There’s no stopping Joziferatu—A new playlist for the times by Tymon Smith
Let it be known that it was in 2026—the year of the rat-bite, the year of actual plague—that the still…
Tag: South Africa
Poetry by Aryan Kaganof, from We Who Are Not Dead Yet
The JRB presents an excerpt from We Who Are Not Dead Yet by Aryan Kaganof. We Who Are Not Dead…
‘Always in search of uncompromising honesty in a compromised and compromising world’—Kevin Goddard reviews Kelwyn Sole’s latest collection of poetry, What is Owed?
Kevin Goddard reviews What is Owed? by Kelwyn Sole—a poet’s summing up of a life dedicated both to verse and…
Goodbye and good riddance—A playlist compiled by Tymon Smith
Ah, 2025—the Year of the Cassowary—a hideous, deadly, reprehensibly indifferent shit-show intent on ripping your guts out or chasing you…
New poetry by Sandile Ngidi
The Johannesburg Review of Books presents previously unpublished poetry by Sandile Ngidi. ~~~ Let someone hold saliva, go slow on broken souls Three…
‘Little by little, he makes out the forms of things’—Read an excerpt from Wilderness of Mirrors, the debut novel by Caine Prize-winning writer Olufemi Terry
The JRB presents an excerpt from Olufemi Terry’s debut novel, Wilderness of Mirrors. Wilderness of MirrorsOlufemi TerryLes Fugitives (UK), March…
The world still turns, the head still spins—A playlist compiled by Tymon Smith
After a brief hiatus—spent mostly just keeping on keeping on—Radio JRB returns for this 25th broadcast. The world still turns,…
‘To read a collection this accomplished is to wonder anew at how poems are made’—Finuala Dowling reviews Ingrid de Kok’s Unleaving
Unleaving, Ingrid de Kok’s seventh collection of poetry, speaks of private grief, personal loss, ambiguity and hope, writes Finuala Dowling….
‘My pilgrimage to Durban was written before I was born’—Read an excerpt from Roohi Choudhry’s forthcoming debut novel Outside Women
The JRB presents an exclusive excerpt from Roohi Choudhry’s debut novel Outside Women, which will be published in March 2025….
[The JRB Daily] ‘A triumph of language, storytelling and risk-taking’—South African writer Nadia Davids wins 2024 Caine Prize for African Writing
South African writer Nadia Davids has been announced as the winner of the 2024 Caine Prize for African Writing! The…
[The JRB Daily] Caine Prize reveals 2024 shortlist, and plans to ‘re-centre the announcement on the African continent’
The shortlist for the 2024 Caine Prize for African Writing, awarded annually for a short story by an African writer…
[The JRB Daily] ‘The punch of a good short story leaves you breathless’—2024 Commonwealth Short Story Prize regional winners announced
Header image: Reena Usha Rungoo, Sanjana Thakur, Julie Bouchard, Portia Subran, Pip Robertson The regional winners of the 2024 Commonwealth…
[The JRB Daily] Sudanese writer Reem Gaafar wins 2023 Island Prize for ‘compelling, profound and brilliant’ debut novel A Mouth Full of Salt
‘A Mouth Full of Salt’ by Sudanese writer Reem Gaafar has won the 2023 Island Prize for a Debut Novel…
[The JRB Daily] 2023 Commonwealth Short Story Prize regional winners announced—including this year’s youngest winner Hana Gammon from South Africa
Header image (l to r, top to bottom): Hana Gammon, Agnes Chew, Rue Baldry, Kwame McPherson, Himali McInnes The regional…
[The JRB Daily] ‘Emotional, intellectual and literary depth’—shortlist announced for the 2023 Island Prize for a Debut Novel from Africa
Image: Aganaba, Jesudubami Jemima; Reem Gaafar; Andile MaShandu Cele The shortlist for the 2023 Island Prize for a Debut Novel from…
‘How does one truly listen, as a writer, in South Africa? How does one write?’ Kyle Allan reviews Kelwyn Sole’s latest collection of poetry Skin Rafts
Kyle Allan reviews Skin Rafts by Kelwyn Sole, a collection of poems that wrestle with a world that is connected…
‘One travels in ideas as well as trains’—Simon van Schalkwyk interviews PR Anderson on his new collection of poetry, Night Transit
Academic Editor Simon van Schalkwyk talks to PR Anderson about travelling to places you’ve never been, the viciousness of history,…
[The JRB Daily] 2023 Commonwealth Short Story Prize shortlist announced—including six new writers from Africa
Header image: Africa Region shortlistees Buke Abduba, Josiah Mbote, HB Asari, Michael Boyd, Hana Gammon, Matshediso Radebe The shortlist for…
‘Where else is history but in the stories people tell?’ Wamuwi Mbao reviews The Inheritors by Eve Fairbanks
The Inheritors by Eve Fairbanks is historical storytelling done well, writes Wamuwi Mbao. The InheritorsEve FairbanksJonathan Ball Publishers, 2023 David…
‘What happens when you have a crime committed against a person that never ever comes to an end?’—Margie Orford talks to Jennifer Malec about her new novel The Eye of the Beholder
The JRB Editor Jennifer Malec sat down with Margie Orford to talk about the challenges of writing about sexual violence, the politics…
‘We’re not there to beg for a place on bookshelves in German bookshops but we’re there to demand it, to claim it’—Lidudumalingani on the 2022 African Book Festival
The JRB chats to guest City Editor Lidudumalingani about his curatorship of this year’s African Book Festival, taking place from…
Read ‘Tribute to Professor Bhekizizwe Peterson’, by Jill Bradbury, Khwezi Mkhize and Makhosazana Xaba, excerpted from the new book Foundational African Writers
The JRB presents an excerpt from Foundational African Writers: Peter Abrahams, Noni Jabavu, Sibusiso Nyembezi and Es’kia Mphahlele, edited by…
[The JRB Daily] ‘African voices liberated from prescriptions of form and ideas’—Zimbabwean writer Zibusiso Mpofu wins Brunel International African Poetry Prize
Zimbabwean writer Zibusiso Mpofu has won the tenth annual Brunel International African Poetry Prize. Judges praised Mpofu’s work, saying his…
[The JRB Daily] ‘There is a myth that there is only one type of storytelling in Africa’—Sarah Isaacs wins inaugural Island Prize for a Debut Novel from Africa
South African writer Sarah Isaacs has won the inaugural Island Prize for a Debut Novel from Africa with her manuscript…
[The JRB Daily] Short Story Day Africa announce 12 writers selected for 2022 Inkubator project
The twelve writers selected for the first Short Story Day Africa Inkubator project have been announced. 36 Short Stories, 12…
Wole Soyinka vs Caroline Davis—The CIA Controversy by Adekeye Adebajo
In 2020, Caroline Davis, a British scholar, now based at England’s University College London, published the book African Literature and…
New short fiction: ‘Home™’ by Eckard Smuts
The JRB presents a new short story by Eckard Smuts. Home™ There it was, suspended like a giant Tinkertoy assemblage in…
Four poems by Kelwyn Sole, from Skin Rafts
The JRB presents four poems from Kelwyn Sole’s eighth volume, Skin Rafts, which has just been published by Hands-On Books. Skin RaftsKelwyn…
‘This is the voice of contemporary South African fiction’—Joanne Ruth Davis reviews Mphuthumi Ntabeni’s new novel The Wanderers
Mphuthumi Ntabeni’s The Wanderers is a novel that indicates a storyteller in love with the art of telling tales, writes…
[The JRB exclusive] Read ‘Water for Wine’ by Jenny Robson, winner of the 2021 Kendeka Prize for African Literature
The JRB presents the winning stories of the inaugural Kendeka Prize for African Literature. The winners of the 2021 Kendeka…
[The JRB exclusive] Read ‘The Women of Atinga House’ by Fatima Okhuosami, first runner-up in the 2021 Kendeka Prize for African Literature
The JRB presents the winning stories of the inaugural Kendeka Prize for African Literature. The winners of the 2021 Kendeka…
[The JRB exclusive] Read ‘Au Pair’ by Okpanachi Irene Ojochegbe, second runner-up in the 2021 Kendeka Prize for African Literature
The JRB presents the winning stories of the inaugural Kendeka Prize for African Literature. The winners of the 2021 Kendeka…
View an excerpt from African Cosmologies: Photography, Time, and the Other, including work by Zanele Muholi, Hélène A Amouzou and Wilfred Ukpong
The JRB presents an excerpt from African Cosmologies: Photography, Time, and the Other. African Cosmologies: Photography, Time, and the OtherFotofestSchilt…
[The JRB Daily] Short Story Day Africa Prize ‘Disruption’ shortlist announced—featuring 8 African writers from 5 countries
The shortlist for the seventh Short Story Day Africa Prize has been announced, the JRB can exclusively reveal! The prize was…
[The JRB Daily] 2019 Short Story Day Africa Prize ‘Disruption’ longlist announced—featuring 21 African writers from nine countries
This longlist for the seventh annual Short Story Day Africa Prize has been announced! The prize was founded in 2013,…
[The JRB Daily] ‘A role model for an entire generation of African writers’—Zukiswa Wanner wins prestigious Goethe Medal, along with Elvira Espejo Ayca and Ian McEwan
Header image: Elvira Espejo Ayca, Zukiswa Wanner and Ian McEwan Writer, publisher and curator Zukiswa Wanner has been awarded the…
[The JRB Daily] ‘Funny, tragic and defiant in the face of politics, bigotry and injustice’—2020 Commonwealth Short Story Prize shortlist announced
Header image: The Africa shortlist, Aba Asibon (Ghana), Innocent Chizaram Ilo (Nigeria), Caleb Ozovehe Ajinomoh (Nigeria), Alboricah Tokologo Rathupetsane (South…
[The JRB Daily] South African poet Mangaliso Buzani wins Glenna Luschei Prize for African Poetry
South African poet Mangaliso Buzani has been announced as the winner of the African Poetry Book Fund’s 2019 Glenna Luschei…
[City Editor] The search to find a new vocabulary for the new city—Lidudumalingani muses on literature and lockdown Joburg
Whatever writing emerges from this moment will be an attempt to build a new Johannesburg, writes guest City Editor Lidudumalingani….
‘A millennial Kenya we’ve never seen in fiction before’—Read an excerpt from The Cape Cod Bicycle War and Other Stories by Billy Kahora
The JRB presents an excerpt from The Cape Cod Bicycle War and Other Stories, the much-anticipated new book by Billy…