[The JRB Daily] Top 10 of 2021—a look back at our most popular articles of the year
With our last issue of 2021, the Fiction Issue, The JRB reached the milestone of publishing our 200th individual contributor….
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Lindiwe Mabuza, 1938—2021, RIP
‘Poetry is part of the Struggle. You use the armed Struggle; you use political methods … You recite a poem….
The Johannesburg Review of Books Vol. 5, Issue 6 (December 2021, the Fiction Issue)
Abdulrazak Gurnah • Kiprop Kimutai • Barbara Boswell • Patrick Flanery • Glenn Diaz • Zanta Nkumane • Keletso Mopai • Simon van Schalkwyk • Nick Mulgrew •…
[Fiction Issue] ‘Archival Technics’, a new short story by Patrick Flanery
The JRB presents a new short story by Patrick Flanery, which is part of a larger work. Archival Technics They say…
[Sponsored] ‘She was the one I sang my hymns to, Moliehi, child of my mother’—Read an extract from Zakes Mda’s new novel Wayfarer’s Hymns
Penguin Random House has shared an excerpt from Wayfarers’ Hymns, the highly anticipated new novel from Zakes Mda. Mda is the…
[Fiction Issue] ‘A Second Mowing’, a new short story by Simon van Schalkwyk
The JRB presents a new short story by Simon van Schalkwyk. A Second Mowing Alan was the gardener. I found him…
[Fiction Issue] ‘The Capture’, an excerpt from a work in progress by Glenn Diaz
The JRB presents an excerpt from a work in progress by Glenn Diaz. The Capture Sleep was beginning to finally…
[Sponsored] Pagecast is live! Listen to the new podcast from Jonathan Ball Publishers here
Pagecast, a new podcast proudly brought to you by Jonathan Ball Publishers, is now live! Released every Monday at 7…
[Fiction Issue] ‘The Wood Carving’, a new short story by Kiprop Kimutai
The JRB presents a new short story by Kiprop Kimutai. The Wood Carving On the bus to Donholm, I sat next…
[Fiction Issue] ‘Petite Mort’, a new short story by Zanta Nkumane
The JRB presents a new short story by Zanta Nkumane. Petite Mort. When your father dies on a Friday night,…
[Sponsored] Read an exclusive excerpt from Hashtag Happy, the YA debut from by Theodora Lee
What would it be like to party with your Influencer-crush in real-life? Diana Murray is about to find out in…
[Fiction Issue] ‘Miss Johns’, a new short story by Barbara Boswell
The JRB presents a new short story by Barbara Boswell. Miss Johns The 06:55 train is late again. I groan…
[Fiction Issue] ‘The Boy and Other Disasters’, a new short story by Keletso Mopai
The JRB presents a new short story by Keletso Mopai. The Boy and Other Disasters Papa’s face was fat and…
[Sponsored] Confessions of a Stratcom Hitman by the late Paul Erasmus – a visceral confession to South Africans and a letter of love to his family
Confessions of a Stratcom Hitman by Paul Erasmus is out now from Jacana Media. ‘During apartheid, the security police hunted down,…
[Fiction Issue] An excerpt from ‘Vacation’, a work in progress by Sebastian Murdoch
The JRB presents an excerpt from a work in progress, titled ‘Vacation’, by Sebastian Murdoch. ‘Oh my god, look,’ Sadie…
[Fiction Issue] ‘Waving and Drowning’, a new short story by Jarred Thompson
The JRB presents a new short story by Jarred Thompson. Waving and Drowning after Stevie Smith The door was barricaded….
[Sponsored] Find out more about the collaborative novel by Amy Heydenrych, Qarnita Loxton, Pamela Power and Gail Schimmel—coming in 2022
Pan Macmillan South Africa will be publishing a collaborative novel by Amy Heydenrych, Qarnita Loxton, Pamela Power and Gail Schimmel…
[Fiction Issue] ‘From the Air’, a new short story by Wamuwi Mbao
The JRB presents a new short story by Wamuwi Mbao. From the Air Fare forward, you who think that you…
[Fiction Issue] ‘You wake up on a spaceship’s operating table surrounded by strange creatures’, a new short story by Byron Loker
The JRB presents a new short story by Byron Loker. You wake up on a spaceship’s operating table surrounded by strange…
Two poems by Nick Mulgrew
The JRB presents new poetry by Nick Mulgrew. ~~~ Siam, in some other place Still the cane waves on the hills like an…
[Photo Editor] A Portrait of Mukoma Wa Ngugi by Victor Dlamini
Victor Dlamini is The JRB’s Photo Editor. We feature his work on our Instagram channel. See this ten-year retrospective of his portraits. View this…
Beware the ides of Dezemba, a playlist compiled by Tymon Smith
The JRB presents tunes and accompanying editorial from our EAP member Tymon Smith. It’s the end of the year as we count it…
[Fiction Issue] ‘Khalifa did not suspect with what nostalgia he would remember those days in later life’—Read an excerpt from Abdulrazak Gurnah’s Afterlives
The JRB presents an excerpt from Afterlives, the new novel from Abdulrazak Gurnah, winner of the 2021 Nobel Prize in…
[Fiction Issue] ‘Sometimes it felt as if I were speaking into a body of water’—Read an excerpt from CA Davids’s new novel How to Be a Revolutionary
The JRB presents an excerpt from How to Be a Revolutionary, the new novel by CA Davids. How to Be…
[Fiction Issue] ‘Prayer was standing in front of me, in panties’—Read an excerpt from the forthcoming collection Anonymous Sex
The JRB presents an excerpt from Anonymous Sex, a forthcoming anthology edited by Hillary Jordan and Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan. Anonymous SexEdited…
[Fiction Issue] ‘He was the sort of writer who saw himself as the carrier of his continent’s honour’—Read an excerpt from Timothy Ogene’s novel Seesaw
The JRB presents an excerpt from Seesaw by Timothy Ogene. SeesawTimothy OgeneSwift Press, 2021 Read the excerpt: My second and…
[Fiction Issue] ‘Filled with blood. She blinked. She closed the book, sighed’—Read an excerpt from James Han Mattson’s Reprieve
The JRB presents an excerpt from Reprieve, the new novel from James Han Mattson. ReprieveJames Han MattsonBloomsbury, 2021 Read the…
[Fiction Issue] ‘The falling man appeared out of nowhere, in the middle of the air, right before Petra’s eyes’—Read an excerpt from Louis Greenberg’s Exposure
The JRB presents an excerpt from Exposure, the new novel from Louis Greenberg. ExposureLouis GreenbergTitan, 2021 Read the excerpt: The…
[Fiction Issue] ‘In anger, my words poisoned my bloodline. I can hear their echoes still’—Read an excerpt from Nokuthula Mazibuko Msimang’s new novel Daughters of Nandi
The JRB presents an excerpt from Daughters of Nandi, the debut work of adult fiction by Nokuthula Mazibuko Msimang. Daughters…
[Fiction Issue] ‘Did I know who my father was? Who he really was?’—Read an excerpt from Chinenye Emezie’s debut novel Glass House
The JRB presents an excerpt from Glass House by Chinenye Emezie. Glass HouseChinenye EmeziePenguin Random House, 2021 Read the excerpt:…
[Fiction Issue] ‘The past was home. Home meant facing the past’—Read an excerpt from Colleen van Niekerk’s debut novel A Conspiracy of Mothers
The JRB presents an excerpt from A Conspiracy of Mothers by Colleen van Niekerk. A Conspiracy of MothersColleen van NiekerkLittle…
[Fiction Issue] ‘She’d often wondered how that cloak of impenetrable privilege would feel around her shoulders’—Read an excerpt from Lola Akinmade Akerstrom’s In Every Mirror She’s Black
The JRB presents an excerpt from In Every Mirror She’s Black, the debut novel by Lọlá Ákínmádé Åkerström. In Every…
[Fiction Issue] Read ‘The Widow of Marabastad’ an excerpt from the new graphic novel All Rise: Resistance and Rebellion in South Africa
The JRB presents an excerpt from All Rise: Resistance and Rebellion in South Africa, a new graphic novel by Richard…
[Fiction Issue] ‘Dreams have always meant something to do with the future, possibility or danger. Dreams are to be taken seriously’—Read an excerpt from Uvile Ximba’s debut novel Dreaming in Colour
The JRB presents an excerpt from Dreaming in Colour, the debut novel by Uvile Ximba. Dreaming in ColourUvile XimbaModjaji Books…
[The JRB Daily] Johann de Lange turns down South African Literary Award
Poet Johann de Lange has turned down his 2021 South African Literary Award, calling the prizes ‘meaningless and worthless’ (‘betekenis…
[The JRB Daily] Winners of the inaugural Bank Windhoek Doek Literary Awards announced
The winners of the first ever Bank Windhoek Doek Literary Awards have been announced. The awards recognise Namibian writers, poets…
[The JRB Daily] 2021 South African Literary Awards winners announced
The winners of the 2021 South African Literary Awards have been announced. The winning writers were announced in a virtual…
[The JRB Daily] ‘A great year for African writing’—Damon Galgut wins the 2021 Booker Prize for Fiction, for his novel The Promise
South African author Damon Galgut has won the 2021 Booker Prize for Fiction for his novel The Promise. The announcement was…
The Johannesburg Review of Books Vol. 5, Issue 5 (October 2021)
Wole Soyinka, Wamuwi Mbao, Shayera Dark, Joanne Ruth Davis, Lebohang Mojapelo, Lidudumalingani, Imraan Coovadia, Jennifer Malec, Rešoketšwe Manenzhe, Nthikeng Mohlele,…
‘Startlingly good’—Wamuwi Mbao reviews Misfits: A Personal Manifesto by Michaela Coel, creator and star of the hit TV show I May Destroy You
Michaela Coel’s Misfits blends an effervescent sense of social realism with a beguiling clarity, writes Wamuwi Mbao. Misfits: A Personal…