[Sponsored] Listen to the new episode of Pagecast! Cariad Lloyd chats about her new book You Are Not Alone
In the latest episode of Pagecast, the podcast from Jonathan Ball Publishers, Pippa Hudson chats to Cariad Lloyd about her…
Author: The JRB
[Sponsored] ‘The impulse to write often strikes when I’m observing someone else’—Ayobami Adebayo chats about her new novel A Spell of Good Things
The seed of a story starts with the glimpse of a shadow, writes Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀. ‘This was a place I…
[Sponsored] The Manifesto Mixtape—listen to the Sound of Jacana, hosted by Charles Leonard
The Sound of Jacana Podcast and Mixtape, hosted by Charles Leonard, is out now! This edition, The Manifesto Mixtape, is…
‘With all these familiar horrors, who in the hell was going to believe in zombies?’—Read an excerpt from Nana Nkweti’s debut short story collection Walking on Cowrie Shells
The JRB presents an extract from ‘It Just Kills You Inside’, excerpted from Walking on Cowrie Shells, the debut short…
‘Her mother loved Angola more than she loved her daughter’—Read an excerpt from Yara Nakahanda Monteiro’s acclaimed novel Loose Ties
The JRB presents an excerpt from Yara Nakahanda Monteiro’s novel Loose Ties, translated from the Portuguese by Sandy Tamele, which…
‘Michael stands at the edge of the world and looks up into the eternal stars’—Read an excerpt from David Ralph Viviers’s debut novel Mirage
The JRB presents an excerpt from Mirage, the debut novel by David Ralph Viviers. MirageDavid Ralph ViviersUmuzi, 2023 Read the…
‘Every African who has been paying attention to the global Covid-19 response is angry. Listen to us as we tell you why.’—Read an excerpt from Strange and Difficult Times
The JRB presents an excerpt from Strange and Difficult Times: Notes on a Global Pandemic by Nanjala Nyabola. Strange and…
‘Pajubá as Queer Articulation of the Black Atlantic’ by Caio Simões de Araújo—an excerpt from Changing Theory: Concepts from the Global South
The JRB presents an excerpt from Caio Simões de Araújo’s chapter ‘Pajubá’, from the new essay collection Changing Theory: Concepts…
[Sponsored] Jonathan Ball Publishers’s podcast Pagecast takes you on a journey of the year in books, and recommends some great holiday reads
Pagecast, the podcast from Jonathan Ball Publishers, is looking back and reflecting on all the incredible books published in 2022….
[Sponsored] Books—the gift you can open over and over again!
Still looking for that perfect present? Penguin Random House has compiled the ULTIMATE gifting guide for you. From books for…
[Sponsored] New book alert! In My Life: Stories From Young Activists in South Africa 2002—2022
In My Life: Stories From Young Activists in South Africa 2002–2022 is out in December from Jacana Media. Edited by Shannon…
[Sponsored] ‘I swear you can’t make stuff like this up’—Read an excerpt from Tshidiso Moletsane’s Sunday Times Fiction Prize-winning novel Junx
Penguin Random House has shared an excerpt from Junx, the debut novel from Tshidiso Moletsane, winner of the 2022 Sunday Times Fiction…
[Sponsored] Listen to the new episode of Pagecast! Featuring Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan, authors of Mad Honey
The new episode of Pagecast, the podcast from Jonathan Ball Publishers, is out now! In this week’s episode, Pagecast, Pippa…
[Sponsored] Mr Entertainment by Paula Fourie: A pioneering biography of one of Cape Town’s most beloved entertainers, Taliep Petersen
Mr Entertainment: The story of Taliep Petersen by Paula Fourie is out now from LAPA Publishers. In Mr Entertainment, we hear…
[Sponsored] The Unaccountables: The Powerful Politicians and Corporations who Profit from Impunity—an urgent and passionately argued call to action
The Unaccountables: The Powerful Politicians and Corporations who Profit from Impunity, edited by Michael Marchant, Mamello Mosiana, Ra’eesa Pather and…
[The JRB exclusive] ‘Over the months, we found more and more of Wayne’s drawings, those bundles of thin lines on the walls’—Read an excerpt from Namwali Serpell’s new novel The Furrows
The JRB presents an excerpt from The Furrows: An Elegy, the new novel from award-winning author Namwali Serpell. The FurrowsNamwali…
[The JRB exclusive] ‘The first wound for all of us who are classified as “black” is empire’—Read an excerpt from Tsitsi Dangarembga’s new book Black and Female
The JRB presents an excerpt from Black and Female by Tsitsi Dangarembga. Black and FemaleTsitsi DangarembgaFaber & Faber, 2022 Read…
‘I danced a saraband with my parents. Their love dissolved my old fear’—Read an excerpt from Abdourahman A Waberi’s award-winning novel Why Do You Dance When You Walk
The JRB presents an excerpt from Why Do You Dance When You Walk by Djiboutian novelist Abdourahman A Waberi, winner…
‘I was an identity-less person at the mercy of apartheid officials’—Read an excerpt from Cleaner’s Boy: A Resistance Road to a Liberated Life by Patric Tariq Mellet
The JRB presents an excerpt from Patric Tariq Mellet’s autobiography Cleaner’s Boy: A Resistance Road to a Liberated Life. Cleaner’s…
‘I remember the day Nelson Mandela returned, exactly thirty years after his death’—Read Siyawa by Kneo Mokgopa, from Our Move Next
The JRB presents an excerpt from Our Move Next: Digital Folklore. Our Move Next: Digital FolkloreCurated by Sarah Summers and…
‘There was a heated discussion about me going to work for this “native” paper’—Read an excerpt from Freedom Writer, the memoir of legendary journalist Juby Mayet
The JRB presents an excerpt from Freedom Writer: My Life and Times by the late Juby Mayet. Freedom Writer: My…
The lives of ordinary African women who did not submit to empire—Read an excerpt from Kwasi Konadu’s new book Many Black Women of this Fortress
The JRB presents an excerpt from Many Black Women of this Fortress: Graça, Mónica and Adwoa, Three Enslaved Women of…
[The JRB Daily] 2022 South African Literary Awards winners announced
The winners of the 2022 South African Literary Awards (the SALAs) have been announced. The winning writers were announced in…
[The JRB Daily] Annie Ernaux receives the 2022 Nobel Prize in Literature
French author Annie Ernaux has been awarded this year’s Nobel Prize in Literature, the Swedish Academy announced today in Stockholm….
[Sponsored] ‘Hearing that collective clamour for change reminded me that I did not walk alone’—NoViolet Bulawayo chats about her Booker-shortlisted novel Glory
Zimbabwean novelist NoViolet Bulawayo has just been shortlisted for the prestigious Booker Prize for her new novel Glory. Glory is…
[Sponsored] ‘What do you do if you suspect your husband is planning to murder you?’ Maggie O’Farrell introduces her new book The Marriage Portrait
In her new book The Marriage Portrait, Maggie O’Farrell turns her talents to Renaissance Italy in an extraordinary portrait of…
[Sponsored] A force of life, one of the only women writers at Drum—Juby Mayet’s autobiography Freedom Writer: My Life and Times out in October
Freedom Writer: My Life and Times by Juby Mayet if forthcoming in mid-October from Jacana Media. Mayet, who passed away…
#RhodesMustFall, patriarchy and feminism—read an excerpt from Why Men Hurt Women and Other Reflections on Love, Violence and Masculinity
The JRB presents an excerpt from Kopano Ratele’s new book Why Men Hurt Women and Other Reflections on Love, Violence…
‘He was determined to cement the Zulu language as a mighty force’—Read ‘The Last Word: Benedict Vilakazi’, excerpted from Wits University at 100
The JRB presents an excerpt from Wits University at 100: From Excavation to Innovation, a book that captures important moments…
[The JRB exclusive] Read ‘Until It Doesn’t’, Roy Udeh-Ubaka’s ‘brave and deeply moving’ Gerald Kraak Prize-winning story
The JRB is proud to present ‘Until It Doesn’t’, Roy Udeh-Ubaka’s Gerald Kraak Prize-winning story, excerpted from the new anthology…
A rich history and a rapidly evolving industry—View photographs from Africa in Fashion: Luxury, Craft and Textile Heritage by Ken Kweku Nimo
The JRB presents an excerpt from Ken Kweku Nimo’s new book Africa in Fashion: Luxury, Craft and Textile Heritage. Africa…
‘He looked like a bad decision. The best kind of bad decision’—Read an excerpt from Bolu Babalola’s debut novel Honey and Spice
The JRB presents an excerpt from Honey and Spice, the new novel from Bolu Babalola. Honey and SpiceBolu BabalolaHeadline, 2022…
Read an excerpt from Ben Okri’s new novel The Last Gift of the Master Artists
The JRB presents an excerpt from The Last Gift of the Master Artists, the new novel from Ben Okri. The…
‘Her name belonged to another world, even though her body lived in ours’—Read an excerpt from Pulane Mlilo Mpondo’s debut novel Things My Mother Left Me
The JRB presents an excerpt from Things My Mother Left Me, the debut novel by Pulane Mlilo Mpondo. Things My…
‘What do you think this crowd would do to a baby thief, if you were caught?’—Read an excerpt from Omolola Ijeoma Ogunyemi’s debut novel Jollof Rice and Other Revolutions
The JRB presents an excerpt from Jollof Rice and Other Revolutions: A Novel in Interlocking Stories, the debut novel from…
‘People were continuing to change, white people becoming dark’—Read an excerpt from The Last White Man by Mohsin Hamid
The JRB presents an excerpt from Mohsin Hamid‘s new novel The Last White Man. The Last White ManMohsin HamidPenguin, 2022…
[Sponsored] 5 easy steps to write your story! (Plus: WIN a creative writing intensive course)
If you have a story to tell, then tell it! Begin writing your memoir today with five easy steps from…
[Sponsored] New book alert! Margie Orford’s brutally compelling thriller The Eye of the Beholder—out in August
The Eye of the Beholder, the highly anticipated new book by Margie Orford, is out in August from Jonathan Ball…
[Sponsored] Mandela: Saint or Sell-out? Don’t miss a Jacana Media Don’t Shut Up conversation on correcting the Mandela myth (18 Jul)
Many are familiar with two versions of Nelson Mandela. Both versions render the man a myth, requiring that he is…
‘We’re not there to beg for a place on bookshelves in German bookshops but we’re there to demand it, to claim it’—Lidudumalingani on the 2022 African Book Festival
The JRB chats to guest City Editor Lidudumalingani about his curatorship of this year’s African Book Festival, taking place from…