I’m beyond excited to unveil the complete 2026 reading lineup for Black Women Connect Book Club! This year, we’ve curated ten exceptional books by remarkable Black authors—a collection that spans genres, geographies, and generations while keeping Black women’s voices and experiences at the center.
From sweeping family sagas to speculative futures, from historical Harlem to contemporary romance, this lineup is designed to take us on a journey through the full spectrum of Black literary excellence. More than that, it’s an invitation into deeper conversations about who we are, where we come from, and the many ways we navigate this world.
Our 2026 Reading Journey
January: Good Dirt by Charmaine Wilkerson
We’re opening the year with a multi-generational saga that will anchor us in themes we’ll return to all year long: family, legacy, memory, and identity. The Freeman family’s story begins with a tragedy—ten-year-old Ebby witnesses her brother’s murder and the destruction of a centuries-old stoneware jar that had been passed down through generations. As an adult, Ebby must reckon with how history lives not just in our memories, but in the objects we carry and the stories we tell. It’s the kind of book that asks us to consider what we inherit and what we leave behind.
February: In Every Mirror She’s Black by Lola Akínmádé Åkerström
This critically acclaimed novel takes us into the lives of Black women navigating identity and belonging far from home. It explores what it means to be Black and female in foreign spaces—the displacement, the assimilation, the code-switching, and the constant negotiation of self in places that may not see you fully or accurately. For anyone who’s ever felt caught between worlds, searching for home in unfamiliar places, or wrestling with how others perceive you versus how you know yourself to be, this story will strike a chord.
March: Harlem Rhapsody by Victoria Christopher Murray
We’re stepping into history with this novel set in Harlem’s vibrant past. Murray has a gift for weaving individual lives into the broader tapestry of our collective heritage, giving us layered narratives where personal struggles intersect with pivotal social and cultural moments. This is for the history lovers among us, the ones who understand that to know where we’re going, we must know where we’ve been.
April: Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor
Time to let our imaginations soar! Okorafor brings us into speculative territory with this science fiction novel that promises to challenge our thinking about identity, creativity, power, and possible futures. Her work is known for its brilliance, its boldness, and its refusal to be confined by genre expectations. Expect rich world-building and ideas that linger long after you’ve finished reading.
May: Come and Get It by Kiley Reid
Reid’s contemporary fiction is sharp, observant, and deeply relatable. This novel digs into class, ambition, relationships, and the complicated social dynamics of modern life. Her characters feel real—flawed, trying, figuring it out as they go. We’ll have plenty to discuss about social mobility, identity, and how we navigate the spaces we find ourselves in.
June: The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives by Lola Shoneyin
This internationally celebrated novel takes us into a polygamous household and doesn’t shy away from the complexities. It’s a bold exploration of gender dynamics, social expectations, family secrets, and what it means for women to claim agency within patriarchal structures. Rooted in African literature and traditions, it offers rich material for conversations about culture, power, identity, and the many forms healing can take.
August: The Neighbor Favor by Kristina Forest
After some heavier, more emotionally intense reads, we’re giving ourselves permission to indulge in romance! This is our heart-warming, joy-filled entry—a reminder that love stories matter, that hope and intimacy deserve space in our reading lives. Perfect for a summer read when we need something that simply makes us smile.
September: Black Cake, Turtle Soup, and Other Dilemmas by Gloria Blizzard
We’re switching gears with this personal essays collection. Essays offer a different kind of intimacy—they invite us into real-life reflections on identity, culture, memory, and lived experience. Expect this to spark some of our most honest, vulnerable conversations as we see our own stories reflected and refracted through Blizzard’s lens.
October: Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi
This powerful literary novel is a departure into spiritual realism, exploring identity, selfhood, trauma, and belonging through a deeply personal and haunting narrative. Winner of the Nommo Award and the Otherwise Award, Emezi’s work is widely praised for its boldness and emotional impact. This is the kind of book that doesn’t let you go—it stays with you, asks you questions, makes you feel.
November: Score by Kennedy Ryan
We’re closing out the year with warmth, passion, and emotional depth. Kennedy Ryan is beloved in the Black romance community for good reason—she writes love stories that are full of resilience, complexity, and heart. This is the perfect way to end our reading year together, wrapped up in a story that reminds us of the power of connection.
Why This Lineup Is Special
We’re reading across genres and moods. From family sagas and historical fiction to science fiction, contemporary stories, romance, and personal essays—there’s variety and richness here. You won’t get bored, and you won’t feel stuck in one emotional register.
We’re reading across cultures and geographies. African-rooted literature, diaspora narratives, American Black experiences, contemporary urban stories, speculative futures—our selections span the breadth of the Black experience globally.
We’ve intentionally balanced intensity with lightness. The heavier, emotionally demanding reads (like Good Dirt, Freshwater, and The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives) are interspersed with lighter, more uplifting books (like The Neighbor Favor, Score, and Come and Get It). The rhythm of the year is designed to carry you through, not wear you out.
Every book offers rich discussion material. Identity, legacy, trauma, memory, love, social issues, power dynamics—there’s depth here. We’ll never run out of things to talk about, and every conversation will leave us thinking differently.
Black women are centered in every story. These aren’t books where we’re side characters or afterthoughts. These are stories where our lives, our experiences, our voices, our complexity take up space and command attention.
Why You Should Read With Us
Whether you’re someone who devours books or someone who’s been meaning to read more, whether you’re looking for community or craving meaningful conversations about stories that matter—this lineup has been designed with you in mind.
But here’s the truth: this isn’t just about reading books.
This is about exploring layered, nuanced stories rooted in Black experience. Stories that reflect us, challenge us, and expand our understanding of what’s possible.
This is about engaging in thoughtful conversations with Black women across Canada and beyond. Women who bring their own perspectives, their own lived experiences, their own wisdom to every discussion.
This is about building cultural memory. Reflecting on history, honoring identity, celebrating heritage, and recognizing the resilience that runs through our stories.
This is about enjoying the full emotional range of storytelling. Moments of lightness, love, hope, and escapism alongside confrontation, healing, and growth.
This is about sisterhood. About finding your people, your tribe, your community in the shared experience of story.
Come for the stories. Stay for the sisterhood.
Let’s make 2026 a year of reading, reflection, and connection. I can’t wait to turn these pages with you.
Ready to join Black Women Connect Book Club? Learn more about how to participate in our monthly discussions and connect with our community of readers.
