New Fiction by Black Women

The Vanishing Half

A Novel

By: Brit Bennett
Narrated by: Shayna Small
Length: 11 hours 33 minutes

“The Vanishing Half may go down as one of my favorite books of all time. Brit Bennett's narrative style is engrossing, the constant shift in timeline beyond compelling. But more than that, this is a book that deals with so much - racism, colorism & passing, sexism & domestic abuse, trans rights, family dynamics... the list goes on - with... Read more

Lakewood

A Novel

By: Megan Giddings
Narrated by: Adenrele Ojo
Length: 8 hours 33 minutes

“Lena just lost her grandmother, her mother has health problems and to top of off they are having financial problems. Lena takes a mysterious job in hopes help her mother and to pay off bills. Lakewood takes you into a dark world of medical testing where human rights are disregarded. This whole story felt more than real and makes you question how... Read more

Saving Ruby King

A Novel

By: Catherine Adel West
Narrated by: Kim Staunton, Imani Parks, Ron Butler, Adam Lazarre-White, Lloyd Roberson II & Terra Strong Lyons
Length: 10 hours 14 minutes

“Saving Ruby King is a slow burn—a richly woven three-generation history of two families on the south side of Chicago, bound forever by trauma and religion. A tragic murder in the present unearths secret wrongdoings of the past. Intergenerational trauma is a primary focus, and the given circumstances allow readers to both hate and empathize with... Read more

Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick

Stories from the Harlem Renaissance

By: Zora Neale Hurston
Narrated by: Aunjanue Ellis
Length: 8 hours 57 minutes

“Zora Neale Hurston’s (Their Eyes Were Watching God, Barracoon) body of work continues to grow and impress. In Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick, 21 short stories, including several “lost” pieces depicting the Great Migration to northern cities and Harlem’s educated New Negro middle class, offer an updated perspective of Hurston’s... Read more

The Gone Dead

A Novel

By: Chanelle Benz
Narrated by: Bahni Turpin
Length: 8 hours 6 minutes

“This was so engrossing and just so well done that it made for a compelling read. Billie is grieving and trying to find out what happened to her long dead father in the south, where race relations are still tense. I really liked the parts where she bonded with her family and she hadn’t seen in so many years. And one really got a sense of place,... Read more

We Ride Upon Sticks

A Novel

By: Quan Barry
Narrated by: Isabel Keating
Length: 14 hours 44 minutes

“This is such a fun romp! It has everything you could possibly want in a book: field hockey, witches, and ’80s bangs that have literally taken on a life of their own. Set in Salem in the 1980s, we follow a group of high school field hockey players as they struggle with their new dark powers and attempt to end their losing streak. One of the... Read more

The City We Became

A Novel

The Great Cities: Book #1

By: N. K. Jemisin
Narrated by: Robin Miles
Length: 16 hours 12 minutes

“I love N.K. Jemisin’s books, I love New York City, and I love this book about the soul and personification of New York. The City We Became might just be my favorite book to be published in 2020. This story is filled with tension, humor, and great characters, with a guest appearance near and dear to me. While this book is the beginning of a... Read more

These Ghosts are Family

A Novel

By: Maisy Card
Narrated by: Karl O’Brian Williams
Length: 9 hours 55 minutes

PEN/Hemingway Award For Debut Novel Finalist​
Shortlisted for the 2020 Center for Fiction First Novel Prize

A “rich, ambitious debut novel” (The New York Times Book Review) that reveals the ways in which a Jamaican family forms and fractures over generations, in the tradition of Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi.

Stanford Solomon’s shocking,... Read more

Clap When You Land

By: Elizabeth Acevedo
Narrated by: Elizabeth Acevedo & Melania-Luisa Marte
Length: 5 hours 32 minutes

“This was my first Acevedo, and I'm kicking myself for not having read her sooner. Her spare language is fantastic, especially in the audio version. Read more

Luster

A Novel

By: Raven Leilani
Narrated by: Ariel Blake
Length: 6 hours 39 minutes

“An incredibly unique story, Luster inserts the reader into the head of the novel's protagonist, a young Black woman having an affair with an older white man in an open marriage. Things get complicated when she sneaks into her lover's house and is caught by the wife who then invites her to stay for their anniversary party. Luster is a brilliant... Read more

The Revisioners

A Novel

By: Margaret Wilkerson Sexton
Narrated by: Adenrele Ojo & Myra Lucretia Taylor
Length: 8 hours 23 minutes

Following her National Book Award–nominated debut novel, A Kind of Freedom, Margaret Wilkerson Sexton returns with this equally elegant and historically inspired story of survivors and healers, of black women and their black sons, set in the American South.In 1925, Josephine is the proud owner of a thriving farm. As a child, she channeled... Read more

A Song of Wraiths and Ruin

By: Roseanne A. Brown
Narrated by: Jordan Cobb & A.J Beckles
Length: 12 hours 3 minutes

“You know you can always count me in for a good enemies to lovers trope. But A Song of Wraiths and Ruin is so much more. A true gem of a fantasy that grapples with grief, anxiety, and growing into yourself in an engaging, accessible, and REAL way. The characters are fully fleshed out, and continue to grow as the story evolves - Karina is a true... Read more

Party of Two

By: Jasmine Guillory
Narrated by: Janina Edwards
Length: 9 hours 25 minutes

A chance meeting with a handsome stranger turns into a whirlwind affair that gets everyone talking in this New York Times bestseller. 

Dating is the last thing on Olivia Monroe’s mind when she moves to LA to start her own law firm. But when she meets a gorgeous man at a hotel bar and they spend the entire night flirting, she discovers too late... Read more

The Boyfriend Project

By: Farrah Rochon
Narrated by: Je Nie Fleming
Length: 9 hours 41 minutes

“Smart, steamy, and fun! I listened to this one through Libro.FM and loved everything from the author's voice to the female friendships to the recognition that internet fame is an emotional burden. (I was also deeply amused by the fact that the male lead had lived/worked in Vienna, in the building locals affectionately refer to as "The Toilet... Read more

Transcendent Kingdom

A novel

By: Yaa Gyasi
Narrated by: Bahni Turpin
Length: 8 hours 40 minutes

“Gifty immigrated from Ghana, grew up in Alabama, and is working on a PhD in neuroscience at Stanford, where she experiments with mice. She has always felt she wasn’t cool enough or white enough, and tries to prove her value through her brilliance. She tells her raw and powerful story of racism, addiction, mental illness, and especially faith and... Read more

Grown

By: Tiffany D. Jackson
Narrated by: Joniece Abbott-Pratt
Length: 8 hours 18 minutes

An instant New York Times bestseller! “Grown exposes the underbelly of a tough conversation, providing a searing examination of misogynoir, rape culture, and the vulnerability of young black girls. Groundbreaking, heart-wrenching, and essential reading for all in the #MeToo era.” —Dhonielle Clayton, New York Times bestselling author of The... Read more