‘A confrontation we see as our birthright’: An excerpt from Sisonke Msimang’s new book Always Another Country
Sisonke Msimang, who grew up in exile, describes her first visit to South Africa in December 1990, the year Nelson…
Sisonke Msimang, who grew up in exile, describes her first visit to South Africa in December 1990, the year Nelson…
Victor Dlamini is The JRB’s Photo Editor. We feature his work on our Instagram channel. Don’t miss the ten-year retrospective…
Efemia Chela travels to the dirty and dangerous streets of Mauritius with Ananda Devi’s Eve Out of Her Ruins in…
Exclusive to The JRB, an excerpt from the newly published first-ever biography of the Nigerian poet Christopher Okigbo: Christopher Okigbo 1930—67, Thirsting…
Our November issue’s cover image comes from Johannesburg In Your Pocket. The photograph features Clive van den Berg’s sculpture The Eland,…
Durban, South Africa’s largest port city and hometown to dozens of noted writers—from the likes of Lewis Nkosi and Ronnie…
American author George Saunders has won the 2017 Man Booker Prize for Fiction for his novel Lincoln in the Bardo. Saunders…
The 2017 South African Literary Awards shortlists have been announced, with nominees including Mohale Mashigo, Kopano Matlwa, Nthikeng Mohlele, Etienne van…
Open call REM—Malba Writers Residence Annual application: From 5 October to 5 December, 2017 Residences: April-May; September-October, 2018 The Literature…
To mark the publication of Nelson Mandela’s Dare Not Linger: The Presidential Years, which goes on sale today, The JRB…
English author Kazuo Ishiguro has won the Nobel Prize in Literature. The announcement was made by the Swedish Academy this…
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o is odds-on favourite to win the Nobel Prize in Literature this week. The JRB’s Editor Jennifer Malec…
Welcome to the sixth issue of The Johannesburg Review of Books. Half a dozen and going strong! In this edition,…
How streaked we are by what we see: Teju Cole is at his engrossing best in his new book, Blind…
Pan Macmillan SA is proud to present Bare Ground, the debut novel by acclaimed non-fiction writer Peter Harris. Harris’s 2009…
Jennifer Malec sat down with Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ at the recent Open Book Festival in Cape Town to talk about her…
The Johannesburg Review of Books is proud to present previously unpublished poetry by Ingrid de Kok. Closed for Reasons of…
Redi Tlhabi’s new book Khwezi: The Remarkable Story of Fezekile Ntsukela Kuzwayo broke book launch attendance and sales records recently….
When New York’s pout-fully punk weekly, The Village Voice, announced the end of its print issue last month, Gotham City…
Fran Ross’s wildly funny race satire, Oreo, was originally published in 1974, and instantly forgotten. Mbali Sikakana surveys the novel’s…
Win one of three copies of Woman in the Wings: Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, the new book by Carien du Plessis! Who…
Amos Tutuola deserves contemplation as a writer independent of the clutches of anthropology, argues Sanya Osha. How can we foster…
Recently published biographies of Pixley ka Seme and Charlotte Maxeke reveal how women’s histories become insignificant back roads in the…
Consuelo Roland is the bestselling author of The Good Cemetery Guide and The Limbo Trilogy, a mystery-suspense series set in…
The perfect tragic vision of love and collective violence: Francophone & Contributing Editor Efemia Chela travels to Sierra Leone by reading Aminatta…
Author Zukiswa Wanner recounts high jinks and high drama on her way to Lviv, Ukraine. The following is an excerpt…
Niq Mhlongo reveals what to see and do for the complete experience of Soweto. Of all the entrance points into Soweto,…
Victor Dlamini is The JRB’s Photo Editor. We feature his work on our Instagram channel. Don’t miss the ten-year retrospective…
Exclusive to The JRB, new short fiction from Ntsika Gogwana, excerpted from Trade Secrets, the new Short Sharp Stories anthology. Gogwana’s story,…
Since August, Congolese-French author Alain Mabanckou has been posting enigmatic pictures and tweeting with the hashtag #RevolutionBassinDuCongo (samples below). Known…
Radio France Internationale’s series of radio plays of contemporary Francophone literature, « Ça va, ça va le monde ! »…
Main image: Mpho Mokgadi This month’s cover image comes from UP UP: Stories of Johannesburg’s Highrises. UP UP: Stories of Johannesburg’s…
Phil Bonner, leading historian and Africanist scholar, passed away in Johannesburg on Sunday, 24 September, aged seventy-two. Bonner was Professor…
As part of the programme for an international congress on ‘The work of John Maxwell Coetzee in Latin America’, JM…
The shortlist for the 2017 Man Booker Prize for Fiction has been announced, with six books described as ‘playful, sincere,…
The fifth issue of The Johannesburg Review of Books has arrived—possibly our best edition yet. Before we dive in, we…
The JRB Academic Editor Simon van Schalkwyk spoke to Paul Beatty, whose novel The Sellout won the 2016 Man Booker…
When Steve Biko entered the courtroom in Pretoria in 1974 as a star witness in the trial of nine student…
Charles van Onselen’s new book offers a gripping narrative, a witty voice dripping with matchless sarcasm, and unparalleled knowledge of…
Petina Gappah sat down with The JRB contributor Bongani Kona. Gappah is a Zimbabwean writer with law degrees from Cambridge, Graz…