BOOKS
The Black Issue 2022 Black Authors’ Preview
Forthcoming titles Black Authors’ Preview A preview of new titles recently published, or issued in the next 12 months
The number of fiction titles by Black British men would appear to be on the up, but it’s vital that the positive momentum of recent years is maintained
Natasha Onwuemezi @tashaisblue
O
ne of the most staggering things I’ve heard during my time in the publish- ing industry was the claim that only one début by a Black British male writer was released in 2016: Robyn Travis’ Mama Can’t Raise No Man (published by the inimitable OWN IT!). This subject was also explored by Kadish Morris’ piece in last year’s Black Issue. So I’m heartened to see this preview filled with fresh and vivid débuts from Black British men: Now I Am Here by Chidi Ebere, Small Joys by Elvin Mensah and Locks by Ashleigh Nugent. I’ll also mention of The Five Sorrowful Mysteries of Andy Afica by Stephen Buoro, who was born in Nigeria (who wasn’t?) and studied in Britain.
While that is encouraging, it does seem like there are fewer “big” titles being pushed by publishers in this preview when compared to last year’s. In fact, this preview is three pages shorter than it was in 2021, and we received around 100 fewer submissions. Does this point to the abundance of titles from Black authors being an outlier following the big publishing and commissioning push triggered by Black Lives Mater? Like and subscribe to find out, when the Black Authors’ Preview returns next year.
Before then, however, we have cookbooks galore, titles on racial renaming in adults and children’s, and three separate books exploring the Harlem Renaissance, among other empowering and important issues. In kids’, there’s also books on the environment, self-love and mental health. They are the future, aſter all.
30 20th May 2022 Fiction
and the ripple effects of domestic violence, and a defiant story of friendship, resilience and hope.
Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor The Dragonfly Sea September, 7th July, PB, £9.99, 9781914613081 A coming-of-age novel of epic proportions and scope from the Kenyan magical realist writer who won the AKO Caine Prize for African Writing and was shortlisted for the Folio Award.
Sussie Anie To Fill a Yellow House Phoenix, 7th July, HB, £14.99, 9781474621694 A story of community, friendship and the power of creativity and connec- tion, this follows a boy’s fascination with the high street and his burgeoning friendship with a charity shop owner.
Stephen Buoro The Five Sorrowful Mysteries of Andy Africa Bloomsbury, 7th Mar 2023, HB £16.99, 9781526637994 The story of a “one-of- a-kind” teenager who goes on a journey of self-discovery in the shadow of colonialism and communal violence in north-western Nigeria.
Lola Akinmade Akerstrom In Every Mirror She’s Black Head of Zeus, 9th June, PB, £8.99, 9781801108607 A timely début from a Sweden-based Nigerian American author about what it means to be a Black woman in the world. This authentic and insight- ful story follows three Black women and their everyday experiences living in Stockholm.
Maryse Condé; Richard Philcox (trans) The Gospel According to the New World World Editions, 20th Apr 2023, PB, £13.99, 9781642861181 A miracle baby is born on Easter Sunday, rumoured to be the child of God. Condé follows his journey in search of his origins and mission.
Marissa Constantinou Women of the Harlem Renaissance Macmillan, 15th Sep, HB, £10.99, 978152906922 A powerful collection of poems and stories written by women of colour during the Harlem Renaissance—a cultural movement that saw an explosion of Black art, music and writing in the early 20th century.
Marie-Claire Amuah One for Sorrow, Two for Joy Oneworld, 18th Aug, HB, £16.99, 9780861542321 The début novel from a British Ghanaian barrister is set against a backdrop of London and Ghana and is an exploration of intergenerational trauma
Zekyia Dalila Harris The Other Black Girl Bloomsbury, 9th June, PB, £8.99, 9781526630360 “Get Out” meets “The Devil Wears Prada” in this electric début about the tension that unfurls when two young Black women meet against the
starkly white backdrop of book publishing. Out in paperback.
between a young woman and her absent mother is set in a world in which magic is real and single women are closely monitored in case they are shown to be witches.
Kellye Garrett Like a Sister Simon & Schuster, PB, 24th Nov, £8.99, 9781398517639, When a Black reality TV star is found dead, her death is quickly declared an overdose, but her sister knows that can’t be true— she is determined to find justice, even if it means uncovering the family’s darkest secrets, or putting her own life at risk.
Amber Rose Gill Until I Met You HQ, 7th Aug, PB, £8.99, 9780008480622 This romance from a “Love Island” winner (written in “very close collaboration” with estab- lished Mills & Boon author Nadine Gonzalez) is set in Tobago and is a story of friendship and second chances in love.
Mike Gayle The Museum of Ordinary People Hodder, 7th Aug, HB, £16.99, 9781529344752, Inspired by a box of mementos found aban- doned in a skip following a house clearance, this uplifting new novel from the author of Half a World Away and All the Lonely People is a story of memory, grief, loss and the things we leave behind.
Luan Goldie These Streets HQ, 23rd June, HB, £14.99, 9780008419677 The new novel from the author of the Women’s Prize-longlisted Nightingale Point is the story of a single mother with two teenage children. It tackles the complex issues of homelessness in London, male mental health and single-parent families.
Megan Giddings The Women Could Fly Macmillan, 18th Aug, HB, £16.99, 9781035001583 This dark and magical dystopian novel about the unbreakable bond
James Hannaham Didn’t Nobody Give a Shit What Happened to Carlotta
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