Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, 1938—2025, RIP
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, literary giant and cultural revolutionary, died on 28 May, 2025, aged eighty-seven. Ngũgĩ was one of Africa’s…
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, literary giant and cultural revolutionary, died on 28 May, 2025, aged eighty-seven. Ngũgĩ was one of Africa’s…
The JRB presents an excerpt from Writing Around the Wicket: Race, Class and History in South African Cricket by Niren…
Header image: Africa Region shortlistees Buke Abduba, Josiah Mbote, HB Asari, Michael Boyd, Hana Gammon, Matshediso Radebe The shortlist for…
The JRB presents an excerpt from For What Are Butterflies Without Their Wings, the debut short story collection from Troy…
The JRB presents an excerpt from Strange and Difficult Times: Notes on a Global Pandemic by Nanjala Nyabola. Strange and…
Kenyan writer Idza Luhumyo’s has been awarded the AKO Caine Prize for African Writing for her short story ‘Five Years…
Lebohang Mojapelo speaks to Warsan Shire about that Beyoncé moment, the importance of bearing witness, and her new book, Bless…
The shortlist for the 2022 AKO Caine Prize for African Writing, awarded annually for a short story by an African…
The twelve writers selected for the first Short Story Day Africa Inkubator project have been announced. 36 Short Stories, 12…
Entering a world the author has long been building, Wairimũ Murĩithi reviews Things They Lost, the debut novel from 2014…
Carey Baraka reviews The House of Rust, the latest tale from Mombasa, land of fables, and chats to its author,…
In 2020, Caroline Davis, a British scholar, now based at England’s University College London, published the book African Literature and…
Header image, Africa region shortlist, from top left: Ntsika Kota, Franklyn Usouwa, Dera Duru, Charlie Muhumuza and Mubanga Kalimamukwento The…
The JRB presents the winning stories of the inaugural Kendeka Prize for African Literature. The winners of the 2021 Kendeka…
The JRB presents the winning stories of the inaugural Kendeka Prize for African Literature. The winners of the 2021 Kendeka…
The JRB presents the winning stories of the inaugural Kendeka Prize for African Literature. The winners of the 2021 Kendeka…
This week, The JRB has been publishing the winning stories from this year’s Short Story Day Africa Prize. The winners of…
The shortlist for the seventh Short Story Day Africa Prize has been announced, the JRB can exclusively reveal! The prize was…
In The Rise of the African Novel, Mukoma Wa Ngugi traces the way African literature has been a space to…
The JRB presents a new short story by Makena Onjerika. ~~~ Black Beauty Our housegirl Scolastica only ever wore a…
‘Still, there were dreams, and there were dreamers.’ Carey Baraka attempts to gather together the stories of Kwani? 1. One…
‘How do we craft a healthy, dignified blackness, in a world where blackness is a captured identity location that needs…
Internationally renowned Somali novelist Nuruddin Farah is known for his politically conscious writing, which led him into exile as a…
The Kenyan novel is not dead, writes Carey Baraka, as long as Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor keeps writing. 1. On June…
The JRB Editorial Advisory Panel member James Murua reports back from his trip to the Salon du Livre de Mayotte, which took place…
Mmatshilo Motsei pays tribute to Es’kia Mphahlele, one hundred years after his birth. I first encountered Es’kia Mphahlele when, in…
On Paulin Hountondji’s Universalist philosophy—Sanya Osha reviews Paulin Hountondji: African Philosophy as Critical Humanism, by Franziska Dubgen and Stefan Skupien….
The JRB presents an excerpt from The Cape Cod Bicycle War and Other Stories, the much-anticipated new book by Billy…
The JRB presents the winning stories from this year’s Short Story Day Africa Prize. Egyptian writer Adam El Shalakany won the…
The JRB presents the winning stories from this year’s Short Story Day Africa Prize. Egyptian writer Adam El Shalakany won the…
The JRB presents the winning stories from this year’s Short Story Day Africa Prize. Egyptian writer Adam El Shalakany won the…
Egyptian writer Adam El Shalakany has won the 2018 Short Story Day Africa Prize for his story ‘Happy City Hotel’—becoming the…
Ugandan writer Kagayi Ngobi was the featured artist at the June 2019 edition of the Artistic Encounters series at the…
Celebrating Africa’s Philosopher-King—Adekeye Adebajo reviews Building Blocks Towards an African Century: Essays in Honour of Thabo Mbeki. Building Blocks Towards an…
Lebohang Mojapelo reviews Ngũgĩ: Reflections on His Life of Writing, a collection of essays that reflects on the life and work of Ngũgĩ…
The JRB presents a new short story by Troy Onyango. ~~~ Origami First, he plucks a small part of himself…
The Johannesburg Review of Books presents previously unpublished poetry by Ngwatilo Mawiyoo. Edith And Umau I’ve returned from America because…
Lola Shoneyin spoke to Shayera Dark about the fifth edition of the Aké Arts and Book Festival, which took place…
Fred Khumalo recalls being swept off his feet by Alan Paton, the African Writers Series and James Hadley Chase. It’s a question…
Ugandan author Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi visited Wits University in August, for a discussion around her debut novel, Kintu. Kintu Jennifer…