February is Black History Month, but we’re featuring books by Black and African American authors this month because, well, there’s never a wrong time to celebrate exciting and thought-provoking literature! This display includes Africanfuturism, Afrofuturism, and other speculative fiction by Black and African American authors.
Here are some quick definitions for anyone who needs them. Afrofuturism “creates stories that puts Blackness in a central role and deals with the reality of what that means in the cultures and societies that it creates,” according to Donyae Coles. Africanfuturism, defined by Nnedi Okorafor, is similar but “it is rooted first and foremost in Africa.”
If you’re looking for an engaging and imaginative read to get you through the long winter months of our northern latitude, then check out the books and authors listed below! All links below go to the catalog. And by the way, the title of this display and blog post is gratefully borrowed from a book of short stories by N. K. Jemisin.
Authors to Know
Tomi Adeyemi – West African-inspired Legacy of Orisha YA fantasy series
Octavia Butler – Influential, award-winning science fiction author, winner of a MacArthur Fellowship
P. Djeli Clark – Fantasy, horror, and historical fiction
Charlotte Nicole Davis – The Good Luck Girls (dystopian YA fantasy)
Namina Forna – The Gilded Ones (feminist YA fantasy)
Justina Ireland – Paranormal YA fantasy and children’s stories
N. K. Jemisin – Award-winning author of multiple fantasy series and speculative stories
Nnedi Okorafor – Africanfuturism and Africanjujuism
Daniel José Older – Afro-Latinx paranormal fiction for teens and kids
Tochi Onyebuchi – Dystopian and magical fantasy, YA and adult
Deji Bryce Olukotun – Nigerians in Space, a story of international intrigue that “defies categorization”)
Namwali Serpell – The Old Drift, a “playful panorama of history, fairytale, romance and science fiction”
Rivers Solomon – Dystopian, horror, and fantasy fiction
Tade Thompson – Far from the Light of Heaven, a “thrilling vision of humanity’s future in the chilling emptiness of space”
Cadwell Turnbull – Afrofuturism and fantasy
Collections
Black Futures by Kimberly Drew and Jenna Wortham
The Future of Black: Afrofuturism, Black Comics, and Superhero Poetry edited by Len Lawson, Cynthia Manick, and Gary Jackson
Octavia’s Brood: Science Fiction Stories from Social Justice Movements edited by Adrienne M. Brown and Walidah Imarisha
Graphic Novels
Black Panther: A Nation Under Our Feet by Ta-Nehesi Coates
Shuri by Nnedi Okorafor
Lando: Double or Nothing by Rodney Barnes
