Myesha Jenkins, 1948—2020, RIP
The pioneering poet and activist Myesha Jenkins died in Johannesburg on Saturday, 5 September, 2020. Jenkins moved to South Africa…
Author: The JRB
Achmat Dangor, 1948—2020, RIP
The poet, novelist and activist—and founding patron of The JRB—Achmat Dangor, died in Johannesburg earlier today. One of the founding…
[Sponsored] How to get published in South Africa—Watch Pan Macmillan SA and All About Writing’s publishing webinar
Did you miss the webinar by Pan Macmillan South Africa and All About Writing on how to understand and navigate…
[Sponsored] Read ‘When my mother came to stay’—Read an excerpt from Yaa Gyasi’s new novel, Transcendent Kingdom (Plus: Interview)
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[Sponsored] Listen to an excerpt from Utopia Avenue by David Mitchell—A tale of dreams, drugs, love, and madness, and of fame’s Faustian pact
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[Sponsored] Job alert! LAPA Publishers is looking for two innovative marketers to join its dynamic team (Closing date: 31 Aug)
LAPA Publishers, a division of Penguin Random House SA, has a career opportunity for a marketer in its trade and…
[Sponsored] Gerald Kraak call for submissions—An anthology and prize on the topics of gender, human rights and sexuality, for writers and photographers across Africa
The Jacana Literary Foundation (JLF) and the Other Foundation are pleased to announce that submissions for the fourth annual Gerald Kraak…
Listen to Makhosazana Xaba on the WiSER Podcast—An absent presence: Writing Noni Jabavu’s life
Makhosazana Xaba was recently featured on the WiSER Podcast, discussing the life and work of Noni Jabavu, editor, memoirist, reader,…
‘Bessie Head’s work jolted me awake … I had not thought it possible that a black woman could be a writer’—Read an excerpt from Barbara Boswell’s new book, And Wrote My Story Anyway
The JRB presents an excerpt from the Author’s Preface of And Wrote My Story Anyway: Black South African Women’s Novels…
‘We didn’t fight a revolution to stay inside’—Read an excerpt from Mark Gevisser’s new book The Pink Line: Journeys Across the World’s Queer Frontiers
The JRB presents an excerpt from The Pink Line: Journeys Across the World’s Queer Frontiers, the new book by Mark…
[Sponsored] Pan Macmillan SA stance on the South African publishing landscape
From Pan Macmillan South Africa: In this seminal moment, remaining silent and neutral on these matters of representation and commitment…
[Sponsored] Find out more about Humankind—the major new book from Dutch historian Rutger Bregman, ‘the folk hero of Davos’
Humankind: A Hopeful History by Rutger Bregman is out now from Jonathan Ball Publishers! From ‘the folk hero of Davos’, Fox…
[Sponsored] Explosive new book tells all—The Accidental Mayor: Herman Mashaba and the Battle for Johannesburg
The Accidental Mayor: Herman Mashaba and the Battle for Johannesburg by Mashaba’s former chief of staff Michael Beaumont is out now…
[Sponsored] Make your book dream come true with Paper Frog Publishing, a subdivision of LAPA and Penguin Random House SA
Many authors dream of being published, but they do not want to surrender total control to a traditional publisher. Paper…
[Sponsored] Mubanga Kalimamukwento wins Best Fiction at the 2020 CDI Zambia Tell Your Own Story National Book Awards
Congratulations to author Mubanga Kalimamukwento for winning the Best Fiction Award at the 2020 CDI Zambia Tell Your Own Story National Book…
[Exclusive] Read an excerpt from Sex and Lies, the first work of non-fiction in English from award-winning Moroccan author Leïla Slimani
The JRB presents an exclusive excerpt from Leïla Slimani’s new book Sex and Lies. Sex and LiesLeïla Slimani (translated by…
‘The brown man in a white man’s city who is watching other brown men.’ Read an excerpt from Amnesty, the new novel from Man Booker Prize winner Aravind Adiga
The JRB presents an excerpt from Aravind Adiga’s new novel Amnesty, a riveting, suspenseful and exuberant novel about a young…
‘Thinking while black’—Read Grace A Musila’s essay from the award-winning book Black Academic Voices: The South African Experience
‘How do we craft a healthy, dignified blackness, in a world where blackness is a captured identity location that needs…
‘Those gold men really think this land belongs to them’—Read an excerpt from How Much of These Hills is Gold, C Pam Zhang’s debut novel, which reimagines the myth of the American West
The JRB presents an excerpt from How Much of These Hills is Gold by C Pam Zhang, a revisionist immigrant…
Read ‘Black children and white dolls’ by Kopano Ratele, excerpted from his book The World Looks Like This From Here: Thoughts on African Psychology
The JRB presents an excerpt from The World Looks Like This From Here: Thoughts on African Psychology, by psychologist and…
‘Race matters. It matters because of the meanings we give to it.’ Read an excerpt from Race Otherwise: Forging a New Humanism for South Africa by Zimitri Erasmus
This excerpt is based on a chapter from a Zimitri Erasmus’s book Race Otherwise: Forging a New Humanism for South…
[The JRB Daily] ‘We made a mistake’—Media24 Books apologises for lack of diversity in literary awards judging panels
Media24 Books has released a statement in the wake of the outcry over the lack of diversity in this year’s…
[The JRB Daily] Writers condemn the lack of diversity in the 2020 Media24 Books Literary Prizes
Yesterday, the winners of this year’s annual Media24 Books Literary Prizes were announced. When The JRB published the news this…
[Sampler issue] ‘Could I be you?’ Photographs and text from Ex Offenders at the Scene of Crime by David Goldblatt
The JRB presents a selection of photographs and personal stories from Ex Offenders at the Scene of Crime: South Africa…
[Sponsored] Marked down for lockdown—discover over 35 incredible ebooks from Pan Macmillan, now on sale!
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[Sampler issue] Read an exclusive excerpt from Silver Sparrow, the new novel from award-winning author Tayari Jones
When did I first discover that although I was an only child, my father was not my father and mine…
[Sampler issue] Read an exclusive excerpt from Alain Mabanckou’s new novel The Death of Comrade President, a tale of family and revolution in postcolonial Congo
The JRB presents an exclusive excerpt from The Death of Comrade President, the new novel from Alain Mabanckou. The Death…
[Sponsored] Pieter-Louis Myburgh wins Taco Kuiper Award for Investigative Reporting for his book Gangster State: Unravelling Ace Magashule’s Web of Capture
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[Sampler issue] Read an excerpt from the first South African edition of the previously banned book Malibongwe: Poems from the Struggle by ANC Women, including poetry by Baleka Mbete
The JRB presents an excerpt from Malibongwe: Poems from the Struggle by ANC Women—a new edition of a lost piece…
[Sponsored] Buy the ebook and get the print edition free!
Jacana Media is running a special offer: buy the ebook and get the print edition free as soon as it…
[Sampler issue] Read an excerpt from a new short story by Ama Ata Aidoo, from the book Between the Generations: An Anthology for Ama Ata Aidoo at 80
The JRB presents an exclusive excerpt from Between the Generations: An Anthology for Ama Ata Aidoo at 80. Between the…
[Sampler issue] Read an exclusive excerpt from Abi Daré’s debut novel The Girl with the Louding Voice, ‘a celebration of girls who dare to dream’
The JRB presents an excerpt from The Girl with the Louding Voice, the debut novel by Abi Daré. The Girl…
[Sponsored] Video: Anneleigh Jacobsen’s thriller Corporation Games explores the greed, sex and power imbalance of the corporate world
The Boekemakranka team Trisa and Analize recently chatted to Anneleigh Jacobsen about her fictional corporate thriller, Corporation Games. Anneleigh’s debut is…
[Sampler issue] Read an excerpt from Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell—a fictionalised account of the short life of William Shakepeare’s son
The JRB presents an excerpt from Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell, shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction. HamnetMaggie O’FarrellHeadline, 2020…
[Sponsored] ‘It starts with the striking of a match’—Read an excerpt from Firewatching, the ‘clever and compulsive’ debut thriller by Russ Thomas
Jonathan Ball Publishers has shared an excerpt from Firewatching, the debut novel from Russ Thomas! Firewatching is a taut investigative thriller bursting with…
[Sampler issue] When Kim Jiyoung was born, her mother held her in her arms and wept—Read an excerpt from Cho Nam-joo’s multi-million copy bestseller Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982
The JRB presents an excerpt from Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-Joo, originally published as 82년생 김지영 by Minumsa…
[Sampler issue] ‘At the beginning, it wasn’t called feminism. It was called an attitude problem.’—Read Neliswa Tshazi’s essay from Living While Feminist
The JRB presents an excerpt from Living While Feminist: Our Bodies, Our Truths, a new collection of essays edited by…
[Sampler issue] Read an excerpt from a new edition of DDT Jabavu’s travelogue In India and East Africa / E-Indiya nase East Africa, in isiXhosa and English
The JRB presents an excerpt, in isiXhosa and English, from DDT Jabavu’s travelogue In India and East Africa / E-Indiya…
[Sampler issue] ‘The last moments before the downfall of any dictator are all surprisingly similar’—Read an excerpt from The Dictatorship Syndrome by Alaa Al Aswany
The JRB presents an excerpt from The Dictatorship Syndrome by noted author Alaa Al Aswany. Alaa Aswany first and foremost…
[Sampler issue] ‘I was outed before I was ready, but there was nothing I could do’—Read an excerpt from Jamil F Khan’s new book Khamr: The Makings of a Waterslams
The JRB presents an excerpt from Khamr: The Makings of a Waterslams, the forthcoming book by Jamil F Khan. Khamr:…