African American Short Stories

Friday Black tackles urgent instances of racism and cultural unrest and explores the many ways we fight for humanity in an unforgiving world. In the first unforgettable story of this collection, 'The Finkelstein Five', Adjei-Brenyah gives us an unstinting reckoning of the brutal prejudice of the US justice system. In 'Zimmer Land' we see a far-too-easy-to-believe imagining of racism as sport. And 'Friday Black' and 'How to Sell a Jacket as Told by Ice King' show the horrors of consumerism and the toll it takes on us all.

¿Té para tres? ¡Sí, por supuesto! ... ¿Y si te dijera que a veces, los vecinos pueden sorprendernos gratamente? ... Stefani es una madre soltera afroamericana de unos treinta años.

From The Casino To The Bedroom: A Steel Harbor Erotic Romance Short Story tells the passionate tale of Yolanda and Andre, two individuals whose chance meeting at a casino leads them down a path of lust, desire, and eventual love. Yolanda is an alluring older woman with an air of sophistication, while Andre stands tall at six feet five inches, his caramel skin exuding a commanding presence. Their attraction is immediate, and they find themselves drawn to each other despite their initial reservations. As their romance unfolds in the gritty backdrop of Steel Harbor, they indulge in a series of...

Precy Bee was only five years old when the civil war that devastated her country and claimed the lives of over two hundred and fifty thousand people ended. The Liberians sighed with relief and began to piece their economy together, but not for long. While Precy and her family humbly live their low standard lifestyle, Ebola slowly creeps into her country and deals them a fatal blow, shaking the very foundation of her family. Once again, her people are dying as they fight a different war against a fatal Virus more lethal than AIDS, and Precy doubts the possibility of her precious family ...

Bound together by shared experience but pulled apart by their changing fortunes, four young friends coming of age in the postindustrial enclave of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, struggle to liberate themselves from the legacies left to them as black men in America. With potent immediacy and bracing candor, this provocative debut follows a decade in the lives of Dub, Rolls, Rye, and Gio as they each grapple with the complexity of their family histories, the newfound power of sex and drugs, and the ferocity of their desires.

Dr. Harmon refers to her style of writing as "Short Stories With A Purpose". Her fictional Christian short stories were created to highlight God's goodness, grace, and mercy. Sometimes we become so busy with our everyday lives that we forget to pause and say thank you. The stories in this book will inspire and encourage discussions about faith and purpose.

A civil rights activist and key figure in African American literary history, Alice Dunbar-Nelson made her mark during the emerging Harlem Renaissance. Violets and Other Tales is her debut (included here in full, save for three stories later updated in The Goodness of St. Rocque). The collection includes poetry, short stories, and essays offering a varied examination of class differences, racial identity, oppression, intolerance, and women’s societal roles. The Goodness of St. Rocque and Other Stories assembles 14 of Dunbar’s short works of fiction.

In ROMANCE: QUICKIES (Nicole's Encounter - 12), Nicole is hot off an unforgettable encounter with a cocky rival attorney, which kicks her determination into high gear. She’s going to bed more men than her friends, damn it, come hell or high water! When an interesting client arrives at her office for a divorce consultation, she sets her sights on him with renewed vigor. He doesn’t know what hits him...or does he? Nicole’s neatly organized office will never be the same again... Seven friends living in New York City. One unusual competition. Who can have the most intimate encounters in a...

Life after heartbreak isn't always peachy keen and Yachri Moore was still feeling the effects of the day her boyfriend of three years, Derrick Lanely, allowed her to run away without chasing her when he was the one deciding to walk away. A single's retreat with her bestfriend Eva, a vow to remain celibate until marriage, her ex Derrick, and her new date Theo Jackson, all led to Yachri experiencing just how life could really be after heartbreak and all he twist and turns that leads to the path of healing, love, and happiness.

Aisha is a young girl forcefully married to a wealthy forty-year-old man.The poverty in her family is heightened by the drought in her country. Daily, she visits her mother’s dry farmland, praying for rain to fall and moisten the soil. She knows all hope is lost. Having sustained her family for as long as he could, after her father’s sudden disappearance, her uncle decides the marriage is their last resort. She must marry her old suitor, or bear the responsibility should her mother and younger ones perish in poverty. Aisha weighs her options and decides to marry, with a hidden agenda ...

She's running from an abusive relationship and a shady past, and decides the best place to hide (and heal) is teaching math at a high school. Enter new handsome ex-jock boss who wants to protect her heart. Is this her second chance at love? Or will her relationship baggage push him away? Dr. Katrina Mason loves teaching college math. It's a rewarding departure from her past vocation as a stripper. When an abusive relationship forces her to take a job at a high school in another state, she's pleasantly surprised how much she enjoys it. That is, until she gets a lewd unsigned note to the ...

Delight in intriguing, thought-provoking conversations about ethics, philosophy, and social issues! After Dinner Conversation is a monthly literary magazine publishing short fiction. Each issue features both established writers and up-and-coming authors who contribute fascinating philosophical insights on controversial topics like marriage equality, assisted suicide, the meaning of death, animal rights, and defining your "purpose." It's time to go deep in search of truth! If you love reading imaginative short stories on hot topics that make your brain think deeply but also have you laughing...

She still holds a grudge. When the one who abandoned her returns, will she let bitterness tear apart all she loves? Washington, DC, 1997. Maxine “Maxi” Weldon is living her best life. After her childhood sweetheart bailed when their son was six, the devoted mother forged a promising career and happy home with her big-hearted husband. But the hard-working Jamaican native becomes alarmed when she walks in on her usually levelheaded twelve-year-old hanging up on a suspicious phone call. With layoff rumors at work weighing heavily on her mind, Maxi's stress rises exponentially when she ...

An enthralling collection of short stories based on Dwight's own family history. He takes us through the lives of African Americans and Native Americans in the early parts of the United States. A must listen.

In the 1970s, Topper and Sanya flee to Miami as political violence consumes their native Kingston. But America, as the couple and their two children learn, is far from the promised land. Excluded from society as Black immigrants, the family pushes on first through Hurricane Andrew and later the 2008 recession, living in a house so cursed that the pet fish launches itself out of its own tank rather than stay. But even as things fall apart, the family remains motivated, often to its own detriment, by what their younger son, Trelawny, calls “the exquisite, racking compulsion to survive.”

The dating world is hard enough as it is. Meet Natasha Murphy: a 30-something serial dater secretly coping with borderline personality disorder.

'From the Ugly Duckling to the Beautiful Swan' is a short story of a girl (Annabelle's) experiences growing up with a much more beautiful sister (Bridgett). Her sister was not only more beautiful but was the elder of the two so she was also more catered to by their parents and grandparents. Despite this, Annabelle always knew she wanted to live a life of elegance. She hated that her sister always got the most desirable boys and the best presents but she always loved her unconditionally anyway. Annabelle's journey from Ugly to Beautiful Swan is a life account that many women can relate too. ...

Emilia Cruz has a crush on her best friend, Drake Johnson. They’ve been friends for over fifteen years, and through that time, Emilia always struggled to find a way to explain how she truly felt about Drake, until she learns that she might lose a chance to express her feelings for him when he takes a job in London. To keep Drake in her life, she challenges him to a race. If she wins, he stays, if he wins, he leaves. With the rules set, can she win the race for her chance at love? Running for Love is a short interracial romance story. It is only 2,800 words.

Anna is from a poor home. It's only a matter of time before she loses her sick younger sister to a deadly illness. Without money for constant medical care, she would die. Anna seizes an opportunity to travel abroad, but she is in for a surprise when she finds herself among trafficked teenagers heading to Italy. Caged in a web of human trafficking, she must either choose to flee from her nightmare, or stay and prevent her sister from dying.

A young man treads delicate emotional waters as he navigates a series of sexually fraught encounters with two dancers in an open relationship, forcing him to weigh his vulnerabilities against his loneliness. In other stories, a young woman battles with the cancers draining her body and her family, menacing undercurrents among a group of teenagers explode in violence on a winter night, a little girl tears through a house like a tornado, driving her babysitter to the brink and couples feel out the jagged edges of connection, comfort and cruelty.