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100 Diverse Authors to Expand your TBR

By August 28, 2016February 2nd, 2018Authors, Discussion and Recommendations

With an entire movement right now fighting the lack of diversity in literature, we thought we’d rise to the challenge with our own diverse reading list. For our latest poll question we asked you to tell us who your favourite author who is a person of colour is. Sadly due to some of the responses we were forced to clarify and I even added a blog on why diversity in literature is so important, but now it’s time for the results.

From your replies we have a huge list of diverse authors for you, all recommended by you, with a suggested novel from that author for the top ten, so without further ado here are 100 diverse authors to expand your TBR.

Maya Angelou

I’m not at all surprised to find Maya Angelou in the top spot, and if you haven’t already I highly recommend checking out her novels and poetry.

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings US
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings UK

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Review

Toni Morrison

I have to confess, I started Beloved a few months ago and couldn’t get on with it, but Toni Morrison comes highly recommended by many of you and takes second place in our poll.

Beloved US
Beloved UK

Submit a Review



Khaled Hosseini

Bringing all the colour and vibrancy of Afhanistan to life is Khaled Hosseini, who has fast become one of my favourite contemporary authors.

The Kite Runner US
The Kite Runner UK

The Kite Runner Review

Alice Walker

Pulitzer Prize winner, Alice Walker is an author, poet and activist and her works are a must on any diverse reading list.

The Color Purple US
The Color Purple UK

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Octavia E. Butler

Queen of sci-fi and winner of the Hugo and Nebula awards, Octavia E. Butler comes next and if you’re a fan of science fiction, her works are a must read.

Kindred US
Kindred UK

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Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche

Nigerian, feminist, and fantastic author Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche comes next on our list, offering novels and short stories that are rich and meaningful.

Americanah US
Americanah UK

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Walter Mosley

American Walter Mosley is next on our list and he brings us black private investigator Easy Rawlins, and plenty of other rich, diverse characters too.

Devil in a Blue Dress US
Devil in a Blue Dress UK

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James Baldwin

James Baldwin writes some of the most diverse novels out there, covering racial tensions, LGBT issues and the social complexity of life and fitting in.

Go Tell it on the Mountain US
Go Tell it on the Mountain UK

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Amy Tan

Chinese American, Amy Tan writes from her own experiences, bringing the Chinese American experience to life.

The Joy Luck Club US
The Joy Luck Club UK

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Kazuo Ishiguro

Kazuo Ishiguro is a Japanese British novelist and screenwriter who marks Margaret Atwood as his greatest influence. The Times ranked him in the top 50 British authors since 1945, and his works are well worth adding to your TBR.

Never Let Me Go US
Never Let Me Go UK

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11. Chinua Achebe

12. Jhumpa Lahiri

13. Haruki Murakami (After the Quake review)

14. Alexandre Dumas (Count of Monte Cristo review)

15. N. K Jemisin

16. Malorie Blackman

17. Junot Diaz

18. Zora Neal Hurston

19. Tananarive Due

20. Sabaa Tahir



We were just going to do a top 20, but so many of you replied enthusiastically we had over 100 authors mentioned. Here’s the rest of the list!

Marie Lu
Taheraha Mafi
Sandra Cisneros
Sherman Alexie
Ta-Nehisi Coates
Lawrence Hill
James McBride
Tess Gerritson
Zadie Smith
Alex Haley
N. Scott Momaday
Louise Erdrich
Nalo Hopkinson
Pearl S. Buck
Edwidge Danicat
Thrity Umrigar
Salman Rushdie
Ralph Ellison
Gabriel Marquez
Isabel Allende
Saadat Hussain Manto
Roxanne Gay
Julia Alvarez
Walter Dean Myers
Jacqueline Woodson
Mohsin Hamid
Nalini Singh
Banana Yoshimoto
Richard Wright
Eric Jerome Dickey
Connie Briscoe
Terry McMillan
Paul Beatty
Kishwar Naheed
Rudolfo Anaya
Yusuf Komunyakaa
Audre Lorde
Rita Dove
Bernadine Evaristo
Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor
Steven Barnes
Kawasi Wiredu
Kwami Gyekye
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
Jason Reynolds
Matt de la Pena
Nnedi Okorafor
Neal Shusterman
Maryse Conde
Natsuo Kirino
Milk Morinaga
Junji Ito
Khalil Gibran
Ann Quindlin
Emily Griffin
Keigo Hihashino
Rumi
Sally Walker
Yukio Mishima
Lawrence Dunbar
Countee Cullen
Albert Camus
Michiko Kakutani
Langston Hughes
Chester Himes
Abraham Verghesi
Aravind Adiga
John Twelve Hawks
Wu-Ming-Yi
Charles Yu
Taiye Selasi
Vikram Seth
Naguib Mahfouz
Jemsyn Ward
Leonard Pitts
Samuel R. Delaney
Ayaan Hirschi Ali
Kamala Das
John McWhorter
Malcolm Gladwell

That’s quite a reading list! We hope you enjoy increasing the diversity in your literature with these suggestions.

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