[Sponsored] Join in and share the best in African literature across social media during #ReadingAfrica Week 2019 (1—7 Dec)
What are you reading at the moment? An old favourite? A new find? An undiscovered classic? Fiction, poetry, comics or…
Author: The JRB
[Sponsored] Read an excerpt from Father Michael’s Lottery by Johan Steyn—recently republished as a Picador Africa Heritage Classic
Pan Macmillan has shared an exclusive excerpt from Father Michael’s Lottery by Johan Steyn. First published in 2005, the novel was recently…
[Sponsored] ‘Here’s the boykie before he becomes a Bolshevik’—Find out more about Catching Tadpoles, the extraordinary coming-of-age memoir by Ronnie Kasrils
Catching Tadpoles: The Shaping of a Young Rebel, Ronnie Kasrils’s new memoir, reflects on the compelling questions that turned a…
[Fiction Issue] Read an excerpt from Sabata-mpho Mokae’s award-winning Setswana novel Moletlo wa Manong
The JRB presents an excerpt from Moletlo wa Manong, the award-winning Setswana novel by Sabata-mpho Mokae. Moletlo wa Manong was…
[Fiction issue] Read an excerpt from Olivia M Coetzee’s ‘page turning, gender- and genre-bending’ Kaaps novel Innie Shadows
The JRB presents an excerpt from Innie Shadows, Olivia M Coetzee’s debut novel, written in Kaaps. Innie ShadowsOlivia M CoetzeeModjaji…
[Fiction issue] Read ‘A Family History in a Passport’ by Yovanka Paquete Perdigao, excerpted from Bakwa 09: Taxi Drivers Who Drive Us Nowhere and Other Travel Stories
The JRB presents an excerpt from Bakwa 09: Taxi Drivers Who Drive Us Nowhere and Other Travel Stories. The excerpted story…
[Sponsored] Win a SIGNED copy of Margaret Atwood’s Booker Prize-winning new novel The Testaments!
Penguin Random House is giving away a series of books signed by their authors – exclusive to The Reading List…
[The JRB exclusive] Read an excerpt from Bernardine Evaristo’s Girl, Woman, Other—‘One of my aims as a writer is to explore the hidden narratives of the African diaspora’
The JRB presents an excerpt from Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo, co-winner of the 2019 Booker Prize. Girl, Woman,…
[Sponsored] Calling all fiction writers! Submit your novel to Jonathan Ball Publishers
Jonathan Ball Publishers is accepting fiction submissions from 1–15 November 2019. Find out more about how to submit your novel here!…
[Sponsored] Out now! The Bosasa Billions: How the ANC Sold its Soul for Braaipacks, Booze and Bags of Cash
The Bosasa Billions: How the ANC Sold its Soul for Braaipacks, Booze and Bags of Cash by James-Brent Styan and Paul…
[Sponsored] Read an excerpt from Jo-Ann Richards’s South African classic The Innocence of Roast Chicken—painful, evocative, beautifully drawn and utterly absorbing
Pan Macmillan has shared an exclusive extract from The Innocence of Roast Chicken by Jo-Anne Richards. First published back in 1996, The Innocence…
[Sponsored] Announcing the 2020 Dinaane Debut Fiction Award longlist—unearthing new southern African writers
Header image: Previous winners of the EU Literary Award/Dinaane Debut Fiction Award The Jacana Literary Foundation has announced the longlisted…
‘I would like to be on good terms with all animals.’ Read an excerpt from Zadie Smith’s debut short story collection, Grand Union
The JRB presents an excerpt from Grand Union—the first ever collection of stories by Zadie Smith, the Booker Prize-shortlisted author…
[The JRB exclusive] Read an excerpt from Siphiwo Mahala’s new collection of short stories, Red Apple Dreams
The JRB presents an excerpt from Red Apple Dreams, the new anthology of stories by Siphiwo Mahala. Mahala is the author…
[The JRB exclusive] Read an excerpt from Meanwhile … a new graphic novel anthology about everyday queer life in Southern and East Africa
The JRB presents an excerpt from Meanwhile … Graphic Short Stories About Everyday Queer Life in Southern and East Africa….
Introducing Yeoville—part of the mythology of transitional Johannesburg
The JRB presents an excerpt from Politics and Community-Based Research: Perspectives from Yeoville Studio, Johannesburg. Politics and Community-Based Research: Perspectives…
How Hip Hop is helping a new generation to ‘read the world’—Read an excerpt from Neva Again: Hip Hop Art, Activism and Education in Post-Apartheid South Africa
Hip Hop is producing a new generation of readers and writers in a world that operates in diverse literary forms,…
[Sponsored] Find out more about Phumlani Pikoli’s debut novel Born Freeloaders – PLUS read an excerpt, hot off the press!
Pan Macmillan has shared an excerpt from Born Freeloaders, the highly anticipated first novel from Phumlani Pikoli. Born Freeloaders is in stores…
[The JRB exclusive] ‘It had happened when I was nine years old, the day after my mother was taken and sold’—Read an excerpt from The Water Dancer, the debut novel by Ta-Nehisi Coates
The JRB presents an excerpt from The Water Dancer, the debut novel by Ta-Nehisi Coates, the critically acclaimed author of…
[Sponsored] Don’t miss the Jacana Media book sale – 6000 books at discounted prices (on till 31 Oct)
Don’t miss the Jacana Media massive book sale! The sale will be on every day, from 9 a.m. to 5…
[Sponsored] Win a signed copy of Bassie: My Journey of Hope by Basetsana Kumalo, plus a Lux hamper worth R1000!
One lucky reader stands a chance to win a book hamper, including signed copy of Bassie: My Journey of Hope by Basetsana…
[Sponsored] New book alert! Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe: New Reflections – thought-provoking and moving essays collected by Benjamin Pogrund
Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe: New Reflections by Benjamin Pogrund is out in October from Jonathan Ball Publishers. Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe is a…
Read Siyanda Mohutsiwa’s short story ‘And Then We Disappeared into Some Guy’s Car’, excerpted from the new anthology Botswana Women Write
The JRB presents an excerpt from Botswana Women Write, an anthology of writing by and about Batswana women. Botswana Women…
‘As we sleepwalk ever closer toward climate catastrophe’—An excerpt from Broken Land, the new photobook by Daylin Paul, winner of the Ernest Cole Award
Daylin Paul won the Ernest Cole Award, a photography prize for a prospective project, for his debut work Broken Land…
Voices from the continent with the world’s youngest population—Water Birds on the Lake Shore: An Anthology of African Young Adult Fiction (Plus: Read 3 of the stories)
Exclusive to The JRB, we present three new short stories from the Goethe-Institut Afro Young Adult anthology, Water Birds on…
[New short fiction] Read ‘Black Cornea, White Iris’, a short story by M Mukore, from the new Afro Young Adult anthology Water Birds on the Lake Shore
In the October issue of The JRB, we present three new short stories from the Goethe-Institut Afro Young Adult anthology,…
[New short fiction] Read ‘Forever Hers’, a short story by Y Mlangiza, from the new Afro Young Adult anthology Water Birds on the Lake Shore
In the October issue of The JRB, we present three new short stories from the Goethe-Institut Afro Young Adult anthology,…
[New short fiction] Read ‘The Hunter’, a short story by CJ Enemuo, from the new Afro Young Adult anthology Water Birds on the Lake Shore
In the October issue of The JRB, we present three new short stories from the Goethe-Institut Afro Young Adult anthology,…
[The JRB Daily] 2019 South African Literary Awards shortlists revealed—including 3 from The JRB
The 2019 South African Literary Awards shortlists have been announced, with nominees including The JRB regular contributor Wamuwi Mbao, Editor…
[Sponsored] New book alert! One Day In Bethlehem by award-winning author Jonny Steinberg
One Day In Bethlehem, the new book by Jonny Steinberg, is out now from Jonathan Ball Publishers. ‘Haunting, enraging and…
[Sponsored] Voices from the Underground—18 members of Umkhonto we Sizwe’s Ashley Kriel Detachment tell their stories for the first time
Voices from the Underground: Eighteen Life Stories from Umkhonto we Sizwe’s Ashley Kriel Detachment takes the reader inside the ANC’s military…
[Sponsored] Find out more about Alex van Tonder’s ‘dark, deadly and beautiful’ psychological thriller A Walk at Midnight
Devoted wife. Mother. Writer. Murderer? ‘This extraordinary novel is dark, deadly and beautiful. I couldn’t put it down.’ – Iain S…
‘A millennial Kenya we’ve never seen in fiction before’—Read an excerpt from The Cape Cod Bicycle War and Other Stories by Billy Kahora
The JRB presents an excerpt from The Cape Cod Bicycle War and Other Stories, the much-anticipated new book by Billy…
[Sponsored] Introduce children to the local art scene with Explore! Awesome South African Artists by Cobi Labuscagne
Explore! Awesome South African Artists by Cobi Labuscagne is out in September from Jacana Media. South Africa’s finest living contemporary artists,…
A brief history of Joubert Park, an unruly space of despondency and hope—Read an excerpt from Civilising Grass: The Art of the Lawn on the South African Highveld by Jonathan Cane
The JRB presents an excerpt from Civilising Grass: The Art of the Lawn on the South African Highveld by Jonathan…
‘Women can bring men flowers too, you know’—Read an excerpt from In Dependence, the bestselling novel by Sarah Ladipo Manyika
The JRB presents an excerpt from In Dependence by Nigerian author Sarah Ladipo Manyika. In Dependence sold three million copies…
[Sponsored] Jonathan Ball Publishers joins the audiobook revolution: Now you can listen to your favourite South African books!
A leader in the field of local publishing in history, politics and current affairs, Jonathan Ball Publishers has now joined…
[Sponsored] New book alert! Parcel of Death, the little-told life story of Onkgopotse Abram Tiro, hailed as the ‘godfather’ of the June 1976 uprisings
A compelling portrait of Onkgopotse Abram Tiro’s story and its lasting significance in South Africa’s history, Parcel of Death by Gaongalelwe Tiro is…
[The JRB exclusive] New short fiction: ‘Happy City Hotel’ by Adam El Shalakany, winner of the 2018 Short Story Day Africa Prize
The JRB presents the winning stories from this year’s Short Story Day Africa Prize. Egyptian writer Adam El Shalakany won the…
[Sponsored] ‘I’ve never hugged my mother’—an interview with Landa Mabenge about his brutally honest book, Becoming Him: A Trans Memoir of Triumph
‘My first memory of feeling like a boy was when I was seven years old …’ Transgender activist Landa Mabenge…