claire * Ms. Magazine * E! * Parade Magazine * Buzzfeed * Cosmo * The Rumpus * GoodReads * Autostraddle * Brit & Co * Refinery29 * Betches * BookRiot and others!
A LibraryReads Pick
“HONEY GIRL is an emotional, heartfelt, charming debut, and I loved every moment of it.”
— Jasmine... Read more
Inciting Joy
By: Ross Gay
Narrated by: Ross Gay
Length: 8 hours 20 minutes
Abridged: No
An intimate and electrifying collection of essays from the New York Times bestselling author of The Book of Delights
In these gorgeously written and timely pieces, prize-winning poet and author Ross Gay considers the joy we incite when we care for each other, especially during life’s inevitable hardships. Throughout Inciting Joy, he explores... Read more
What the Fireflies Knew
By: Kai Harris
Narrated by: Zenzi Williams
Length: 8 hours 35 minutes
Abridged: No
An NAACP Image Award Nominee
Longlisted for the Center for Fiction's First Novel Prize
A Marie Claire Book Club pick
Named a Most Anticipated Book of 2022 by *Marie Claire* *Teen Vogue* *Buzzfeed* *Essence* *Ms. Magazine* *NBCNews.com* *Bookriot* *Bookbub* and more!
“Harris rewrites the coming-of-age story with Black girlhood at the center.”
—New... Read more
You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey
By: Amber Ruffin & Lacey Lamar
Narrated by: Amber Ruffin & Lacey Lamar
Length: 5 hours 21 minutes
Abridged: No
Writer and performer on Late Night with Seth Meyers Amber Ruffin writes with her sister Lacey Lamar with humor and heart to share absurd anecdotes about everyday experiences of racism.
Now a writer and performer on Late Night with Seth Meyers and host of The Amber Ruffin Show, Amber Ruffin lives in New York, where she is no one's First Black... Read more
Bookstore Map
Discover Black, Latine, Indigenous, API, LGBTQIA+, Disabled, and author-owned bookstores to support today by using the filters on our Bookstore Map.
See the map