[Sponsored] 2022 Booker Prize winner Shehan Karunatilaka is coming to South Africa!
Shehan Karunatilaka – winner of the 2022 Booker Prize – will be in South African in October and November. His winning novel The…
Author: The JRB
[Sponsored] ‘I receive the things my grandmothers left for me’—Siphokazi Jonas introduces her debut poetry collection, Weeping Becomes a River
Penguin Random House SA has shared a video of Siphokazi Jonas introducing her ‘exquisite, courageous and moving’ poetry collection, Weeping Becomes…
[Sponsored] ‘The story started bending genres by itself’—Find out more about Charl-Pierre Naude’s new novel The Equality of Shadows
Charl-Pierre Naudé’s genre-bending new novel, The Equality of Shadows, is out now from Picador Africa. Naudé is a poet and…
[Sponsored] New book alert! Alexandra: A Backstory—a powerful graphic novel that uncovers the hidden history of Alex
Curious about Alexandra Township? Discover Its untold stories! Alexandra: A Backstory by Solam Mkhabela is out in October from Jacana…
View an excerpt of images from Zanele Muholi’s new book Somnyama Ngonyama, Hail the Dark Lioness, Vol. II
The JRB presents an excerpt from Zanele Muholi’s new book Somnyama Ngonyama, Hail the Dark Lioness, Vol. II. Somnyama Ngonyama,…
‘Those few strands of barbed wire fence stood between her and her children, her home, her husband and her country’—Read an excerpt from the new edition of Lauretta Ngcobo’s Cross of Gold
The JRB presents an excerpt from a new edition of Lauretta Ngcobo’s seminal novel Cross of Gold. Cross of GoldLauretta…
Read an excerpt from a new edition of Alex La Guma’s A Soviet Journey, including the Foreword by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o
The JRB presents an excerpt from a new edition of A Soviet Journey by Alex La Guma: A Critical Annotated…
‘Unlike any other South African poem I have come across’—Read Kelwyn Sole’s Introduction to Angifi Proctor Dladla’s epic poem Maxwell the Gorilla and the Archbishop of Soshanguve
The JRB presents Kelwin Sole’s Introduction to Maxwell the Gorilla and the Archbishop of Soshanguve, an epic poem by the…
[The JRB Daily] 2024 South African Literary Awards shortlists announced—‘reflecting the dynamic and evolving literary scene’
The shortlists for the 2024 South African Literary Awards have been announced. The SALAs are awarded annually by the wRite…
[Sponsored] In the latest episode of Pagecast, Kobby Ben Ben talks to Lethabo Mailula about his powerful novel No One Dies Yet
This week on Pagecast, the podcast brought to you by Jonathan Ball Publishers, the phenomenal Kobby Ben Ben chats about…
[Sponsored] Five minutes with Sven Axelrad on his new novel God’s Pocket
Sven Axelrad is seldom seen without his dog. His dog and a pen and piece of paper. How else will…
[Sponsored] ‘A magnificent achievement’—Find out more about Morafe: Person, Family and Nation in Colonial Bechuanaland by Khumisho Moguerane
Jacana Media is thrilled to announce the release of Morafe: Person, Family and Nation in Colonial Bechuanaland, 1880s—1950s by Khumisho…
‘Because of informers, meetings were never announced beforehand’—Read an excerpt from Dayspring, the memoir of the late CJ Driver, major South African poet and exiled student politician
The JRB presents an excerpt from Dayspring, the forthcoming memoir by CJ Driver, edited and with a foreword by Nobel…
Continuities between Tswana worlds and Black world politics—Read an excerpt from Keorapetse Kgositsile and the Black Arts Movement by Uhuru Portia Phalafala
The JRB presents an excerpt from Uhuru Portia Phalafala’s new book, Keorapetse Kgositsile and the Black Arts Movement. Keorapetse Kgositsile…
‘Like knowledge, ignorance is a form of power’—Read an excerpt from Achille Mbembe’s award-winning book Brutalism
The JRB presents an excerpt from Achille Mbembe’s new book Brutalism, which was recently awarded the prestigious Holberg Prize. BrutalismAchille…
‘Listen, when the ancestors bite your ears’—Read an excerpt from Avenues by Train, the debut novel by Farai Mudzingwa
The JRB presents an excerpt from Farai Mudzingwa’s debut novel, Avenues by Train. Avenues by TrainFarai MudzingwaCassava Republic Press, 2023…
‘The dread of Whites and of ghosts loomed in his mind’—Read an excerpt from the new English translation of Louis Timagène Houat’s rediscovered classic The Maroons
The JRB presents an excerpt from the rediscovered classic The Maroons, first published in 1844 and released for the first…
‘This is my third lifespan.’—Read an excerpt from Tlotlo Tsamaase’s debut novel Womb City, a cyberpunk horror set in a future Botswana
The JRB presents an excerpt from Womb City by Tlotlo Tsamaase. Womb CityTlotlo TsamaaseJacana Media (Mother imprint), 2024 08:00 ///…
[Sponsored] ‘It isn’t always advisable to write things which are better left unsaid’—Five minutes with CA Davids
How to Be a Revolutionary was recently awarded the 2023 Sunday Times Fiction Prize. The Penguin Post asked the author, CA…
[Sponsored] Jo Watson chats about her new book Love at First Flight on the Pagecast podcast
Gail Schimmel interviewed Jo Watson about her latest book, Love at First Flight, on Pagecast, the podcast from Jonathan Ball Publishers! Watson…
[Sponsored] Is the Party Over? by Oscar van Heerden—a powerful account of the inner workings of a cripplingly divided political party
Is the Party Over? by Oscar van Heerden will be out from Jacana Media in March, ahead of the elections on…
[The JRB exclusive] ‘In a single life here there is so much life’—Read an excerpt from Teju Cole’s new novel Tremor
The JRB presents an excerpt from Tremor, the new novel from Teju Cole. TremorTeju ColeFaber and Faber How is one…
‘Powerful drama fused with its cerebral yet emotional writing’—Read Njabulo S Ndebele’s Foreword to the 60th anniversary edition of William ‘Bloke’ Modisane’s Blame Me on History
The JRB presents Njabulo S Ndebele’s Foreword to the new sixtieth-anniversary edition of William ‘Bloke’ Modisane’s Blame Me on History….
‘This book is being published while Gaza, where I live, is being annihilated’—Read an excerpt from Decolonising the Palestinian Mind by South African–Palestinian author Haidar Eid
The JRB presents an excerpt from Haidar Eid’s new book Decolonising the Palestinian Mind. Decolonising the Palestinian MindHaidar EidInkani Books,…
[Sponsored] Listen to an excerpt from The Pole—an indelible tale of life, love, death and Chopin, from Nobel Prize-winning author JM Coetzee
A pianist falls grandly, helplessly in love in this elegant new novella from the twice-Booker Prize winner JM Coetzee. Out…
[Sponsored] Listen to an excerpt from Jessica George’s bestselling debut Maame, a novel that explores what it feels like to be torn between two homes and cultures
Listen to an excerpt from Jessica George’s instant bestseller Maame—the debut of 2023! Maame is out now from Jonathan Ball…
[Sponsored] ‘Politics and poetry don’t go together’—Read an excerpt from At Fire Hour, the unforgettable and deeply moving novel by Barry Gilder
Read an excerpt from Barry Gilder’s new novel At Fire Hour, courtesy of Jacana Media. ‘Here it is at last!’—Antjie…
[Fiction Issue] ‘No one in Durban remembers a Christmas as hot as this’—Read an excerpt from Shubnum Khan’s forthcoming novel The Lost Love of Akbar Manzil
The JRB presents an excerpt from The Lost Love of Akbar Manzil, the forthcoming novel from Shubnum Khan, which will…
[Fiction Issue] ‘And just like that, in one touch, Ruth’s trauma passed to her’—An excerpt from Tsitsi Mapepa’s debut novel Ndima Ndima
The JRB presents an excerpt from Ndima Ndima, the debut novel from Tsitsi Mapepa. Ndima NdimaTsitsi MapepaCatalyst Press, 2023 The…
[Fiction Issue] ‘The one thing I cannot give her’— Read ‘Mastitis’ by Mubanga Kalimamukwento, from Now Now: The 2023 Doek Anthology
The JRB presents an excerpt from Mubanga Kalimamukwento’s short story ‘Mastitis’, published in Now Now: The 2023 Doek Anthology. Now…
[Fiction Issue] ‘This was the only way. If she let him go, it would be the end’—Read an excerpt from Hamza Koudri’s debut novel Sand Roses
The JRB presents an excerpt from Sand Roses, the debut novel by Hamza Koudri. Sand RosesHamza KoudriHolland House Books, 2023…
[Fiction Issue] ‘They came riding cattle lorries. Their whole world travelling with them’—Read an excerpt from Magogodi oaMphela Makhene’s Innards
The JRB presents an excerpt from ‘7678B Old Potchefstroom Road’, from Innards, the debut short story collection by Magogodi oaMphela…
[Fiction Issue] ‘Sometimes we need to lie to ourselves. It’s the only way the world makes sense’—Read an excerpt from SE Bhamjee’s debut novel Home Scar
The JRB presents an excerpt from Home Scar, the forthcoming debut novel by SE Bhamjee. Home ScarSE BhamjeeModjaji Books, 2024…
[Sponsored] ‘It takes a lawyer, an activist and a storyteller to change the world’—Find out more about The Revolution Will Not Be Litigated
The Revolution Will Not Be Litigated: People Power and Legal Power in the 21st Century, edited by Katie Redford and…
[Sponsored] Dianne Stewart on how to journal your way to a novel
Journaling is an accessible way for writers to hone their craft and keep track of details while writing a book,…
[Sponsored] ‘The doctor’s bedside manner is one of the coldest, most violent experiences of my life’—Read an excerpt from Hot Water by Nadine Dirks
Jacana Media has shared an excerpt from Hot Water by Nadine Dirks – an intimate and daring look into the…
‘She puts the worm in her mouth. She swallows it whole. It doesn’t wriggle. Too late now’—Read an excerpt from Lauren Beukes’s new novel, Bridge
The JRB presents an excerpt from Bridge, the new novel from Editorial Advisory Panel member Lauren Beukes. BridgeLauren BeukesPenguin Random House SA, 2023…
‘The world was tilting. The world was sinking. The city throbbed with energy and rage’—Read an excerpt from Ben Okri’s new book, Tiger Work
The JRB presents an excerpt from Tiger Work, the latest collection of poems, fables, and essays from Ben Okri. Tiger…
‘We can’t afford to have bombs exploding. Get your act together’—Read an excerpt from Breaking the Bombers by Mark Shaw
The JRB presents an excerpt from Breaking the Bombers: How the Hunt for Pagad Created a Crack Police Unit by…
‘The language we know as Afrikaans today owes much to the enslaved people who spoke it’—Read an excerpt from Coloured: How Classification Became Culture
The JRB presents an excerpt from Coloured: How Classification Became Culture by Tessa Dooms and Lynsey Ebony Chutel. ColouredTessa Dooms,…