Black Literature Audiobooks | Fiction & Literature

Combining history and fantasy, a sweeping multi-generational epic in the vein of Kindred and The Time Traveler's Wife about a woman who travels through time to end a family curse that has plagued her ancestors for generations. On a rainy day in May 1964, history professor Cecily Bridge-Davis begins to search for the sixty-five acres of land she inherited from her father’s family. The quest leads her to uncover a dark secret: In every generation, one offspring from each Bridge family unit vanishes—and is mysteriously whisked back in time. Rules have been established that must be followed to prevent dire consequences: Never interfere with past events. Always carry your free Negro papers. Search for the survival family packs in the orchard and surrounding forest. The ribbon on the pack designates the decade the pack was made to orient you in time. Do not speak to strangers unless absolutely necessary. With only a family Bible and a map marked with the locations of mysterious containers to aid her, Cecily heads to the library, hoping to discover the truth of how this curse began, and how it might be ended. As she moves through time, she encounters a circle of ancestors, including Sabrina Humbles, a free Black woman who must find the courage to seize an opportunity—or lose her heart; Luke Bridge, who traverses battlefields, slavery, and time itself to reunite with his family; Rebecca Bridge, a mother tested by an ominous threat; and Amelia Bridge, a young woman burdened with survivor's guilt who will face the challenge of a lifetime—and change Cecily's life forever. It is a race through time and against the clock to find the answers that will free her family forever. Shawntelle Madison’s historical fiction debut is an enthralling, page-turning family saga about the inevitability of fate, the invincibility of love, and the indelible bonds of family.

Shawntelle Madison (Author), Adenrele Ojo, Robin Miles, TBD (Narrator)

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The Leisure Class: A Novel

Justina Ireland (Author), TBD (Narrator)

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Bitter and Sweet: A Novel

From the beloved author of The Thing About Home comes a dual timeline tale of family, grief, secrets, and the sweet redemption that lies within the bonds of sisterhood. -The Present- When summoned to Georgetown, South Carolina, sisters Mariah Clark and Sabrina Holland both assume their ailing grandfather's health has gotten worse. Neither expects their grandmother's undeniable request--save the family restaurant. Mariah is at a crossroad in her life. After being dumped by her husband and forced to walk away from their diner that she helped rescue from bankruptcy, bitter feelings consume her. Even though the restaurant has been in the family for eighty-six years, giving her all to another struggling business isn't something she wants to do. Living out of her van and striving for a fresh start, Sabrina yearns for stability for herself and her daughter and a chance to turn her baking hustle into a bona-fide business. The family restaurant may be just the blessing she needs--but as old tensions and angry disagreements resurface, Sabrina wonders if her sister will let her have a say. -The Past- After falling victim to a love she thought would last a lifetime, Tabitha Cooper finds herself away from home and struggling to survive in Charleston in the early twentieth century. She is determined to turn corn into cornbread and to take care of her children the best way she knows how--by serving food that's good for the soul--and along the way forges a path that leaves a legacy of success for generations to come. Through letters that reveal Tabitha's complicated past, the sisters discover truths that just might be the right recipe to mend their hearts--if they can find a way to savor the blessing of today and leave the bitter aftertaste of old memories behind them.

Rhonda Mcknight (Author), Angel Pean, Joniece Abbott-Pratt, Lynnette R. Freeman (Narrator)

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Radio 9: The Complete Series 1 and 2: A BBC Radio 4 Spoof Comedy Series

Both series of the surreal sketch show, set in a parallel universe just like ours, but different ‘A hoot’ The Independent Welcome to Radio 9 – the only station providing ‘real radio for real listeners with real radios’. It’s the irrational home of the terminally strange, where the dark and the silly rub along together quite nicely. There’s a wealth of anarchic programming on offer, from parodic plays, investigative reports and reality shows to spoof news and sport – as well as absurd ads and off-the-wall trailers for the likes of Reckless Parenting magazine, ‘Pro-Celebrity Blacksmith’ and ‘Cats Washing Up’. Explore the green and nether regions of the South West with ‘Bob Bradman’s Bed & Breakfast’; join Quentin Montreal for ‘New Movements’, as he looks into such disturbing trends as the suffragette diet, fox hunting in Maida Vale and blind motor racing; and help yourself to a heaped spoonful of Sugar Cane, the sultry Detective Sergeant whose hand is firmly wrapped around the throbbing pulse of crime. Stay ahead of the game with the News Creation team, bringing you all the accidents and disasters before they happen; follow the ordinary people attempting to fake their way in open heart surgery, downhill skiing and abseiling in ‘The Great Pretender’; tune in to a championship football match with a difference, as Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath give us their poetic commentary on Arsenal v Inter Milan – and don’t forget to cast your vote in ‘The Nation’s Favourite Massacre’... Written by and starring Johnny Daukes and Hils Barker, this freakish and hilarious show features a raft of talented performers including Katherine Jakeways, Jonathan Kydd, Janice Vee and Michelle Gomez. Production credits Written by and starring Johnny Daukes and Hils Barker With Betty Daukes, Oliver Daukes, Sarah Daukes, Max Digby, Paul Evans, Stefan Frank, Michelle Gomez, Carine Harris, Mary Hennessy, Theresa Hennessy, Katherine Jakeways, Robert Johnston, Jonathan Kydd, Donnie Masters, Jack, Jane, Miriam, Megan and Esther Phillips, Charlotte Randle, Jon Stevenson, Janice Vee, Sarah Walton and Matt Wilkinson Produced by Johnny Daukes, Katie Marsden and Claire Jones First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 29 October-19 November 2003 (Series 1), 30 June-16 August 2005 (Series 2) © 2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd.

Hils Barker, Johnny Daukes (Author), Carine Harris, Donnie Masters, Esther Phillips, Full Cast, Hils Barker, Janice Vee, Johnny Daukes, Jonathan Kydd, Katherine Jakeways, Mary Hennessey, Matt Wilkinson, Megan Phillips, Michelle Gomez, Robert Johnston (Narrator)

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The Young Ones: The Complete BBC TV Soundtracks

The complete television soundtracks of all 12 episodes of the legendary BBC sitcom Ground-breaking, satirical and anarchic, The Young Ones introduced alternative comedy to mainstream TV, and made household names of its writers and performers. It ran for two series on BBC Two between 1982 and 1984, winning a host of devoted fans and a BAFTA Award for its second series. A world away from the cosy suburban sitcoms that preceded it, the show centred around four degenerate students sharing a squalid North London house: hippy Neil (Nigel Planer), right-on Rick (Rik Mayall), Mike 'TheCoolPerson' (Chris Ryan) and punk psycho Vyvyan (Ade Edmondson). Alexei Sayle co-starred as the various members of the dodgy Balowski family, and the plethora of guest stars included Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders, Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Robbie Coltrane, Emma Thompson and series co-writer Ben Elton. Musical interludes were provided by top bands such as Dexy's Midnight Runners, The Damned, Madness, Motörhead and Nine Below Zero. Collected here are all the dysfunctional foursome's manic adventures - from discovering oil in the basement, to playing host to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, to representing Scumbag College on University Challenge. Now you can hear from your favourite characters once again, and listen to their iconic one-liners, inventive insults and fabulously funny quotes. Full of wild slapstick, surreal twists, over-the-top ultra-violence and absurdist humour, this innovative, iconoclastic series remains one of the greatest sitcoms of all time. This audio-only collection of the original TV soundtracks provides the perfect opportunity for fans to relive the show's finest moments while on the go. Contains strong language and humour that some listeners may find offensive. Production credits Written by Ben Elton, Rik Mayall and Lise Mayer With additional material by Alexei Sayle Music: Peter Brewis Sound: Laurie Taylor Directed by Paul Jackson and Graeme Story Rick - Rik Mayall Vyvyan Basterd - Adrian Edmondson Neil Pye - Nigel Planer Mike - Christopher Ryan The Balowski family - Alexei Sayle With Amazulu, Mark Arden, Helen Atkinson Wood, Jim Barclay, Christopher Barrie, Gary Beadle, Perry Benson, Paul Bradley, Arnold Brown, Ruth Burnett, Jean Campbell-Dallas, Jonathan Caplan, Hugh Cecil, Vikki Chambers, Jean Channon, Jacqueline Clarke, Robbie Coltrane, Ron Cook, Lee Cornes, Brian Croucher, The Damned, Mark Dewison, Dexy's Midnight Runners, Paola Dionisotti, Steve Dixon, Nick Dunning, Christine Ellerbeck, Chris Ellis, Ben Elton, Alan Freeman, Dawn French, Stephen Frost, Stephen Fry, Paul Gale, Peter Greene, Roger Ashton Griffiths, Gareth Hale, Damaris Hayman, Tamsin Heatley, Lenny Henry, Clair Hill, Jools Holland, Ceri Jackson, Terry Jones, Gerard Kelly, Steve Kelly, Ken Bishop 's Nice Twelve, Mark Lambert, Hugh Laurie, Peter Laxton, Helen Lederer, Justine Lord, Norman Lovett, Madness, Paul Martin, Hilary Mason, Kilian McKenna, Pauline Melville, Carla Mendonca, Motörhead, Patrick Newell, Nine Below Zero, Herbert Norville, Brian Oulton, John Otway, John Owens, Norman Pace, Robin Parkinson, Ken Parry, Daniel Peacock, Joanne Pearce, Jan Prince, Radical Posture, David Rappaport, Michael Redfern, Griff Rhys Jones, Rip Rig + Panic, Tony Robinson, David Rolfe, Jennifer Saunders, Cyril Shaps, Anthony Sharp, Cindy Shelley, Roger Sloman, Mel Smith, Barry Stanton, Maggie Steed, Kay Stonham, Tony Sympson, Emma Thompson, Andy de la Tour, Peter Wear, Julianne White First broadcast on BBC Two, 9 November-14 December 1982 (Series 1), 8 May-19 June 1984 (Series 2) © 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P) 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Ben Elton, Lise Mayer, Rik Mayall (Author), Adrian Edmondson, Alexei Sayle, Ben Elton, Christopher Ryan, Dawn French, Full Cast, Hugh Laurie, Jennifer Saunders, Nigel Planer, Rik Mayall, Stephen Fry (Narrator)

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Welcome to Forever

A sweeping, psychedelic romance of two men caught in a looping world of artificial realities, edited memories, secretive cabals and conspiracies to push humanity to the next step in its evolution. For fans of Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, Ubik, The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Evangelion. Fox is a memory editor – one of the best – gifted with the skill to create real life in the digital world. When he wakes up in Field of Reeds Centre for Memory Reconstruction with no idea how he got there, the therapists tell him he was a victim in a terrorist bombing by Khadija Banks, the pioneer of memory editing technology turned revolutionary. A bombing which shredded the memory archives of all its victims, including his husband Gabe. Thrust into reconstructions of his memories exploded from the fragments that survived the blast, Fox tries to rebuild his life, his marriage and himself. But he quickly realises his world is changing, unreliable, and echoing around itself over and over. As he unearths endless cycles of meeting Gabe, falling in love and breaking up, Fox digs deep into his past, his time in the refugee nation of Aaru, and the exact nature of his relationship with Khadija. Because, in a world tearing itself apart to forget all its sadness, saving the man he loves might be the key to saving us all.

Nathan Tavares (Author), Neil Shah (Narrator)

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Remember, Remember

Gunpowder, treason and a plot to destroy the British Empire… 'An explosive re-imagining … rich and memorable' STACEY THOMAS, author of The Revels 1770. Delphine lives in the shadows of London: a secret, vibrant world of smugglers, courtesans and small rebellions. Four years ago, she escaped enslavement at great personal cost. Now, she must help her brother Vincent do the same. While Britain’s highest court fails to administer justice for Vincent, little rebellions are no longer enough. What’s needed is a big, explosive plot – one that will strike at the heart of the transatlantic slave trade. But can one Black woman, one fuse and one match bring down an Empire? An incendiary alternative history, Remember, Remember is a gripping story of conscience, conspiracy, queer identity and courage in the face of injustice.

Elle Machray (Author), Jessica Hayles, TBD (Narrator)

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Ladies' Lunch: and Other Stories

'For almost six decades Segal has quietly produced some of the best fiction and essays in American literature . . .' -The New York Times Beloved New Yorker writer Lore Segal, at ninety-five years old, is a national treasure. Working at the height of her powers, in this story collection she turns her gimlet eye and compassionate humor on aging and life in the slow lane. From the master of the short short comes a collection of sixteen new stories featuring old friends who have loved and lunched together for over forty years. These erudite, sharp-minded nonagenarians offer startling insights into friendship, family and aging. Can the group organize a visit to one of their number in her new, and detested, assisted living situation? Is this a fabulous party with old friends, or a funeral reception? And does who was sleeping with whom, way back when, still matter? In story after story, Segal's voice is always hilarious and urbane, heartbreaking and profound, keen and utterly unsentimental, as she tackles aging's affronts.

Lore Segal (Author), Callie Beaulieu (Narrator)

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River Mumma

“This quirky, fizzy, charming debut surprises and amuses. Reid-Benta writes beautifully, drawing on Caribbean mythologies to create a fast paced and entertaining tale. It's rare to find a novel written with such humour and heart.” —T. L. Huchu, USA Today Bestselling author of The Library of the Dead Issa Rae’s Insecure with a magical realist spin: River Mumma is an exhilarating contemporary fantasy novel about a young Black woman who navigates her quarter-life-crisis while embarking on a mythical quest through the streets of Toronto. Alicia has been out of grad school for months. She has no career prospects and lives with her mom, who won’t stop texting her macabre news stories and reminders to pick up items from the grocery store. Then, one evening, the Jamaican water deity, River Mumma, appears to Alicia, telling her that she has twenty-four hours to scour the city for her missing comb. Alicia doesn’t understand why River Mumma would choose her. She can’t remember all the legends her relatives told her, unlike her retail co-worker Heaven, who can reel off Jamaican folklore by heart. She doesn’t know if her childhood visions have returned, or why she feels a strange connection to her other co-worker Mars. But when the trio are chased down by malevolent spirits called duppies, they realize their tenuous bonds to each other may be their only lifelines. With the clock ticking, Alicia’s quest through the city broadens into a journey through time—to find herself and what the river carries. Energetic and invigorating, River Mumma is a vibrant exploration of diasporic community and ancestral ties, and a homage to Jamaican storytelling by one of the most invigorating voices in today’s literature.

Zalika Reid-Benta (Author), TBD (Narrator)

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Lost Seeds

A novel chronicling the strained relationship between two brothers born into the remnants of their parents’ former enslavement. One brother seems to overcome, while the other descends further into adversity. What happens when they are forced to face each other? Lost Seeds is the story of two brothers, Dublin and Timothy Brisco, born into poverty at the turn of the twentieth century to formerly enslaved parents. From birth, they witness firsthand the atrocities their parents had to endure and themselves experience the continued struggles of being Black in the South. Encounters with physical abuse, mental illness, and racism define the brothers’ lives, and despite their best efforts to survive, the seeds of slavery’s wickedness inevitably spawn and lead the two down separate paths. Dublin attempts to overcome his tragic past and hopes to elevate his place in life by escaping oppression and adapting to segregated societal life, while Timothy openly displays his wounds, attempts to reject his Black identity, and descends into a fog of mental illness. The two brothers never discuss their journeys, nor the lifetime of insecurity and violence they experienced, ultimately creating an impassable chasm in their relationship. Eventually, at the request of their mother, Dublin reluctantly permits Timothy to live on his family’s land in a one-room windowless shack. Although they are once again united on the same property, their feelings of indifference and the distance between the two persist. Will their relationship forever be lost to the traumas of their past, or will they be able to come together and be each other’s strength in the face of the cruelties of their world? Because no matter how much time or distance passes, the seeds of brotherhood never die.

Teresa Mosley Sebastian (Author), Jamal West (Narrator)

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Mourning Glory

A Black contemporary family drama with a side of magic. The formerly close-knit Cauley sisters—Nicole, Lynn, and Charlie—have drifted apart in their adult lives. But they are unexpectedly brought together by sudden passing of their mother. Returning to their ancestral home, the last Black-owned funeral parlor in the city, the sisters are joined by their cousin, Rene, and their grandmother as they come to terms with their grief. However, they’re facing more than one loss: For generations, the Cauley women have possessed a family magic to keep a powerful demon named Legion at bay. After their mother’s death, the power appears to be lost. And without it, they’re sitting ducks. Long-standing feuds and unspoken hostilities arise as the women struggle to work together and regain their magic. As tensions flare and Legion closes in, the family must overcome their differences and prove that blood is thicker than evil.

Bethany C. Morrow, L.L. Mckinney (Author), Bahni Turpin (Narrator)

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Not Talking About You

Not Talking About You portrays racism as it occurs amongst young Canadians today. It explores the impact on the target and on bystanders who have to decide how to react when they find a racist youth in their midst. Kevin heronJones has written this book to reflect his and other young Black people’s experiences with racism in school. He sees an urgent need to talk about how young people exhibit racist behaviour, to portray it honestly, and to explore how young people can confront it and speak out. Part of a well-off middle-class family living in suburban Toronto, Khalil moves for grade eight to a school that does not have many racialized students. He is befriended by school sports star Cameron, who convinces Khalil to play basketball. Khalil is uncomfortable with his friend’s racist statements and behaviour, despite Cameron’s professed admiration for Black culture. As his discomfort grows, Khalil is left with a choice: accept this as “reality” or take a stand for what’s right, even if it costs him friendships. Not talking About You portrays racism as it occurs amongst young Canadians today. It explores the impact on the target and on bystanders who have to decide how to react when they find a racist youth in their midst.

Kevin Heronjones (Author), Kevin Heronjones (Narrator)

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Black Literature Audiobooks in Fiction & Literature