Read Caribbean
#ReadingList: literary fiction, speculative fiction, horror, poetry, fantasy, historical fiction, & more
“…the road start a slow incline through the mountains. Before long everywhere turn green and the air feel cool, and the road open into another world. On one side is rock folds and moss-green trees and tiny springs trickle out of the cracks. On the other, lush valleys, the golden glow of the afternoon sun and big open sky. Is not like Darwin never see mountains before, not like he never see the world splay open in green and gold and fire and softness, but somehow here with her, driving in a silence that don't feel like silence, it hit different. He keep his eyes on the view outside the window, reach toward the armrest in between their seats and catch hold of her hand. Her fingers stiffen, then fold themselves into his. He breathe in the cool air, feel the last rays on his face and close his eyes.”
— from WHEN WE WERE BIRDS by Ayanna Lloyd Banwo
I started intentionally reading Caribbean literature when I met Akilah White (aka Kiki of ifthisisparadise) on bookstagram in 2020. I started with Maryse Condé’s I, TITUBA (because I was going through my witchy reads phase at that time) & since then I’ve read dozens of books by Caribbean authors almost all of which have been five-star reads for me &/or have impacted my life in a significant way.
I also participate in #ReadCaribbean every year on bookstagram! Read Caribbean is an initiative started by Cindy of bookofcinz on instagram in 2019 & has since grown to include hundreds of readers each year. During the month of June, readers from all over the world read, celebrate, & amplify Caribbean-authored lit in community. To read more about it, check out the resources linked at the bottom of this post.
And during January 2023-August 2024 I have also enjoyed immensely participating in the #WeReadJamaicaKincaid readalong hosted by Kiki where we have been reading all of Jamaica Kincaid’s works in order of publication & then chatting together over zoom above each of the books. Before this I hadn’t read any of Kincaid’s works & now she has becomes one of my all-time favorite writers.
Here is a list of some of my favorite & most-anticipated Caribbean-authored reads! (Since I’ve read multiple books by quite a few of these authors & all of those authors are now more or less auto-buy authors for me, I’ve grouped those by author name & the rest are grouped by their BISAC category.)
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Cadwell Turnbull—
THE LESSON (2019)
speculative fiction with aliens trope
NO GODS, NO MONSTERS (2021)
speculative fiction with multiverse & monsters tropes
Book 1 of the Convergence Saga trilogy
WE ARE THE CRISIS (2023)
speculative fiction with multiverse & monsters tropes
Book 2 of the Convergence Saga trilogy
Book 3 of the Convergence Saga (A RUIN, GREAT AND FREE) coming soon!
MANY WORLDS: the Simulacra, edited by Cadwell Turnbull & Josh Eure (2023)
speculative fiction short stories anthology
Find more of Turnbull’s writing here.
Note: technically THE LESSON is not part of the Convergence Saga trilogy, but Turnbull has implied that all of his writing takes place in more or less the same “world” & deals with a lot of similar themes, tropes, & other elements that makes reading all of his works in publication order very rewarding, fwiw.
Maryse Condé—
I, TITUBA (1986)
mock epic historical fiction biography about Tituba of the Salem witch-hunts fame
LAND OF MANY COLORS & NANNA-YA (1985)
literary historical fiction
two short stories omnibus
WINDWARD HEIGHTS (1995)
literary historical fiction—a retelling of Emily Brontë’s WUTHERING HEIGHTS
THE STORY OF THE CANNIBAL WOMAN (2003)
literary thriller
OF MORSELS AND MARVELS (2020)
gastronomic travelogue & memoir
THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO THE NEW WORLD (2021)
literary fiction
Eden Royce—
ROOT MAGIC (2021)
YA/middle-grade historical fiction
CONJURE ISLAND (2023)
YA/middle-grade contemporary fiction—school of magic trope
THE CREEPENING OF DOGWOOD HOUSE (out 07.30.2024)
YA/middle-grade horror—haunted house trope
PSYCHOPOMP & CIRCUMSTANCE (out 04.29.2025)
southern gothic historical fantasy
Royce’s adult fiction debut
SPOOK LIGHTS: Southern Gothic Horror (2015)
& SPOOK LIGHTS II (2017)
southern gothic horror & fantasy short stories
WHO LOST, I FOUND: Stories (2023)
Black southern speculative fiction short stories
P Djèlí Clark—
RING SHOUT (2020)
historical horror fantasy—eldritch monsters trope
A DEAD DJINN IN CAIRO (2016)
historical fantasy
Dead Djinn Universe #0.1
THE ANGEL OF KHAN EL-KHALILI (2021)
historical fantasy
Dead Djinn Universe #0.2
& which I only found out about while making this post!
THE HAUNTING OF TRAM CAR 015 (2019)
historical fantasy
Dead Djinn Universe #0.3
A MASTER OF DJINN (2021)
historical fantasy
Dead Djinn Universe #1
THE BLACK GOD’S DRUMS (2018)
YA alternate history steampunk fantasy
THE DEAD CAT TAIL ASSASSINS (out 08.06.2024)
adult fantasy novella
THE SECRET LIVES OF THE NINE NEGRO TEETH OF GEORGE WASHINGTON (2018)
speculative fiction short story
Jamaica Kincaid—
AT THE BOTTOM OF THE RIVER (1983)
short stories
and my favorite overall book of hers that I’ve read so far!
ANNIE JOHN (1985)
literary fiction
A SMALL PLACE (1988)
sociocultural nonfiction essay—on “ethical” tourism, specifically in the Caribbean
required reading for everyone, actually
LUCY (1990)
literary fiction
another favorite
Read my review for LUCY here.
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MY MOTHER (1996)
literary fiction
MY BROTHER (1997)
literary nonfiction / memoir
kind of an unpopular opinion but I think this might be my favorite of all of her novels…
MY GARDEN (BOOK) (1991)
nonfiction personal memoir essays about gardening & horticulture
TALK STORIES (2001)
short stories—a collection of her writings for the New Yorker
Review coming soon!
MR POTTER (2002)
literary fiction
AMONG FLOWERS: A Walk in the Himalaya (2005)
travelogue memoir
Review coming soon!
SEE NOW THEN (2013)
literary fiction
Myriam JA Chancy—
SPIRIT OF HAITI (2003)
literary fiction
WHAT STORM WHAT THUNDER (2021)
historical fiction
VILLAGE WEAVERS (2024)
queer sapphic historical fiction
Fiction—
ONE OF US KNOWS by Alyssa Cole (2024)
thriller
apparently the MC of this book has DID (dissociative identity disorder) & Cole herself does not have this disorder (& I do) so while I’m curious about it I’m also very nervous to read it… I know that Akwaeke Emezi likes Cole’s books though so… 🤞🏻
SKIN THIEF by Suzan Palumbo (2023)
dark sapphic horror fantasy
THE HUMAN ORIGINS OF BEATRICE PORTER AND OTHER ESSENTIAL GHOSTS by Soraya Palmer (2023)
queer literary fiction
WHEN WE WERE BIRDS by Ayanna Lloyd Banwo (2022)
literary fiction—featuring a sentient/ haunted house & haunted cemetery tropes with a lovely romance storyline & matrilineal generational themes
BLUE by Emmelie Prophète (2022)
literary fiction novella
Read my review for BLUE here.
POPISHO by Leonne Ross (2021)
queer literary fantasy
HOW THE ONE-ARMED SISTER SWEEPS HER HOUSE by Cherie Jones (2021)
literary historical fiction
UNRAVELING by Karen Lord (2019)
dark urban fantasy thriller
THE STAR SIDE OF BIRD HILL by Naomi Jackson (2015)
literary fiction—featuring themes of displacement, immigration, & family
REDEMPTION IN INDIGO by Karen Lord (2010)
literary fantasy—folk tales-inspired
NOTES FROM A WRITER’S BOOK OF CURES AND SPELLS by Marcia Douglas (2005)
experimental literary fiction
BREATH, EYES, MEMORY by Edwidge Danticat (1994)
literary fiction
ON A WOMAN’S MADNESS by Astrid Roemer (1982)
queer literary fiction
WIDE SARGASSO SEA by Jean Rhys (1966)
literary historical fiction—sort of a reimagining of a prequel to Charlotte Brontë’s JANE EYRE
I do recommend getting an annotated or academic edition of this one if you can manage it…
Short stories—
THE ROCK EATERS by Brenda Peynado (2021)
speculative fiction
THE PAIN TREE by Olive Senior (2015)
literary fiction
KRIK? KRAK! by Edwidge Danticat (1995)
literary fiction
Technically this is a collection of short stories but they are all connected to each other & characters will make reappearances in more than one.
OUT THERE SCREAMING: An Anthology of New Black Horror, edited by Jordan Peele & John Joseph Adams (2023)
horror
features stories by Cadwell Turnbull, P Djèlí Clark, Nalo Hopkinson, & others
THE BOOK OF WITCHES (2023)
all kinds of stories about witches
features stories by P Djèlí Clark, Premee Mohamed, & others
Poetry—
HURRICANE WATCH: New and Collected Poems, by Olive Senior (2022)
EVERYONE KNOWS I AM A HAUNTING by Shivanee Ramlochan (2017)
THE CARTOGRAPHER TRIES TO MAP A WAY TO ZION by Kei Miller (2014)
A LIGHT SONG OF LIGHT by Kei Miller (2010)
OSSUARIES by Dionne Brand (2010)
GARDENING IN THE TROPICS by Olive Senior (1994)
YA & Middle-grade—
IT WAITS IN THE FOREST by Sarah Dass (2024)
Memoir & Personal Essays—
THINGS I HAVE WITHHELD by Kei Miller (2021)
Nonfiction & Essays—
WHEN LANGUAGE BROKE OPEN: An Anthology of Queer and Trans Black Writers of Latin American Descent, edited by Alan Pelaez Lopez (2023)
essays, poems, & short stories
TALKING TO THE DEAD: Religion, Music, and Lived Memory among Gullah/Geechee Women, by LeRhonda S. Manigault-Bryant (2014)
More Resources & Information—
#WeReadJamaicaKincaid
Links for #WeReadJamaicaKincaid & Kiki’s other bookish & literary endeavors.
#ReadCaribbean
Links for #ReadCaribbean & Caribbean Girl Experiencing the World.
#CadwellTurnbullReadalong
Kiki also hosts a #CadwellTurnbullReadalong on bookstagram which has featured Q&A sessions on zoom with the author himself to talk about his books. We started with THE LESSON & have read the Convergence Saga through Book two—WE ARE THE CRISIS—& are eagerly anticipating his next book! We’re basically the Cadwell Turnbull fanclub.
Rebel Women Lit
“Rebel Women Lit is a bibliotherapy community started in 2017 by a group of readers determined to re-imagine our world. Headquartered in Jamaica, RWL has members of our community who are based across the globe dedicated to creating safe, intimate, queer and lit spaces filled with mutual respect, playful curiosity and radical joy. This is a space to question existing ways of doing things, while collectively collaborating on alternative methods to build a fairer, softer and emotionally intelligent world.”
NGC Bocas Lit Fest
Every year the pictures & videos from this festival look so so amazing. If I ever get to travel to a book fest somewhere in the world it would definitely be this one.
“Founded in 2011, the NGC Bocas Lit Fest is Trinidad and Tobago’s premier annual literary festival: a lively celebration of books, writers, writing, and ideas, with a Caribbean focus and international scope. The Festival brings together readers and writers from Trinidad and Tobago, the Caribbean, and the wider world for readings, performances, workshops, discussions, film screenings, and more. Most events are free and open to the public.”