From brilliant new voices to seasoned icons, many of the past year's breakout works are by Black authors. In June, Great Black Hope, a coming-of-age story reckoning with privilege and belonging, made first-time author Rob Franklin a household name. And in July, Stephanie Wambugu's gorgeous debut novel Lonely Crowds, which explores the intimacy and frustration in the relationship between two lifelong friends, climbed bestseller lists.
Willa Robinson's passion for reading began in childhood, inspired by her father. She has collected Black literature since the late 1970s, seeing it as a way to fill personal loss.