Africa

Voices from the continent with the world’s youngest population—Water Birds on the Lake Shore: An Anthology of African Young Adult Fiction (Plus: Read 3 of the stories)

Exclusive to The JRB, we present three new short stories from the Goethe-Institut Afro Young Adult anthology, Water Birds on…

AfricaSouth Africa

[New short fiction] Read ‘Black Cornea, White Iris’, a short story by M Mukore, from the new Afro Young Adult anthology Water Birds on the Lake Shore

In the October issue of The JRB, we present three new short stories from the Goethe-Institut Afro Young Adult anthology,…

Africa

‘Not your traditional immigrant novel’—Efemia Chela reviews Beyond Babylon, the newly translated English debut by Somali–Italian author Igiaba Scego

In Beyond Babylon, by Igiaba Scego, migrants come to rebuild their lives in the midst of ruins, writes Francophone and…

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…

Africa

A burden, an honour, a revolutionary tactic—Read an interview with some of the contributors to Black Tax: Burden or Ubuntu, a new collection of essays edited by Niq Mhlongo

The JRB Editor Jennifer Malec interviews some of the contributors to Black Tax: Burden or Ubuntu, a new collection of essays edited…

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

Bearing witness to unusual childhoods of privilege under oppression—Panashe Chigumadzi reviews Township Girls: The Cross-Over Generation

A significant first step in documenting the life writing of black Zimbabwean women—The JRB Contributing Editor Panashe Chigumadzi reviews Township Girls:…

Africa

‘More weirdness, more work that’s unconcerned with explaining “Africa” to the West, more work that doesn’t care what people think. More of that, please.’—An interview with Caine Prize winner Lesley Nneka Arimah

The JRB Editor Jennifer Malec interviews Lesley Nneka Arimah, winner of the 2019 Caine Prize for African Writing. Jennifer Malec for The…

Book excerpts

Read ‘Surely This [Mother Tongue] Should Count for Something’—A conversation with 5 women poets, from Makhosazana Xaba’s new book Our Words, Our Worlds

The JRB presents an excerpt from Our Words, Our Worlds: Writing on Black South African Women Poets, 2000–2018, edited by…

AfricaAngola

Read an excerpt from the forthcoming English translation of Djaimilia Pereira de Almeida’s award-winning debut novel That Hair, from the new anthology New Daughters of Africa

In celebration of Women’s Month, The JRB presents a series of excerpts from New Daughters of Africa. Edited by Margaret…