Johannesburg’s literary subterranean horror—Read an excerpt from South African Gothic by Rebecca Duncan
The JRB presents an excerpt from South African Gothic: Anxiety and Creative Dissent in the Post-apartheid Imagination and Beyond by…
Category: Africa
The 2018 Sol Plaatje Lecture: Kole Omotoso on The Power of Politics, the Power of Literatures—Sol Plaatje and the Madness of Making Humanity Shudder
This year’s Annual Sol Plaatje Lecture was delivered on 17 October at Sol Plaatje University, Kimberley, by Professor Kole Omotoso….
[The JRB Daily] 2018 Brittle Paper Award shortlists announced, recognising the ‘finest original pieces of writing by Africans published online’
The shortlists for the 2018 Brittle Paper Awards have been announced. The awards were established in 2017 to recognise the…
The Johannesburg Review of Books Vol. 2, Issue 10 (October 2018)
Welcome to the tenth issue of Volume 2 of The Johannesburg Review of Books. In this edition, Azad Essa makes…
‘I like writing male characters—I don’t have to get them home safely at the end of the chapter’—An interview with Aminatta Forna
Aminatta Forna sat down with The JRB Editor Jennifer Malec at the Open Book Festival in Cape Town to talk about her new novel,…
Where’s Mzansi noir?—Wamuwi Mbao laments the lack of dark and moody South African television adaptations
Wamuwi Mbao imagines a serial adaptation of Angela Makholwa’s Black Widow Society, a sleekly executed interpretation of HJ Golakai’s The Lazarus…
‘Afrofuturism is not for Africans living in Africa’—an essay by Mohale Mashigo, excerpted from her new collection of short stories, Intruders
The JRB presents ‘Afrofuturism: Ayashis’ Amateki’, an essay by Mohale Mashigo, which serves as the preface to her new collection…
Books and belonging—Fred Khumalo reflects on how James Hadley Chase and Alan Paton changed his life
Fred Khumalo recalls being swept off his feet by Alan Paton, the African Writers Series and James Hadley Chase. It’s a question…
The rediscovery of the ordinary does not preclude the extraordinary—Jennifer Malec reviews Esi Edugyan’s novel Washington Black
The JRB Editor Jennifer Malec reviews Esi Edugyan’s Man Booker Prize-shortlisted novel, Washington Black. Washington Black Esi Edugyan Serpent’s Tail, 2018 Esi…
Three new poems by Maya Surya Pillay
The Johannesburg Review of Books presents previously unpublished poetry by Maya Surya Pillay. ~~~ mouth Your mother did not abort…
‘Man’s afraid of a few sharks’—Read an excerpt from Poacher: Confessions From the Abalone Underworld by Kimon de Greef and Shuhood Abader
Flares exploded in the sky. Stun grenades fired into the water. From the dunes came a volley of gunshots. It…
[City Editor] Niq Mhlongo overstays his visa in Dar es Salaam, Morogoro and Mbeya
Two problems are gnawing at my heart as we leave Dar es Salaam to Morogoro on the Sunday afternoon of…
New short fiction: ‘The Golden Egg’ by Sandile Ngidi
The JRB presents a new short story by Sandile Ngidi. ~~~ The Golden Egg I am sad today. I am…
[Photo Editor] Original portraits of Chika Unigwe and Don Mattera by Victor Dlamini
Victor Dlamini is The JRB’s Photo Editor. We feature his work on our Instagram channel. Don’t miss the ten-year retrospective…
The parties end early but Botswana is lit—Zukiswa Wanner reports back from the Gaborone Book Festival
Two weeks before the end of our JIAS Fellowship, Niq Mhlongo and I decided that as we had been to…
‘An imaginative understanding of the next person’—Prof Muxe Nkondo considers Can Themba’s significance in South Africa’s world of differences
At a recent Johannesburg symposium on the life of literary icon Can Themba, organised by author Siphiwo Mahala as a…
Alain Mabanckou’s new novel Les cigognes sont immortelles tackles a turbulent three days in Congolese history
Alain Mabanckou’s new novel, Les cigognes sont immortelles, spans three important days in the life of a Congolese boy from…
Prix Femina and Prix Femina étranger longlists revealed—including Abubakar Adam Ibrahim and Olga Tokarczuk
It’s awards season in the French-speaking literary world! A number of big prizes revealed their longlists in the month of…
[The JRB Daily] Lesego Rampolokeng and Barbara Boswell 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 for works published in…
[The JRB Daily] 2018 South African Literary Awards shortlists revealed—and new Poet Laureate to be announced
The 2018 South African Literary Awards shortlists have been announced, with nominees including Malebo Sephodi, Nick Mulgrew, Kelwyn Sole and…
[The JRB Daily] Fred Khumalo to publish a book of short stories in isiZulu—uManzekhofi Nezakhe
Kwasukela Books, a new publisher dedicated to isiZulu fiction, has announced Fred Khumalo’s isiZulu debut, uManzekhofi Nezakhe. The book will…
[The JRB Daily] Siphiwo Mahala delivers his inaugural postdoctoral address at the premiere of his new documentary on Can Themba
Author Siphiwo Mahala gave gave his inaugural postdoctoral address last night at the Market Theatre, Johannesburg, as part of a…
[The JRB Daily] Shortlist announced for the $100,000 Nigeria Prize for Literature—Africa’s richest literary award
The shortlist for the 2018 Nigeria Prize for Literature has been announced. The prize was founded in 2004, and is awarded…
[The JRB Daily] UJ Prize shortlists announced—novels dominate this year
The shortlists for the 2017 University of Johannesburg Prizes for South African Writing in English have been announced. Unlike most…
The Johannesburg Review of Books Vol. 2, Issue 9 (September 2018)
Welcome to the ninth issue of Volume 2 of The Johannesburg Review of Books. This month, we were privileged to…
‘You have to write like a suicide bomber, you have to detonate’—Arundhati Roy discusses The Ministry of Utmost Happiness
Arundhati Roy visited South Africa on a book tour recently, and sat down with The JRB to discuss her highly…
One of the most important works of non-fiction in South Africa’s democratic era—Richard Poplak reviews The Lost Boys of Bird Island
The story told in The Lost Boys of Bird Island warps South Africa’s history beyond the nightmares of colonialism and apartheid,…
Unsettling old assumptions about xenophobia—Read an excerpt from I Want to Go Home Forever: Stories of Becoming and Belonging in South Africa’s Great Metropolis
The JRB presents ‘On Patrol in the Dark City’, an excerpt from I Want to Go Home Forever: Stories of Becoming and…
A kaleidoscopic novel of radiant beauty—Bongani Kona reviews the new English translation of Ondjaki’s Transparent City
In Transparent City, Ondjaki writes Angola not as an insignificant place in the margins of history but as if it…
‘I want the reader to be an active participant, to work things out for themselves’—Craig Higginson chats about his new novel, The White Room
Craig Higginson’s sixth novel, The White Room, was published by Picador Africa in August. He chatted to The JRB Editor Jennifer Malec about…
‘Authors in the West don’t worry about whether Africa will understand them’—Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi discusses Kintu at Wits
Ugandan author Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi visited Wits University in August, for a discussion around her debut novel, Kintu. Kintu Jennifer…
New short fiction: ‘Looking for Simphiwe’ by Sifiso Mzobe
The JRB is proud to present a new short story by award-winning author Sifiso Mzobe. Mzobe was born and bred…
Of Fathers and Grandfathers—Read an excerpt from House of Stone, the debut novel by Novuyo Rosa Tshuma
The JRB is proud to present an excerpt from House of Stone, the debut novel by Novuyo Rosa Tshuma. House of…
New poetry by Kelwyn Sole: ‘The empty space we call Mandela’
The Johannesburg Review of Books presents previously unpublished poetry by Kelwyn Sole. The empty space we call Mandela On…
[City Editor] Tanzania and my Vagabond Neurosis—Niq Mhlongo contemplates his irresistible urge to travel
About five months ago a very close friend of mine invited me to his wedding. His big day was Saturday,…
Read an excerpt from Congolese–French author Wilfried N’sondé’s novel Un océan, deux mers, trois continents, winner of the Prix Ahmadou-Kourouma
Un océan, deux mers, trois continents is the realisation of an idea I had forming in my mind for about…
[The JRB Daily] ‘When they tried to ban the book, this book exploded’—Jacques Pauw’s The President’s Keepers wins Nielsen Booksellers Choice Award
Image: Jacques Pauw (right) with Stephen Long of Nielsen Book group The President’s Keepers by investigative journalist Jacques Pauw has…
[The JRB Daily] ‘You can’t hide who you are when writing fiction’—Arundhati Roy considers the legacy of VS Naipaul
Indian writer Arundhati Roy, in South Africa on a book tour, sat down with The JRB to discuss her books…
[The JRB Daily] Remembering VS Naipaul in South Africa
VS Naipaul, who died aged eighty-five on Saturday, spent some months in South Africa in 2009, researching his final book….
The Johannesburg Review of Books Vol. 2, Issue 8 (August 2018)
Welcome to the eighth issue of Volume 2 of The Johannesburg Review of Books. We have a bumper edition for…