Welcome to Street Fiction
Street Fiction is dedicated to reviewing street fiction, also known as urban fiction, street lit, or gangsta fiction for adults and teens. One of the fastest growing genres, these books expose the reader to drugs, violence, sex and and the gritty realities of street life in urban America.
Visit the Links page to find all of your favorite urban authors and books.
Join the Online Book Club
Like to talk about street fiction? Want to be in a book club with street fiction readers from all over? Register at the Street Fiction Online Book Club today and start talking about your favorite urban fiction books and more!
In the News
The Adventures of Bodyslick: John H. Sibley’s “urban science fiction” (Chicago Weekly)
“If life was a thing that money could buy, the rich would live and the poor would die.” So reads the proverb on the back of John H. Sibley, Jr.’s novel “Bodyslick,” set in a dystopian futuristic Chicago where the main character makes a good living selling organs on the black market. Malcolm “Bodyslick” Steel grew up in a public housing project, his father killed in the Iraq War and his mother addicted to crack. In 2031, he lives in a Hyde Park condo with a lake view; procuring healthy organs for the rich, sick, and desperate has provided him with a steady flow of cash and adventure. Continued… »
Omar Tyree tells youths about his hard-won success (Contra Costa Times)
Omar Tyree spoke at Los Medanos College in Pittsburg on Sunday as part of the ongoing Contra Costa County Library Reading Festival before making stops at Juvenile Hall in Martinez, Pinole Valley High School and the rural minimum security facility in Byron.
“It is great that he has made so many appearances to get to people who can’t get to him,” county librarian Anne Cain said.
The 40-year-old Philadelphia-born author has written 18 books in the same number of years, but “Leslie” and “Flyy Girl” are among his most popular titles. According to librarian assistant Andrea Wrewler, Tyree’s contemporary style of writing is in demand among residents at the ranch’s Lesher Library, which opened last year.
“He has an urban twist that they can relate to,” she said. Continued… »
Hot Off the Press!
GANGSTA BITCH by Sonny Black
New release from K’wan’s publishing house Black Dawn Books.
After five years of grieving over her childhood sweetheart, Frankie Five-Fingers is ready to get back to business. Shedding her caged bird persona she has a new man and a new plan…snatch everything that isn t nailed down! With her new boo, Cowboy, and his crew of bandits they wreak havoc on the streets of New York, robbing everything from businesses to ballers. If it had value they were coming for it. Continued… »
Cartel 2 by Ashley JaQuavis
Good news for fans of the first book in the Cartel series - a second title, Cartel 2, is scheduled for release on October 27, 2009 according to Amazon. Stay tuned for more details about the book soon!
In the meantime, be sure to check out The Prada Plan by Ashley and The Dopeman’s Wife by JaQuavis. Both are great reads to carry you over until The Cartel 2 is released in October.
Conscious Women Rock the Page: Using Hip-Hop Fiction to Incite Social Change by Marcella Runell Hall
Three award-winning activists and novelists-Black Artemis, E-Fierce, and J-Love, join social justice educator Marcella Runell Hall and a diverse team of seasoned educators to develop this collection of engaging and timely standards-referenced lesson plans for 6-12 and beyond. These lessons explore the tools of oppression that keep us divided such as violence, patriarchy and racism. The lessons are based on the popular books: The Sista Hood: On the Mic, Picture Me Rollin’ and That White Girl.
The Word on Street Lit Column
The Word on Street Lit No. 15
Want another great source on street lit and urban fiction, check back here each month for Library Journal’s The Word on Street Lit!
For this month, we take a look at some upcoming contemporary street fiction novels, along with a few recently released titles that are perfect beach reads for young adults. Read More…
Writing Resources
Book of Rhymes: The Poetics of Hip Hop by Adam Bradley
If asked to list the greatest innovators of modern American poetry, few of us would think to include Jay-Z or Eminem in their number. And yet hip hop is the source of some of the most exciting developments in verse today. The media uproar in response to its controversial lyrical content has obscured hip hop’s revolution of poetic craft and experience: Only in rap music can the beat of a song render poetic meter audible, allowing an MC’s wordplay to move a club-full of eager listeners. Continued… »
Adult Urban Book Reviews
TRUST NO MAN by CashTRUST NO MAN is an urban street tale told in such vivid detail and with such gritty and compelling style it s like watching a movie...
THIRSTY by Mike SandersMeet Justice, a half-black, half-Filipino goddess whose appetite for a quick dollar is insatiable. Having moved from Chi-town to Charlotte,...
FAKING IT by Angel M. HunterEssence bestselling author Angel M. Hunter is back with emotional story of Layla Simone, a young woman who’s always living her life...
HARLEM’S DRAGON by David Rivera, Jr.This debut novel from David Rivera, Jr., explores the life of a detective and his world torn apart by love and lust. In a story that...
BURN by Black ArtemisStreet hustler turned Bronx bond agent Jasmine Reyes is all about second chances, and she’s given one to imprisoned Macho Booker....
GIRLS FROM DA HOOD 4 by Ashley and JaQuavis, Ayana EllisLike its predecessors, Girls from da Hood 4 introduces you to women from the streets of Brooklyn who know how to be on that grind. In...
WIVES AND GIRLFRIENDS by Nishawnda EllisDominic never imagined that betraying the vows he took for a night of lust, could lead to a lifetime full of pain. Wealthy Black prominent...
PLAYING IN THE DARK by David Rivera, Jr.,Chemah Rivers is back in an all-new erotic roller coaster of a story – the final book in a captivating trilogy filled with mystery...
THE STREET SWEEPER by David Rivera, Jr.In the eagerly anticipated sequel to Harlem’s Dragon, Detective Chemah Rivers unravels an intriguing case with a most beguiling...
WIFEBEATER by Mister Mann FrisbyBLINKING RED LIGHT was the debut of an explosive natural-born talent who set it off on the first page and never let up. Now, Mister...
CARMELLO: A FAMILY AFFAIR by Rahsaan AliWhen you’re in the streets, nothing is ever sacred. Out there, loyalty ain’t nothing but a word. In this game, the money is fast...
SCANDALOUS by ReChellaWhat is it about Charles that fascinates women? Charles Jennings is living a good life. He’s a local truck driver, and he has everything...
SELFISH INTENTIONS by Rahsaan AliAfter losing his job with an urban magazine, Nate moves from Baltimore to New York in search of a new start. Moe, Nate’s friend since...
CASH MONEY by A.J. RiversBest friends, Tanita and Freeda, are down for each other ‘til the end – that is until greed takes control. Fast money, men, trickin’...
WHEN SOULS MATE by Joylynn JosselWhile serving time in prison for the murder of her ex-husband Reo Laroque’s child, Klarke Taylor has lost everything, including...
Teen Urban Book Reviews
HOW TO SALSA IN A SARI by Dona SarkarThe Culture Club First, Issa Mazumder’s nerdy boyfriend dumps her for popular Latina princess Cat Morena – as if Cat even likes...
16 ON THE BLOCK by Babygirl DanielsA girl’s 16th birthday is supposed to be sweet, but For Summer Flynt, it was the day that changed her life forever. Young, fly,...
FAST FORWARD by Celeste NorfleetHow did Kenisha Lewis’s life go from near perfect to sheer chaos in just a few months? Coping with family tragedy is tough enough...
FIRST SEMESTER by Cecil R. CrossJames “JD” Dawson grew up in the hood, but left a life of violence three thousand miles behind to make something of himself...
THE PLEDGE by Chandra Sparks TaylorIf you really loved me, you’d… Raised in a strict household, sixteen-year-old Courtland Murphy never had a date. But that...
