Of Fathers and Grandfathers—Read an excerpt from House of Stone, the debut novel by Novuyo Rosa Tshuma
The JRB is proud to present an excerpt from House of Stone, the debut novel by Novuyo Rosa Tshuma. House of…
Author: The JRB
Novuyo Rosa Tshuma and Panashe Chigumadzi in conversation—Meditations on the traumas and triumphs of Zimbabwe’s histories
‘History is created in the mouth …’ Novuyo Rosa Tshuma and The JRB Contributing Editor Panashe Chigumadzi both have new…
[Sponsored] An exciting new African voice—An excerpt from Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu’s debut novel The Theory of Flight
Read an excerpt from The Theory of Flight, the debut novel by Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu, courtesy of Penguin Random House SA….
[Sponsored] Hold—an intimate, powerful coming-of-age debut novel set in Ghana and London by Michael Donkor
Moving between Ghana and London, Michael Donkor’s debut novel Hold is an intimate, powerful coming-of-age novel. It’s a story of…
[Sponsored] Listen to an excerpt from The People in the Trees, the debut novel from Hanya Yanagihara, author of A Little Life
The People in the Trees is a powerful work of visionary literary fiction from Hanya Yanagihara, the bestselling author of the…
[Sponsored] Celebrate BlackBird Books’s third birthday! (Plus: 3 for 2 special offer on BlackBird Books titles)
BlackBird Books is celebrating its third Birthday with an event and a special offer! Special offer As part of the…
[The JRB Exclusive] ‘What African Nationalism Is’—Read an excerpt from Africa’s Cause Must Triumph: The Collected Writings of AP Mda
The JRB is proud to present an excerpt from Africa’s Cause Must Triumph: The Collected Writings of AP Mda. Africa’s Cause…
[Sponsored] Join Pan Macmillan’s Friday Night Book Club—exclusive excerpts every weekend!
Pan Macmillan and The Reading List have launched a Friday Night Book Club, with exclusive excerpts from the latest South…
[Sponsored] New book alert! The Resurrection of Winnie Mandela by Sisonke Msimang will be published in October
The Resurrection of Winnie Mandela, the new book from acclaimed author and public commentator Sisonke Msimang, will be out from…
[Sponsored] Jacana Media announces new Modern Classics series with How We Buried Puso by Morabo Morojele
Jacana Media has launched a new Modern Classics series, kicking off with How We Buried Puso by Morabo Morojele, to be published…
[Sponsored] ‘Hauntingly beautiful’—read an excerpt from The Possible World by Liese O’Halloran Schwarz
A captivating novel that will make you laugh, cry and see the world anew: read an extract from the hauntingly…
New short fiction: ‘All Our Lives’ by Tochukwu Emmanuel Okafor, winner of the 2017 Short Story Day Africa Prize
The JRB is presents the three winning stories from this year’s Short Story Day Africa Prize. Nigerian writer Tochukwu Emmanuel…
New short fiction: ‘The Piano Player’ by Agazit Abate, joint runner-up in the 2017 Short Story Day Africa Prize
The JRB presents the three winning stories from this year’s Short Story Day Africa Prize. Nigerian writer Tochukwu Emmanuel Okafor…
New short fiction: ‘God Skin’ by Michael Yee, joint runner-up in the 2017 Short Story Day Africa Prize
The JRB presents the three winning stories from this year’s Short Story Day Africa Prize. Nigerian writer Tochukwu Emmanuel Okafor…
In tribute to David Goldblatt—an excerpt from TJ, his authoritative collection of Johannesburg photographs
‘Johannesburg is a fragmented city. It is not a place of smoothly integrated parts. And it has a name that…
[Sponsored] Read an excerpt from Mphuthumi Ntabeni’s The Broken River Tent, a novel about the life and times of the Xhosa chief Maqoma
Jacana Media has shared an extract from The Broken River Tent, the debut novel by Mphuthumi Ntabeni.
[Sponsored] Writers! Send Pan Macmillan SA the manuscript for your future bestseller during open submissions week
It’s time to polish up that manuscript! Pan Macmillan South Africa’s open submissions week is starting this week! The open…
[Sponsored] Read an excerpt from I am Pandarus by Michiel Heyns, shortlisted for the Herman Charles Bosman Prize
Jonathan Ball Publishers has shared an excerpt from I am Pandarus, the new novel from acclaimed author Michiel Heyns. I am…
[Sponsored] Win a copy of The President is Missing by Bill Clinton and James Patterson PLUS a T-shirt
The Reading List is giving away two copies of The President is Missing by Bill Clinton and James Patterson PLUS…
‘Johannesburg, the first and last city of our century’: Read an exclusive excerpt from Imraan Coovadia’s new novel, A Spy in Time
Many case officers liked to take a tablet to turn white, believing that it made the job easier. I think…
‘I had the nerve to like my hair just the way it was’—Listen to Zinzi Clemmons read from her debut novel What We Lose
Exclusive to The JRB, listen to a recording of Zinzi Clemmons reading from her debut novel, What We Lose. What…
‘The glutton ate the snail and it made his cheeks explode’: Read an excerpt from Baho! by Burundian author Roland Rugero
The JRB is proud to present an excerpt from Roland Rugero’s novel Baho!—the first Burundian novel to be translated from French…
[Sponsored] Mandy Wiener discusses her new book, Ministry of Crime: An Underworld Explored
Mandy Wiener chatted to The Reading List about her explosive new book, Ministry of Crime: An Underworld Explored. As a…
[Sponsored] Win a copy of John Hunt’s new novel The Boy Who Could Keep a Swan in his Head
The Reading List is giving away two copies of The Boy Who Could Keep a Swan in his Head, the…
[Sponsored] ‘I was born as apartheid was dying’ – Read an excerpt from What We Lose by Zinzi Clemmons
Read an excerpt from Zinzi Clemmons’s debut novel What We Lose, ahead of her tour of Johannesburg and Cape Town in May….
[Sponsored] Profiles of over 600 apartheid activists collected in From Protest to Challenge Vol. 4 Political Profiles, 1882–1990
From Protest to Challenge Vol. 4: Political Profiles, 1882–1990, by Thomas G Karis and Gwendolen Carter, revised and updated by Gail…
View from the privileged heights of the JIAS Castle: Zukiswa Wanner and Niq Mhlongo reflect on their writing fellowship
The JRB City Editor Niq Mhlongo and Zukiswa Wanner have both just published new books—Soweto, Under the Apricot Tree and…
New short fiction: ‘A Woman is her Hands’ by Wame Molefhe, from The Gods Who Send Us Gifts: An Anthology of African Short Stories
Exclusive to The JRB, read Wame Molefhe’s short story ‘A Woman is her Hands’, excerpted from The Gods Who Send…
Honouring literary stalwarts in their lifetime: Gcina Mhlophe and Sindiwe Magona celebrated for their contribution to children’s literature (including exclusive John Kani video)
Authors are sometimes only properly appreciated after they are gone, but Gcina Mhlophe and Sindiwe Magona are two writers who…
[Sponsored] Read an excerpt from Colson Whitehead’s remarkable book, The Colossus of New York
Read an excerpt from The Colossus of New York by Colson Whitehead, out now from Jonathan Ball Publishers. Whitehead won the Pulitzer…
‘The argument between Beauty and, perhaps, War’: William Kentridge and Denis Hirson in conversation in Johannesburg
Artist William Kentridge and author Denis Hirson appeared in a public conversation at the Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg, in February, to…
[Sponsored] John Hunt’s new novel The Boy Who Could Keep a Swan in his Head out in April
“When life turns as black as the Earl of Hell’s waistcoat, you don’t want a man who’s all bum and…
[Sponsored] Award-winning journalist Mandy Wiener has a new book coming in May
Mandy Wiener’s new book Ministry of Crime: An Underworld Explored will be published by Pan Macmillan in May. The book explores the…
[Sponsored] Two new books, from Tumelo Buthelezi and Ijangolet S Ogwang, out soon from BlackBird Books
BlackBird Books has announced two new publications. The Last Sentence, the debut novel by Tumelo Buthelezi, and An Image in…
[Audio] It’s a writer’s life: That hilarious time Zukiswa Wanner encountered her own book in a Joburg taxi
Zukiswa Wanner launched her latest book, Hardly Working: A Travel Memoir of Sorts, in Johannesburg at African Flavour Books recently, in…
Letter: Christine Chiosi on the ‘discomfort’ and ‘estrangement’ of Wamuwi Mbao’s report from an exhibition of JM Coetzee’s boyhood photographs
This is an edited version of a letter The JRB received, from Christine Chiosi, in response to the essay by…
‘I am me; I am black; I must be proud of my blackness.’—Read an excerpt from Winnie Madikizela-Mandela’s memoir, 491 Days: Prisoner Number 1323/69
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela has died in Johannesburg at the age of eighty-one. Read an excerpt from her prison journal, published in 2013,…
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, 1936–2018, RIP
Nomzamo Winifred Zanyiwe Madikizela-Mandela, the iconic, controversial South African activist known as ‘the Mother of the Nation’ and, more simply, as…
[Sponsored] ‘Johannesburg is both a place that I know and don’t know’: An interview with Stephen Clingman about his memoir, Birthmark
Stephen Clingman chats to The Reading List about his memoir, Birthmark, published by Jacana Media. The Reading List: Thank you very…
‘What does the K in your name stand for?’ Read an excerpt from Nthikeng Mohlele’s new novel, Michael K
The JRB is proud to present an exclusive excerpt from Nthikeng Mohlele’s new novel, Michael K. Michael K Nthikeng Mohlele Picador…