It’s an empirical fact that crowns, fairies, and Afros go together. Peer reviewed studies (conducted by me) have concluded that melanin and gold velvet are natural allies. But there’s a problem — until recently, almost every book involving magic was hella Eurocentric, despite the countless mythologies and imaginative traditions of African and Black diaspora peoples.
Luckily, my New York Times bestselling novel Raybearer joined the long-needed influx of magic Black stories last year. The sequel, Redemptor, comes out August 17 — and I'm beyond thrilled to reveal the cover:
Fairies with Afros? Check. Teen Black heroine single-handedly taking on an empire with sinister secrets? Check. Royalty plotting the downfall of the Underworld while eating fried plantain? I mean, obviously.
But according to the aforementioned peer studies, the appropriate amount of Black fantasy words is always *more.* So, here are 17 more titles to hold you over until Redemptor hits the world’s bookshelves.
1. Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron
2. The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna
3. A Song of Wraiths and Ruin and A Psalm of Storms and Silence by Roseanne A. Brown
4. Given by Nandi Taylor
5. The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms and The Broken Kingdoms by N. K. Jemisin
6. The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton
7. Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky by Kwame Mbalia
8. Within These Wicked Walls by Lauren Blackwood
9. Winter by Marissa Meyer
10. A Song Below Water by Bethany C. Morrow
11. A Phoenix Must Burn, edited by Patrice Caldwell
12. David Mogo, Godhunter by Suyi Davies Okungbowa
13. The Black God’s Drums by P. Djèlí Clark
14. Daughters of Nri by Reni K. Amayo
15. Legendborn by Tracy Deonn
