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[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…
[Sampler issue] ‘She wasn’t listening this time. She wasn’t stopping. This time she was running.’—Read an excerpt from a work in progress by Margie Orford
The JRB presents an excerpt from The Last Weekend, the working title of a novel in progress by Editorial Advisory…
[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:…
[Sampler issue] ‘I would stare at this monstrous building trying to visualise my uncle falling to his death’—Read an excerpt from The Murder of Ahmed Timol by Imtiaz A Cajee
The JRB presents an excerpt from The Murder of Ahmed Timol: My Search for the Truth by Imtiaz A Cajee….
[City Editor] Home, for me, for writers before me, for writers after me—Lidudumalingani makes a pact with post-lockdown Joburg
Melville’s legendary haunt Xai Xai is for writers part restaurant, part sanctuary, writes guest City Editor Lidudumalingani. In Kazuo Ishiguro’s…
[Photo Editor] A joint portrait of Imraan Coovadia and Mongane Wally Serote 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 work. Visit victordlamini.com. Header…
‘Greed—the Poem as Deadly Sin’, a new poem by Andries Bezuidenhout
The Johannesburg Review of Books presents a new poem by Andries Bezuidenhout. ~~~ Greed—the Poem as Deadly Sin If it…
[Sampler issue] Small-town living during the height of the Border War—Read an excerpt from Mark Winkler’s new novel Due South of Copenhagen
The JRB presents an excerpt from Due South of Copenhagen, the new novel from Mark Winkler. Due South of CopenhagenMark…
[Sampler issue] Read an excerpt from Sifiso Mzobe’s new short story collection, Searching for Simphiwe
The JRB presents an excerpt from ‘The Worst That Could Happen’, a short story by Sifiso Mzobe, from his new…
[Sampler issue] ‘A good pickpocket is also a semiotician’—Read an excerpt from Barbara Adair’s new novel WILL, the Passenger Delaying Flight …
The JRB presents an excerpt from Barbara Adair’s new novel WILL, the Passenger Delaying Flight … WILL, the Passenger Delaying…
[The JRB Daily] 2020 Caine Prize for African Writing shortlist announced—including Rémy Ngamije’s ‘The Neighbourhood Watch’, first published in The JRB
The shortlist for the 2020 AKO Caine Prize for African Writing has been announced, including ‘The Neighbourhood Watch’ by Rémy…
[The JRB Daily] 2020 Nommo Awards for Speculative Fiction by Africans—shortlists announced
The shortlists for the 2020 Nommo Awards for Speculative Fiction by Africans have been announced. The Nommo Awards are presented…
[The JRB Daily] 2020 Pulitzer Prize winners announced—Colson Whitehead becomes only the fourth author to win fiction prize for the second time
American author Colson Whitehead has won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for his novel The Nickel Boys. Whitehead becomes only…
[The JRB Daily] ‘A role model for an entire generation of African writers’—Zukiswa Wanner wins prestigious Goethe Medal, along with Elvira Espejo Ayca and Ian McEwan
Header image: Elvira Espejo Ayca, Zukiswa Wanner and Ian McEwan Writer, publisher and curator Zukiswa Wanner has been awarded the…
[The JRB Daily] ‘Providing hope, a moment of escape and a point of connection’—heavy-hitting shortlist announced for 2020 Women’s Prize for Fiction
The shortlist for the 2020 Women’s Prize for Fiction has been announced. The prize, now in its twenty-fifth year, aims…
[The JRB Daily] 2020 Nommo Awards for Speculative Fiction by Africans—longlists announced
The longlists for the 2020 Nommo Awards for Speculative Fiction by Africans have been announced. The Nommo Awards are presented…
[The JRB Daily] ‘Funny, tragic and defiant in the face of politics, bigotry and injustice’—2020 Commonwealth Short Story Prize shortlist announced
Header image: The Africa shortlist, Aba Asibon (Ghana), Innocent Chizaram Ilo (Nigeria), Caleb Ozovehe Ajinomoh (Nigeria), Alboricah Tokologo Rathupetsane (South…
[The JRB Daily] Finalists announced for the 2020 Prix Orange du Livre en Afrique—celebrating African writing in French, produced by African publishers
The six finalists for the 2020 Prix Orange du Livre en Afrique have been announced. The prize aims to promote…
[The JRB Daily] South African poet Mangaliso Buzani wins Glenna Luschei Prize for African Poetry
South African poet Mangaliso Buzani has been announced as the winner of the African Poetry Book Fund’s 2019 Glenna Luschei…
The Johannesburg Review of Books Vol. 4, Issue 4 (April 2020)
Wamuwi Mbao • Lauren Beukes • Lebohang Mojapelo • Toni Giselle Stuart • Deon Meyer • Angelo Fick • Isobel…
‘The majority of writers in Africa, of us, confine ourselves, rather than having great ambition’—An interview with Nuruddin Farah, by Lebohang Mojapelo
Internationally renowned Somali novelist Nuruddin Farah is known for his politically conscious writing, which led him into exile as a…
[Sponsored] 9 new South African books (available as ebooks!) to get you through the shutdown
Pan Macmillan has shared a list of newly published South African ebooks to see you through the shutdown period. In…
JM Coetzee’s ‘late style’—Angelo Fick reviews The Death of Jesus, the ‘masterful, spare and beautiful’ final book of the Jesus trilogy
There are no easy answers in JM Coetzee’s new novel The Death of Jesus, but the exploration is part of…
Writing Athlone—Gabeba Baderoon’s latest poetry collection The History of Intimacy maps the small hurts of apartheid, writes Toni Giselle Stuart
Toni Giselle Stuart reviews Gabeba Baderoon’s poetry collection The History of Intimacy, which won the 2019 University of Johannesburg Main…
[Sponsored] Missing the ocean? Dive into She Down There, an underwater love story by debut author and master diver Lynton Francois Burger
Penguin Random House has shared an excerpt from She Down There, the debut novel by Lynton Francois Burger. About the…
[The JRB Daily] [Exclusive] ‘A notice at the cash register with a sad-face emoji reads, “Sorry! Hand Sanitizer Sold Out!”’—Read an excerpt from Lauren Beukes’s prescient new novel Afterland
The JRB presents an exclusive excerpt from Afterland, the new novel from Editorial Advisory Panel member Lauren Beukes. Afterland is…
[City Editor] The search to find a new vocabulary for the new city—Lidudumalingani muses on literature and lockdown Joburg
Whatever writing emerges from this moment will be an attempt to build a new Johannesburg, writes guest City Editor Lidudumalingani….
[Sponsored] April Madness—All Jonathan Ball Publishers ebooks under R100!
Lockdown getting you … down? Jonathan Ball Publishers has got you covered with an April Madness ebook promotion! All Jonathan…
‘If I had power over the lexical landscape, I would get rid of the word immigrant’—Nana Oforiatta Ayim talks to Wamuwi Mbao about her debut novel The God Child
Nana Oforiatta Ayim is a Ghanaian writer, filmmaker and art historian. On a balmy traffic-clagged Cape Town morning, I meet…
A lockdown playlist, 60 songs to see you through, compiled by Tymon Smith
The editors of the JRB should’ve known better. They are well aware that I have a significant vinyl addiction and…
[Sponsored] Read an excerpt from Peter Church’s thriller Crackerjack, part of LAPA’s Quarantine Reading List of ebooks
Lapa Publishers has shared an excerpt from Crackerjack, book one of Peter Church’s Dark Web Trilogy! Locked down? Books take…