Bucking against the inevitability of her martyrdom—The Negressity of Black womenhood and The Ones With Purpose
Mbali Sikakana considers Nozizwe Cynthia Jele’s new novel The Ones With Purpose in the context of Hilton Als’s groundbreaking 1996…
Category: Africa
‘I have always been interested in hidden histories’—Harry Kalmer chats about his award-winning debut English novel, A Thousand Tales of Johannesburg
Harry Kalmer won the 2018 Barry Ronge Fiction Prize recently, for his novel A Thousand Tales of Johannesburg. He chatted to…
‘As I wrote and rewrote, I made new discoveries’—An exclusive interview with Short Story Day Africa Prize winner Tochukwu Emmanuel Okafor
Tochukwu Emmanuel Okafor chatted to The JRB Editor Jennifer Malec about winning the Short Story Day Africa Prize, and his writing life. *…
Three new poems by Bethuel Muthee
The Johannesburg Review of Books presents previously unpublished poetry by Bethuel Muthee. ~~~ Movement Home It’s a bold step into…
[City Editor] South Africa’s cultural game-changers—Niq Mhlongo believes book clubs are changing the literary landscape
A major change is happening on the South African literary landscape, and it has its roots in the formation of…
[Photo Editor] Original portraits of Imraan Coovadia and TJ Dema 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…
New short fiction: ‘All Our Lives’ by Tochukwu Emmanuel Okafor, winner of the 2017 Short Story Day Africa Prize
The JRB is presents the three winning stories from this year’s Short Story Day Africa Prize. Nigerian writer Tochukwu Emmanuel…
New short fiction: ‘The Piano Player’ by Agazit Abate, joint runner-up in the 2017 Short Story Day Africa Prize
The JRB presents the three winning stories from this year’s Short Story Day Africa Prize. Nigerian writer Tochukwu Emmanuel Okafor…
New short fiction: ‘God Skin’ by Michael Yee, joint runner-up in the 2017 Short Story Day Africa Prize
The JRB presents the three winning stories from this year’s Short Story Day Africa Prize. Nigerian writer Tochukwu Emmanuel Okafor…
In tribute to David Goldblatt—an excerpt from TJ, his authoritative collection of Johannesburg photographs
‘Johannesburg is a fragmented city. It is not a place of smoothly integrated parts. And it has a name that…
[The JRB Daily] Harry Kalmer and Bongani Ngqulunga win Sunday Times Literary Awards
‘I dedicate this win to my mother and my father, who never went to school. It just shows what…
[The JRB Daily] 2017 Short Story Day Africa Prize winner announced
Nigerian writer Tochukwu Emmanuel Okafor has won the prestigious Short Story Day Africa Prize for his story ‘All Our Lives’. The…
[The JRB Daily] Masande Ntshanga, Omar Robert Hamilton, Anietie Isong and Kayo Chingonyi shortlisted for Society of Authors 2018 Authors’ Awards
Four African authors have been shortlisted for the Society of Authors 2018 Authors’ Awards. South African novelist Masande Ntshanga and…
[The JRB Daily] Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie awarded 2018 PEN Pinter Prize for ‘fierce intellectual determination to define the real truth of our lives and our societies’
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has been awarded the 2018 PEN Pinter Prize. The prize is awarded annually to a writer who, in the…
The Johannesburg Review of Books Vol. 2, Issue 6 (June 2018)
Welcome to the sixth issue of Volume 2 of The Johannesburg Review of Books. This month, we review a trio…
One of the decade’s most intriguing works of fiction: Wamuwi Mbao reviews Akwaeke Emezi’s debut novel Freshwater
Akwaeke Emezi’s Freshwater is a striking, startling, butterfly-net of a novel, writes Wamuwi Mbao.
‘Being in South Africa as an author has shifted my perspective’—Zinzi Clemmons chats to The JRB about her debut novel, What We Lose
Zinzi Clemmons was in South Africa recently on a book tour for her debut novel, What We Lose. She sat…
[Temporary Sojourner] Efemia Chela reads Roland Rugero’s Baho!—the first Burundian novel to be translated into English
Ableism and the silent roar: The JRB Francophone and Contributing Editor Efemia Chela travels to Burundi with Roland Rugero’s novel Baho! in The…
‘It’s clearly more harrowing to be time travelling when black’—Imraan Coovadia chats to Jennifer Malec about his new spec-fic novel A Spy in Time
Award-winning author Imraan Coovadia chats to The JRB Editor Jennifer Malec about his new novel, A Spy in Time. A Spy…
A victorious coming-of age novel: Outlwile Tsipane reviews Olumide Popoola’s superb debut, When We Speak of Nothing
Olúmìdé Pópóọlá’s debut novel, When We Speak of Nothing, seems to indicate a blossoming of things to come, writes Outlwile…
[City Editor] The biography of a generation—Niq Mhlongo reviews Clinton Chauke’s Born in Chains: The Diary of an Angry ‘Born Free’
The JRB City Editor Niq Mhlongo reviews Clinton Chauke’s debut book, Born in Chains: The Diary of an Angry ‘Born Free’. Born…
[Photo Editor] Original portraits of Masello Motana and Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh 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…
Pede Hollist chats to James Murua about his book So the Path Does Not Die and the ‘vibrant’ Sierra Leonean literary scene
Sierra Leonean writer and 2013 Caine Prize shortlistee Pede Hollist was at the Goethe-Institut in Nairobi in May to kick…
New poetry by Gabeba Baderoon: ‘Promised land’
The Johannesburg Review of Books presents a new poem by Gabeba Baderoon, from her forthcoming collection The History of Intimacy, out…
‘Johannesburg, the first and last city of our century’: Read an exclusive excerpt from Imraan Coovadia’s new novel, A Spy in Time
Many case officers liked to take a tablet to turn white, believing that it made the job easier. I think…
‘I had the nerve to like my hair just the way it was’—Listen to Zinzi Clemmons read from her debut novel What We Lose
Exclusive to The JRB, listen to a recording of Zinzi Clemmons reading from her debut novel, What We Lose. What…
‘The glutton ate the snail and it made his cheeks explode’: Read an excerpt from Baho! by Burundian author Roland Rugero
The JRB is proud to present an excerpt from Roland Rugero’s novel Baho!—the first Burundian novel to be translated from French…
Mũkoma wa Ngũgĩ’s novel Nairobi Heat is now available in French as Là où meurent les rêves
« Qu’est-ce que ça te fait à toi, l’homme noir d’Amérique, d’être au Kenya ? » Voilà une question qui taraude l’inspecteur Ishmael….
[The JRB Daily] 2018 Sol Plaatje European Union Poetry Award longlist announced
The longlist for the eighth annual Sol Plaatje European Union Poetry Award has been announced by the Jacana Literary Foundation. Sixty-three…
[The JRB Daily] Pwaangulongii Dauod wins 2018 Gerald Kraak Award for his essay ‘Africa’s future has no space for stupid black men’
Pwaangulongii Dauod has won the R25 000 Gerald Kraak Award, which honours African writing and photography that ‘provokes thought on the…
[The JRB Daily] 2018 Commonwealth Short Story Prize shortlist announced, including Fred Khumalo and Michelle Sacks
The shortlist has been announced for the seventh annual Commonwealth Short Story Prize. The prize is awarded annually to ‘the best…
[The JRB Daily] Short Story Day Africa Prize shortlist announced, revealing ‘uncomfortable and fascinating truths about who we are’
The shortlist for the Short Story Day Africa Prize for Short Fiction has been announced. The prize is worth $800…
[The JRB Daily] 2018 Caine Prize for African Writing shortlist announced, showcasing the ‘complexity and diversity of Africa and African lives’
The five-writer shortlist for the 2018 Caine Prize for African Writing has been announced, featuring writers from South Africa, Nigeria…
[The JRB Daily] 2018 Alan Paton Award for Non-fiction shortlist announced
The shortlists for this year’s Sunday Times Literary Awards have been announced! The Alan Paton Award for Non-fiction and the…
[The JRB Daily] 2018 Barry Ronge Fiction Prize shortlist announced
The shortlists for the Sunday Times Literary Awards have been announced! The Barry Ronge Fiction Prize and the Alan Paton…
[The JRB Daily] [Exclusive] ‘It’s worse than most people think’—Zinzi Clemmons on Junot Díaz and literature’s latest #MeToo moment
Author Zinzi Clemmons, who is in Johannesburg on a book tour, sat down with The JRB Editor Jennifer Malec today…
The Johannesburg Review of Books Vol. 2, Issue 5 (May 2018)
Welcome to the fifth issue of Volume 2 of The Johannesburg Review of Books—our first birthday issue! The inaugural issue…
Banishing the white gaze—Ntombizikhona Valela reflects on Winnie Madikizela-Mandela’s literary legacy
Ntombizikhona Valela considers two very different books, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela’s 491 Days: Prisoner Number 1323/69 and Anne Marie du Preez Bezdrob’s…
Historical fiction is back—with a fire in its belly: Fred Khumalo reflects on how writing can be a powerful tool for an activist
Fred Khumalo, whose most recent novel is Dancing the Death Drill, believes past narratives can help shape what is to…
[Photo Editor] Gallery and video: Remembering Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, 13 and 14 April 2018
Victor Dlamini is The JRB’s Photo Editor. We feature his work on our Instagram channel. Don’t miss the ten-year retrospective…