The ZORA Canon: The 100 greatest books ever written by African American women

This is one of the 759 lists we use to generate our main The Greatest Books list.

About this list

Zora, 100 Books

The ZORA Canon is a distinguished list featuring the 100 greatest books by African American women, marking a first in acknowledging this specific literary group. Rooted in a deep cultural tradition, it spans 160 years of literature, from pre-emancipation times to the present. The selection includes a wide array of genres, such as fiction, nonfiction, plays, anthologies, and poetry, covering a range of topics from historical to personal narratives. This list was meticulously compiled by a panel of experts in African American women's literature. It not only celebrates the contributions of these authors but also serves as a comprehensive reference for readers. The ZORA Canon is a tribute to underrecognized writers and a gateway for exploring the rich cultural and literary history of African American women.

The voters:
The group included Malaika Adero, a former vice president and senior editor for Atria Books at Simon & Schuster; Margo Jefferson, a Pulitzer Prize–winning critic and professor; Ayana Mathis, a professor and New York Times bestselling author; Tressie McMillan Cottom, an author and sociologist; Imani Perry, a professor of African American studies and an author; and Jesmyn Ward, an author and English professor.

This list was originally published in 2020 and was added to this site over 2 years ago.

View: List Grid Table
Rank Book Authors Year Country Language Actions
2362 Our Nig Harriet E. Wilson 1859 American English
2003 Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl Harriet Jacobs 1861 American English
6493 A Voice From The South Anna Julia Cooper 1892 American English
15908 Iola Leroy Frances Harper 1892 American English
3301 The Red Record Ida B. Wells 1895 American English
15908 There Is Confusion Jessie Fauset 1924 American English
1582 Quicksand Nella Larsen 1928 American English
437 Passing Nella Larsen 1929 American English
68 Their Eyes Were Watching God Zora Neale Hurston 1937 American English
15908 Tell My Horse Zora Neale Hurston 1938 American English
6493 Moses, Man Of The Mountain Zora Neale Hurston 1939 American English
1119 The Street Ann Petry 1946 American English
1262 Maud Martha Gwendolyn Brooks 1953 American English
14132 Brown Girl, Brownstones Paule Marshall 1959 American English
11302 A Raisin In The Sun Lorraine Hansberry 1959 American English
15908 Selected Poems Gwendolyn Brooks 1963 American English
15908 Funnyhouse Of A Negro Adrienne Kennedy 1964 American English
6733 Jubilee Margaret Walker 1966 American English
15908 The Flagellants Carlene Hatcher Polite 1966 American English
15908 The House Of Dies Drear Virginia Hamilton 1968 American English
8266 Coming Of Age In Mississippi Anne Moody 1968 American English
521 I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Maya Angelou 1969 American English
14853 To Be Young, Gifted, And Black Lorraine Hansberry 1969 American English
15908 The Black Woman Toni Cade Bambara 1970 American English
15908 We A Badd Ddd People Sonia Sanchez 1970 American English
14897 The Third Life Of Grange Copeland Alice Walker 1970 American English
7621 Gorilla, My Love Toni Cade Bambara 1972 American English
560 Sula Toni Morrison 1973 American English
1702 Oreo Fran Ross 1974 American English
1623 Corregidora Gayl Jones 1975 American English
17150 Eva's Man Gayl Jones 1976 American English
14984 For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When The Rainbow Is Enuf Ntozake Shange 1975 American English
1307 Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry Mildred D. Taylor 1976 American English
17150 Meridian Alice Walker 1976 American English
260 Song of Solomon Toni Morrison 1977 American English
17150 I've Been A Woman Sonia Sanchez 1978 American English
17150 Black Macho And The Myth Of The Black Superwoman Michele Wallace 1979 American English
2351 The Salt Eaters Toni Cade Bambara 1980 American English
17150 The Heart Of A Woman Maya Angelou 1981 American English
5577 Women, Race, And Class Angela Davis 1981 American English
4202 Ain't I A Woman? bell hooks 1981 American English
17150 All The Women Are White, All The Blacks Are Men, But Some Of Us Are Brave Gloria T. Hull, Patricia Bell Scott, Barbara Smith 1982 American English
1666 Zami Audre Lorde 1982 American English
1513 The Women of Brewster Place Gloria Naylor 1982 American English
9790 Sassafrass, Cypress, And Indigo Ntozake Shange 1982 American English
157 The Color Purple Alice Walker 1982 American English
6184 Fish Tales Nettie Jones 1983 American English
17150 Home Girls Barbara Smith 1983 American English
5925 In Search Of Our Mother’s Gardens Alice Walker 1983 American English
17150 When And Where I Enter Paula Giddings 1984 American English
1620 Sister Outsider Audre Lorde 1984 American English
17150 Linden Hills Gloria Naylor 1985 American English
17150 Radiance From The Waters Sylvia Ardyn Boone 1989 American English
17150 Thomas And Beulah Rita Dove 1986 American English
17150 Blacks Gwendolyn Brooks 1987 American English
49 Beloved Toni Morrison 1987 American English
6250 Assata Assata Shakur 1987 American English
17150 Black Eyed Susans And Midnight Birds Mary Helen Washington 1975 American English
17150 Invisibility Blues Michele Wallace 1990 American English
2694 Waiting to Exhale Terry McMillan 1992 American English
1328 Parable Of The Sower Octavia E. Butler 1993 American English
17150 Ugly Ways Tina McElroy Ansa 1993 American English
17150 The Black Christ Kelly Brown Douglas 1994 American English
17150 The Selected Poems Of Nikki Giovanni Nikki Giovanni 2003 American English
5125 Killing The Black Body Dorothy E. Roberts 1997 American English
1971 Parable of the Talents Octavia E. Butler 1998 American English
17150 Black Picket Fences Mary Pattillo-McCoy 1999 American English
17150 Where We Stand bell hooks 2000 American English
14232 Topdog Underdog Suzan-Lori Parks 2001 American English
9238 Ella Baker And The Black Freedom Movement Barbara Ransby 2003 American English
17150 Fledgling Octavia E. Butler 2005 American English
17150 Directed By Desire June Jordan 2005 American English
14984 Native Guard Natasha Trethewey 2006 American English
17150 African American Music Mellonee V. Burnim, Portia K. Maultsby 2006 American English
17150 All Bound Up Together Martha S. Jones 2007 American English
17150 Blue Chip Black Karyn R. Lacy 2007 American English
2857 A Mercy Toni Morrison 2008 American English
17150 Blood Dazzler Patricia Smith 2008 American English
909 The Warmth Of Other Suns Isabel Wilkerson 2010 American English
1701 The New Jim Crow Michelle Alexander 2010 American English
1368 Salvage the Bones Jesmyn Ward 2011 American English
17150 The Collected Poems Of Lucille Clifton Lucille Clifton 1999 American English
17150 The Ethnic Project Vilna Bashi Treitler 2013 American English
17150 Things I Should Have Told My Daughter Pearl Cleage 2014 American English
3217 Brown Girl Dreaming Jacqueline Woodson 2014 American English
17150 Dark Matters Simone Browne 2015 Canadian English
1117 The Fifth Season N. K. Jemisin 2015 American English
17150 Pushout Monique W. Morris 2016 American English
14232 Sweat Lynn Nottage 2015 American English
17150 Unequal City Carla Shedd 2015 American English
17150 White Rage Carol Anderson 2016 American English
17150 Whatever Happened To Interracial Love? Kathleen Collins 2016 American English
14232 Freedom Is A Constant Struggle Angela Davis 2016 American English
17150 Beyond Respectability Brittney C. Cooper 2017 American English
17150 How We Get Free Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor 2017 American English
1650 Sing, Unburied, Sing Jesmyn Ward 2017 American English
2636 An American Marriage Tayari Jones 2018 American English
17150 Race After Technology Ruha Benjamin 2019 American English
6787 Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments Saidiya Hartman 2019 American English
17150 Magical Negro Morgan Parker 2019 American English