For each meeting read two titles. The starred items are authors from The ARRT Popular Fiction List (Fourth
Edition) A Self-Evaluative Bibliography for Readers Advisors, 2012 reading list as are most of the categories (see
note at end of document). You may choose to read only starred authors. You may choose to read other authors
on the list. You may read any author of your choice who fits the category whether or not they are on the list.
You may read one starred author and one un-starred author, etc.; titles are suggestions – feel free to choose
others by that author.
African American: “These books relate the minority experience from an African American point of view,
typically including cultural and social details of African American life.”
Contemporary: “The dealings of everyday life are explored in these novels, which often feature themes of
family, friendship, relationships, and faith.”
 Connie Briscoe
Nick Burd
Bebe Moore Campbell—What You Owe Me
Pearl Cleage—What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day
Edridge Danticat—The Farming of Bones
Danielle Evans
Brandon Jacobs-Jenkins
 Eric Jerome
Victor LaValle
Bernice McFaddin—Warmest December
Terry McMillan—Waiting to Exhale
 Mary Monroe
 ZZ Packer—Drinking Coffee Elsewhere
Delores Phillips—The Darkest Child
 Kimberla Lawson Roby
 Carl Weber
Al Young—Seduction by Light
Street Lit /Urban Fiction):
 Ashley & JaQuavis
Coe Booth
Tracy Brown
 Wahida Clark
Kia DuPree
Donald Goines
Sereniti Hall
Erica Hiton
Linda Hudson-Smith—Destiny Calls
 K’Wan
Terra Little—Where There’s Smoke
Walter Dean Myers
D.Y. Phillips—Love Trumps Game
 Sapphire
 Sister Souljah—Midnight and the Meaning of Love
 Vickie Stringer—The Reason Why
 Nikki Turner—Natural Born Hustler
 Omar Tyree
Unique—Cheaper to Keep Her
 Teri Woods—Alibi
See also: http://www.libsuccess.org/index.php?title=Urban_Fiction/Street_Lit/Hip_Hop_Fiction_Resources_for_Librarians
Romance
Italics = Romance Fiction: A Guide to the Genre by Kristin Ramsdell 1999 edition; * = names from 2012 edition
 Rochelle Alers* —Breakaway
Angela Benson
Deidre Berry—The Next Best Thing
Niobia Bryant—Give Me Fever
Anita Richmond Bunkley*—Vote for Love
 Adrianne Byrd—Say You Love Me
Laura Castoro*
Francine Craft*
Eric Jerome Dickey
Candice Dow—A Hire Love
Kia DuPree—Damaged
Leslie Esdaile*
Bette Ford*
Gwynne Forster*
Nnia K. Foxx—The Rancher’s Ultimatum
Dara Girard
Carmen Green
Geri Guillaume*
Shirley Hailstock*
Shirley Harrison* (includes suspense elements)
Brenda Hampton—Naughty
Trice Hickman—Unexpected Interruptions
 Donna Hill*—Private Affair; Longing & Lies;
Private Lessons
Linda Hudson-Smith* (also writes inspirational)
 Brenda Jackson—Star of His Heart
 Beverly Jenkins*—Jewel (Avon Historical
Romance)
Aliya S. King
Marcia King—Gamble*
Sandra Kitt*
Lutishia Lovely
Gloria Mallette—Sassy
Felicia Mason
Michelle Monko
Celeste O. Norfleet
Elaine Overton—Miami Attraction
Kayla Perrin*
 Francis Ray*—If You Were My Man
Paula T. Renfroe
Lisa G. Riley
Cheryl Robinson—In Love with a Younger Man
Farrah Rochon
Deirdre Savoy*
Devon Scott—Unfaithful
Melanie Schuster*
Eboni Snoe*
Simona Taylor
Pamela Yaye—Love on the Rocks
Other “mainstream” African American genre authors
Mystery/Suspense
Science Fiction/Fantasy
Eleanor Taylor Bland
Steven Barnes
Robert Greer—First of State
Octavia Butler
Chester Himes
Samuel R. Delany
Hugh Holton
Tananarive Due
 Walter Mosley
Minister Faust
Barbara Neely
Andrea Hairston
Jewell Parker Rhodes—Hurricane
Nalo Hopkinson
Pamela Thomas-Graham
N.K. Jemisin
Valerie Wilson Wesley—Of Blood and Sorrow Walter Mosley
Nnedi Okorafor
Horror
Charles R. Saunders
Tananarive Due
Nisi Shawl
Colson Whitehead
Literary
James Baldwin
Ralph Ellison
Alex Haley
Zora Neal e Huston
Jamaica Kincaid
 Toni Morrison
Alice Walker
Richard Wright
Memoir
Maya Angelou
Richard Wright
Erotica
African American: “Explicit sexual encounters, blunt language, and strong multicultural characters are hallmarks
of this subgenre.”
 Noire
Naija—Between My Thighs: An Urban Erotic Tale
 Relentless Aaron
Allison Hobbs—The Climax (Zane Presents)
 Zane
Other (note that some write in more than one genre)
Vivian Arendⱡ
Anya Bast
Maya Banks †
Shayla Black†
Eden Bradleyⱡ
 J. C. Burton
Anne Calhounⱡ
Christine d’Aboⱡ
Sylvia Day†
Portia Da Costaⱡ
Lauren Daneⱡ
Delphine Drydenⱡ
Madelynne Ellisⱡ
John Everson (erotic horror)
 Lori Foster
Megan Hartⱡ
Emma Holly†
E . L. James†
Lorelei Jamesⱡ
 Brenda Joyce
Lora Leigh†
Kristina Lloydⱡ
Sarah McCarty†
Cheyenne McCray†
Shannon McKenna†
Kayla Perrinⱡ
Tiffany Reiszⱡ
Robin Schone†
Saskia Walkerⱡ
†Romance Fiction: A Guide to the Genre, 2nd ed. by K. Ramsdell, 2012;
ⱡPublishers Weekly article on Erotica—February 2013
Asian American: “Written in English by authors of diverse Asian ancestry; feature narratives driven by an Asian
American viewpoint.”
Carlos Bulosan (Filipino): America Is In the Heart
Sook Nyul Choi (Korean)
Louis Chu (Chinese): Eat a Bowl of Tea
 Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
 Gish Jen (Chinese): The Love Wife
Kiran Desai (Indian)
Ha Jin (Chinese) 1999 National Book Award for
Waiting
Jessica Hagedorn (Filipino): Dogeaters
Khaled Hosseini (Afgan): The Kite Runner
Pai Hsien-yung (Chinese): Taipei People
Nora Okja Kelle (Korean): Comfort Woman/Fox Girl
Maxine Hong Kingston (Chinese) (memoirs/NF): The
Woman Warrior/China Men
 Jhumpa Lahiri (Indian): Interpreter of Maladies
Gus Lee (Chinese)
Marie G. Lee (Korean)
Min Jin Lee (Korean): Free Food for Millionaires
Bette Bao Lord (Chinese)
Anchee Min (Chinese)
Kyoko Mori (Japanese)
Bharati Mukherjie (Indian)
Kien Nguyen (Vietnamese)
Julie Otsuka (Japanese)
Ruth Ozeki (Japanese): A Tale for the Time Being
Gary Pak (Korean/Hawaiian): The Watcher of
Waipuna
 Lisa See (Chinese): Snow Flower and the Secret
Fan/Shanghai Girls
 Amy Tan (Chinese): The Joy Luck Club
Monique T.D. Truong (Vietnamese)
 Gail Tsukiyama (Japanese)
Yoshiko Uchida (Japanese)
Lois-Ann Yamanaka (Japanese/Hawaiian): Wild
Meat and the Bully Burgers
Gene Luen Yang (Chinese): American Born Chinese
(graphic novel)
Laurence Yep (Chinese—Children’s and YA): The
Golden Mountain Chronicles (9 volumes)
Hispanic American: “Books relate to the American experience from a Hispanic perspective; written in English
by authors who are immigrants/descended from immigrants from Mexico, the Caribbean, Central and/or South
America.”
Daniel Alarcón (Peru)
 Julia Alvarez (Dominican)
Rudolph Anaya (Mexican)
Marie Arana (Peruvian) memoir: American Chica
Tanya Maria Barrientos (U.S., Guatemalan descent)
Oscar Casares (Mexican)
Ana Castillo (Mexican)
 Sandra Cisneros (Mexican)
 Junot Diaz (Dominican)
 Cristina Garcia (Cuban)
Reyna Grande (Mexican)
 Oscar Hijuelos (Cuban)
Tomás Rivera (U.S., Mexican descent)
 Esmeralda Santiago (Puerto Rican)
Gary Soto (Mexican)
Steven Torres (U.S., of Puerto Rican descent)
 Luis Alberto Urrea (Mexican)
 Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez (Cuban)
José Antonio Villarreal (U.S., Mexican descent)
LGBTQ: “Books exploring the lives and experiences of gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender individuals
from a LGBTQ point of view.”
 Carol Anshaw
James Baldwin
Djuna Barnes
Alison Bechdel (graphic novels)
 Michael Cunningham
 Emma Donoghue
Nancy Garden
Jean Genet
Radclyffe Hall
E. Lynn Harris
 Ellen Hart
Pai Hsien-yung (Chinese): Taipei People
Nancy Hollinghurst
Christopher Isherwood
Larry Kramer
 David Leavitt
 Armistead Maupin
Gore Vidal
 Sarah Waters
 Edmund White
 Jeanette Winterson
Virginia Woolf
Graphic Novels: “Graphic novels essentially are long-form comic books, typically conveying stories through
words and pictures arranged in sequential panels. GNs can be original works or collections of previously
published comics. The term ‘graphic novel’ can be a misnomer, as the format encompasses fiction, nonfiction,
and biography/memoir.”
(Note, this is a format rather than a genre.)
 Alison Bechdel
 Daniel Clowes
 Warren Ellis
Joe Hill—Locke & Key
 Robert Kirkman
 Frank Miller
 Alan Moore
 Grant Morrison








Marjane Satrapi
Jeff Smith
Art Spiegelman
Craig Thompson
Naoki Urasawa
Brian K. Vaughn
Chris Ware
Bill Willingham
From Go Geek: ARRT Program (10/25/12)
Up-and-coming writers and cartoonists:
Scott Snyder
Jeff Lemire
Jason Aaron
Brandon Graham
Darwyn Cooke
Upcoming High-profile releases:
Avengers vs. X-Men—Brian Michael Bendis, et. Al.
Superman Earth One vol. 2—J. Michael Straczynski, Shane Davis
Adventure Time—Ryan North, Branden Lamb, Shelli Paroline
Cursed Pirate Girl—Jermy Basian
Django Unchained—Quentin Tarantino (?), R.M. Guéra
Sandman prequel—Neil Gaiman, JH Williams
Speaker’s recent personal favorites:
20th Century Boys—Naoki Urasawa
Vader and Son—Jeffrey Brown
Building Stories— Chris Ware
Influencing Machine: Brooke Gladstone on the Media—Brooke Gladstone, Josh Neufeld
Note on ARRT choices: "…firm constraints were placed on the number of authors included in each category.
Only those authors the Committee considered most important, popular, and who are currently writing were
included. This meant that many wonderful and worthy authors were omitted.”
MCS/BJF 05/17/2013