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Africa

‘She sat at her dressing table, a plastic bag open on her lap, full of the hair that she had just scissored off her head’—Read an excerpt from Gothataone Moeng’s debut, Call and Response

The JRB presents an excerpt from Call and Response, the debut short story collection from Gothataone Moeng. Call and ResponseGothataone…

Book excerpts

[The JRB exclusive] Read an excerpt from K Sello Duiker’s Inkwenkwezi efihlakeleyo, a new isiXhosa edition of The Hidden Star, translated by Xolisa Guzula

The JRB presents an excerpt from Inkwenkwezi efihlakeleyo, the new isiXhosa translation of the late K Sello Duiker’s modern South…

Book excerpts

‘Immigrant women are bones to be pulverised into animal fodder’—Read an excerpt from María Fernanda Ampuero’s new short story collection Human Sacrifices

The JRB presents an extract from ‘Biography’, excerpted from Human Sacrifices, the new short story collection by acclaimed Latin American…

Academic

‘Riotous Deathscapes charts a course of black life in vast deathscapes. It is a portrait of life among the dead’—an excerpt from Hugo ka Canham’s new book

The JRB presents an excerpt from Hugo ka Canham’s forthcoming book Riotous Deathscapes, to be published mid-May.  Riotous DeathscapesHugo ka…

Awards

[The JRB Daily] ‘Holy ****! Is this real?’ Winners of R3m Windham–Campbell Prizes for fiction, non-fiction, poetry and drama announced

The eight winners of the 2023 Windham–Campbell Prizes have been announced. Now in its eleventh year, the Windham–Campbell Prize is one of…

Awards

[The JRB Daily] ‘Celebrating the variety and diversity of literary production today’—2023 International Booker Prize longlist announced

The thirteen novels longlisted for the 2023 International Booker Prize have been revealed, including Guadeloupian author Maryse Condé, described by…

Awards

[The JRB Daily] ‘A glorious celebration of the boundless imagination and creative ambition of women writers’—2023 Women’s Prize for Fiction longlist announced, including Zimbabwean author NoViolet Bulawayo

The longlist for this year’s Women’s Prize for Fiction has been announced, including Zimbabwean novelist NoViolet Bulawayo. The Women’s Prize,…

Academic

A book about embrace, but also about the chokehold of segregation—Carina Venter reviews Mr Entertainment: The Story of Taliep Petersen by Paula Fourie

Carina Venter reviews Paula Fourie’s Mr Entertainment: The Story of Taliep Petersen, finding a life that encompasses a country and…

Sponsored

[Sponsored] ‘The impulse to write often strikes when I’m observing someone else’—Ayobami Adebayo chats about her new novel A Spell of Good Things

The seed of a story starts with the glimpse of a shadow, writes Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀. ‘This was a place I…

AfricaSouth Africa

‘I choose intersectionality, I choose diversity, I choose multiple perspectives.’—Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu chats to Jennifer Malec about her latest novel, The Quality of Mercy

The JRB Editor Jennifer Malec speaks to Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu about casting spells, writing with empathy, and winning one of…

Fiction

‘Why so long and why now? … I suppose I forgot I was a writer’—Morabo Morojele chats to Lebohang Mojapelo about his forthcoming novel Three Egg Dilemma

Lebohang Mojapelo chatted to Morabo Morojele about his forthcoming novel, Three Egg Dilemma, to be published this month—fifteen years after…

Book excerpts

[The JRB exclusive] ‘Papa Mzimkulu dared me to find a woman more beautiful than my mother, said it was impossible’—Read an excerpt from Nthikeng Mohlele’s new short story collection A Little Light

The JRB presents an excerpt from A Little Light, the forthcoming collection of short stories by Nthikeng Mohlele. A Little…

Book excerpts

[The JRB exclusive] ‘He could tell something else was coming, something he could not name.’—Read an excerpt from Abubakar Adam Ibrahim’s forthcoming novel, When We Were Fireflies

The JRB presents an excerpt from When We Were Fireflies, the forthcoming novel from acclaimed author Abubakar Adam Ibrahim. When…

Africa

‘With all these familiar horrors, who in the hell was going to believe in zombies?’—Read an excerpt from Nana Nkweti’s debut short story collection Walking on Cowrie Shells

The JRB presents an extract from ‘It Just Kills You Inside’, excerpted from Walking on Cowrie Shells, the debut short…

Africa

[The JRB exclusive] ‘The boy’s eyes gleamed as if they were the only things in the entire world that belonged to him’—Read an excerpt from Troy Onyango’s debut For What Are Butterflies Without Their Wings

The JRB presents an excerpt from For What Are Butterflies Without Their Wings, the debut short story collection from Troy…

Book excerpts

‘Michael stands at the edge of the world and looks up into the eternal stars’—Read an excerpt from David Ralph Viviers’s debut novel Mirage

The JRB presents an excerpt from Mirage, the debut novel by David Ralph Viviers. MirageDavid Ralph ViviersUmuzi, 2023 Read the…

Academic

‘Every African who has been paying attention to the global Covid-19 response is angry. Listen to us as we tell you why.’—Read an excerpt from Strange and Difficult Times

The JRB presents an excerpt from Strange and Difficult Times: Notes on a Global Pandemic by Nanjala Nyabola. Strange and…