Crib Notes: Reading More Black Writers

In libraries, bookshops and in many of our homes, bookshelves are dominated by white authors. Today, as I type this, Bernardine Evaristo has become the first woman of colour to be top of the paperback fiction bestseller list. This is an exciting moment, but I was shocked. We might think we read diversely, but this statistic makes it clear that many of us do not. A quick audit of my bookshelves tells me that, though I do read many writers of colour, my taste skews towards white female writers. That we readers are complicit in a system which upholds racism is an uncomfortable truth, but it’s an important one. It is time to make a genuine, conscious and lasting effort to read non-white voices. 

This month’s newsletter includes six of my favourite books by Black authors. I have chosen books which shed light on the history of racism and how it extends into the present day, but I do want to stress that we should read all kinds of books by Black writers. You will also notice that most of thes…