International

‘The trees of the city provide a subtext for many things’—Salimah Valiani talks to Anna Stroud about her new poetry collection, IGoli/EGoli

Salimah Valiani chats to Anna Stroud about maps, trees and all the ingredients for love one can find in Johannesburg—and…

Africa

‘A welcome addition to the growing list of literature centring queer lives in Africa’—Shayera Dark reviews Musih Tedji Xaviere’s debut novel These Letters End in Tears

As a novel centred on lesbian love set in an intensely homophobic country, These Letters End in Tears by Musih…

Africa

‘I felt I was the only one with that type of urge in Nigeria, so I ignored it.’—An excerpt from Love Offers No Safety: Nigeria’s Queer Men Speak

The JRB presents an excerpt from the forthcoming book Love Offers No Safety: Nigeria’s Queer Men Speak, to be published…

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…

Academic

‘Pajubá as Queer Articulation of the Black Atlantic’ by Caio Simões de Araújo—an excerpt from Changing Theory: Concepts from the Global South

The JRB presents an excerpt from Caio Simões de Araújo’s chapter ‘Pajubá’, from the new essay collection Changing Theory: Concepts…

Book excerpts

[Fiction Issue] ‘What’s Nigeria got to do with us? … They hate us there.’—Read an excerpt from Okechukwu Nzelu’s novel Here Again Now

The JRB presents an excerpt from Here Again Now by Okechukwu Nzelu. Here Again Now Okechukwu NzeluLittle, Brown, 2022 Ekene…

Biography & Memoir

‘I saw myself in him, and by seeing myself in him, I felt less alone for the first time’—Read an excerpt from Welcome Mandla Lishivha’s new memoir Boy on the Run

The JRB presents an excerpt from Boy on the Run by Welcome Mandla Lishivha. Boy on the RunWelcome Mandla LishivhaJacana…

Academic

‘It is dangerous to be gay in Uganda’—Read the personal experience of Angel, a 32-year-old asylum seeker, from Seeking Sanctuary: Stories of Sexuality, Faith and Migration

The JRB presents an excerpt from John Marnell’s new book Seeking Sanctuary: Stories of Sexuality, Faith and Migration. Seeking Sanctuary:…

Book excerpts

‘As much as you want to have sex with a stranger, this is mostly research’—Read an excerpt from ‘The Fool’, new writing by Nakhane, from Exhale: Queer African Erotic Fiction

The JRB presents an excerpt from ‘The Fool’ by Nakhane, from Exhale, a new anthology of queer writing. Exhale: Queer…

International

‘A tour de force of scholarship’—Arja Salafranca reviews The Pink Line: Journeys Across the World’s Queer Frontiers by Mark Gevisser

Arja Salafranca reviews Mark Gevisser’s new book The Pink Line: Journeys Across the World’s Queer Frontiers. The Pink Line: Journeys…

Africa

‘We didn’t fight a revolution to stay inside’—Read an excerpt from Mark Gevisser’s new book The Pink Line: Journeys Across the World’s Queer Frontiers

The JRB presents an excerpt from The Pink Line: Journeys Across the World’s Queer Frontiers, the new book by Mark…

Africa

‘A powerful commentary on displacement, and a stark condemnation of the powers that be’—Outlwile Tsipane reviews Helon Habila’s new novel, Travellers

In Travellers, Helon Habila delivers a riveting novel that unfolds as a tribute to displaced people and stands as a…

Academic

A brief history of Joubert Park, an unruly space of despondency and hope—Read an excerpt from Civilising Grass: The Art of the Lawn on the South African Highveld by Jonathan Cane

The JRB presents an excerpt from Civilising Grass: The Art of the Lawn on the South African Highveld by Jonathan…

Africa

[Conversation Issue] ‘Every small victory chips away at the fallacy that gay people are some sort of un-African species’—Chike Frankie Edozien chats to Efemia Chela

As part of our January Conversation Issue, The JRB Contributing Editor Efemia Chela chats to Chike Frankie Edozien about his memoir, Lives of Great…

Africa

[Temporary Sojourner] Efemia Chela reads Trifonia Melibea Obono’s La Bastarda, the first novel by an Equatoguinean woman to be translated into English

In La Bastarda we find a revolutionary piece of literature, where a young girl isn’t saved by her long-lost father,…