New short fiction: ‘Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!’ by A Bouna Guazong, excerpted from Of Passion and Ink: New Voices from Cameroon
The JRB presents an excerpt from Of Passion and Ink: New Voices from Cameroon, a collection of short stories forthcoming…
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Read an excerpt from Athena Farrokhzad’s award-winning poetry collection White Blight
The JRB presents excerpts from White Blight by Swedish poet Athena Farrokhzad, translated by Jennifer Hayashida. White Blight is published…
[Photo Editor] Original portraits of Charl-Pierre Naudé and Oswald Mbuyiseni Mtshali by Victor Dlamini
Victor Dlamini is The JRB’s Photo Editor. We feature his work on our Instagram channel. Visit the ten-year retrospective of…
Gideon Mendel’s ‘Damage’ exhibition of photographs from 1980s South Africa launched at the Apartheid Museum
The cover image for the April 2019 issue of The JRB is by Gideon Mendel, from his new exhibition ‘Damage’. Born…
Finalists announced for Prix Orange du Livre en Afrique, awarded to a book written in French and published by an African author
The six finalists for the Prix Orange du Livre en Afrique have been revealed. The new prize was announced late…
English translation published of Yolande Mukagasana’s personal testimony of the Rwandan Genocide, Not My Time To Die
Kigali-based Huza Press has just released the English translation of Yolande Mukagasana’s Not My Time To Die, translated by Zoe Norridge….
[The JRB Daily] Commemorate Human Rights Day with an exclusive excerpt from Lie on Your Wounds: The Prison Correspondence of Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe
Header image: Book cover (left); and Sobukwe, inside the grounds of Orlando Police Station, awaiting arrest, on the morning of 21…
[The JRB Daily] 2019 Man Booker International Prize longlist announced—women and independent publishers dominate
The longlist for the 2019 Man Booker International Prize has been announced. Thirteen novels are in contention for the prize,…
The Johannesburg Review of Books Vol. 3, Issue 3
Bongani Madondo • Rustum Kozain • Lebohang Mojapelo • Troy Onyango • Victor Dlamini • Niq Mhlongo • Ngwatilo Mawiyoo…
‘Baldwin the symbol of black transgression and global black anger is simply peerless’—Bongani Madondo on If Beale Street Could Talk, the book and Oscar-winning film
James Baldwin’s novel of half a century ago, If Beale Street Could Talk, now reissued by Penguin Random House, was…
[Sponsored] Calling all South African poets, writing in any of South Africa’s official languages: Enter the 2019 Sol Plaatje EU Poetry Award
The Jacana Literary Foundation (JLF) is pleased to announce that submissions for the ninth annual Sol Plaatje European Union Poetry…
Illuminating a mighty poet and a total artist—Rustum Kozain reviews Dread Poetry and Freedom: Linton Kwesi Johnson and the Unfinished Revolution
The JRB Poetry Editor Rustum Kozain reviews David Austin’s new book Dread Poetry and Freedom: Linton Kwesi Johnson and the Unfinished Revolution, finding…
Showcasing African literature’s contribution to decolonisation—Lebohang Mojapelo reviews Ngũgĩ: Reflections on His Life of Writing
Lebohang Mojapelo reviews Ngũgĩ: Reflections on His Life of Writing, a collection of essays that reflects on the life and work of Ngũgĩ…
[Sponsored] ‘One of the joys of writing is that you can build bridges between people’ – Carol Campbell on her new book, The Tortoise Cried Its Only Tear
Penguin Random House has shared a video interview with award-winning author Carol Campbell, talking about The Tortoise Cried Its Only Tear,…
[City Editor] Niq Mhlongo’s township etiquette—an irreverent guide to Soweto, my hood
Forget about Vilakazi Street, Soweto is deeper than that. When you get off the taxi and you’re a smoker, buy…
[The JRB Daily] 2018 Short Story Day Africa Prize longlist announced
The longlist for the Short Story Day Africa Prize for Short Fiction has been announced. The prize was founded in…
[Sponsored] Rebels and Rage: Reflecting on #FeesMustFall – Adam Habib’s characteristically frank take on the recent student protests
In Rebels and Rage: Reflecting on #FeesMustFall, Adam Habib, prominent and outspoken university official during the recent student protests, takes a…
New short fiction: ‘Origami’ by Troy Onyango
The JRB presents a new short story by Troy Onyango. ~~~ Origami First, he plucks a small part of himself…
Two new poems by Ngwatilo Mawiyoo
The Johannesburg Review of Books presents previously unpublished poetry by Ngwatilo Mawiyoo. Edith And Umau I’ve returned from America because…
[Sponsored] ‘Expect a lot … you won’t be disappointed’—The Accident, the new novel by Gail Schimmel, is out now [PLUS: Book Club competition]
Gail Schimmel’s new novel The Accident is out in March 2019 from Pan Macmillan! The Accident is the fourth novel from Gail Schimmel,…
‘I use anything handy which kills the gods’—Read an interview with Charles Mungoshi (1947–2019)
Literary giant Charles Mungoshi died on 16 February 2019, at the age of seventy-one. Mungoshi was born in 1947 in…
[Photo Editor] Two portraits of Charles Mungoshi (1947–2019) by Victor Dlamini
Victor Dlamini photographed the Zimbabwean writer Charles Mungoshi, who died on 16 of February this year at the age of…
[The JRB exclusive] Read an excerpt from Ekow Duker’s forthcoming novel, Yellowbone
The JRB presents an exclusive excerpt from Yellowbone, the forthcoming novel by Ekow Duker. Yellowbone will be published by Kwela…
The novel as a series of moments of potentiality—Wemar Strydom on ‘Translate Yourself’, Eben Venter’s first exhibition of visual work
Eben Venter presented the world debut of his first visual exhibition, ‘Translate Yourself’, at the February Lectures conference at the…
‘Postcolonial Africa is an interlocking of forms, signs and languages’—Photographs from Guy Tillim’s new book Museum of the Revolution
The JRB presents an excerpt, in photographs, from Museum of the Revolution, a new book by renowned photographer Guy Tillim. The…
I’d Kill For Some Sleep: Tahar Ben Jelloun’s novel L’insomnie tackles a modern malady
«S’il vous plaît … un petit peu de sommeil … un petit peu de cette douce et agréable absence ……
[The JRB Daily] AfroYoungAdult talent search selection announced—stories from the world’s oldest continent with the youngest population
The Goethe-Institut Sub-Saharan Africa has announced the selection for the AfroYoungAdult project. The project was launched last year, with the…
The Johannesburg Review of Books Vol. 3, Issue 2
Namwali Serpell • Jacob Dlamini • Barry Gilder • Rustum Kozain • Rémy Ngamije • Farai Mudzingwa • Oyinkan Braithwaite…
‘From the historical past to the science fictional future’—Namwali Serpell chats to Wamuwi Mbao about her forthcoming debut novel, The Old Drift
Wamuwi Mbao chats to Namwali Serpell about her debut novel, The Old Drift. Namwali Serpell The Old Drift Penguin Random…
[Sponsored] First look at Ivan Vladislavić’s new novel The Distance – an intricate puzzle of a book
The Distance—the highly anticipated new novel from Ivan Vladislavić—will be out from Umuzi on 6 February 2019. Meanwhile, enjoy an…
‘There is no comfort to be had in fiction. Our history is too raw for that’—Jacob Dlamini reviews Barry Gilder’s ‘brilliant, haunting’ novel The List
The List, the debut novel by former anti-apartheid activist and uMkhonto weSizwe member Barry Gilder, is a meditation about betrayal, faith,…
New poetry by Rustum Kozain: ‘Miró Miró’
The Johannesburg Review of Books presents previously unpublished poetry by Rustum Kozain. ~~~ Miró Miró In flight sudden a something…
[Sponsored] One of the first literary figures in France with a double identity, a cultural hybridity – An excerpt from The First Safari
Read an excerpt from The First Safari: Searching for François Levaillant by Ian Glenn, out now from Jacana Media! The First Safari tells…
New short fiction: ‘The Neighbourhood Watch’ by Rémy Ngamije
The JRB presents a new short story by Rémy Ngamije. ~~~ The Neighbourhood Watch Mondays: Auasblick, Olympia, and Suiderhof (maybe…
‘Zimbos are Highly Educated in conspiracy theories smh’—Tweets from Harare during the week-long #ZimShutdown social media blackout, January 2019
The JRB presents an alternative Twitter timeline by Farai Mudzingwa, who imagines what he would have, or could have, posted…
[Sponsored] Find out more about Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah’s extraordinary, bestselling debut, Friday Black—PLUS excerpt
Friday Black is a piercingly raw debut story collection from Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, a young writer with an explosive voice; a…
‘A story that skips along breezily, even as the body count rises’—Jennifer Malec reviews My Sister, the Serial Killer, the debut novel by Oyinkan Braithwaite
Contrary to what the title and pulpy cover seem to suggest, My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite is…
[Photo Editor] Original portraits of Tsitsi Dangarembga and Achmat Dangor by Victor Dlamini
Victor Dlamini is The JRB’s Photo Editor. We feature his work on our Instagram channel. Visit the ten-year retrospective of…
[Sponsored] Read an excerpt from Ekow Duker’s powerful, poignant novel The God Who Made Mistakes
Pan Macmillan has shared an excerpt from The God Who Made Mistakes by Ekow Duker. The excerpt was shared as part of The Friday…
[City Editor] Behind every story, think of the writer—Niq Mhlongo on the new stage adaptation of his short story ‘Nailed’
There’s a film that stands the test of time and still resonates with my friends and me: The Shawshank Redemption….