Here is October’s list of new books. For more books available now and coming soon, see 2026 New Releases by Black Authors.
—Clicking on the book links will direct you to a different site. BCBA may earn a small percentage on purchases.
—Book Genre Abbreviations: Bd Bk/Board Book, PB/Picture Book, ER/Early Reader, Chp Bk/Chapter Book, MG/Middle-Grade, YA/Young Adult
Picture Books
Amara Visits the Library
JaNay Brown-Wood | Samara Hardy | Peachtree | October 6, 2026 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
The Water Princess Builds a Well
Susan Verde | Georgie Badiel | Peter H. Reynolds | G.P. Putnam’s Sons BYR | October 6, 2026 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
You’re in My Heart
Sawyer Cloud | Tate Publishing | October 6, 2026 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
Dele and Aminata’s Jollof War
Yewande Daniel-Ayoade | Bri Marie McNish | Owlkids | October 6, 2026 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
A Christmas Full of Poetry: A Poem for Every Day of December
Joseph Coelho | Deborah Adachi, et al. | Wide Eyed Editions | October 6, 2026 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
The Twelve Days of Jamaican Christmas
Zalika Reid-Benta | Mariyah Rahman | Tundra Books | October 6, 2026 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
That Beautiful Mind
Tami Charles | Chris Charles | Nikkolas Smith | Orchard Books | October 6, 2026 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
Onward, We Marched
Erica Martin | Alleanna Harris | Penguin/Flamingo | October 6, 2026 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
Beep Beep to Sleep
Debbie Rigaud | Olivia Duchess | Penguin/Nancy Paulsen | October 13, 2026 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
Zee Unplugged
Tasha Cobbs Leonard | Kyle Beckett | WaterBrook Children’s | October 13, 2026 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
My Voice Is a Beat
Kevin Olusola | DeAndra Hodge | Tommy Nelson | October 13, 2026 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
Kanoni’s Kwanzaa
Hope Anita Smith | Bea Jackson | Christy Ottaviano Books | October 13, 2026 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
Freedom’s Eve: A Story of Watch Night
Pamela Courtney | Keisha Morris | FSG | October 13, 2026 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
Don’t Drop the Mic
Idris Goodwin | Kaylani Juanita | HarperCollins | October 20, 2026 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
Together
Winsome Bingham | Joy Hwang Ruiz | Abrams BYR | October 20, 2026 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
Prince Bedhead
Taye Diggs | Shannon Stoeke | Abelle Hayford | Feiwel and Friends | October 20, 2026 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
The Ten Tins
Alliah L. Agostini | Taylor Adams-Bass | HarperCollins | October 20, 2026 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
I Am Wonderfully Me
Grace Byers | Lisbeth Checo | Keturah A. Bobo | HarperCollins | October 20, 2026 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
What Shall We Tell You?
Wade Hudson | Tonya Engel | Astra Young Readers | October 27, 2026 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
Rock Paper Scissors Cheese
W. Kamau Bell | Adam Mansbach | Breanna Chambers | FSG | October 27, 2026 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
Noor and the Storyteller
Seina Wedlick | Leah Giles | HarperCollins | October 27, 2026 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
Chapter/Middle-Grade/Young Adult
Fast Break
Shawn Pryor | Del Hahn | Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) | October 6, 2026 | MG | Amazon | Bookshop
Dasia (Forever)
Nic Stone | Crown BYR | October 6, 2026 | MG | Amazon | Bookshop
They Will Not Save Us
Marie Arnold | Scholastic Press | October 6, 2026 | MG | Amazon | Bookshop
Kugali Ink: Àkànní
Jessica Tagbajumi | Jason Lamy | Obaseun Ogunkeye | Etubi Onuchyo | Kugali Ink | October 6, 2026 | MG | Amazon | Bookshop
Kugali Ink: Runeless
Bill Masuku | Daniel Quartey | Mario Cau | Barlo Moreira | Kugali Ink | October 6, 2026 | MG | Amazon | Bookshop
Leaving Birdsong
Brenda Woods | Nancy Paulsen Books | October 13, 2026 | MG | Amazon | Bookshop
Starting Now
Janae Marks | Quill Tree Books | October 13, 2026 | MG | Amazon | Bookshop
Stop Anti-Black Racism
Nadia L. Hohn | Arden Taylor | Orca Book Publishers | October 13, 2026 | MG | Amazon | Bookshop
The Big Bully (David’s Diary, Bk. 3)
Bunmi Laditan | Elisa Rocchi | WaterBrook | October 27, 2026 | Chp Bk | Amazon | Bookshop
The Paragon Games (Conjureverse. Bk. 4)
Dhonielle Clayton | Henry Holt and Co. (BYR) | October 27, 2026 | MG | Amazon | Bookshop
Adia Kelbara and the Dark Between
Isi Hendrix | Storytide | October 27, 2026 | MG | Amazon | Bookshop
Being Amani
Annabelle Steele | Lerner/Carolrhoda | October 6, 2026 | YA | Amazon | Bookshop
Avery’s Story (Rival High #1)
Candace Buford | Jamie Green | Scholastic | October 6, 2026 | YA | Amazon | Bookshop
It’s Only Dancing
Jasmine Guillory | Scholastic | October 6, 2026 | YA | Amazon | Bookshop
Everything New Again
Renée Watson | Bloomsbury | October 13, 2026 | YA | Amazon | Bookshop
Dreamweaving
O.O. Sangoyomi | Page Street YA | October 13, 2026 | YA | Amazon | Bookshop
Everything’s Not Lost
Frederick Joseph | Viking BYR | October 20, 2026 | YA | Amazon | Bookshop
Off Balance (The Heights, Bk. 2)
Paula Chase | Wednesday Books | October 20, 2026 | YA | Amazon | Bookshop
Soot & Sacrifice
Qurratulayn | Page Street | October 20, 2026 | YA | Amazon | Bookshop
The Queen’s Command
Sarah Raughley | HarperCollins | October 20, 2026 | YA | Amazon | Bookshop
Knight of the God King
Lauren Blackwood | Wednesday Books | October 20, 2026 | YA | Amazon | Bookshop
A Lake with No Bottom
H.D. Hunter | Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) | October 20, 2026 | YA | Amazon | Bookshop
Sun Chasers
Kacen Callender | Amulet | October 27, 2026 | YA | Amazon | Bookshop
Where We Go at Night
Ikwo Ntekim | HarperCollins | October 27, 2026 | YA | Amazon | Bookshop
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