The Power List: Top Summer Books by and for African American Readers 2013

The Power List, the quarterly compilation of best-selling books written or read by African Americans, released its Summer 2013 list last week. The Power List is a joint project of AALBC.com, Cushcity.com and Mosaicbooks.com, three Web sites which have promoted African American literature for more than a decade.

Ashley & Jaquavis, the urban fiction duo whose Cartel series has collectively sold more than a million copies, continue to dominate the paperback fiction bestsellers list with four titles among the top ten: "Cartel 4," "Murderville 2," "The Prada Plan 2" and "Murderville." Urban fiction author Wahida Clark also had two titles among the paperback fiction bestsellers, "Payback Ain't Enough" and "Justify My Thug," as well as one, "Honor Thy Thug," among the hardcover fiction bestsellers.

A number of authors who have consistently released best-selling books for at least a decade also had one or more titles on the Summer 2013 list. Those authors include: Toni Morrison, Maya Angelou, Walter Mosley, Kimberla Lawson Roby, Eric Jerome Dickey, Carl Weber, Sister Souljah, Mary B. Morrison and Mary Monroe.

Other notable information about the Summer 2013 list:

Oprah book pick, "The Twelve Tribes of Hattie," by Ayana Mathis, has shown solid sales since its release in December 2012, and was #2 among hardcover fiction bestsellers.

Several non-fiction paperback titles that were published two or more years ago continue to be bestsellers, including "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks," by Rebecca Skloot, "The New Jim Crow," by Michelle Alexander and "The Warmth of Other Suns," by Isabel Wilkerson.

Books by celebrity authors Steve Harvey, Wendy Williams and Tyrese Gibson were also included on the list.

"Game Over," a memoir by Winter Ramos of "Love and Hip Hop," was #8 among paperback non-fiction bestsellers. "Game Over" is published by Life Changing Books whose CEO, Azarel, had this to say about the Power List: "I'm just so excited about having a list now that we can have some confidence in and a new list that we can be proud of."

The Power List is compiled by collecting data from online book sellers, random samples on relevant Facebook pages, and a quarterly survey of 1,200 African-American book clubs. The list is released on the fourth Monday in the month following each calendar quarter.

The Summer 2013 lists may be viewed at the Power List web site: www.powerlist.info. Updates are included on the Power List Facebook and Twitter pages.

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