Born January 14, John Oliver Killens wrote several novels, two of which were nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for fiction: And Then We Heard the Thunder and The Cotillion, or One Good Bull is Half the Herd. More information about John Oliver Killens can be found here
Born January 15, 1933, Ernest J. Gaines is an African American author of eight novels and several short stories. Three novels became movies: A Lesson Before Dying, The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, and A Gathering of Old Men. One short story, The Sky is Gray, was adapted for a movie. More information about his books can be found here
There is also an award given to a rising African American author: The Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence
Born January 13, Sharon Robinson is the daughter of Jackie Robinson. She is also a nurse-midwife, health writer, author, and educator. She has written several books about Jackie Robinson and herself.
Book 1: Her memoir, Child of the Dream
Book 2: Jackie Robinson’s biography, Promises to Keep
Book 3: Jackie’s Nine
These three books are from the 2025 Miself in Book list. You can view the list here.
Book 1 (Elementary): Black Star by Kwame Alexander
Book 2 (Middle Grade): One Big Open Sky by Lesa Cline-Ransome
Book 3 (Young Adult): Knucklehead Poems by Tony Keith, Jr.
The Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA) will soon be publishing the 2025 Best of the Best Books (BOTB). In the meantime, check out these books from the 2024 BOTB list.
Elementary: A Voice of Hope The Myrlie Evers-Williams Story by Nadia Saloman; illustrated by London Ladd
Middle Grade: Onyx & Beyond by Amber McBride
Young Adult Tanglefoot by Kalela Williams
Grace F. Edwards, born January 3 in Harlem was a novelist and mystery writer.
Her novel: In the Shadow of the Peacock
She also was the author of the Mali Anderson mystery series: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/7826/grace-f-edwards
Zora Neale Hurston, author, anthropologist, and folklorist was born January 7. Well-known for her book, “Their Eyes Are Watching God”, she has written other books. Just a few pictured here. More can be found on the website: https://www.zoranealehurston.com/books/
Her autobiography:
If you are a fan of Zora Neale Hurston, you should treat yourself to the Zora Neale Festival in January. It is a fabulous event that honors and pay tribute to a fantastic author. For more information, check out the website: https://zorafestival.org/
Born January 5, Tananarive Due is the author of several horror/sci-fi books. Here are just a few of her books. Check out the rest on her website: https://www.tananarivedue.com/
John Hope Franklin was born on January 2, 1915. He was an American historian who wrote primarily about American history. His classic and seminal work is:
Book: From Slavery to Freedom
Book: Mirror to America, his autobiography
Born January 1, 1915, John Henrik Clarke was a historian, professor, and Afrocentrist. He wrote and co-wrote many books on Africa and African history. Some of his more prominent works are:
Book 1: Christopher Columbus and the Afrikan Holocaust
Book 2: African People in World History
Book 3: Who Betrayed the African Revolution?
The CamaraIfe Maktaba 