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The Power of Voice: Celebrating Black Authors

sarah

by Camden Collins

“If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.” -Toni Morrison

The kid in this photo is an absolute nerd! Don’t worry, I can say that – she is me. And, I love being a nerd. I spent my Camden Montessori days reading anything I could get my hands on. When I wasn’t nose down in a book, I had a pen (or crayon) in-hand, writing some fantastical story only the mind of a child could imagine. I don’t remember a time in my life where I didn’t love books or writing.

In grade school, I read all the classics: Emerson, Poe, Dickenson, Witman, Twain, Steinbeck, Wharton, etc.  I believe I was in the seventh grade when I noticed a glaring revelation: The majority of the writers that we studied were men (I’m a woman), and all of them were… well, they didn’t look like me.  As a biracial/black kid going up in the South it wasn’t until February that authors of color were featured in our curriculum. If it wasn’t for the very strong worldly women in my life, I would have had a limited scope of black culture within the literary and art community. Because of writers like Morrison, Hurston, Wilson, Oyeyemi, and Gill, I was able to see people like me be successful, and as a result I found fuel for my voice.  

In preparation for Black History Month, I knew I wanted to write a blog about black authors, but I wasn’t sure of who to feature. So I reached out to our #tldrwriters community for their suggestions, and they responded in a big way! I was surprised, taken aback even, that so many authors were modern ones. What I was most impressed by was the amount of fellow nerds out there! I found our readers REALLY enjoy their sci-fi and fantasy, but I received suggestions for everything from humor, romance and horror to graphic novels.

Below are the results of our discussion (in no ranked order).  These are 14 works by black authors you should definitely check out. These writers share their experiences and stories in their own voices and serve as inspiration for emerging writers of color whose stories are not yet written.

If you’re a black writer out there reading this post… Get to work, and share your story. I assure you some young child is waiting to be inspired and see themselves in your words. Just some advice from a nerd who grew up with a pen in hand and now has a loud and proud voice.

1. Black Leopard, Red Wolf (The Dark Star Trilogy) by Marlon James

 

2. Children of Blood and Bone (Legacy of Orisha) by Tomi Adeyemi

 

3. Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor

 

4. The Killing Moon by N.K. Jemisin

 

5. Kindred by Octavia Butler

 

6. Falling in Love With Hominids by Nalo Hopkinson

 

7. Dear Ijeawele by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

 

8. So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo

 

9. The Hate You Give by Angie Thomas

    • Teen / Young Adult Fiction
    • Amazon

 

10. White is For Witching by Helen Oyeyemi

 

11. Born a Crime by Trevor Noah

 

12. Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes

 

13. Let’s Play White by Chesya Burke

 

14. Strange Fruit by Joel Christian Gill

    • Historical / Graphic Novel
    • Amazon

 

 

 

TL;DR press would like to thank our Co-Founder/Print Production Manager/Charity Director, Camden M. Collins, for this guest blog. You can find her on twitter @CamdenMCollins.

Join In!

Want to join in the discussion as well as workshops, beta swaps, write-ins, and a chance to connect daily with a talented group of writers? Apply to join the #tldrwriters Slack group!

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