Related:
Thursday, September 10, 2026
Tracking Beloved in Graduate Research, 1990–2025
Toni Morrison Novels in Graduate Research: What ProQuest Reveals
A search of ProQuest dissertations and theses reveals considerable scholarly attention to Toni Morrison’s novels. Among the four selected works, Beloved stands far apart, appearing in 4,568 dissertations and theses, compared to roughly 1,000 for each of the other three novels. The results demonstrate the extraordinary position Beloved has achieved as a subject of graduate research and African American literary scholarship.
Related:
Which African American Novels Get Studied Most?
A search of ProQuest dissertations and theses reveals substantial scholarly attention to major African American novels published between 1937 and 1987. Among the five selected works, Toni Morrison’s Beloved stands apart, appearing in 4,568 dissertations and theses, more than twice as many as any of the other novels. These results offer one measure of how graduate research has shaped the visibility and scholarly reception of African American literary works.
Related:
Black Novel Findings #4
With the success of The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store (2023), James McBride joined writers such as Colson Whitehead and Percival Everett in combining high literary prestige with unusually broad bookseller and commercial visibility. The novel was independently named Book of the Year by both Amazon and Barnes & Noble, while also winning the Kirkus Prize for Fiction. —J.C.
From 2020 through 2023, S. A. Cosby published Blacktop Wasteland (2020), Razorblade Tears (2021), and All the Sinners Bleed (2023), all three of which won the International Thriller Writers Award for Best Hardcover Novel. With the first two, Cosby became the first writer in the award’s history to win the category in consecutive years, marking a notable period of critical recognition for an African American writer working in Southern noir and crime fiction.—J.C.
Black men authors who made names for themselves in the early in the 21st century (and earlier) came out with new publications between 2016-2026, including Victor LaValle, James McBride, and Wole Soyinka. —L.C.
At age 68, Percival Everett became the oldest African American recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, winning the award for his novel James (2024).—H. R.
Related:
Black Novel Findings #3
With the release of his short novel Big Joe (2025) and other works, Samuel R. Delany has published fiction across seven decades. —H. R.
From 1999 through 2026, Colson Whitehead has maintained a consistent publishing pace, releasing twelve books—an average of one every 2.3 years. —H. R.
With the release of Reformatory (2023), Tananarive Due returned to literary horror prominence, winning three awards significant awards in horror fantasy—the Bram Stoker Award, Shirley Jackson Award, and World Fantasy Award.—J.C.
Jacqueline Woodson has been remarkably prolific in the 21st century, and from 2016-2026, she published for adult, young adult, and children audiences all within the decade.—L.C.
Related:
Black Poetry Findings #2
The National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) regularly hosts major National Poetry Month events spotlighting African American poetry: in April 2025, these events included a Cave-Canem-sponsored program, featuring a reading by Lauren K. Alleyne and remarks by Cave Canem Executive Director Lisa Willis (April 6), and a symposium on Phillis Wheatley (April 8). —L. V.
Shortly after the summer 2020 upheaval initiated a reckoning among many major literary organizations regarding representation, the 2022 joint awarding of 11 poets (rather than the customary 1) by the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize included 5 major African American poets: Rita Dove, Nikki Giovanni, Angela Jackson, Haki R. Madhubuti, and Sonia Sanchez. —L. V.
Always known as a prolific poet, Allison Joseph, in 2016, released five volumes: Double Identity, The Purpose of Hands, Mercurial, Mortal Rewards, Multitudes. —H. R.
Between 2016 and 2026, several African American poets won the prestigious Wallace Stevens Award: Rita Dove in 2019, Nikky Finney in 2020, Toi Derricotte in 2021, Marilyn Nelson in 2022, Afaa Michael Weaver in 2023, and Cornelius Eady in 2025. —H. R.
Related:
• Black Poetry Findings
Black Poetry Findings #1
Harryette Mullen’s 2023 collection Open Leaves: Poems From Earth appeared with Black Sunflowers Press, established in 2020 specifically to promote works by women and Black poets; it was the first in a Black Sunflowers Press series of poet-visual artist collaborations, between Mullen and Tiffanie Delune. --L.V.
Within the time period 2016 – 2026, three African American poets won Pulitzer Prizes for Poetry, Tyehimba Jess in 2017, Jericho Brown in 2020, and Carl Phillips in 2023.--H.R.
Farrar, Straus and Giroux emerges as an important publisher of Black men poets in the dataset, publishing works by Ishion Hutchinson, Carl Phillips, Shane McCrae, and Yusef Komunyakaa. --H.R.
Related:
• Black Poetry Findings
Black Poetry Findings
 |
Poetry scholar Laura Vrana and I are gathering and presenting information about works, accomplishments, and developments concerning Black poets and poetry published between 2016 and 2026. We'll post some of our findings here.
Entries:
Related:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)