History of Black Writing

HBW's 42 Books/42 Years exhibit features one novel per year since its founding. The 42nd Black novel, "Astonishing the Gods” by Ben Okri (2019) is a fairytale-esque fable follows the journey of a young man on an enchanted island to understand the secrets of visibility.

HBW's 42 Books/42 Years exhibit features one novel per year since its founding. The 41st Black novel, "By the Book” by Jasmine Guillory (2022) is a modern romantic comedy retelling of Beauty and the Beast that highlights the triumphs of love, acceptance, and learning.

HBW's 42 Books/42 Years exhibit features one novel per year since its founding. The 40th Black novel, “Invisible Man” by Ralph Ellison (1952) follows the turmoil of an unnamed Black man in the South after being expelled from college.

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HBW's 42 Books/42 Years exhibit features one novel per year since its founding. The 39th Black novel, “In the Castle of My Skin” by George Lamming (1953) is a coming of age novel that explores the intricacies of the impact of colonialism on self and community in 1950s London.

HBW's 42 Books/42 Years exhibit features one novel per year since its founding. The 38th Black novel, “Foxes of Harrow” by Frank Yerby (1946) is a rags-to-riches romance about an Irish gambler and the three loves of his life: his wife, her sister, and his Black mistress.

HBW's 42 Books/42 Years exhibit features one novel per year since its founding. The 37th Black novel, “Sister, Sister” by Eric Jerome Dickey (1996) is a debut novel overflowing with humor, wit, and affection, detailing Valerie, Inda, and Chiquita's pursuit of love in L.A.

HBW's 42 Books/42 Years exhibit features one novel per year since its founding. The 36th Black novel, “Great Gitten’ (Up) Morning” by John Oliver Killens (1972) is a young-adult book about Denmark Vessey, who led the largest slave revolt in U.S. history in 1822.

HBW's 42 Books/42 Years exhibit features one novel per year since its founding. The 35th Black novel, “My Lives and How I Lost them” by Countee Cullen (1992) follows a cat in his ninth and final life recalls adventures that led him to lose the previous eight.

HBW's 42 Books/42 Years exhibit features one novel per year since its founding. The 34th Black novel, “The Third Life of Grange Copeland” by Alice Walker (1970) is Walker's debut novel about three generations of the Georgia-based Copeland family.

HBW's 42 Books/42 Years exhibit features one novel per year since its founding. The 33rd Black novel, “Moses, Man of the Mountain” by Zora Neale Hurston (1939) incorporates non-biblical themes and African American Vernacular English.

HBW's 42 Books/42 Years exhibit features one novel per year since its founding. The 30th Black novel, "Sassafras, Cypress & Indigo" by Ntozake Shange (1982), follows three sisters who pursue art and fall into and out of love as they search for meaning and freedom.

HBW's 42 Books/42 Years exhibit features one novel per year since its founding. The 32nd Black novel, "God Sends Sunday" by Arna Wendell Bontemps (1931) follows a boy born with a lucky caul over his face who rises in fame as a horse jockey and risks losing it all for a woman.

42 Books/42 Years exhibit features one novel per year since its founding. The 31st Black novel, "Iola Leroy" by Frances Ellen Harper (1892), follows a young woman's whose life changes after discovering her African ancestry and is subsequently enslaved at the cusp of the Civil War

The 84th annual College Language Association Convention is happening NOW in Jackson, MS. If you’re in attendance, don’t miss the Closing Reception: Author Celebration and Meet & Greet on Saturday at 12PM co-sponsored by HBW!

HBW's 42 Books/42 Years exhibit features one novel per year since its founding. The 29th Black novel, "The Learning Tree" by Gordon Parks (1963), tells the coming-of-age story of Newt Winger as he navigates life's lessons and grapples with systemic injustices in 1920's Kansas.

HBW's 42 Books/42 Years exhibit features one novel per year since its founding. The 28th Black novel, "Life on Wheels" by Carolyn Tillman (1975) unveils the haunting journey of a young woman, confined to a wheelchair by polio, mirroring the author's own life experiences.

HBW's 42 Books/42 Years exhibit features one novel per year since its founding. The 27th Black novel, "Oreo" by Fran Ross (1974), follows our titular character Oreo as she navigates her path to claim a birthright, sparking an unparalleled tale of self-discovery.

HBW's 42 Books/42 Years exhibit features one novel per year since its founding. The 26th Black novel, "From Superman to Man" by Joe Augustus Rogers (1941), follows J.A. Rogers as he confronts racial superiority, unveiling the stark realities and ignorance that fuel racism.

HBW's 42 Books/42 Years exhibit features one novel per year since its founding. The 25th Black novel, "Through the Storm" by Beverly Jenkins (1998), unfolds against the backdrop of post-Civil War America, blending love and the pursuit of freedom in a captivating narrative.