[The JRB Daily] 2018 Barry Ronge Fiction Prize longlist announced
The 2018 Sunday Times Literary Awards longlists have been announced! The awards celebrate ‘the best of South African non-fiction and…
Author: Jennifer Malec
[The JRB Daily] Former Caine Prize director Lizzy Attree joins Short Story Day Africa
Lizzy Attree has joined the board of Short Story Day Africa. Attree stepped down as the director of the Caine Prize for…
[The JRB Daily] Man Booker International Prize longlist announced
The longlist has been revealed for the 2018 Man Booker International Prize. The Man Booker International celebrates the finest global…
[The JRB Daily] Queer Africa 2, edited by Makhosazana Xaba and Karen Martin, announced as a 2018 Lambda Literary Awards finalist
Queer Africa 2: New Stories, a short story collection edited by The JRB Patron Makhosazana Xaba and Karen Martin, has…
The Johannesburg Review of Books Vol. 2, Issue 3 (March 2018)
Welcome to the third issue of Volume 2 of The Johannesburg Review of Books. In our March 2018 edition, hot…
[City Editor] ‘I try to appreciate township solidarity without romanticising it’: Niq Mhlongo chats to Jennifer Malec about Soweto, Under the Apricot Tree
The JRB Editor Jennifer Malec chatted to City Editor Niq Mhlongo about the banning of Inxeba, writing to music, and his brand…
[The JRB Daily] Thirty-eight Nobel laureates, including JM Coetzee, Kazuo Ishiguro and Wole Soyinka, write open letter to Turkey’s President Erdoğan over threats to freedom of expression
Thirty-eight Nobel laureates have written an open letter to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, to draw his attention to damage…
[The JRB Daily] Caine Prize for African Writing director Lizzy Attree stands down
The Caine Prize for African Writing has announced that director Lizzy Attree is leaving the organisation. Attree has served as director…
[The JRB Daily] 2017 Africa Centre Artists In Residency shortlists announced
The Africa Centre has announced the shortlists for the 2017 Artists In Residency programmes, including The JRB Contributing Editor Efemia Chela. The…
The Johannesburg Review of Books Vol. 2, Issue 2 (February 2018)
Welcome to the second issue of Volume 2 of The Johannesburg Review of Books. This month, we are excited and…
‘I started writing the book in a fit of anger with Fees Must Fall activists’—Rehana Rossouw chats to Jennifer Malec about New Times
Rehana Rossouw’s critically acclaimed debut novel, What Will People Say?, was shortlisted for the 2015 Etisalat Prize for Literature, and won…
[The JRB Daily] 2018 9mobile Prize for Literature shortlist announced
The shortlist for the 2018 9mobile Prize for Literature (formerly the Etisalat Prize for Literature) has been announced. The award…
[The JRB Daily] The early years: Read an excerpt from Hugh Ramapolo Masekela’s autobiography, Still Grazing
Hugh Ramapolo Masekela died in Johannesburg today, at the age of seventy-eight, after a long battle with prostate cancer. The…
Hugh Ramapolo Masekela, legendary jazz musician, RIP
Hugh Ramapolo Masekela, one of South Africa’s most celebrated and pioneering musicians, has died in Johannesburg. Masekela had been fighting…
[The JRB Daily] [Photo Editor] Listen to Victor Dlamini’s 2007 interview with Mmatshilo Motsei on her book The Kanga and the Kangaroo Court
As part of our January Conversation Issue, The JRB published an essay titled ‘Kanga and Khwezi: Kwezilomso Mbandazayo challenges the…
The Johannesburg Review of Books Vol. 2, Issue 1 (January 2018, The Conversation Issue)
Welcome to the first issue of Volume 2 of The Johannesburg Review of Books. This month we said goodbye to Keorapetse…
[Conversation Issue] ‘We bury our stories and wonder why we are in so much pain’—Mohale Mashigo talks to Jennifer Malec about The Yearning
As part of our January Conversation Issue, Mohale Mashigo chats to The JRB Editor Jennifer Malec. The Yearning Mohale Mashigo…
Details of memorial services for Keorapetse ‘Bra Willie’ Kgositsile (1938—2018): 11, 12 and 16 January
South Africa’s National Poet Laureate, Keorapetse ‘Bra Willie’ Kgositsile, passed away in Johannesburg on Wednesday, 3 January. He was seventy-nine….
Keorapetse ‘Bra Willie’ Kgositsile, South Africa’s National Poet Laureate, RIP
South Africa’s National Poet Laureate, Keorapetse ‘Bra Willie’ Kgositsile, has died in Johannesburg. Kgositsile passed away at Milpark Hospital in…
[The JRB Daily] The Johannesburg Review of Books’s Book of the Year
The JRB’s Editor takes a look back at 2017 and picks out the single work that left the biggest impression….
[The JRB Daily] The JRB 2017 Top Fifty: Our fifty most popular posts from Vol. 1
Since our launch in May, we have published eight issues of reviews, interviews, essays, poetry, photography and short fiction. From…
[The JRB Daily] Shortlist announced for the 2017 Gerald Kraak Award for writing and photography on gender, human rights and sexuality in Africa
The shortlist for the 2017 Gerald Kraak Award has been announced, including The JRB Francophone and Contributing Editor Efemia Chela….
[The JRB Daily] Judging panel announced for 2018 Caine Prize
The Caine Prize for African Writing has announced the five judges for the 2018 edition of the award. Dinaw Mengestu,…
[The JRB Daily] ‘This is unlike any other literary festival’—Sifiso Mzobe and Shubnum Khan talk writing at the Abantu Book Festival
Sifiso Mzobe and Shubnum Khan were in conversation with Sihle Mthembu at the Abantu Book Festival in Soweto last weekend….
[The JRB Daily] 2017 Abantu Book Festival focuses on legacy: Libraries, free books for children, and plans to rotate around South African cities
The second annual Abantu Book Festival kicked off in Soweto today, and festival director Thando Mgqolozana emphasised the event’s focus…
[The JRB Daily] 2018 9mobile Prize for Literature longlist announced
The longlist for the 2017 9mobile Prize for Literature (formerly the Etisalat Prize for Literature) has been announced. South African…
[The JRB Daily] 2017 Short Story Day Africa Prize longlist announced
The longlist for the Short Story Day Africa Prize for Short Fiction has been announced. The prize is worth $1,000…
The Johannesburg Review of Books Vol. 1, Issue 8 (December 2017, The Fiction Issue)
Welcome to the eighth issue of The Johannesburg Review of Books. In South Africa, there’s December, and there’s Dezemba—the latter…
‘I don’t believe in showing off’: Nthikeng Mohlele chats about his award-winning novel Pleasure and future artistic pursuits
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…
‘I was interested in being present at the moment when truth revealed itself’—JM Coetzee’s childhood photography
Childhood photographs by JM Coetzee are currently on exhibition at the Irma Stern Gallery in Cape Town. The exhibition, titled…
[The JRB Daily] 2017 South African Literary Awards winners announced
The winners of the 2017 South African Literary Awards (SALAs) have been announced. The SALAs are awarded annually by the…
[The JRB Daily] Six African authors up for world’s richest annual literary prize, the International Dublin Literary Award
Six African authors have made the longlist for the International Dublin Literary Award, the world’s most valuable annual literary prize for…
‘I wanted my family to read my book and enjoy it’: Nathan Hill talks to Jennifer Malec about his bestselling debut novel The Nix
Jennifer Malec sat down with Nathan Hill in Cape Town during the Open Book Festival recently to talk about his…
[The JRB Daily] Durban, South Africa is one of eight new Unesco Cities of Literature
Durban, South Africa’s largest port city and hometown to dozens of noted writers—from the likes of Lewis Nkosi and Ronnie…
[The JRB Daily] George Saunders wins the 2017 Man Booker Prize for his novel Lincoln in the Bardo
American author George Saunders has won the 2017 Man Booker Prize for Fiction for his novel Lincoln in the Bardo. Saunders…
[The JRB Daily] South African Literary Awards shortlists announced
The 2017 South African Literary Awards shortlists have been announced, with nominees including Mohale Mashigo, Kopano Matlwa, Nthikeng Mohlele, Etienne van…
[The JRB Daily] Exclusive preview: Bongani Madondo’s interview with Mandla Langa, co-author of Nelson Mandela’s Dare Not Linger
To mark the publication of Nelson Mandela’s Dare Not Linger: The Presidential Years, which goes on sale today, The JRB…
[The JRB Daily] Kazuo Ishiguro wins the Nobel Prize in Literature
English author Kazuo Ishiguro has won the Nobel Prize in Literature. The announcement was made by the Swedish Academy this…
[The JRB Daily] Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o is the favourite to win the Nobel Prize in Literature—again
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o is odds-on favourite to win the Nobel Prize in Literature this week. The JRB’s Editor Jennifer Malec…
The Johannesburg Review of Books Vol. 1, Issue 6 (October 2017)
Welcome to the sixth issue of The Johannesburg Review of Books. Half a dozen and going strong! In this edition,…