This is a corpus of best selling books by Black authors from 2004 through September, 2021. The database includes backlist titles published earlier, but the sales data is from 2004 to September 2021. This was created as a part of an assignment to create a LibGuide for the Pratt Library and Information Studies program.
We defined "best selling" - which is a subjective term in publishing - as books that have sold over fifty-thousand (50,000) copies. We compiled book titles from a combination of best-sellers lists (e.g., The New York Times), publically available lists of books by Black authors from a variety of literary organizations, and by searching the sales of well-known Black authors on NPD Bookscan.
We're sure that we missed some best-selling books by Black authors but to our knowledge this is the first collection of high selling books by Black authors based on actual sales. We hope this will be used as a resource by writers, publishers, marketers, librarians, and anyone interested in the history and legacy of successful Black writers in book publishing.
Note: RTD means 'Retail Sales To Date', and YTD means 'Yearly Sales To Date.' Each column can be sorted by ascending or descending order, or by category, including gender (female or male), type of book (fiction, non-fiction, or poetry), publisher, author, format, imprint, etc.
Imprint
Type
- Fiction 20
- Non-fiction 10
- Poetry 2
Publisher
- Simon & Schuster · 32 ✖
Format
- Trade Paperback · 32 ✖
ISBN ▼ | Title | Type | Author | Gender | Publisher | Format | Publication Date | Imprint | RTD Sales | YTD Sales |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
9780671864163 | Acts of Faith: Meditations For People of Color | Non-fiction | Iyanla Vanzant | Female | Simon & Schuster | Trade Paperback | 1993-11-12 | Atria Books | 61533 | 0 |
9780684843261 | For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf | Poetry | Ntozake Shange | Female | Simon & Schuster | Trade Paperback | 1997-09-01 | Scribner Book Company | 113029 | 3046 |
9780684848068 | In the Meantime: Finding Yourself and the Love You Want | Non-fiction | Iyanla Vanzant | Female | Simon & Schuster | Trade Paperback | 1999-09-14 | Atria Books | 135887 | 3279 |
9780684859972 | Until Today!: Daily Devotions For Spiritual Growth and Peace of Mind | Non-fiction | Iyanla Vanzant | Female | Simon & Schuster | Trade Paperback | 2001-08-14 | Atria Books | 127106 | 7266 |
9780743297271 | Caramel Flava: the Eroticanoir.Com Anthology | Fiction | Zane | Female | Simon & Schuster | Trade Paperback | 2006-08-22 | Atria Books | 67805 | 119 |
9780743442848 | Addicted | Fiction | Zane | Female | Simon & Schuster | Trade Paperback | 2001-10-30 | Atria Books | 199472 | 548 |
9780743442909 | The Heat Seekers | Fiction | Zane | Female | Simon & Schuster | Trade Paperback | 2003-05-01 | Atria Books | 77574 | 44 |
9780743451796 | Devil In a Blue Dress, Volume 1: an Easy Rawlins Novel | Fiction | Walter Mosley | Male | Simon & Schuster | Trade Paperback | 2002-09-17 | Washington Square Press | 57366 | 745 |
9780743457026 | Gettin' Buck Wild: Sex Chronicles II | Fiction | Zane | Female | Simon & Schuster | Trade Paperback | 2003-10-07 | Atria Books | 136425 | 1160 |
9780743457040 | Skyscraper | Fiction | Zane | Female | Simon & Schuster | Trade Paperback | 2004-10-26 | Atria Books | 86097 | 544 |
9780743462709 | The Sex Chronicles | Fiction | Zane | Female | Simon & Schuster | Trade Paperback | 2002-05-01 | Atria Books | 180961 | 1622 |
9780743470988 | Afterburn | Fiction | Zane | Female | Simon & Schuster | Trade Paperback | 2005-10-04 | Atria Books | 102067 | 399 |
9780743476249 | Nervous | Fiction | Zane | Female | Simon & Schuster | Trade Paperback | 2004-06-01 | Atria Books | 167220 | 1646 |
9780743476256 | The Sisters of Apf: the Indoctrination of Soror Ride Dick | Fiction | Zane | Female | Simon & Schuster | Trade Paperback | 2004-04-27 | Atria Books | 132606 | 425 |
9780743480956 | Shame on It All | Fiction | Zane | Female | Simon & Schuster | Trade Paperback | 2003-05-20 | Atria Books | 80319 | 268 |
9780743482387 | Chocolate Flava: the Eroticanoir.Com Anthology | Fiction | Zane | Female | Simon & Schuster | Trade Paperback | 2004-01-06 | Atria Books | 138881 | 328 |
9781416545361 | Midnight, 1: a Gangster Love Story | Fiction | Sister Souljah | Female | Simon & Schuster | Trade Paperback | 2009-09-08 | Atria Books | 106812 | 12969 |
9781439147061 | America's Most Wanted Recipes: Delicious Recipes from Your Family's Favorite Restaurants | Non-fiction | Ron Douglas | Male | Simon & Schuster | Trade Paperback | 2009-07-07 | Atria Books | 185098 | 383 |
9781439148266 | More of America's Most Wanted Recipes: More Than 200 Simple and Delicious Secret Restaurant Recipes--All For $10 or Less! | Non-fiction | Ron Douglas | Male | Simon & Schuster | Trade Paperback | 2010-07-06 | Atria Books | 61989 | 219 |
9781439165324 | A Deeper Love Inside: the Porsche Santiaga Story | Fiction | Sister Souljah | Female | Simon & Schuster | Trade Paperback | 2014-02-18 | Atria Books | 138472 | 30491 |
9781439165362 | Midnight and the Meaning of Love, 2 | Fiction | Sister Souljah | Female | Simon & Schuster | Trade Paperback | 2011-10-04 | Atria Books | 54967 | 7285 |
9781451617139 | Pimp: the Story of My Life | Non-fiction | Iceberg Slim | Male | Simon & Schuster | Trade Paperback | 2011-05-10 | Cash Money Content | 125627 | 12415 |
9781476749075 | The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl | Non-fiction | Issa Rae | Female | Simon & Schuster | Trade Paperback | 2016-07-12 | 37 Ink | 106646 | 7710 |
9781476797717 | Walking With the Wind: a Memoir of the Movement | Non-fiction | John Lewis | Male | Simon & Schuster | Trade Paperback | 2015-02-10 | Simon & Schuster | 75576 | 8381 |
9781481438261 | Long Way Down | Poetry | Jason Reynolds | Male | Simon & Schuster | Trade Paperback | 2019-04-02 | Atheneum | 257941 | 80678 |