[Fiction Issue] ‘A Second Mowing’, a new short story by Simon van Schalkwyk
The JRB presents a new short story by Simon van Schalkwyk. A Second Mowing Alan was the gardener. I found him…
Category: Africa
[Fiction Issue] ‘The Wood Carving’, a new short story by Kiprop Kimutai
The JRB presents a new short story by Kiprop Kimutai. The Wood Carving On the bus to Donholm, I sat next…
[Fiction Issue] ‘Petite Mort’, a new short story by Zanta Nkumane
The JRB presents a new short story by Zanta Nkumane. Petite Mort. When your father dies on a Friday night,…
[Fiction Issue] ‘Miss Johns’, a new short story by Barbara Boswell
The JRB presents a new short story by Barbara Boswell. Miss Johns The 06:55 train is late again. I groan…
[Fiction Issue] ‘The Boy and Other Disasters’, a new short story by Keletso Mopai
The JRB presents a new short story by Keletso Mopai. The Boy and Other Disasters Papa’s face was fat and…
[Fiction Issue] ‘Waving and Drowning’, a new short story by Jarred Thompson
The JRB presents a new short story by Jarred Thompson. Waving and Drowning after Stevie Smith The door was barricaded….
[Sponsored] Find out more about the collaborative novel by Amy Heydenrych, Qarnita Loxton, Pamela Power and Gail Schimmel—coming in 2022
Pan Macmillan South Africa will be publishing a collaborative novel by Amy Heydenrych, Qarnita Loxton, Pamela Power and Gail Schimmel…
[Fiction Issue] ‘From the Air’, a new short story by Wamuwi Mbao
The JRB presents a new short story by Wamuwi Mbao. From the Air Fare forward, you who think that you…
[Fiction Issue] ‘You wake up on a spaceship’s operating table surrounded by strange creatures’, a new short story by Byron Loker
The JRB presents a new short story by Byron Loker. You wake up on a spaceship’s operating table surrounded by strange…
Two poems by Nick Mulgrew
The JRB presents new poetry by Nick Mulgrew. ~~~ Siam, in some other place Still the cane waves on the hills like an…
[Photo Editor] A Portrait of Mukoma Wa Ngugi by Victor Dlamini
Victor Dlamini is The JRB’s Photo Editor. We feature his work on our Instagram channel. See this ten-year retrospective of his portraits. View this…
Beware the ides of Dezemba, a playlist compiled by Tymon Smith
The JRB presents tunes and accompanying editorial from our EAP member Tymon Smith. It’s the end of the year as we count it…
[Fiction Issue] ‘Khalifa did not suspect with what nostalgia he would remember those days in later life’—Read an excerpt from Abdulrazak Gurnah’s Afterlives
The JRB presents an excerpt from Afterlives, the new novel from Abdulrazak Gurnah, winner of the 2021 Nobel Prize in…
[Fiction Issue] ‘Sometimes it felt as if I were speaking into a body of water’—Read an excerpt from CA Davids’s new novel How to Be a Revolutionary
The JRB presents an excerpt from How to Be a Revolutionary, the new novel by CA Davids. How to Be…
[Fiction Issue] ‘He was the sort of writer who saw himself as the carrier of his continent’s honour’—Read an excerpt from Timothy Ogene’s novel Seesaw
The JRB presents an excerpt from Seesaw by Timothy Ogene. SeesawTimothy OgeneSwift Press, 2021 Read the excerpt: My second and…
[Fiction Issue] ‘The falling man appeared out of nowhere, in the middle of the air, right before Petra’s eyes’—Read an excerpt from Louis Greenberg’s Exposure
The JRB presents an excerpt from Exposure, the new novel from Louis Greenberg. ExposureLouis GreenbergTitan, 2021 Read the excerpt: The…
[Fiction Issue] ‘In anger, my words poisoned my bloodline. I can hear their echoes still’—Read an excerpt from Nokuthula Mazibuko Msimang’s new novel Daughters of Nandi
The JRB presents an excerpt from Daughters of Nandi, the debut work of adult fiction by Nokuthula Mazibuko Msimang. Daughters…
[Fiction Issue] ‘Did I know who my father was? Who he really was?’—Read an excerpt from Chinenye Emezie’s debut novel Glass House
The JRB presents an excerpt from Glass House by Chinenye Emezie. Glass HouseChinenye EmeziePenguin Random House, 2021 Read the excerpt:…
[Fiction Issue] ‘The past was home. Home meant facing the past’—Read an excerpt from Colleen van Niekerk’s debut novel A Conspiracy of Mothers
The JRB presents an excerpt from A Conspiracy of Mothers by Colleen van Niekerk. A Conspiracy of MothersColleen van NiekerkLittle…
[Fiction Issue] ‘She’d often wondered how that cloak of impenetrable privilege would feel around her shoulders’—Read an excerpt from Lọlá Ákínmádé Åkerström’s In Every Mirror She’s Black
The JRB presents an excerpt from In Every Mirror She’s Black, the debut novel by Lọlá Ákínmádé Åkerström. In Every…
[Fiction Issue] Read ‘The Widow of Marabastad’ an excerpt from the new graphic novel All Rise: Resistance and Rebellion in South Africa
The JRB presents an excerpt from All Rise: Resistance and Rebellion in South Africa, a new graphic novel by Richard…
[Fiction Issue] ‘Dreams have always meant something to do with the future, possibility or danger. Dreams are to be taken seriously’—Read an excerpt from Uvile Ximba’s debut novel Dreaming in Colour
The JRB presents an excerpt from Dreaming in Colour, the debut novel by Uvile Ximba. Dreaming in ColourUvile XimbaModjaji Books…
[The JRB Daily] Johann de Lange turns down South African Literary Award
Poet Johann de Lange has turned down his 2021 South African Literary Award, calling the prizes ‘meaningless and worthless’ (‘betekenis…
[The JRB Daily] Winners of the inaugural Bank Windhoek Doek Literary Awards announced
The winners of the first ever Bank Windhoek Doek Literary Awards have been announced. The awards recognise Namibian writers, poets…
[The JRB Daily] 2021 South African Literary Awards winners announced
The winners of the 2021 South African Literary Awards have been announced. The winning writers were announced in a virtual…
[The JRB Daily] ‘A great year for African writing’—Damon Galgut wins the 2021 Booker Prize for Fiction, for his novel The Promise
South African author Damon Galgut has won the 2021 Booker Prize for Fiction for his novel The Promise. The announcement was…
The Johannesburg Review of Books Vol. 5, Issue 5 (October 2021)
Wole Soyinka, Wamuwi Mbao, Shayera Dark, Joanne Ruth Davis, Lebohang Mojapelo, Lidudumalingani, Imraan Coovadia, Jennifer Malec, Rešoketšwe Manenzhe, Nthikeng Mohlele,…
‘Where is the last rational place left in the world, for heaven’s sake?’—Lebohang Mojapelo interviews Wole Soyinka on his new novel, Chronicles from the Land of the Happiest People on Earth
Lebohang Mojapelo interviews Wole Soyinka on his new novel. Chronicles From the Land of the Happiest People on EarthWole SoyinkaBloomsbury,…
‘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…
‘Wouter Basson didn’t reply to my queries’—Imraan Coovadia chats to Jennifer Malec about his new book The Poisoners: On South Africa’s Toxic Past
Award-winning author Imraan Coovadia chats to The JRB Editor Jennifer Malec about the mechanisms of good and evil, emailing Wouter Basson, and his…
Even for women brave enough to reclaim their lives, external forces stand ready to keep them confined—Shayera Dark reviews Ukamaka Olisakwe’s Ogadinma: Or, Everything Will Be All Right
Shayera Dark reviews Ogadinma: Or, Everything Will Be All Right by Ukamaka Olisakwe. Ogadinma: Or, Everything Will Be All RightUkamaka…
‘Often we know ourselves and other people by the stories we construct’—Abdulrazak Gurnah on how to write fiction
Tanzanian novelist Abdulrazak Gurnah received the 2021 Nobel Prize in Literature, an announcement that came as a welcome surprise to…
The 20th anniversary of Bitter Fruit by Achmat Dangor—an excerpt, and a brief publishing history
Achmat Dangor’s novel Bitter Fruit was first published twenty years ago by Kwela Books. It went on, after its United…
Read an excerpt from ‘Dinner with Dambudzo’ by Nthikeng Mohlele, from his new short story collection The Discovery of Love
The JRB presents an excerpt from The Discovery of Love, the new collection of short stories from Nthikeng Mohlele. The…
Understanding Pan-Africanist struggles for global slavery and colonialism reparations, by Adekeye Adebajo
The JRB presents an edited excerpt from the Introduction to The Pan-African Pantheon: Prophets, Poets and Philosophers by Adekeye Adebajo….
Four new poems by Mark Espin
The Johannesburg Review of Books presents new poetry by Mark Espin. ~~~ BROKEN SENTENCE I We walk the mountain’s undulating paths while the…
[City Editor] ‘At night, Jozi is dead, unless you are the killer’—11 observations about the city, by Lidudumalingani
Cities and mining Underneath Johannesburg, imagine hollow cities, stretching from Soweto all the way to Turffontein, and further. As the…
[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…