[The JRB Daily] Listen to the new episode of Read This!—featuring Siphiwo Mahala reading from his new book, Red Apple Dreams
The new episode of Read This! is out now—find out what’s hot in the world of books! In this episode, we listen…
Category: Africa
[The JRB Daily] Gabeba Baderoon and Mphuthumi Ntabeni win the UJ Prizes for South African Writing
The winners have been announced for the University of Johannesburg Prizes for South African Writing in English. The 2019 edition of…
[The JRB Daily] Listen to the new episode of Read This!—featuring The Shadow King and The Water Dancer
The new episode of Read This! is out now—find out what’s hot in the world of books! In this episode, we travel…
[The JRB Daily] 12 African writers nominated for 2020 International Dublin Literary Award—the world’s richest annual literary prize
Twelve African writers have been longlisted for the International Dublin Literary Award, the world’s most valuable annual literary prize for…
Sandile Dikeni, 1966–2019, RIP
Poet and activist Sandile Dikeni died in Cape Town on Saturday, it has been widely reported. Dikeni was the author…
[The JRB Daily] 2019 South African Literary Awards winners announced—The JRB collects three
The 2019 South African Literary Awards winners were announced tonight at a gala ceremony in Johannesburg, with The JRB’s nominees—Editor…
The Johannesburg Review of Books Vol. 3, Issue 11
Wamuwi Mbao • Richard Poplak • Bernardine Evaristo • Siphiwo Mahala • Zadie Smith • Efemia Chela • Lidudumalingani •…
Board the Eastern Main Line and go to work in Hell—Richard Poplak reviews The Night Trains, Charles van Onselen’s finest book yet
Richard Poplak reviews The Night Trains by Charles van Onselen, a book grounded in the hard work of scouring the…
[The JRB exclusive] Read an excerpt from Bernardine Evaristo’s Girl, Woman, Other—‘One of my aims as a writer is to explore the hidden narratives of the African diaspora’
The JRB presents an excerpt from Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo, co-winner of the 2019 Booker Prize. Girl, Woman,…
[Temporary Sojourner] Thrill to the layered, secret nature of it—Efemia Chela reviews Maaza Mengiste’s new novel, The Shadow King
The JRB Francophone and Contributing Editor Efemia Chela travels to Ethiopia with the living archive of Maaza Mengiste’s novel, The Shadow King. The…
A perfectly shaped raging fire of language and emotion—Lidudumalingani reviews Everything is a Deathly Flower, the debut poetry collection by Maneo Mohale
Lidudumalingani reviews Everything is a Deathly Flower by Maneo Mohale, finding it to be a succession of powerful moments. Everything…
‘I have turned my car into a mobile bookshop’—Siphiwo Mahala chats to Jennifer Malec about self-publishing his new book, Red Apple Dreams, and why short stories are the future
The JRB Editor Jennifer Malec chats to Siphiwo Mahala about his new collection of short stories, Red Apple Dreams. Mahala…
Tyranny of place, tyranny of time: Remembering Es’kia Mphahlele in his centenary year, by Mmatshilo Motsei
Mmatshilo Motsei pays tribute to Es’kia Mphahlele, one hundred years after his birth. I first encountered Es’kia Mphahlele when, in…
Gandhi as heir of Rhodes? A reassessment of the Mahatma as an Afro-Asian prophet
Adekeye Adebajo addresses the once-unthinkable question ‘Was Gandhi a racist?’, as the 150th anniversary of his birth is celebrated. 1….
New poetry by Brendan Joyce, from Character Limit
The Johannesburg Review of Books presents new poetry by Brendan Joyce, from his chapbook, Character Limit. ~~~ 21. To be…
[Photo Editor] Original portraits of Ekow Duker and Lerato Tshabalala by Victor Dlamini
Victor Dlamini is The JRB’s Photo Editor. We feature his work on our Instagram channel. Visit this ten-year retrospective of…
[The JRB exclusive] Read an excerpt from Siphiwo Mahala’s new collection of short stories, Red Apple Dreams
The JRB presents an excerpt from Red Apple Dreams, the new anthology of stories by Siphiwo Mahala. Mahala is the author…
[The JRB exclusive] Read an excerpt from Meanwhile … a new graphic novel anthology about everyday queer life in Southern and East Africa
The JRB presents an excerpt from Meanwhile … Graphic Short Stories About Everyday Queer Life in Southern and East Africa….
Introducing Yeoville—part of the mythology of transitional Johannesburg
The JRB presents an excerpt from Politics and Community-Based Research: Perspectives from Yeoville Studio, Johannesburg. Politics and Community-Based Research: Perspectives…
How Hip Hop is helping a new generation to ‘read the world’—Read an excerpt from Neva Again: Hip Hop Art, Activism and Education in Post-Apartheid South Africa
Hip Hop is producing a new generation of readers and writers in a world that operates in diverse literary forms,…
[The JRB Daily] Listen to the new episode of Read This!—featuring Everything is a Deathly Flower, the highly anticipated debut poetry collection from Maneo Mohale
The new episode of Read This! is out now—find out what’s hot in the world of books! Today, we’re talking about…
[The JRB Daily] Listen to the new episode of our audio show Read This! featuring Efemia Chela on Wayétu Moore’s novel She Would Be King and an interview with Sarah Ladipo Manyika
The new episode of our books show Read This! is out now—find out what’s hot in the world of literature!…
[The JRB Daily] Shortlists announced for the UJ Prizes for South African Writing in English
The shortlists for the University of Johannesburg Prizes for South African Writing in English have been announced. The 2019 edition…
[The JRB Daily] How is the Nobel Prize in Literature decided? The Nobel Committee reveals new, less ‘Eurocentric’ and ‘male-centred’ criteria
Every year, speculation abounds about which author will win the Nobel Prize in Literature. This year, the Nobel Committee have…
The Johannesburg Review of Books Vol. 3, Issue 10
Koleka Putuma • Ta-Nehisi Coates • Khanya Mtshali • Siyanda Mohutsiwa • Mphuthumi Ntabeni • Efemia Chela • Sandile Ngidi…
Jia Tolentino is a moral voice for the secular world—Khanya Mtshali reviews Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion, a collection of essays that explores how we survive our late-capitalist hellscape
In Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion, Jia Tolentino presents her cosmopolitan obsessions with piercing insight and authority, writes Khanya Mtshali. Trick…
American Spy reimagines the American spy, bringing gender and race into the war room—Jennifer Malec reviews Lauren Wilkinson’s new Cold War thriller
The JRB Editor Jennifer Malec reviews Lauren Wilkinson’s debut novel American Spy, a thriller that exposes the human drama that plays out…
[Sponsored] Don’t miss the Jacana Media book sale – 6000 books at discounted prices (on till 31 Oct)
Don’t miss the Jacana Media massive book sale! The sale will be on every day, from 9 a.m. to 5…
Southern Africa throws its hat into the millennial fiction ring—Mphuthumi Ntabeni reviews The Eternal Audience of One, the debut novel by Rwandan–Namibian author Rémy Ngamije
With prose that sparkles and pops, Rémy Ngamije’s The Eternal Audience of One is a millennial novel that intricately traces…
New poetry by Koleka Putuma: ‘EVERY / THREE HOURS’
The Johannesburg Review of Books presents a new poem by Koleka Putuma. ~~~ EVERY / THREE HOURS this country buries…
[Sponsored] Win a signed copy of Bassie: My Journey of Hope by Basetsana Kumalo, plus a Lux hamper worth R1000!
One lucky reader stands a chance to win a book hamper, including signed copy of Bassie: My Journey of Hope by Basetsana…
[Temporary Sojourner] Liberia, the original African escapist fantasy—Efemia Chela reviews Wayétu Moore’s sweeping and poetic debut novel She Would Be King
Fantastic Returns and Where to Find Them—The JRB Francophone and Contributing Editor Efemia Chela travels to Liberia with Wayétu Moore’s…
Tribute to Sibusiso Nyembezi, a literary and cultural giant, in his centenary year, by Sandile Ngidi
Sandile Ngidi reflects on the life and work of Zulu novelist, poet, scholar, teacher and editor Sibusiso Nyembezi (1919–2000). In…
‘I can’t attach the word “iconic” to baobab trees and sunsets’—Sarah Ladipo Manyika chats to Jennifer Malec about African publishing, Toni Morrison and writing older women
Nigerian–British author Sarah Ladipo Manyika was in South Africa recently, and took some time out from the Open Book Festival…
‘I will always love Africa, because from the minute I arrived it treated me like a white girl.’—Author Adam Smyer reflects on his visit to the Open Book Festival
The following is an edited excerpt from a work in progress by American author Adam Smyer, whose debut novel, Knucklehead,…
Our Words, Our Worlds: The work of Black women poets as an act of poetic revolt, by Moshibudi Motimele
Moshibudi Motimele reflects on the publication of Our Words, Our Worlds: Writing on Black South African Women Poets, 2000–2018, a…
The quest to establish a world-class African philosophical tradition—Sanya Osha reviews Paulin Hountondji: African Philosophy as Critical Humanism
On Paulin Hountondji’s Universalist philosophy—Sanya Osha reviews Paulin Hountondji: African Philosophy as Critical Humanism, by Franziska Dubgen and Stefan Skupien….
[Photo Editor] Original portraits of Panashe Chigumadzi and Phehello J Mofokeng by Victor Dlamini
Victor Dlamini is The JRB’s Photo Editor. We feature his work on our Instagram channel. Visit the ten-year retrospective of…
Read Siyanda Mohutsiwa’s short story ‘And Then We Disappeared into Some Guy’s Car’, excerpted from the new anthology Botswana Women Write
The JRB presents an excerpt from Botswana Women Write, an anthology of writing by and about Batswana women. Botswana Women…
‘As we sleepwalk ever closer toward climate catastrophe’—An excerpt from Broken Land, the new photobook by Daylin Paul, winner of the Ernest Cole Award
Daylin Paul won the Ernest Cole Award, a photography prize for a prospective project, for his debut work Broken Land…