Penguin Random House logo

Announcements
  • News
  • Social Impact
  • In-Depth Stories
  • Management
  • Locations
  • Company history
  • Compliance
    • Compliance
    • Product Safety

NEWS

Multiple PRH Titles on Essence’s 50 Most Impactful Black Books of the Last 50 Years

Share this story with your world:

Essence magazine, celebrating its 50th year in 2020, has chosen the 50 most impactful Black books of the last 50 years. Joi-Marie McKenzie writes, “A good book ensures that one’s story is never erased … these titles have captivated and moved us, searing themselves into memory with their fierce truth-telling and leaving us so much richer than before. From first-person narratives that tell a singular story to inspirational picture books for your little ones, these 50 books celebrate the full humanity of Blackness.”

Here are the books on the Essence list published by Penguin Random House imprints:

  • AND STILL I RISE by Maya Angelou (Random House)
  • FOR COLORED GIRLS WHO HAVE CONSIDERED SUICIDE WHEN THE RAINBOW IS ENUF by Ntozake Shange (Bantam)
  • THE IMMORTAL LIFE OF HENRIETTA LACKS by Rebecca Skloot (Crown)
  • BLACK MACHO AND THE MYTH OF THE SUPERWOMAN by Michele Wallace (The Dial Press)
  • BETWEEN THE WORLD AND ME by Ta-Nehisi Coates (One World)
  • WHITE TEETH by Zadie Smith (Random House)
  • DREAMS FROM MY FATHER by Barack Obama (Crown)
  • BECOMING by Michelle Obama (Crown)
  • SONG OF SOLOMON by Toni Morrison (Vintage)
  • ROLL OF THUNDER, HEAR MY CRY by Mildred D. Taylor (Puffin)
  • WAITING TO EXHALE by Terry McMillan (Berkley)
  • BELOVED by Toni Morrison (Knopf)
  • SISTER, SISTER by Eric Jerome Dickey (Dutton)
  • HOMEGOING by Yaa Gyasi (Knopf/Vintage)
  • BROWN GIRL DREAMING by Jacqueline Woodson (Nancy Paulsen Books)
  • THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD by Colson Whitehead (Doubleday/Anchor)
  • HAIR LOVE by Matthew A. Cherry and illustrated by Vashti Harrison (Kokila)
  • TAR BEACH by Faith Ringgold  (Alfred A. Knopf BFYR)
  • THE PEOPLE COULD FLY: AMERICAN BLACK FOLKTALES by Virginia Hamilton (Knopf Books for Young Readers)
  • IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK by James Baldwin (Vintage)
  • THE COLOR PURPLE by Alice Walker (Penguin Books)

To view Essence’s complete 50 Most Impactful Black Books of the Last 50 Years list, click here.


Posted: July 30, 2020

Popular Company News

Publishers Send Letter to Congress Advocating for Libraries & IMLS Funding

April 3, 2025

Below please find a letter submitted to Congress today (April 3, 2025) by Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group, Macmillan Publishers, Simon & Schuster and Sourcebooks advocating…

PYR to Publish New Book Based on Most-Watched Bluey Episode Ever

May 6, 2025

Penguin Young Readers is delighted to announce that it will be publishing BLUEY: THE SIGN, a special hardcover children's book based on the record-breaking 28-minute Bluey…

Philip Pullman Announces Epic Finale to Lyra’s Story in Vol. Three of THE BOOK OF DUST

May 1, 2025

On Tuesday, April 29, Philip Pullman announced the long-awaited and highly anticipated conclusion to his bestselling The Book of Dust series (La Belle Sauvage, The Secret…

Penguin Random House Expands Relationship With Disney to Publish Popular Stories

May 2, 2025

Penguin Random House LLC has signed new license agreements with Disney Publishing to publish beloved stories and create original content for fans of all ages. The agreements…

Spotlighting Our 2025 Lukas Prize Winners and Finalist

April 17, 2025

Columbia Journalism School and the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard announced the four winners and three finalists of the 2025 J. Anthony Lukas Prize Project…

Friday Reads: Happy National Poetry Month!

April 4, 2025

Welcome to National Poetry Month! Inaugurated by the Academy of American Poets in 1996, National Poetry Month celebrates poetry and its place in American culture.  April…

Celebrating PRH Excellence at the 2025 Publishing Triangle Awards

April 3, 2025

We’re thrilled to share that several Penguin Random House titles have been named finalists for the 37th Annual Publishing Triangle Awards — an event dedicated to…

Several PRH Titles Shortlisted for the 2025 Women’s Prize for Fiction

April 8, 2025

The UK’s Women’s Prize Trust announced the shortlist for the 2025 Women's Prize for Fiction, a literary award championing and amplifying women's voices. This year's shortlist…

Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler to Publish First New Gruffalo Picture Book in Over 20 Years

May 1, 2025

Dial Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers, announced today that Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler, the internationally bestselling author/illustrator duo, will return…

  • Follow us on Twitter.
  • Privacy policy
  • Terms of use
  • Compliance
  • Careers
  • Contact us
  • Site ©2013-2025 Penguin Random House