Nov. 27, 2023 – As part of the collection moves the library undertook this year as part of our strategic plan, the library has a new Urban Fiction collection.

Materials Librarian Allison Zordell shared a little bit about what Urban Fiction is and why we decided to grow this collection:

"When I started here about a year ago, one of the first things I heard was that many patrons (and staff!) had been asking for an Urban Fiction section for some time, but budget and space concerns had stood in the way. Having come from another library where it was very popular, I wanted to find a way to make it happen. Our recent collection move Downtown was the perfect opportunity to carve out the space! I was then able to order 100+ titles (in addition to what we already had) for both Downtown and Ladd libraries – and with Materials Librarian Kristine Olsen's hard work – was able to get them out on the shelves quickly. It was definitely a team effort!

"Urban Fiction (also called Street Lit) is a fiction genre just like Science Fiction or Romance, with its own unique characteristics. Urban Fiction features "... raw, gritty, urban stories set in the violent, dangerous, familiar, and sometimes exhilarating landscape of the streets, featuring tough African American characters and focusing on themes of interpersonal relationships and survival by any means necessary,"(Megan Honig, Urban Grit: A Guide to Street Lit (2011)). Some popular authors include K'Wan, Wahida Clark, Sister Souljah, and Carl Weber."

The Urban Fiction Collection Downtown is located on the second floor, between Science Fiction and Humor. At Ladd, it is located next to Humor and Manga.

Browse books in the collection below, and click on book covers to put them on hold in our catalog now.