The following Recommended Reading List is the result of the Fantasy Roundtable on People of Color in Fantasy Literature. You can read it here:

Part One | Part Two | Part Three

The panelists recommended books by writers of color but also books that portray characters of color and non-American cultures with depth and intelligence. This particular book list is only a small slice of what is available. We suggest you also consult the Carl Brandon Awards shortlist and keep up with the participants, many of whom are also writers.

Recommended Reading – Fantasy Literature by People of Color and/or including PoC and diverse cultures

(titles in bold were published in 2007 and eligible for upcoming awards.)

• Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu
  • Zahrah the Windseeker
  • The Shadow Speaker
• Neil Gaiman
  • American Gods
  • Anansi Boys
• Tamora Pierce
  • Circle of Magic series
• Heather Gladney
  • Teot’s War
  • Bloodstorm
• Octavia Butler
  • Wild Seed
• David Anthony Durham
  • Acacia – Book 1: The War With the Mien
• Justine Larbalestier
  • Magic or Madness
  • Magic Lessons
  • Magic’s Child
  • MoM omnibus edition
• Carole McDonnel
  • Wind Follower
• Virginia Hamilton
  • Justice and Her Brothers
  • Dustland
  • The Gathering
  • Sweet Whispers, Brother Rush
• Nalo Hopkinson
  • Brown Girl in the Ring
  • The Salt Roads
  • The New Moon’s Arms
  • So Long Been Dreaming: Postcolonial Science Fiction & Fantasy anthology (editor)
  • Mojo: Conjure Stories anthology (editor)
• Sheree R. Thomas (ed.)
  • Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora
  • Dark Matter: Reading the Bones
• Naomi Novik
  • His Majesty’s Dragon
  • Throne of Jade
  • Black Powder War
  • Empire of Ivory
• Charles Saunders
  • Imaro
  • Imaro 2 : The Quest for Cush
  • The Trail of Bohu (Imaro III)
• Karen Fowler
  • Sister Noon
  • Sarah Canary
• Catherynne Valente
  • The Orphan’s Tales: In the Night Garden
  • The Orphan’s Tales: In the Cities of Coin and Spice
• Alaya Dawn Johnson
  • Racing the Dark
• Tananarive Due
  • The Living Blood
• Colson Whitehead
  • The Intuitionist
• Minsoo Kang
  • Of Tales and Enigmas (short story collection)
• Kim Stanley Robinson
  • The Years of Rice And Salt
• Sylvia Kelso
  • Amberlight
• Ursula K. Le Guin
  • A Wizard of Earthsea & the Earthsea cycle
  • Always Coming Home
• Samuel Delany
  • Tales of Neveryon
  • Neveryona
  • Flight from Neveryon
  • Return to Neveryon
• Susan Vaught
  • Stormwitch
• Elizabeth Lynn
  • Dragon’s Winter
  • Dragon’s Treasure
• Shawna Yang Ryan
  • Locke 1928
• Kij Johnson
  • Fudoki

We also recommend reading the works of the following authors:

• L.A Banks
• Francesca Lia Block
• Tobias Buckell
• Chitra Divakaruni
• Hiromi Goto
• A. H. Jennings
• Larissa Lai
• Yoon Ha Lee
• Marjorie Liu
• Mary Anne Mohanraj
• R. Garcia y Robertson
• Sheree R. Thomas
• Eileen Wilks
• Larry Yep