South Africa’s National Poet Laureate, Keorapetse ‘Bra Willie’ Kgositsile, passed away in Johannesburg on Wednesday, 3 January. He was seventy-nine….
South Africa’s National Poet Laureate, Keorapetse ‘Bra Willie’ Kgositsile, has died in Johannesburg. Kgositsile passed away at Milpark Hospital in…
The JRB’s Editor takes a look back at 2017 and picks out the single work that left the biggest impression….
Since our launch in May, we have published eight issues of reviews, interviews, essays, poetry, photography and short fiction. From…
The shortlist for the 2017 Gerald Kraak Award has been announced, including The JRB Francophone and Contributing Editor Efemia Chela….
The Caine Prize for African Writing has announced the five judges for the 2018 edition of the award. Dinaw Mengestu,…
Sifiso Mzobe and Shubnum Khan were in conversation with Sihle Mthembu at the Abantu Book Festival in Soweto last weekend….
The second annual Abantu Book Festival kicked off in Soweto today, and festival director Thando Mgqolozana emphasised the event’s focus…
The longlist for the 2017 9mobile Prize for Literature (formerly the Etisalat Prize for Literature) has been announced. South African…
The longlist for the Short Story Day Africa Prize for Short Fiction has been announced. The prize is worth $1,000…
Welcome to the eighth issue of The Johannesburg Review of Books. In South Africa, there’s December, and there’s Dezemba—the latter…
Nthikeng Mohlele’s Pleasure was recently longlisted for the International Dublin Literary Award—this after winning two major South Africa literary prizes in 2017. The…
Childhood photographs by JM Coetzee are currently on exhibition at the Irma Stern Gallery in Cape Town. The exhibition, titled…
The winners of the 2017 South African Literary Awards (SALAs) have been announced. The SALAs are awarded annually by the…
Six African authors have made the longlist for the International Dublin Literary Award, the world’s most valuable annual literary prize for…
Jennifer Malec sat down with Nathan Hill in Cape Town during the Open Book Festival recently to talk about his…
Durban, South Africa’s largest port city and hometown to dozens of noted writers—from the likes of Lewis Nkosi and Ronnie…
American author George Saunders has won the 2017 Man Booker Prize for Fiction for his novel Lincoln in the Bardo. Saunders…
The 2017 South African Literary Awards shortlists have been announced, with nominees including Mohale Mashigo, Kopano Matlwa, Nthikeng Mohlele, Etienne van…
To mark the publication of Nelson Mandela’s Dare Not Linger: The Presidential Years, which goes on sale today, The JRB…
English author Kazuo Ishiguro has won the Nobel Prize in Literature. The announcement was made by the Swedish Academy this…
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o is odds-on favourite to win the Nobel Prize in Literature this week. The JRB’s Editor Jennifer Malec…
Welcome to the sixth issue of The Johannesburg Review of Books. Half a dozen and going strong! In this edition,…
Jennifer Malec sat down with Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ at the recent Open Book Festival in Cape Town to talk about her…
Phil Bonner, leading historian and Africanist scholar, passed away in Johannesburg on Sunday, 24 September, aged seventy-two. Bonner was Professor…
As part of the programme for an international congress on ‘The work of John Maxwell Coetzee in Latin America’, JM…
The shortlist for the 2017 Man Booker Prize for Fiction has been announced, with six books described as ‘playful, sincere,…
The fifth issue of The Johannesburg Review of Books has arrived—possibly our best edition yet. Before we dive in, we…
The winners of the English Academy of Southern Africa Awards for writing have been announced. Geoffrey Haresnape will receive the Thomas…
Main image: Bongani Madondo photographed by JRB Photo Editor Victor Dlamini To celebrate their seventh anniversary, Brittle Paper recently launched the…
18 August 2017 is the thirtieth anniversary of the death of Zimbabwean writer Dambudzo Marechera. He would have been sixty-five….
The fourth issue of The Johannesburg Review of Books has arrived—and not a moment too soon, in our humble opinion….
Binyavanga Wainaina spoke eloquently about his writing career and his life, and how the two are intertwined, at Wits University…
Masande Ntshanga’s debut novel, The Reactive, came out from Umuzi in 2014. Since then, it has won international publishing contracts…
The winners of the 2016 University of Johannesburg Prizes for South African Writing in English have been announced. Nthikeng Mohlele…
The longlist for the 2017 Man Booker Prize for Fiction has been announced. The prize, worth £50,000, was first awarded…
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie paid homage to Binyavanga Wainaina yesterday evening, in a touching message read out at an event at…
The United Kingdom release of Henrietta Rose-Innes’s latest novel, Green Lion, is imminent, and to mark the occasion she has written…
Sudanese writer Bushra al-Fadil has won the 2017 Caine Prize for African Writing for his story ‘The Story of the…
The third issue of The Johannesburg Review of Books is here, with some big reviews, in-depth interviews and quality ruminations…
