[Sponsored] Find out more about The God Child, the debut novel from Ghanaian author Nana Oforiatta Ayim (Plus: Cape Town launch details)
The God Child by Nana Oforiatta Ayim, a coming-of-age story about a young girl finding her freedom in the midst…
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[City Editor] Conjuring his images out of darkness—Lidudumalingani reflects on how the late Santu Mofokeng’s photographs are a kind of visual metaphor for Johannesburg
Johannesburg is a city that dances on the edges of elusive, and yet somehow Santu Mofokeng managed to contain it…
‘I experience a new type of fear every time I write’—Lebohang Mojapelo interviews exiled Sudanese author Abdelaziz Baraka Sakin
Abdelaziz Baraka Sakin is a bestselling, award-winning writer originally from Kassala in eastern Sudan, but currently based in Austria, where…
[Sponsored] Cover reveal! Mark Winkler’s forthcoming novel, Due South of Copenhagen
Due South of Copenhagen, the new novel from Mark Winkler, will be out from Umuzi in April! Due South of…
New short fiction: ‘Mr Big Stuff’ by Fred Khumalo
The JRB presents a new short story by Fred Khumalo. ~~~ Mr Big Stuff 1. Harry is butchering Barry White’s…
‘I come from’, a new poem by Khadija Tracey Heeger
The Johannesburg Review of Books presents a new poem by Khadija Tracey Heeger. ~~~ I come from I come from…
[Sponsored] ‘Your birth mother didn’t want you.’ Read an excerpt from Sacrificed, Chanette Paul’s US debut
Catalyst Press has shared an excerpt from Chanette Paul’s novel Sacrificed. Paul is a prolific Afrikaans author, and has written forty-one…
‘You look fancy for a girl who’s just going to the TAB.’ Read ‘The Outsider’ by Isabella Morris, excerpted from Fool’s Gold: Selected Modjaji Short Stories
The JRB presents an excerpt from Fool’s Gold: Selected Modjaji Short Stories, edited by Arja Salafranca. Since its inception in…
[The JRB exclusive] ‘This is not a game of football, it is a slaughter of the innocents!’—Read an excerpt from JM Coetzee’s new novel The Death of Jesus
The JRB presents, exclusively in South Africa, an excerpt from The Death of Jesus, the newly published final novel of…
[Sponsored] Don’t miss the launch of UCT Under Apartheid by Howard Phillips, part of UCT’s Distinguished Alumni Speaker Series (12 Feb)
Alumni and friends of the University of Cape Town are invited to a campus book launch of UCT Under Apartheid: From…
[The JRB Daily] The AKO Caine Prize announces 2020 judging panel—and major new sponsorship deal
The AKO Caine Prize for African Writing has announced its panel of judges for 2020, and a new sponsorship deal. …
The Johannesburg Review of Books Vol. 4, Issue 1 (January 2020, The Conversation Issue)
Jason Reynolds • Itumeleng Molefi • Nicole Dennis-Benn • Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan • Lauren Michele Jackson • Ebrahim Essa •…
[Conversation Issue] ‘I know what lurks in the bushes. And that’s how I write the stories’—Jason Reynolds talks to Tony Eprile about resistance and the imagination
As part of our January Conversation Issue, author and Editorial Advisory Panel member Tony Eprile is in conversation with Jason…
[Sponsored] ‘Good luck with your murder …’ Read an excerpt from Amy Heydenrych’s twisty new thriller The Pact
What if a prank becomes murder? Jonathan Ball Publishers has shared an excerpt from The Pact, the new thriller by…
[Conversation Issue] ‘I won’t be polite, because there’s nothing polite about patriarchy’—Mona Eltahawy inspires (and triggers) at the Abantu Book Festival, reports Itumeleng Molefi
As part of our January Conversation Issue, Itumeleng Molefi reflects on Mona Eltahawy’s keynote address and conversation with Pumla Dineo…
[Conversation Issue] ‘I wanted to throw back the curtain on some of the things and places that “nice” people avoid talking about’—Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan talks to Ben Williams about her bestselling Singlish novel Sarong Party Girls
As part of our January Conversation Issue, The JRB Publisher Ben Williams chats to Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan about her debut…
[Sponsored] Find out more about Deepa Anappara’s Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line—hailed as 2020’s most powerful debut
In a sprawling Indian city, three friends venture into the most dangerous corners of to find their missing classmate ……
[Conversation Issue] ‘I seek out women who make unpopular decisions in my writing because they’re more interesting to me’—Nicole Dennis-Benn chats to Wamuwi Mbao about her bestselling novel, Patsy
As part of our January Conversation Issue, Wamuwi Mbao chats to Nicole Dennis-Benn about her work, the process of writing…
[Conversation Issue] ‘Appropriation is not in and of itself a bad thing, but the way it’s invoked in the culture makes it seem like it is’—Lauren Michele Jackson talks to Khanya Mtshali about her book, White Negroes
As part of our January Conversation Issue, Lauren Michele Jackson talks to Khanya Mtshali about her new book, White Negroes:…
[Sponsored] ‘Afrikaans-speaking doctor operates on Mandela’—Read an excerpt from Operation Mandela by Willem Laubscher
In Operation Mandela, Willem Laubscher tells the story of the time when he—a white, Afrikaans-speaking doctor—performed surgery on Nelson Mandela, and the…
[Conversation Issue] New creative non-fiction—‘The End of a Conversation’ by Julie Nxadi
Exclusive to The JRB, a new short story by Julie Nxadi. ~~~ The End of a Conversation I remember the first…
[Conversation Issue] [City Editor] Is it possible, or necessary, to write a friendlier and prettier Johannesburg? A conversation between Lidudumalingani and Outlwile Tsipane
As part of our January Conversation Issue, guest City Editor Lidudumalingani chats to Outlwile Tsipane about the literatures of Johannesburg….
[Sponsored] Reggie and Me – the new novel from James Hendry – the author of the bestselling A Year in the Wild and Back to the Bush
James Hendry’s new novel Reggie and Me is out from Pan Macmillan this February! Hendry is the bestselling author of A Year in…
[Conversation Issue] ‘Dispossession is the backdrop to every South African story’—Henrietta Rose-Innes in conversation with Gail Fincham about her forthcoming novel, Stone Plant
As part of our January Conversation Issue, Gail Fincham interviews Henrietta Rose-Innes about her work, including her forthcoming fifth novel,…
[Conversation Issue] On writing about religion, childhood and insecurities: Azad Essa transcribes a conversation between father and son
As part of our January Conversation Issue, journalist and author Azad Essa is in conversation with his father Ebrahim Essa,…
[Sponsored] Announcing the 2020 Dinaane Debut Fiction Award shortlist—three fresh new voices demanding attention
Header image: Previous winners of the EU Literary Award/Dinaane Debut Fiction Award The Jacana Literary Foundation has announced the shortlist…
Three new poems by Simon van Schalkwyk
The Johannesburg Review of Books presents new poetry by Simon van Schalkwyk. ~~~ A Question for the South Atlantic Ocean…
[Photo Editor] Original portraits of Sindiwe Magona, André Brink and Mongane Wally Serote by Victor Dlamini
Victor Dlamini is The JRB’s Photo Editor. We feature his work on our Instagram channel. Visit this ten-year retrospective of his work. Visit victordlamini.com. Header…
[The JRB Daily] Top 10 of 2019—A look back at our most popular articles of the year
This December marked the The JRB’s thirty-second issue, the final issue of our third volume. With the new year—but not…
The Johannesburg Review of Books Vol. 3, Issue 12 (December 2019, The Fiction Issue)
Abubakar Adam Ibrahim • Yewande Omotoso • Lelissa Girma • Sabata-mpho Mokae • Craig Higginson • Mphuthumi Ntabeni • Sifiso…
[Fiction issue] [The JRB exclusive] Read an excerpt from a work in progress by Abubakar Adam Ibrahim
Exclusive to The JRB, an excerpt from a work in progress by Abubakar Adam Ibrahim. ~~~ Dinner was a celebration,…
[Sponsored] ‘The summer of 1975/76, somewhere on the border’—Read an extract from Borderline, the new novel by Marita van der Vyver
‘Some things don’t become easier when you grow older, she thinks while letting her cheek rest against his broad chest…
[Fiction issue] [The JRB exclusive] Read an excerpt from a work in progress by Yewande Omotoso
Exclusive to The JRB, an excerpt from An Unusual Grief, a work in progress by Editorial Advisory Panel member Yewande Omotoso. ~~~ Titus…
[Fiction Issue] ‘Middle, beginning or end’, a new short story by Lelissa Girma
The JRB presents a new short story by Lelissa Girma. Middle, beginning or end There was a series of confused…
[Sponsored] Find out more about The Private Joys of Nnenna Maloney, the debut novel by Okechukwu Nzelu
The Private Joys of Nnenna Maloney, the debut novel by Okechukwu Nzelu, is out now from Jonathan Ball Publishers. How do…
[Fiction Issue] ‘Mad About the Boy’, a new short story by Zanta Nkumane
The JRB presents a new short story by Zanta Nkumane. Mad About the Boy He comes to me one night,…
[Fiction Issue] ‘Georgia’s Errand’, a new short story by Sebastian Murdoch
The JRB presents a new short story by Sebastian Murdoch. Georgia’s Errand ‘Doesn’t that get boring?’ I ask Boone one…
[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…
[Fiction Issue] ‘The Survivors Group’, a new short story by Khanya Mtshali
The JRB presents a new short story by Khanya Mtshali. The Survivor’s Group Every Friday morning, just before her earliest…
[Fiction Issue] ‘Letters to a Heart’s Chambers’, a new short story by Jarred Thompson
The JRB presents a new short story by Jarred Thompson. This is his second story to appear in The JRB….