Female authors of colour

[deedsnotwords11]

I've decided to make an effort to buy and read books by women of colour (hope that is an ok term to use, I wasn't sure quite how to phrase it)

Has anyone got any recommendations for my list?
I'm not bothered whether fiction or non-fiction, I have very varied tastes! I have recently very much enjoyed Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Small Island by Andrea Levy.

Thank you for any recommendations!

Brit (ish) - Afua Hirsch is a great eye opening book.

Another vote for Girl, Woman, Other, Americanah, and God of small things.

I absolutely adored The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo. It’s a young adult book but don’t let that put you off. It’s about a 15yo Afro Latina girl living in Harlem who expresses herself in a private notebook through poetry. The story is told through her poems.

Why don't you just read books that interest you, I don't understand how the author's skin colour can be important when choosing a book to read.

museums one reason I enjoy reading is that I get to see things through others’ eyes. I’m white, so I don’t get to experience what it’s like to be BAME through my own lived experience. I really appreciate being able to learn about it through well written books such as the ones recommended in this thread.

It's important because books by non-white authors are reviewed less, less likely to be promoted in bookshops and I think we also gravitate to books that reflect our own experience, so it takes effort to diversify.

OP, I would recommend anything by Toni Morrison, Becoming by Michelle Obama, and The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. I also loved I Do Not Come To You By Chance, which follows a young man who is drawn into a Nigerian email scam. It's mostly quite light but gives a really convincing (and uncomfortable) portrayal of how a nice, intelligent young man could end up involved in such a thing.

Kintu by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi (Uganda)

The Mermaid of Black Conch by Monique Roffey - (Costa winner)

I'm reading Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams. She's a great character!!!

I love reading women authors from different parts of the world. I get a bit bored of books set in the UK, although loved Girl Woman Other. I liked Jackie Kay, Trumpet and her autobiography, Red Dust Road. The God Of Small Things is one of my favourite books. I've recently read Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata which, although weird, does give you a perspective of one aspect of Japanese culture. It's so interesting learning about different cultures through fiction.

The Jhalak Prize is a book award for fiction and non fiction by writers of colour living/workng in the UK - the lists include lots of books by men and women. They've just announced the 2021 longlist last week, together with a longlist for a new prize for children's and YA books, which I'm interested in because I'm hoping it will include present ideas for my nephews, and also help other famiiies of all backgrounds find books which include pictures of black kids in picture books, and in books for older children and teenagers are more diverse.

@elkiedee

The Jhalak Prize is a book award for fiction and non fiction by writers of colour living/workng in the UK - the lists include lots of books by men and women. They've just announced the 2021 longlist last week, together with a longlist for a new prize for children's and YA books, which I'm interested in because I'm hoping it will include present ideas for my nephews, and also help other famiiies of all backgrounds find books which include pictures of black kids in picture books, and in books for older children and teenagers are more diverse.

Yeah, I thought it was a lovely idea to have a childrens/YA prize as well. Particularly liked that not all the books are issue led books. I don't think it's good for children to only see black children in books where they fit the stereotype of poor and urban. Why can't a black or asian child be the heroine in a fantasy world?

If you like dystopian fiction then I recommend Octavia butler's parable of the sower and parable of the talents

Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid is brilliant, also loved American Marriage by Tyari Jones, Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng, and Queenie by Candice Carty Williams.