List of 108 Books With Black Protagonists
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Searching for books that have a particular type of content? Try this list of relevant examples. In this collection, you'll find a variety of books with Black protagonists.
Love African American fiction? Check out these other options for Black and African American fiction. Unlike the table below, they don't all have Black protagonists, but they all have prominent Black characters or themes. Enjoy!
| Title | Author | Published | Genre |
| A Grain of Wheat | Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o | 1967 | Novel, historical novel, Historical Fiction |
| Action Words: Journey of a Journalist | Shaune Bordere | 2017 | Historical Fiction |
| All the Things We Never Knew | Liara Tamani | 2020 | Young adult fiction |
| Along Came a Spider | James Patterson | 1993 | Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Crime novel, Psychological Fiction, Police procedural, Crime Fiction |
| American Gods | Neil Gaiman | 2001 | Novel, Horror fiction, Fantasy Fiction, High fantasy, Contemporary fantasy |
| An Extraordinary Union | Alyssa Cole | 2017 | Romance novel, Historical Fiction, Spy fiction |
| Anansi Boys | Neil Gaiman | 2005 | Novel, Humour, Fantasy Fiction, Adventure fiction |
| Anthills of the Savannah | Chinua Achebe | 1987 | Political fiction |
| Arrow of God | Chinua Achebe | 1964 | Novel, Fiction |
| Ascension | Jacqueline Koyanagi | 2013 | Science Fiction |
| Beloved | Toni Morrison | 1987 | Novel, Magical Realism, Historical Fiction |
| Binti | Nnedi Okorafor | 2015 | Science Fiction |
| Binti: Home | Nnedi Okorafor | 2017 | Science Fiction, Space opera |
| Binti: The Night Masquerade | Nnedi Okorafor | 2018 | Science Fiction, Space opera |
| Black Boy | Richard Wright | 1945 | Novel, Autobiography, Biography, Künstlerroman |
| Black Mamba Boy | Nadifa Mohamed | 2010 | Novel, historical novel, Historical Fiction, Adventure fiction, Roman à clef |
| Blanche on the Lam | Barbara Neely | 1992 | Mystery, Detective novel |
| Bluebird, Bluebird | Attica Locke | 2017 | Novel, Mystery, Thriller, Noir fiction |
| Breaking His Rules | Aliza Mann | 2019 | Fiction, Romance novel, Contemporary romance |
| Brown Girl Dreaming | Jacqueline Woodson | 2014 | Poetry, Novel, Biography, Autobiography, Children's literature |
| Buck: A Memoir | M.K. Asante | 2013 | Biography, Autobiography, Memoir |
| Cold Lick | Cortez Law III | 2015 | Criminal |
| Cry of Metal & Bone | L. Penelope | 2016 | Fantasy Fiction, Romantic fantasy, Historical fantasy |
| Deathless Divide | Justina Ireland | 2020 | Horror fiction, Alternate history, Fantasy Fiction, Adventure fiction |
| Dessa Rose | Sherley Anne Williams | 1986 | Fiction |
| Destiny's Surrender | Beverly Jenkins | 2013 | Romance novel, Historical Fiction, Historical romance |
| Devil in a Blue Dress | Walter Mosley | 1990 | Mystery, Fiction, Cultural, Thriller |
| Diary of a Freedom Writer: The Experience | Darrius Garrett | 2013 | Autobiography |
| Elijah of Buxton | Christopher Paul Curtis | 2007 | Historical Fiction |
| Engaging Brooke | Dara Girard | 2014 | Romance novel, Adventure fiction, Contemporary romance |
| Every Last Breath | Juno Rushdan | 2019 | Fiction, Romance novel, Mystery, Thriller, Contemporary romance, Romantic Suspense |
| False Value (Rivers of London) | Ben Aaronovitch | 2020 | Fantasy Fiction, Mystery |
| For God, Country and the Confederacy | Winston A. Jones | 2002 | Historical Fiction |
| Go Tell It on the Mountain | James Baldwin | 1953 | Autobiographical novel, Fictional Autobiography |
| God Walks The Dark Hills: Book I & II | B. L. Blankenship | 2020 | Horror fiction, Western fiction |
| Goldie Vance Vol. 1 | Hope Larson | 2016 | Comics, Fiction, Graphic novel |
| Half of a Yellow Sun | Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie | 2006 | Novel, Historical Fiction, Political fiction |
| His Dark Lady | Victoria Lamb | 2013 | Romance novel, Thriller, Suspense, Historical Fiction |
| Invisible Man | Ralph Ellison | 1952 | Novel, Fiction, Bildungsroman |
| Jessi's Secret Language | Ann M. Martin | 1988 | Fiction |
| Jubilee | Margaret Walker | 1966 | Novel, Saga, historical novel, Historical Fiction, War story |
| Judges: When The Light Lay Still | Charles J. Eskew | 2019 | Fiction |
| Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography | Mark Mathabane | 1986 | Biography, Autobiography, Speculative fiction |
| Kaya Abaniah and the Father of the Forest | Wayne Gerard Trotman | 2015 | Science Fiction, Adventure fiction, Paranormal fiction |
| Kindred | Octavia E. Butler | 1979 | Novel, Science Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Feminist science fiction |
| Kremlin Tide | Cortez Law III | 2014 | Suspense |
| Liberty | Ginger Jamison | 2013 | Fiction, Romance novel, Contemporary romance |
| Liccle Bit | Alex Wheatle | 2015 | Fiction |
| Light Under the House | Aaron L. | 2011 | Literature, Fantasy, Novels, Fiction |
| Little Miss Strange | Winston Blakely | 2008 | Comics |
| Lovecraft Country | Matt Ruff | 2016 | Novel, Horror fiction, Historical Fiction, Dark fantasy, Fantasy Fiction, Historical fantasy |
| Loving Laney | Harmony Evans | 2014 | Fiction, Romance novel, Contemporary romance |
| Lyrics Alley | Leila Aboulela | 2010 | Novel, Historical Fiction |
| Mudbound | Hillary Jordan | 2008 | Novel, Historical Fiction |
| Native Son | Richard Wright | 1940 | Novel, Psychological Fiction, Social novel |
| No Answer | R.L. Stine | 1998 | Young Adult, Horror, Childrens, Mystery |
| No One Here Is Lonely | Sarah Everett | 2019 | Young adult fiction |
| November Blues | Sharon M. Draper | 2007 | Fiction |
| Oil Man of Obange | John Okechukwu Munonye | 1971 | Cultural |
| Purple Hibiscus | Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie | 2003 | Novel, Fiction, Bildungsroman |
| Qualified Immunity | Sylvie Fox | 2014 | Mystery, Contemporary, Thriller |
| Roots: The Saga of an American Family | Alex Haley | 1976 | Novel, Biography, Historical Fiction, Fictional Autobiography |
| S.Y.P.H.E.N. | Cortez Law III | 2015 | Military science fiction |
| Scarlett Undercover | Jennifer Latham | 2015 | Mystery, Young adult fiction, Paranormal fiction |
| Serial Games | K. Victoria Chase | 2012 | Fiction, Romance novel, Suspense |
| So Long a Letter | Mariama Bâ | 1979 | Novel, Fiction, Epistolary novel |
| Song of Solomon | Toni Morrison | 1977 | Novel, Domestic Fiction |
| Sounder | William H. Armstrong | 1969 | Novel, Children's literature, Young adult fiction |
| Sweet to the Taste | Alyssa Cole | 2014 | Erotic literature, Fiction |
| Tales of the Astonishing Black Spark | Charlie J. Eskew | 2018 | Satire, Science Fiction, Adventure fiction, Science fiction comedy, Superhero fiction |
| The Amazing Story Of Adolphus Tips | Michael Morpurgo | 2005 | Fiction |
| The Ballad of Black Tom | Victor LaValle | 2016 | Horror fiction, Dark fantasy, Paranormal fiction |
| The Black Fairy and The Dragonfly: Escape From The Dark Queen | Paul G. Day | 2014 | Fairy tale |
| The Blood of Titans | C. Michael Forsyth | 2013 | Fiction, Romance novel |
| The Bluest Eye | Toni Morrison | 1970 | Novel, Fiction, Bildungsroman |
| The Book of Negroes | Lawrence Hill | 2007 | Novel, Historical Fiction, historical novel |
| The Butler: A Witness to History | Wil Haygood | 2013 | Biography |
| The Chaos | Nalo Hopkinson | 2012 | Young adult fiction, Fantasy Fiction, Occult Fiction, Paranormal fiction |
| The Cleansing | Michael Connor | 2016 | Fiction |
| The Color Purple | Alice Walker | 1982 | Novel, Epistolary novel, Domestic Fiction |
| The Dispossessed | Ursula K. Le Guin | 1974 | Science Fiction, Politics, Philosophy |
| The End of the Line | Jim Power | 2013 | Romance novel |
| The Given Day | Dennis Lehane | 2008 | Novel, Suspense, Historical Fiction, Psychological Fiction |
| The Good Enough Husband | Sylvie Fox | 2014 | Romance novel, Chivalric romance, Contemporary romance, Domestic Fiction |
| The Help | Kathryn Stockett | 2009 | Novel, historical novel, Historical Fiction |
| The Jumbie God’s Revenge | Tracey Baptiste | 2019 | Science Fiction Fantasy, Adventure |
| The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey | Walter Mosley | 2010 | Mystery, Psychological Fiction, Urban fiction, Domestic Fiction |
| The Last Last-Day-of-Summer | Lamar Giles | 2019 | Science Fiction, Adventure fiction, Time Travel Fiction |
| The Magic in Changing Your Stars | Leah Henderson | 2020 | Fantasy Fiction, Time Travel Fiction |
| The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency | Alexander McCall Smith | 1998 | Crime novel |
| The Old Man and the Medal | Ferdinand Oyono | 1956 | Fiction |
| The Pirate's Daughter | Margaret Cezair-Thompson | 2007 | Historical Fiction |
| The Pull Out Method | Lucky Stevens | 2011 | Fiction, Thriller |
| The Root | Na'amen Gobert Tilahun | 2016 | Dark fantasy, Fantasy Fiction, Urban fantasy, Contemporary fantasy, Paranormal Fantasy |
| The Season of Styx Malone | Kekla Magoon | 2018 | Adventure fiction |
| The Sound of Stars | Alechia Dow | 2020 | Science Fiction, Young adult fiction, Dystopian Fiction, Apocalyptic fiction |
| The Water of Sunlight | Eugenia O'Neal | 2012 | Addiction |
| Things Fall Apart | Chinua Achebe | 1958 | Novel, Historical Fiction |
| Three Parts Dead | Max Gladstone | 2012 | Fantasy Fiction, Urban fantasy, Contemporary fantasy, Legal Story |
| To Catch a Stolen Soul | R.L. Naquin | 2017 | Fantasy Fiction, Urban fantasy, Contemporary fantasy, Paranormal Fantasy |
| Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky | Kwame Mbalia | 2019 | Science Fiction, Fantasy Fiction, Adventure fiction, Paranormal fiction |
| Truly Madly Royally | Debbie Rigaud | 2019 | Fiction |
| Twelve Years a Slave | Solomon Northup | 1853 | Biography, Autobiography, Slave narrative |
| Under Color of Law | Sylvie Fox | 2015 | Fiction |
| Veterans of the Psychic Wars | Wayne Gerard Trotman | 2010 | Science Fiction, Adventure fiction, Paranormal Fantasy |
| Way Too Much Drama | Earl Sewell | 2013 | Young adult fiction |
| Wench | Dolen Perkins-Valdez | 2010 | Historical Fiction |
| Who Fears Death | Nnedi Okorafor | 2010 | Science Fiction, Fantasy Fiction |
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