Readers looking ahead to November 2026 will find a lineup of new releases by Black authors spanning memoir, history, graphic fiction, and spiritual reflection.
The Bottom Line
- Major memoirs arrive this November from veteran actor LeVar Burton and historian Nicole R. Fleetwood.
- New literary fiction and historical works draw direct inspiration from classic texts by Zora Neale Hurston and George Orwell.
- Spiritual reflections, graphic novels, and illustrated cookbooks round out the month’s slate across major publishing houses including Random House, Simon & Schuster, and Akashic Books.
LeVar Burton and DMX Lead November Memoir and Spiritual Releases
Random House publishes Take My Word For It: A Memoir by actor and activist LeVar Burton on November 10, 2026. The book covers Burton growing up during the Civil Rights Movement, his early work in television and film, and his long-standing platform advocating for literacy and social causes.
On November 17, 2026, Simon & Schuster releases The Gospel According to DMX, a collection of spiritual reflections by the late rapper DMX. The volume features previously unseen handwritten notes and includes a foreword by rapper Rakim.
Historical Explorations and Graphic Fiction In November 2026
Hachette Book Group publishes We Were Here by Stephanie Phillips on November 17, 2026. The book traces rock and alternative music history through the contributions of Black artists including Chuck Berry, Jimi Hendrix, and Living Colour.
Akashic Books releases Day One: 2024 Was 1984 FAFO by Public Enemy co-founder Chuck D on November 10, 2026. The graphic novel combines illustration and commentary addressing modern political and societal shifts.
Also arriving November 17, 2026, from Little Brown & Co. is Nicole R. Fleetwood’s Between the River and the Railroad Tracks. The memoir explores Fleetwood’s family roots in the Second Ward of Hamilton, Ohio, examining the generational impacts of segregation and systemic racism.
| Title | Author | Publisher | Release Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Take My Word For It | LeVar Burton | Random House | Nov. 10, 2026 |
| The Gospel According to DMX | DMX & Rakim | Simon & Schuster | Nov. 17, 2026 |
| We Were Here | Stephanie Phillips | Hachette Book Group | Nov. 17, 2026 |
| Day One: 2024 Was 1984 FAFO | Chuck D | Akashic Books | Nov. 10, 2026 |
New Fiction and Cultural Histories Arrive This Fall
HarperCollins publishes Donna Hill’s novel Nola and Baldwin on November 10, 2026. Inspired by Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, the story follows Nola Denny as she leaves her hometown for New York following her father’s death and her mother’s struggles with mental illness, eventually meeting Baldwin Carter.
Additional November releases include Kennedy Cole’s 1970s Mississippi-set mystery There Used to Be People Here from Penguin Random House on November 3, 2026; Melissa R. Collings’s The Love Operation via Mindy’s Book Studio on November 1, 2026; Patrisse Cullors’s We Make the World from HarperCollins on November 10, 2026; Yesenia Barragan’s historical work In Latin America You Could Be Free from Hachette Book Group on November 10, 2026; and Jordan Howlett’s hybrid cookbook-memoir Come Here and Cook on November 11, 2026.
