Buy a Book by a Black Author and Give It to Somebody Not Black Month

Starting this December event in 2008, Carleen Brice celebrates the second annual Buy a Book by a Black Author and Give It to Somebody Not Black Month. Her effort is intended to focus attention on the works of African American authors outside of the mainstream. Brice also maintains a blog White Readers Meet Black Authors, which she labels as an “official invitation into the African American section of the bookstore.”

Each year Brice recommends a short list of authors, as well as provides plenty more on her blog. For 2009:

The Book of Night Women By Marlon James
Kiss the Sky by Farai Chideya
Before I Forget by Leonard Pitts Jr.
Big Machine by Victor LaValle
Black Water Rising by Attica Locke
The Air Between Us by Deborah Johnson