Juneteenth, which is recognized on June 19th each year, celebrates the end of slavery in the United States. We are highlighting books from Black writers that provide insight into the rich complexity of the Black experience through history, memoir, literature, and poetry.
Find our full collection of Juneteenth titles here.
A seminal volume of four classic slave narratives, including Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, The History of Mary Price: A West Indian Slave, Incident in the Life of a Slave Girl, and The Life of Olaudah Equiano.
Winner of the National Book Award for Nonfiction and Kirkus Prize for Nonfiction; Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in General Nonfiction
and National Book Critics Circle Award for Criticism • A bold and personal literary exploration of America’s racial history.
Juneteenth is a brilliantly crafted, moving, and wise novel. This edition includes a new introduction by National Book Award-winning author Charles R. Johnson.
Twelve Years a Slave is a harrowing memoir about one of the darkest periods in American history.
Winner of the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work – Nonfiction; Finalist for the Kirkus Prize for Nonfiction • A dramatic expansion of a groundbreaking work of journalism, The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story offers a profoundly revealing vision of the American past and present.
Finalist for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction • A “choral history” of African Americans covering 400 years of history in the voices of 90 writers, edited by the bestselling, National Book Award–winning historian Ibram X. Kendi and award-winning historian Keisha N. Blain.
From the Thurber Prize-winning author of What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Blacker comes a pioneering collection of Black humor from some of the most acclaimed writers and performers at work today A critic explores the paradox of finding community in “the dozens” while grieving. A violent town ritual causes an all-too-familiar moral panic. An email thread
Read more
Oprah’s Book Club Pick Ocean Vuong returns with a bighearted novel about chosen family, unexpected friendship, and the stories we tell ourselves in order to survive. “Come in. But take off your shoes. My husband put down these floors.” The woman disappeared into the house. The boy hesitated, looking down the empty street. The
Read moreGet the latest news on all things Higher Education.
Learn about our books, authors, teacher events, and more!
Our mission is to foster a universal passion for reading by partnering with authors to help create stories and communicate ideas that inform, entertain, and inspire.
Penguin Random House Higher Education
© 2025 Penguin Random House
