There are so many great new books coming out every year that it gets hard to keep up—especially when your TBR is as out of control as mine. Yours is probably in a similar shape if you’re reading this. Now, I’m not saying you should give up or try to read every single book that comes across your radar. The former is just sad, and the latter would be impossible. But I’d be lying if I didn’t admit it can be overwhelming keeping up with all the new books, even as someone who reads a lot. I have a few ways of prioritizing my reading, though, and one of my favorites is to take a look at my calendar.
National and international holidays or events can be a good way to focus on a particular topic or genre of book. For instance, I often like to read more horror and thrillers in October, holiday romance in the winter, and LGBTQ books for Pride Month in June. Similarly, I try to read books by Indigenous authors in November for Native American Heritage Month and by Black authors in February for Black History Month, which — oh, will you look at that — is taking place right now.
There are so many incredible historical fiction books by Black authors you could choose from, including sub-genres like historical romance and YA historical fiction. But for my part, I wanted to recommend some of the great new historical fiction books by Black authors that have already come out in 2026. These are the kind of books you won’t want to put down, and they’re all just waiting for you to start reading them.
Keeper of Lost Children by Sadeqa Johnson
When the wife of an American soldier sees a group of mixed-race orphans in Germany after WWII, she decides to follow them to learn their story. It’s a story American soldier Ozzie Philips understands all too well, having hoped he’d find acceptance fighting for his country overseas. Instead, he discovers only one spot of solace in the arms of a German woman named Jelka. Decades later, when Sophia Clark gets the chance to integrate a prestigious boarding school, she learns a secret that upends her world forever. All three stories twine together to reveal the little-known history of the mixed-race children left behind in the wake of WWII.
The Johnson Four by Christina Hammonds Reed
Odysseus dreams of a better life for his three boys, a life he believes they can achieve through the fame and fortune of a boy band. But when the ghost of a young Black child who was lynched decades before crosses their paths just as their chance at stardom is at hand, one violent choice shatters both the family and their dreams. Scattered across the country and world, the Johnsons try to find a way back to themselves and each other.
Past Tense
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The Seven Daughters of Dupree by Nikesha Elise Williams
Nikesha Elise Williams, producer and host of the award-winning Black and Published podcast, pens a multigenerational tale of a family who keeps their past close to their chest, even as each new generation asks more questions than the last. From Jubi’s efforts to pass as white in 1917 to 14-year-old Tati’s questions about the identity of her father in 1995, the Dupree women see their actions ripple out through the generations in this beautiful tale of generational trauma, family, and resilience.
Burn Down Master’s House by Clay Cane
This masterpiece of historical fiction draws on the forgotten and suppressed stories of enslaved people who rebelled, doing whatever it took to take down their enslavers. From two young men who burn down a plantation to end the brutalities taking place there to a poisonous meal that takes down an entire slave-holding family and even a Black man who believes he can step outside the bounds of this horrific system by taking up the violence of slavery as his own, Burn Down Masters House tells a story that cannot—and should not—be forgotten.
I Hope You Find What You’re Looking For by Bsrat Mezghebe
In 1991 in Washington D.C., a tight-knit community of Eritrean immigrants watches from afar as their home country is on the verge of independence from Ethiopia after decades of war. A cousin, newly arrived in the U.S. to attend medical school, helps 13-year-old Lydia grapple with family, identity, and freedom for the first time while her mother, Elsa, a former freedom-fighter, and the family matriarch, Mama Zewdi, contend with the secrets and regrets they’d determined to keep buried even as Lydia seeks answers.
Where the False Gods Dwell by Denny S. Bryce
The author of Wild Women and the Blues and Can’t We Be Friends is back with a novel about the legendary choreographer Katherine Dunham. Following three women who join Dunham’s voyage to Jamaica to research Caribbean dance, Where the False Gods Dwell explores the deep bonds between women, especially when they’re pushed to the brink.
English (US) · 