African American literature has changed in startling ways since the end of the Black Arts Era. The last five decades have generated new paradigms of racial formation and novel patterns of cultural production, circulation, and reception. This volume takes up the challenge of mapping the varied and changing field of contemporary African American writing. Balancing the demands of historical and political context with attention to aesthetic innovation, it considers the history, practice, and future directions of the field. Examining various historical forces shaping the creation of innovative genres, the turn to the afterlife of slavery, the pull toward protest, and the impact of new and expanded geographies and methods, this Companion provides an invaluable point of reference for readers seeking rigorous and cutting-edge analyses of contemporary African American literature. 'This book is essential for keeping libraries current … Highly recommended.' L. L. Johnson, CHOICE This book provides a systematic and vibrant account of the range and achievements of contemporary Black writers. Yogita Goyal is Professor of African American Studies and English at UCLA and author of Romance, Diaspora, and Black Atlantic Literature (2010) and Runaway Genres: The Global Afterlives of Slavery (2019; winner of ACLA's René Wellek Prize). She edited The Cambridge Companion to Transnational American Literature (2017) and has published widely on African diaspora, postcolonial, and US literature.