Paul Beatty Books in Order

Awkward Black surfer Gunnar Kaufman moves from Santa Monica to urban West Los Angeles with his family. His developing talents in basketball and poetry transform his social standing, drawing him toward an unexpected role as a reluctant community figurehead.

Nineteen-year-old Winston Foshay searches for direction while juggling fatherhood, marriage, and a turbulent life in Harlem. Encouraged to run for city council, he launches an unlikely campaign surrounded by eccentric friends, mentors, and conflicting ideas about his future.

Selected and introduced by Paul Beatty, this anthology gathers humor by Black Americans across poetry, prose, music, and public speech. Familiar authors appear alongside overlooked voices in a collection exploring the artistic and political possibilities of comedy.

After creating what he considers the perfect beat, Los Angeles DJ Darky travels to newly reunified Berlin to find avant-garde jazz musician Charles Stone. His search becomes a satirical exploration of music, race, identity, and artistic connection.

Raised as the subject of his father's racial experiments, a man from Dickens, California, tries to restore his erased hometown. His outrageous plan to reinstate slavery and school segregation brings this satirical challenge to American racial assumptions before the Supreme Court.