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List of Amistad Press books

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This is a list of books published by Amistad Press, an imprint of HarperCollins acquired in late October 1999.[1][2] It is the oldest imprint devoted to the African-American market,[3] and takes its name from a slave ship on which a revolt occurred in 1839. Charles F. Harris (1934–2015)[2][4] started Amistad in the 1970s as a quarterly anthology of black writing at Random House, where he worked as a senior editor from 1967, and it "went through a number of collaborative publishing ventures with large publishers"[3] before being launched in 1986 as an independent imprint.[2] Harris joined HarperCollins as vice president of the imprint at the time of the 1999 merger,[5] and remained as editorial director until 2003.[6] The current editorial director is Tracy Sherrod, who joined the Amistad imprint in 2013.[7][8]

Publishing about 10 titles a year,[8] Amistad does not aim for commercial fiction success; it leans toward narrative nonfiction.[9]

As of December 2020, approximately 154 Amistad Press books are listed by the publisher as in print.[10]

0-9

  • 32 Candles: A Novel, Ernessa T. Carter (2011)

A

B

  • Bad Boy: A Memoir, Walter Dean Myers (2001)
  • Balm: A Novel, Dolen Perkins-Valdez (2015)
  • Barracoon: The Story of the Last "Black Cargo", Zora Neale Hurston (2018)
  • Beauty and the Beast, H. Chuku Lee (2014)
  • Bebop Express, H. L. Panahi (2005)
  • Before the Legend: The Rise of Bob Marley, Christopher Farley (2007)
  • Better Than Good Hair: The Curly Girl Guide to Healthy, Gorgeous Natural Hair!, Nikki Walton and Ernessa T. Carter (2013)
  • Between Father and Son: An African-American Fable, Eric V. Copage (2005)
  • Big Jabe, Jerdine Nolen (2003)
  • Biscuit Wants to Play Spinner Rack, Alyssa Satin Capucilli (2001)
  • Black Detroit: A People's History of Self-Determination, Herb Boyd (2017)
  • Black is Brown is Tan, Arnold Adoff (2002)
  • Black Pearls: Daily Meditations, Affirmations, and Inspirations for African-Americans, Eric V. Copage (2005)
  • Black Pearls for Parents: Meditations, Affirmations, and Inspirations for African-American Parents, Eric V. Copage (2005)
  • The Blacker the Berry, Joyce Carol Thomas (2008)
  • The Book of Luke: My Fight for Truth, Justice, and Liberty City, Luther Campbell and Tanner Colby (2015)
  • Bound for Canaan: The Epic Story of the Underground Railroad, America's First Civil Rights Movement, Fergus Bordewich (2006)
  • Boycott Blues: How Rosa Parks Inspired a Nation, Andrea Davis Pinkney (2008)
  • Brick by Brick, Charles R. Smith, Jr. (2012)
  • Bronzeville Boys and Girls, Gwendolyn Brooks (2006)
  • Brothers & Sisters: Family Poems, Eloise Greenfield (2008)
  • Building a New Land: African Americans in Colonial America, James Haskins and Kathleen Benson (2001)
  • Burn My Heart, Beverley Naidoo (2008)
  • By Love Possessed: Stories, Lorna Goodison (2012)

C

  • Career GPS: Strategies for Women Navigating the New Corporate Landscape, Linda Villarosa (2011)
  • Chasing Space, Leland Melvin (2017)
  • Coach Carter, Jasmine Jones (2004)
  • Come to Win: Business Leaders, Artists, Doctors, and Other Visionaries on How Sports Can Help You Top Your Profession, Venus Williams and Kelly E. Carter (2011)
  • Confessions of a Video Vixen, Karrine Steffans (2006)
  • Conversations with God: Two Centuries of Prayers by African Americans, James M. Washington (2014)
  • Coretta Scott, Ntozake Shange (2009)
  • Crystal, Walter Dean Myers (2002)
  • A Cupboard Full of Coats: A Novel, Yvvette Edwards (2012)

D

  • Danitra Brown, Class Clown, Nikki Grimes (2005)
  • Danitra Brown Leaves Town, Nikki Grimes (2001)
  • Darius & Twig, Walter Dean Myers (2013)
  • Dark Girls, Bill Duke and Shelia P. Moses (2014)
  • Daughters of Men, Rachel Vassel (2011)
  • Deconstructing Sammy: Music, Money, Madness, and the Mob, Matt Birkbeck (2008)
  • Dr. Susan Taylor's Rx for Brown Skin: Your Prescription for Flawless Skin, Hair, and Nails, Susan C. Taylor (2008)
  • Defining Moments in Black History: Reading Between the Lies, Dick Gregory (2017)
  • Donavan's Double Trouble, Monalisa DeGross (2007)
  • Donavan's Word Jar, Monalisa DeGross (1998)
  • Don't Ever Wonder: A Novel, Darren Coleman (2005)
  • Don't Know Much About Martin Luther King Jr., Kenneth C. Davis (2005)
  • Doo-Wop Pop, Roni Schotter (2008)
  • Dope Sick, Walter Dean Myers (2009)
  • The Dream Bearer, Walter Dean Myers (2003)

E

  • Embracing the Love God Wants You to Have: A Life of Peace, Joy, and Victory, Taffi Dollar (2014)
  • Endangered: A Novel, Jean Love Cush (2014)
  • Escaping the Delta: Robert Johnson and the Invention of the Blues, Elijah Wald (2014)
  • Every Time a Rainbow Dies, Rita Williams-Garcia (2001)
  • Eye on the Struggle: Ethel Payne, the First Lady of the Black Press, James McGrath Morris (2015)

F

  • Fake ID, Lamar Giles (2014)
  • Fat Albert: Gonna Have a Good Time!, Acton Figueroa (2004)
  • Fat Albert: Hey, Hey, Hey!, Acton Figueroa (2004)
  • Fat Albert: The Movie Novel, Mike Milligan (2004)
  • Finding Samuel Lowe: China, Jamaica, Harlem, Paula Williams Madison (2015)
  • Flower Girl Butterflies, Beth Fitzgerald Howard (2004)
  • Forty Minutes of Hell: The Extraordinary Life of Nolan Richardson, Rus Bradburd (2011)
  • Freedom's a-Callin Me, Ntozake Shange (2012)
  • The Friendly Four, Eloise Greenfield (2006)
  • From Harvey River: A Memoir of My Mother and Her Island, Lorna Goodison (2009)

G

  • God Bless the Child, Billie Holiday, Jr. and Arthur Herzog, Jr. (2003)
  • God, Can You Hear Me?, Justine Simmons, Robert Papp and Rev Run (2007)
  • God Loves Haiti: A Novel, Dimitry Elias Léger (2015)
  • Gone Crazy in Alabama, Rita Williams-Garcia (2015)
  • The Gospel Cinderella, Joyce Carol Thomas (2004)
  • The Great Migration: Journey to the North, Eloise Greenfield (2010)
  • Guardian, Julius Lester (2008)

H

  • Handbook for Boys: A Novel, Walter Dean Myers (2002)
  • The Harlem Hellfighters: When Pride Met Courage, Walter Dean Myers and Bill Miles (2005)
  • Harlem Renaissance Party, Faith Ringgold (2015)
  • Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad, Ann Petry (1995)
  • Hattie McDaniel: Black Ambition, White Hollywood, Jill Watts (2007)
  • He Said, She Said, Kwame Alexander (2013)
  • Hold the Flag High, Catherine Clinton (2005)
  • Honey, I Love, Eloise Greenfield (2002)
  • Honoring Sergeant Carter: A Family's Journey to Uncover the Truth About an American Hero, Allene Carter and Robert L. Allen (2004)
  • A House Is Not a Home: A B-Boy Blues Novel, James Earl Hardy (2006)
  • How They Got Over: African Americans and the Call of the Sea, Eloise Greenfield (2002)
  • Hush, Little Baby, Brian Pinkney (2006)

I

  • I Am Number Four, Pittacus Lore (2011)
  • I Can Make a Difference: A Treasury to Inspire Our Children, Marian Wright Edelman (2005)
  • Ida B. Wells: Let the Truth Be Told, Walter Dean Myers (2008)
  • I'll Find a Way or Make One: A Tribute to Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Dwayne Ashley, Juan Williams, and Adrienne Ingrum (2007)
  • I'm Every Woman: Remixed Stories of Marriage, Motherhood, and Work, Lonnae O'Neal Parker (2006)
  • In the Land of Milk and Honey, Joyce Carol Thomas (2012)
  • In the Land of Words: New and Selected Poems, Eloise Greenfield (2003)
  • In My Momma's Kitchen, Jerdine Nolen (1999)
  • In the Spirit, Susan L. Taylor (1994)
  • It Ain't All for Nothin', Walter Dean Myers (2003)
  • I've Seen the Promised Land: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Walter Dean Myers (2003)

J

  • Jumped, Rita Williams-Garcia (2009)
  • Justin and the Best Biscuits in the World, Mildred Pitts Walter (2010)

K

L

  • Langston Hughes: American Poet, Alice Walker (1974)
  • Let the Lion Eat Straw, Ellease Southerland (2005)
  • Let's Get It On: A Novel, Jill Nelson (2010)
  • Let's Talk About Race, Julius Lester (2005)
  • Lift Every Voice and Sing, James Weldon Johnson (2007)
  • Little Divas, Philana Marie Boles (2005)
  • The Little Mouse ABC, Katharine Holabird (1983)
  • Lockdown, Walter Dean Myers (2010)
  • Lone Bean, Chudney Ross (2012)
  • Lost in the City: Stories, Edward P. Jones (2012)
  • A Love Noire: A Novel, Erica Simone Turnipseed (2004)
  • Love the One You're With: A B-Boy Blues Novel, James Earl Hardy (2003)

M

  • Mahalia Jackson: Walking with Kings and Queens, Nina Nolan (2015)
  • Malcolm X: A Fire Burning Brightly, Walter Dean Myers (2003)
  • A Man for All Seasons: The Life of George Washington Carver, Stephen Krensky (2008)
  • Marshalling Justice: The Early Civil Rights Letters of Thurgood Marshall, Michael G. Long (2011)
  • Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues: A Musical Journey, Peter Guralnick, Robert Santelli, and Holly George-Warren (2004)
  • McGuffey's Eclectic Primer, William Holmes McGuffey (1979)
  • Me & Neesie, Eloise Greenfield (2004)
  • Memories of Sun: Stories of Africa and America, Jane Kurtz (2003)
  • Miss Jessie's: Creating a Successful Business from Scratch---Naturally, Miko Branch (2015)
  • Mr. and Mrs. Prince: How an Extraordinary Eighteenth-Century Family Moved Out of Slavery and into Legend, Gretchen Holbrook Gerzina (2009)
  • Monster, Walter Dean Myers (1999)
  • Monster's Chef: A Novel, Jervey Tervalon (2014)
  • More: A Novel, Austin Clarke (2009)
  • The Mother of Black Hollywood, Jenifer Lewis (2017)
  • Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters, John Steptoe (1987)
  • Music from Our Lord's Holy Heaven, Brian Pinkney (2005)
  • My Daddy, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Martin Luther King, III (2013)

N

  • The Neighborhood Mother Goose, Nina Crews (2004)
  • A Nest Full of Stars, James Berry (2004)
  • New Daughters of Africa: An International Anthology of Writing by Women of African Descent, ed. Margaret Busby (2019)
  • No Laughter Here, Rita Williams-Garcia (2003)
  • Not Guilty, Jabari Asim (2013)
  • Now Is Your Time! The African-American Struggle for Freedom, Walter Dean Myers (1992)

O

P

  • P.S. Be Eleven, Rita Williams-Garcia (2013)
  • Passport Diaries: A Novel, Tamara Gregory (2006)
  • Pictures for Miss Josie, Sandra Belton (2003)
  • Pitching in for Eubie, Jerdine Nolen (2007)
  • The Polished Hoe: A Novel, Austin Clarke (2004)
  • Pound for Pound: A Biography of Sugar Ray Robinson, Herb Boyd and Ray Robinson, Jr. (2006)
  • A Pride of African Tales, Donna Washington (2003)
  • The Pursuit of Happyness, Chris Gardner (2006)

R

S

  • Satch & Me, Dan Gutman (2006)
  • Scorpions, Walter Dean Myers (1988)
  • Shifting Through Neutral, Bridgett M. Davis (2005)
  • Shooter, Walter Dean Myers (2004)
  • Should America Pay? Slavery and the Raging Debate on Reparations, Raymond Winbush PhD (2003)
  • Spectacle: The Astonishing Life of Ota Benga, Pamela Newkirk (2015)
  • Spinning the Globe: The Rise, Fall, and Return to Greatness of the Harlem Globetrotters, Ben Green (2006)
  • Start Where You Are: Life Lessons in Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be, Chris Gardner and Mim E. Rivas (2009)
  • Straight Talk, No Chaser: How to Find, Keep, and Understand a Man, Steve Harvey (2010)
  • Street Love, Walter Dean Myers (2006)
  • Suitcase, Mildred Pitts Walter (2006)
  • Sweet Whispers, Brother Rush, Virginia Hamilton (1983)

T

  • A Teacher's Guide to American Tapestry: Common-Core Aligned Teacher Materials and a Sample Chapter, Rachel L. Swarns and Amy Jurskis (2014)
  • This Is the Dream, Diane Z. Shore and Jessica Alexander (2005)
  • This Voice in My Heart: A Runner's Memoir of Genocide, Faith, and Forgiveness, Gilbert Tuhabonye and Gary Brozek (2007)

U

V

W

  • Walter Dean Myers, Walter Dean Myers (2003)
  • The Warrior Method: A Parents' Guide to Rearing Healthy Black Boys, Raymond A. Winbush (2001)
  • Washington: How Slaves, Idealists, and Scoundrels Created the Nation's Capital, Fergus Bordewich (2008)
  • We Troubled the Waters, Ntozake Shange (2009)
  • We Were There: Voices of African American Veterans, from World War II to the War in Iraq, Yvonne Latty and Ron Tarver (2005)
  • Web of Lies, Beverley Naidoo (2006)
  • Wench: A Novel, Dolen Perkins-Valdez (2010)
  • When Grandmama Sings, Margaree King Mitchell (2012)
  • When Harriet Met Sojourner, Catherine Clinton (2007)
  • The White Masai: My Exotic Tale of Love and Adventure, Corinne Hofmann (2007)
  • Winning the Money Game: Lessons Learned from the Financial Fouls of Pro Athletes, Adonal Foyle (2015)
  • Words of Wisdom: Daily Affirmations of Faith, Rev Run (2006)
  • Words with Wings: A Treasury of African-American Poetry and Art, Belinda Rochelle (2000)

Y

  • Your Brain Is a Muscle Too: How Student Athletes Succeed in College and in Life, Andre Hayes and Vince Fudzie (2013)

References

  1. ^ "HarperCollins Publishers Announces Acquisition of Preeminent African-American Publisher, Amistad Press; Amistad Founder and Publisher Charles F. Harris to Join HarperCollins". The Free Library, 1999. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
  2. ^ a b c "Media Makers: Charles F. Harris" (interview date: 6/8/2005, 7/28/2005 and 8/2/2005), The History Makers.
  3. ^ a b Reid, Calvin (February 21, 2003). "New Staff, New List At Amistad Press". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
  4. ^ Weber, Bruce, "Charles F. Harris, 81, Dies; Led Effort to Publish Work by Black Writers", The New York Times, December 22, 2015.
  5. ^ Harris, Hamil R., "Black publishing giant sold", Black Enterprise, February 1, 2000.
  6. ^ Weber, Bruce (December 22, 2015). "Charles F. Harris, 81, Dies; Led Effort to Publish Work by Black Writers". The New York Times.
  7. ^ "Tracy Sherrod to join Amistad". HarperCollins Publishers. April 15, 2013.
  8. ^ a b Patrick, Diane (October 7, 2016). "At 30, Amistad Press Looks Ahead". Publishers Weekly.
  9. ^ Jackson, David Earl. 2000. "More venues for black voices." Publishers Weekly 247, no. 49: 24–25.
  10. ^ Amistad imprint books search at publisher (search results)