60+ Books by BIPOC Authors Coming Out in May

The flowers are finally blooming and the weather is warming up in Toronto. I’ve even had a few days of reading in the park. I’m excited to welcome May and all the beautiful books hitting shelves this month.  From poetry, and essay collections to mysteries, there are so many books by BIPOC authors coming out in May that you should add to your list. 

Here are the eight at the top of my list…

A Black Girl in the Middle: Essays on (Allegedly) Figuring It All Out By Shenequa Golding – May 7

A blazingly honest essay collection from a refreshing new voice exploring the in-between moments for Black women and girls, and what it means to exist simply

Golding packs humor, curiosity, honesty, anger, and ultimately acceptance in 12 essays spanning her life in Queens, NY, as a first generation Jamaican American. She breaks down the 10 levels of Black Girl Math, from the hard glare to responses reserved for unfaithful boyfriends. She comes to terms with and heals from fraught relationships with her father, friends, and romantic partners. She takes the devastating news that she’s a Black girl with a “flat ass” in stride, and adds squats to her routine, eventually. From a harrowing encounter in a hotel room leading her to explore celibacy (for now) to embracing rather than fearing the “Milli Vanilli” of emotions in hurt and anger, Golding embraces everything she’s learned with wit, heart, and humility.

The Dangerous Ones by Lauren Blackwood – May 14

I first fell in love with her fantasy worlds in Within These Wicked Walls and I can’t wait to read this one. This book is taking the vampire story into new territory is a tricky maneuver after all these years. But author Lauren Blackwood pulls it off with The Dangerous Ones, which imagines an alternate U.S. Civil War pitting vampire slavers against the Union Army’s regiment of superpowered soldiers. Young Jerusalem, formerly enslaved herself, uses her enhanced strength and reflexes to free her people—and maybe get a little sweet revenge.

The Library Thief by Kuchenga Shenjé – May 7

This book is from debut author Kuchenga Shenje and it sounds oh so good.  This is a gothic mystery told through the perspective of a white-passing protagonist whose bookbinder father has hidden her Jamaican heritage. Florence escapes a scandal at home by intercepting her father’s commission to restore an old and valuable country house library. One night, Rose Hall’s library is broken into – but strangely, nothing is taken. The only thing out of place is the burned book Florence discovers in the fireplace… She realizes it’s the diary of her employer’s late wife, who met with a tragic end. And it reveals that in a house full of whispers, Florence’s secrets might not be the most incendiary.”

Oye by Melissa Mogollon – May 14

I’ve been waiting for this one to hit shelves for months and I’m so excited its finally here. This is a coming-of-age comedy. A telenovela-worthy drama. A moving family saga. All in a phone call you won’t want to hang up on. Structured as a series of one-sided phone calls from our spunky, sarcastic narrator, Luciana, to her older sister, Mari, this wildly inventive debut “jump-starts your heart in the same way it piques your ear” (Xochitl Gonzalez). As the baby of her large Colombian American family, Luciana is usually relegated to the sidelines. But now she finds herself as the only voice of reason in the face of an unexpected crisis: A hurricane is heading straight for Miami, and her eccentric grandmother, Abue, is refusing to evacuate. 

Allow Me to Introduce Myself by Onyi Nwabineli – May 28 

Ever since she was a child, Anuri’s life was chronicled and monetized by her influencer stepmother. Now an adult, she’s finally broken free. But when her stepmother starts preying on her young half sister, Anuri decides she must stop the cycle of abuse. Really Good, Actually meets City of Likes in a stunning page-turner about overcoming toxic family and reclaiming identity and, ultimately, hope.

Blood at the Root by LaDarrion Williams – May 7 

This is a YA book and there’s so much that I love about this premise. A teenager on the run from his past finds the family he never knew existed and the community he never knew he needed at an HBCU for the young, Black, and magical. Enroll in this fresh fantasy debut unlike anything you’ve seen before.

In a wholly unique saga of family, history and community, Malik must embrace his legacy to save what’s left of his old family as well as his new one. Exploring the roots and secrets that connect us in an unforgettable contemporary setting, this heart-pounding fantasy series opener is a rich tapestry of atmosphere, intrigue, and emotion.

Ghostroots: Stories by Pemi Aguda – May 7

A debut collection of stories set in a hauntingly reimagined Lagos where characters vie for freedom from ancestral ties. Evocative, strange, and yet familiar, “the speculative conceits of these stories are elegantly balanced with the gorgeous fullness of human emotion, all the hunger and longing and fear and delight of being a human in the world”

Goddess of the River by Vaishnavi Patel – May 21 

I loved Patel’s first book, and this one has been on my calendar for month. In this new book Patel tackles another retelling of an ancient Hindu epic, Goddess of the River. 

A powerful reimagining of the story of Ganga, goddess of the river, and her doomed mortal son.Ganga, the goddess of the river, is made mortal and cursed to bear the seven Vasus – the godlings, be their mother, to free them back into their ethereal forms.

She catches the eye of the powerful and greedy Shantanu, raja of Hastinapur, and sets off a course of events that has far reaching consequences in the Mahabharata.

Goddess of the River! It is a retelling of the ancient Hindu epic and religious text the Mahabharata from the perspective of Ganga, a river goddess, and her son. 

Here are additional diverse books coming out this month that you should add to your list:

• A Black Girl in the Middle: Essays on (Allegedly) Figuring It All Out By Shenequa Golding
• A Professional Lola by E.P. Tuazon
• Blood at the Root by LaDarrion Williams
• Cinema Love A Novel by Jiaming Tang
• Coming Home Brittney Griner , Michelle Burford
• Ella by Diane Richards
• Ghostroot by Pemi Aguda
• Mad Love: Big Flavors Made to Share, from South Asia to the West Indies by Devan Rajkumar
• More Than This by Krystal Marquis
• Skin & Bones a novel by Renée Watson
• The Driver’s Story Labor and Power in the World of Atlantic Slavery by Randy M. Browne
• The Library Thief by Kuchenga Shenjé
• The Only Black Girl in the Room A Novel by Alex Travis
• Their Divine Fires A Novel by Wendy Chen
• This Book Won’t Burn by Samira Ahmed
• Troubled Waters by Mary Annaïse Heglar
• The Unboxing of a Black Girl by Angela Shanté
• Evolving While Black The Ultimate Guide to Happiness and Transformation on Your Own Terms by Chianti Lomax
• It Waits in the Forest by Sarah Dass
• The Boo Hag Flex by Justina Ireland
• The Dangerous Ones by Lauren Blackwood
• A Gamble at Sunset (Betting Against the Duke #1) (Paperback) By Vanessa Riley
• Lost Ark Dreaming by Suyi Davies Okungbowa
• Don’t Answer When They Call Your Name Ukamaka Olisakwe
• Deep as the Sky, Red as the Sea by Rita Chang-Eppig
• A Little Kissing Between Friends by Chencia C. Higgins
• Allow Me to Introduce Myself A Novel by Onyi Nwabineli
• Like Water Like Sea by Olumide Popoola
• Oye by Melissa Mogollon
• Daughters of Shandong by Eve J. Chung
• Black Shield Maiden by Willow Smith and Jess Hendel
• Accordion Eulogies: A Memoir of Music, Migration, and Mexico by Noé Álvarez
• Bitterroot by Suzy Vitello
• The 7-10 Split  by Karmen Lee
• Control by Omar Tyree
• Now or Never by Hazel Ro
• Long After We Are Gone by Terah Shelton Harris
• Rise of a Killah by Ghostface Killah
• The Third Perspective: Brave Expression in the Age of Intolerance by Africa Brooke
• Joyful by Nature: Embracing Outdoor Adventure as Women of Color by Nailah Blades Wylie
• The Secret Library by Kekla Magoon
• Bits and Pieces: My Mother, My Brother, and Me by Whoopi Goldberg
• A Midnight Moon by r.h. Sin
• Nephew: A Memoir in 4-Part Harmony by MK Asante
• Fighting for Our Friendships: The Science and Art of Conflict and Connection in Women’s Relationships by Danielle Bayard Jackson
• Pretty: A Memoir by K.B. Brookins
• God Is Our Help: Our Daily Bread Reflections for Living with His Love and Strength by Patricia Raybon
• The Driver’s Story: Labor and Power in the World of Atlantic Slavery by Randy M. Browne
• Goddess of the River by Vaishnavi Patel
• Chaos & Flame #2 Blood & Fury by Tessa Gratton & Justina Ireland
• If You Knew My Name: A Novel in Verse by Lisa Roberts Carter
• Onyeka and the Heroes of the Dawn (Onyeka, Bk. 3) by Tolá Okogwu
• With Just One Wing by Brenda Woods
• Better Must Come by Desmond Hall 
• Unbecoming by Seema Yasmin 
• Flawless Girls by Anna-Marie McLemore
• América del Norte by Nicolás Medina Mora
• Jocelyn Bioh: Three Plays by Jocelyn Bioh
• Secret Society Mystery #1 : An Intrigue of Witches by Esme Addison
• The Silence of the Choir by Mohamed Mbougar Sarr
• An Encyclopedia of Gardening for Colored Children by Jamaica Kincaid & Kara Walker
• I Curse You With Joy by Tiffany Haddish

Which ones are you adding to your list this month? Let me know in the comments.