Published September 24, 2026 · The Digital Desk, America Publishers
Tananarive Due’s Mazywood Ranks #1 New Release in Black & African American Horror Fiction on Amazon
Tananarive Due’s newly released Mazywood has reached #1 New Release in Amazon’s Black & African American Horror Fiction category, bringing attention to a novel that combines family secrets, Old Hollywood, and supernatural danger. Published by S&S/Saga Press on September 22, 2026, the literary thriller follows a filmmaker and his family as they confront the unsettling legacy of his grandmother, a celebrated Black actress. The Mazywood #1 New Release recognition gives the book a timely publishing news angle following its arrival in the U.S. market.
The Amazon category designation places Mazywood within a specific New Releases listing for Black & African American Horror Fiction. It is distinct from an overall Amazon bestseller ranking and does not, by itself, establish total copies sold or the novel’s position across every horror category. The recognition also comes as Due brings another work of horror and speculative fiction to readers, drawing on themes that have informed her writing throughout her career.
Tananarive Due’s Contribution to Horror and Speculative Fiction
Tananarive Due is an American Book Award and NAACP Image Award-winning author whose work spans novels, short fiction, and explorations of Black horror and Afrofuturism. According to her official publisher biography, she also served as an executive producer on Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror for Shudder and teaches Afrofuturism and Black Horror at UCLA. Her writing and related work have contributed to conversations about horror as a literary form capable of engaging with history, identity, and experiences often underrepresented in mainstream storytelling.
Among her earlier novels is The Reformatory, another work of horror fiction that received attention from readers and reviewers. It provides context for Due’s established place in the genre, although Mazywood is a separate novel and is not described by the publisher as a sequel. Her latest book continues her engagement with supernatural storytelling while moving into the world of filmmaking, family history, and Hollywood’s past.
Mazywood Brings Old Hollywood and Family Secrets Together
Released in the United States on September 22, 2026, Mazywood is published by S&S/Saga Press, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. The publisher describes the novel as a literary thriller centered on Johnny Washington, a filmmaker and grandson of the famous Black actress Mazelle Washington. When Johnny takes his family to Mazywood, the secluded California mountain lodge inherited from his grandmother, he expects a quiet retreat. Instead, the family encounters a legacy of secrets, rage, and terror extending across generations.
The story connects Johnny’s present-day experience with Mazelle’s history as a Black actress during Hollywood’s Golden Age. Her career, which spanned the 1920s through the 1940s, forms an important part of the novel’s historical backdrop. Through the relationship between grandmother and grandson, the book brings together the entertainment industry’s past, inherited family history, and a supernatural threat connected to Mazywood itself. The publisher’s synopsis establishes these elements without disclosing the novel’s resolution.
This combination places Mazywood at the intersection of literary horror, historical storytelling, and supernatural suspense. While Amazon’s Black & African American Horror Fiction category identifies the listing’s retail classification, the publisher’s literary thriller description provides a separate perspective on the book’s format and narrative approach. Both offer readers context for the novel without requiring one genre label to replace the other.
Mazywood Reaches #1 New Release in Black & African American Horror Fiction
The Amazon listing identifies Mazywood as “#1 New Release in Black & African American Horror Fiction,” a category-specific designation rather than an overall sales ranking. The listing was verified on September 24, 2026.
For publishing coverage, the distinction matters. A New Release position identifies a book’s standing within a particular category listing at the time it is checked. It does not establish lifetime sales, a total number of copies purchased, or a continuing position on Amazon’s charts. The Mazywood #1 New Release recognition therefore represents a specific retail milestone that can be reported without making broader claims about commercial performance or predicting how the novel will perform in the coming weeks.
The book has also received editorial attention beyond its retail listing. PEOPLE published a cover reveal featuring Mazywood and discussed Due’s inspiration for the novel, providing readers with background on the project and its connection to Old Hollywood. Publishers Weekly and Kirkus Reviews have published reviews of the book, offering their own assessments of Due’s latest work. These pieces constitute editorial coverage of the novel, not independent confirmation of its Amazon category ranking.
The story’s connection between family secrets, generational history, and supernatural danger also provides context for its place within horror publishing. By linking a contemporary family’s experience to the history of a Black actress in Hollywood, Mazywood brings historical and supernatural elements into the same narrative. Its California mountain setting further distinguishes the novel’s backdrop, while the publisher’s description keeps the emphasis on the family’s encounter with a legacy left behind by Mazelle Washington.
For readers following new literary horror releases, the novel’s arrival and category-specific recognition provide a timely point of reference. The Amazon designation is a snapshot of the book’s position in a particular New Releases category, rather than a measure of overall horror sales or a guarantee of future chart performance. As Mazywood enters the market, its publication details, publisher-approved synopsis, and existing editorial coverage offer a factual basis for understanding the book and the attention surrounding it.
America Publishers congratulates Tananarive Due on the release of Mazywood and its reported #1 New Release recognition in Amazon’s Black & African American Horror Fiction category.
Where to Find Mazywood
🔗 Amazon: Click here
Source: “Mazywood by Tananarive Due.” Read more at SimonandSchuster.com.