Black Authors

The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store

By: James McBride

Narrated by: Dominic Hoffman

Length: 12 hours 21 minutes

Abridged: No

THE RUNAWAY NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK • A NEW YORK TIMES READERS PICK: 100 BEST BOOKS OF THE 21ST CENTURY

WINNER OF THE 2024 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS PRIZE FOR AMERICAN FICTION

FROM ONE OF TIME MAGAZINE'S 100 MOST INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE OF 2024

NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY NPR/FRESH AIR, WASHINGTON POST, THE NEW YORKER, AND... Read more

Parable of the Sower

By: Octavia E. Butler

Narrated by: Lynne Thigpen

Length: 12 hours 2 minutes

Abridged: No

Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author Octavia E. Butler paints a stunning portrait of an all-too-believable near future. As with Kindred and her other critically-acclaimed novels, Parable of the Sower skillfully combines startling visionary and socially realistic concepts. God is change. That is the central truth of the Earthseed movement, whose... Read more

The Vanishing Half

By: Brit Bennett

Narrated by: Shayna Small

Length: 11 hours 33 minutes

Abridged: No

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

ONE OF BARACK OBAMA'S FAVORITE BOOKS OF THE YEAR

NAMED A BEST BOOK OF 2020 BY THE NEW YORK TIMES • THE WASHINGTON POST • NPR • PEOPLE • TIME MAGAZINE • VANITY FAIR • GLAMOUR

New York Times Readers Pick: 100 Best Books of the 21st Century

2021 WOMEN'S PRIZE FINALIST

“Bennett’s tone and style recalls James Baldwin and... Read more

The Dead Cat Tail Assassins

By: P. Djèlí Clark

Narrated by: Lynnette R. Freeman

Length: 7 hours 22 minutes

Abridged: No

Eveen the Eviscerator is skilled, discreet, professional, and here for your most pressing needs in the ancient city of Tal Abisi. Her guild is strong, her blades are sharp, and her rules are simple. Those sworn to the Matron of Assassins—resurrected, deadly, wiped of their memories—have only three unbreakable vows.First, the contract must be... Read more

How to Be an Antiracist

By: Ibram X. Kendi

Narrated by: Ibram X. Kendi

Length: 10 hours 29 minutes

Abridged: No

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the National Book Award–winning author of Stamped from the Beginning comes a “groundbreaking” (Time) approach to understanding and uprooting racism and inequality in our society and in ourselves—now updated, with a new preface.

“The most courageous book to date on the problem of race in the Western mind.”—The... Read more

There's Always This Year

By: Hanif Abdurraqib

Narrated by: Hanif Abdurraqib

Length: 8 hours 40 minutes

Abridged: No

LONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD • #1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A “powerful” (The Guardian) reflection on basketball, life, and home—from the author of the National Book Award finalist A Little Devil in America

“Mesmerizing . . . not only the most original sports book I’ve ever read but one of the most moving books I’ve ever read,... Read more

A Promised Land

By: Barack Obama

Narrated by: Barack Obama

Length: 29 hours 9 minutes

Abridged: No

A riveting, deeply personal account of history in the making—from the president who inspired us to believe in the power of democracy

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NAACP IMAGE AWARD NOMINEE • NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW AND PEOPLE

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The Washington Post •... Read more

Immortal Dark

By: Tigest Girma

Narrated by: Jordan Cobb

Length: 17 hours 1 minute

Abridged: No

"Entirely irresistible. Immortal Dark takes the best parts of vampire lore and brings the undying, violent enmity to full throttle. Tigest Girma pushes morally gray fantasy exactly where it needs to go, and you won’t be able to look away." ―Chloe Gong, #1 New York Times bestselling author of These Violent Delights

Preorder now and receive the... Read more

Finding Me

By: Viola Davis

Narrated by: Viola Davis

Length: 9 hours 15 minutes

Abridged: No

Winner of the 2023 Grammy for Best Audio Book, Narration, and Storytelling Recording!Audie Award Winner for Audiobook of the Year!Narrated by Viola DavisIn my book, you will meet a little girl named Viola who ran from her past until she made a life-changing decision to stop running forever.This is my story, from a crumbling apartment in Central... Read more

Legendborn

By: Tracy Deonn

Narrated by: Joniece Abbott-Pratt

Length: 18 hours 54 minutes

Abridged: No

An Instant New York Times Bestseller!
Winner of the Coretta Scott King - John Steptoe for New Talent Author Award

Filled with mystery and an intriguingly rich magic system, Tracy Deonn’s YA contemporary fantasy reinvents the King Arthur legend and “braids together Southern folk traditions and Black Girl Magic into a searing modern tale of grief,... Read more

Caste (Oprah's Book Club)

By: Isabel Wilkerson

Narrated by: Robin Miles

Length: 15 hours 10 minutes

Abridged: No

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NEW YORK TIMES READERS PICK: 100 BEST BOOKS OF THE 21st CENTURY • OPRAH’S BOOK CLUB PICK • “An instant American classic and almost certainly the keynote nonfiction book of the American century thus far.”—Dwight Garner, The New York Times

The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Warmth of Other Suns examines the... Read more

Becoming

By: Michelle Obama

Narrated by: Michelle Obama

Length: 19 hours 1 minute

Abridged: No

An intimate, powerful, and inspiring memoir by the former First Lady of the United States
 
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • WATCH THE EMMY-NOMINATED NETFLIX ORIGINAL DOCUMENTARY • OPRAH’S BOOK CLUB PICK • NAACP IMAGE AWARD WINNER • ONE OF ESSENCE’S 50 MOST IMPACTFUL BLACK BOOKS OF THE PAST 50 YEARS

In a life filled with meaning and accomplishment,... Read more

The Fifth Season

By: N. K. Jemisin

Narrated by: Robin Miles

Length: 15 hours 27 minutes

Abridged: No

At the end of the world, a woman must hide her secret power and find her kidnapped daughter in this "intricate and extraordinary" Hugo Award winning novel of power, oppression, and revolution. (The New York Times)

This is the way the world ends. . .for the last time.

It starts with the great red rift across the heart of the world's sole continent,... Read more

Chain Gang All Stars: A Read with Jenna Pick

By: Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

Narrated by: Shayna Small, Aaron Goodson, Michael Crouch & L...

Length: 13 hours 38 minutes

Abridged: No

A NEW YORK TIMES TOP TEN BOOK OF THE YEAR • FINALIST FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD IN FICTION • A READ WITH JENNA BOOK CLUB PICK • NATIONAL BESTSELLER • Two top women gladiators fight for their freedom within a depraved private prison system not so far-removed from America’s own in this explosive, hotly-anticipated debut novel from the New York... Read more

Lovely One

By: Ketanji Brown Jackson

Narrated by: Ketanji Brown Jackson

Length: 18 hours 26 minutes

Abridged: No

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In her “vulnerable, tender, and infinitely inspirational” (Oprah Daily) memoir, the first Black woman to ever be appointed to the Supreme Court of the United States chronicles her extraordinary life story.

“A billowingly triumphant American tale.”—The New York Times Book Review (Editors’ Choice)

A NEW YORK TIMES... Read more

Get a Life, Chloe Brown

By: Talia Hibbert

Narrated by: Adjoa Andoh

Length: 10 hours 41 minutes

Abridged: No

“Absolutely charming... a flawless balance of humor, heat, sweetness, and depth, and I loved every page.” – Helen Hoang, USA Today bestselling author of The Bride TestTalia Hibbert, one of contemporary romance’s brightest new stars, delivers a witty, hilarious romantic comedy about a woman who’s tired of being “boring” and recruits her... Read more

The City We Became

By: N. K. Jemisin

Narrated by: Robin Miles

Length: 16 hours 12 minutes

Abridged: No

Three-time Hugo Award-winning and New York Times bestselling author N.K. Jemisin crafts her most incredible novel yet, a "glorious" story of culture, identity, magic, and myths in contemporary New York City.

In Manhattan, a young grad student gets off the train and realizes he doesn't remember who he is, where he's from, or even his own name. But... Read more

Hood Feminism

By: Mikki Kendall

Narrated by: Mikki Kendall

Length: 6 hours 57 minutes

Abridged: No

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

“The fights against hunger, homelessness, poverty, health disparities, poor schools, homophobia, transphobia, and domestic violence are feminist fights. Kendall offers a feminism rooted in the livelihood of everyday women.” —Ibram X. Kendi, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of  How to Be an Antiracist, in The... Read more

Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You

By: Jason Reynolds & Ibram X. Kendi

Narrated by: Jason Reynolds

Length: 4 hours 11 minutes

Abridged: No

The #1 New York Times bestseller and a USAToday bestseller!
A timely, crucial, and empowering exploration of racism--and antiracism--in America

This is NOT a history book.
This is a book about the here and now.
A book to help us better understand why we are where we are.
A book about race.

The construct of race has always been used to gain and keep... Read more

Sharks Don't Sink

By: Jasmin Graham

Narrated by: Jasmin Graham

Length: 6 hours 1 minute

Abridged: No

The uplifting story of a young Black scientist’s challenging journey to flourish outside the traditional confines of academia, inspired by her innate connection to nature’s most misunderstood animal—the shark.

"Jasmin Graham has that winning combination of talent and grit needed to excel as a scientist. Every girl who wants to be a marine... Read more

The Light We Carry

By: Michelle Obama

Narrated by: Michelle Obama

Length: 9 hours 58 minutes

Abridged: No

2024 Grammy® Award Winner • #1 NEW YORK TIMES AND USA TODAY BESTSELLER • In an inspiring follow-up to her acclaimed memoir Becoming, former First Lady Michelle Obama shares practical wisdom and powerful strategies for staying hopeful and balanced in today’s highly uncertain world.
 
There may be no tidy solutions or pithy answers to life’s big... Read more

Let Us Descend

By: Jesmyn Ward

Narrated by: Jesmyn Ward

Length: 8 hours 12 minutes

Abridged: No

OPRAH’S BOOK CLUB PICK • Instant New York Times Bestseller • Named one of the best books of 2023 by The Washington Post, Vanity Fair, The Boston Globe, Time, The New Yorker, and more.

“Nothing short of epic, magical, and intensely moving.” —Vogue • “A novel of triumph.” —The Washington Post • “Harrowing, immersive, and other-worldly.” —People
... Read more

Music Is History

By: Ben Greenman & Questlove

Narrated by: Questlove

Length: 11 hours

Abridged: No

A New York Times bestseller, Music Is History combines multi–Grammy Award winner Questlove’s deep musical expertise with his curiosity about history, examining America over the past fifty years.Focusing on the years 1971 to the present, Questlove finds the hidden connections in the American tapestry, whether investigating how the blaxploitation... 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