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10 titles that deserve a spot on your TBR this Black History Month
Black History Month in the UK is a time to celebrate the stories, achievements, and cultural contributions of Black people throughout history and today. One of the most powerful ways to deepen our understanding is through books that educate, inspire, and challenge perspectives. From powerful memoirs and groundbreaking historical accounts to thought-provoking novels and contemporary voices, these reads offer insight into the rich and diverse experiences of Black communities in Britain and beyond. Whether you're looking to learn something new, reflect on untold histories, or discover compelling stories, this reading list is the perfect place to start your Black History Month journey.
Cleopatra
by Saara El-Arifi
This is not the story of how I died. But how I lived. Cleopatra tells her own story in this evocative and sensuous historical epic from the bestselling and award-winning author of Faebound and The Final Strife.
Tall Is Her Body
by Robert de la Chevotiere
Readers of Black Cake and Family Lore will be captivated by this sweeping, multicultural family story of keen observation and the supernatural in which one man’s journey to wholeness - both emotionally and physically - is shaped by the lands of his childhood and those of his ancestors, still reeling from the effects of colonialism and immigration.
Honey
by Imani Thompson
A dark, provocative, adrenaline-rush of a novel about a graduate student who murders bad men and justifies it in the name of feminism, by a bold new voice in fiction. Finally, Yrsa’s academic research feels useful. But how long can killing in the name of feminist and racial solidarity justify her actions? And how long until her actions - and buried family secrets - come back to unravel her?
Reputation
by Amanda Coreishy
In early noughties Trinidad, Asiyah, a young Muslim woman, embarks on a clandestine relationship with Cisco, her older, irreligious landlord. Defying her family’s warnings and expectations, she realigns her spiritual compass to be with her lover. But when her reputation is threatened by a stranger with a vendetta, and her affair becomes a difficult entanglement to escape, Asiyah must face a make-or-break reckoning to reclaim what is hers.
Kin
by Tayari Jones
A novel about mothers and daughters, friendship and sisterhood, and the complexities of being a woman in the American South, Kin is an exuberant, emotionally rich, unforgettable work from one of the brightest and most irresistible voices in contemporary fiction.
The Catch
by Yrsa Daley-Ward
The inaugural novel in the Well-Read Black Girl Books series, The Catch is a darkly whimsical tale of women daring to live and create with impunity. In her riveting first foray into fiction, Yrsa Daley-Ward conjures a kaleidoscopic multiverse of daughterhood and mother-want, exploring the sacrifices that women must make for self-actualization. The result is a marvel of a debut novel that boldly asks, “How can it ever, ever be a crime to choose yourself?”
On Sundays She Picked Flowers
by Yah Yah Scholfield
In this sinister and surreal Southern Gothic debut, a woman escapes into the uncanny woods of southern Georgia and must contend with ghosts, haints, and most dangerous of all, the truth about herself. An absolute stunner of a book (Lee Mandelo, author of Summer Sons), On Sunday She Picked Flowers explores retribution, family trauma, and the power of building oneself back up after breaking down.
When We Ruled
by Paula Akpan
Discover the reigns of twelve African queens and warriors from across the continent in this immersive and pioneering history. In When We Ruled, historian Paula Akpan takes us into the worlds of these powerful figures, following their stories and how they came to rule and influence the futures of their people. Through deep research and discovery, Akpan will uncover new truths and grapple with uncomfortable realities, allowing us to be immersed in countless moments of bravery, intrigue and, for some, the unravelling of their rule.
On Witness and Respair
by Jesmyn Ward
The collected creative nonfiction of a singular American writer, Jesmyn Ward, including widely shared classics, three never-before-published speeches, and an introductory essay. Beginning with her upbringing in a multigenerational household in rural Mississippi, the cradle of both her youth and her gift for storytelling, Ward brings her keen wisdom and hauntingly lyrical prose to a range of topics, following in her grandmother Dorothy’s footsteps when she promises always to “Tell it straight. Tell it all.”
Dead and Alive
by Zadie Smith
A profound and unparalleled literary voice, Zadie Smith returns with a resounding collection of essays. In this eagerly awaited new collection, Zadie Smith brings her unique skills as an essayist to bear on a range of subjects that have captured her attention in recent years. Zadie Smith shows us once again her unrivalled ability to think through critically and humanely some of the most urgent preoccupations and tendencies of our troubled times.
*Title availability may vary.
Published Oct 15, 2026
Audrey Wynne
Audrey Wynne works with public libraries at Libby. When she’s not working, she’s reading sci-fi, nature, romance, and books of all genres by BIPOC and women authors.