Well-Read Black Girl Festival Picks

We're Going to Need More Wine

“Gabrielle Union is smart, funny, articulate and honest. She's also an excellent reader.I loved hearing her takes on growing up in a mostly white town, her experiences in Hollywood, about being in the room where it happens (or not, as the case may be). And, about owning her faults. I would love to sit down and have a glass of wine (or two) with her.”

Audrey, Belmont Books

If you enjoyed The Underground Railroad (Television Tie-in), then you’ll love The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois.

“At 29 hours this one might seem like quite a commitment, but after traveling the century with them, you’ll deeply miss the echoes of the voices of Ailey and Belle and even good old Uncle Root.”

Angie, The Country Bookshop

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 »

“A hero’s tale of what’s possible when we unlock our potential, continue the search for knowledge, and draw on our lived experiences to guide us through the darkest moments.”—Stacey Abrams

From a Black, gay woman who broke into the boys’ club of Silicon Valley comes an empowering guide to finding your voice, working your way into any room you... Read more »

LOS ANGELES TIMES BOOK PRIZE FINALIST • NAACP IMAGE AWARD NOMINEE • A “powerful and devastating” (The Washington Post) call to free those buried alive by America’s legal system, and an inspiring true story about unwavering belief in humanity—from a gifted young lawyer and important new voice in the movement to transform the system.

“An essential... Read more »

Explores the Black activist’s ideas and political strategies, highlighting their relevance for tackling modern social issues including voter suppression, police violence, and economic inequality.

“We have a long fight and this fight is not mine alone, but you are not free whether you are white or black, until I am free.”—Fannie Lou Hamer

A... Read more »

"Author and narrator Asha Bromfield offers an engrossing performance of this coming-of-age audiobook. Bromfield's experience as an actress and her ease with Jamaican Patois will draw listeners into a story that has multiple levels of emotional intensity." -- AudioFile Magazine

This program is read by the author, and includes a bonus conversation... Read more »

Dear Miss Metropolitan

“This novel is, in a word, heartbreaking. Dear Miss Metropolitan is going right to the top of my recommendation list for 2021.”

Kelsey Jagneaux, Tombolo Books

Rise to the Sun

“Leah Johnson is officially an auto-buy for me. I honest to goodness could not stop marking this book, nor did I realize just how much I needed it. From the off, Toni and Olivia's journeys were some sort of catharsis, healing my soul even after only two chapters. By the end, my eyes were run over and my cheeks were salty. This one's for the musicians. This one's for everyone who's been missing the way live music grabs you and won't let go. This one's for the lonely-hearted and those who've been told they're too big. And believe me when I say, you're going to want to shed tears while listening too.”

Britt, Second Star to the Right

“Hear the dark liquor of her laughter rippling behind her sentences” in this magnetic memoir as it explores a journalist’s obsession with pop culture and the difficulty of navigating relationships as a Black woman through fanfiction, feminism, and Southern mores (Saeed Jones). 

A Roxane Gay Audacious Bookclub November Pick
Named "Most Anticipated... Read more »

When Cassandra Lane finds herself pregnant at thirty-five, the knowledge sends her on a poignant exploration of memory to prepare for her entry into motherhood. She moves between the twentieth-century rural South and present-day Los Angeles, reimagining the intimate life of her great-grandparents Mary Magdelene Magee and Burt Bridges, and Burt’s... Read more »

The Secret Lives of Church Ladies

“In this powerful anthology we are introduced to a diverse cast of characters, each with their own distinct voice and troubles. Through them we explore the complexities & expectations of womanhood, the challenges of love & relationships, and how these topics impact their lives within church culture. Full of moving, delicious language that will have you begging for more.”

Courtney, Auburn Oil Co. Booksellers

Revival Season

“In Revival Season, 15-year-old Miriam Horton's eyes are opened to the complexities of spirituality and the depraved nature of humans, including one who she admires the most: her own father, an Evangelical Baptist preacher who plans revival circuits every summer. After witnessing her father violently react to a man who questions his ability to heal, Miriam's world is turned upside-down. And then we have a front-row seat to the downward spiral of her father's confidence and his treatment of others. She realizes that her father has developed a God-complex, and that his healings have become unsuccessful because he has begun to believe in himself more than God. In the midst of her father's crisis, Miriam grapples with the discovery of her own gifts and the tension between wanting to use her gifts to do God's work, and her father's conviction that women are unfit for such work.As someone who grew up around Southern Evangelical churches, this book was a page-turner for me as I rooted for Miriam to discover her own unique gifts, and to use her voice despite being stifled by her father and the church.”

Allison, The Snail on the Wall

AN INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

"A charming, wholehearted love story that's sure to make readers swoon."—Entertainment Weekly

"Nicola Yoon writes from the heart in this beautiful love story."—Good Morning America

“It’s like an emotional gut punch—so beautiful and also heart-wrenching."—US Weekly

In this romantic page-turner from the... Read more »