The African American Literature Book Club (AALBC) has launched the BLK Bestseller List showcasing the bestselling books by Black authors going back 16 months. The list, sourced from Circana BookScan data, consists of monthly stats on the top 20 hardcover and paperback fiction, nonfiction, and children’s books, as well as lists for young adult and poetry.
The list is one part of the Black Book Accelerator initiative, through which industry professionals are working to boost the sales of books by Black authors. The coalition behind the initiative include AABLC founder Troy Johnson, Hachette chief people officer Carrie Bloxson, and Serendipity Literary Agency CEO and president Regina Brooks.
The BLK Bestseller List filters through Circana sales data for BISAC codes like “Black” and “African American,” Johnson said, as “there’s no data point for Black writers.” The system is an imperfect proxy—Johnson goes back and manually sifts out books that might be about Black characters or experiences, but not by a Black author. (This is particularly common, he said, in the case of children's books.)
Johnson then goes on the hunt for books by Black authors that might not have been tagged, a much more amorphous process. “You’re going to miss some,” he said. “But if they’re selling well, I’d like to think I find them.” Johnson has been running the AABLC site since 1997, when he created it as an early-internet oasis for elevating books that might appeal to Black readers. While not strictly the same as BLK Bestsellers’ focus, Johnson said he has a well-worn instinct for seeking out books by Black writers.
Johnson’s goal is for the list to be used by authors and publishers in marketing materials and, more immediately, to find a media partner who will regularly publish and promote the list. In the future, Johnson said they may also make the list available as a source of raw data for industry researchers and programmers.
