[Photo Editor] Original portraits of Wole Soyinka, Gcina Mhlophe and Athol Williams 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…
Category: Africa
‘Should we let fiction die a natural death? No.’—Andrew Miller argues for the importance of writing stories in a time of digital disorder
Comment for The JRB’s inaugural Fiction Issue by novelist Andrew Miller. ~ ~ ~ One of the most interesting aspects…
Two new poems by Fiona Zerbst
The Johannesburg Review of Books presents previously unpublished poetry by Fiona Zerbst. Homestead She imagines her future in this…
New poetry by Jim Pascual Agustin: ‘Fire, the King Who is Called’
The Johannesburg Review of Books presents previously unpublished poetry by Jim Pascual Agustin. Fire, the King Who is Called…
New poetry by Simon van Schalkwyk: ‘Hay-on-Wye’
The Johannesburg Review of Books presents previously unpublished poetry by Simon van Schalkwyk. Hay-on-Wye I. We drive there on…
[Fiction issue] ‘Four Blocks Away’, a short story by Niq Mhlongo
The JRB presents City Editor Niq Mhlongo’s short story ‘Four Blocks Away’. The story is excerpted from Mhlongo’s most recent book,…
[Fiction issue] An excerpt from Imagine Ghosts Telling Tales in front of Smoky Mirrors, the debut novel by SL Masunda
Exclusive to The JRB, an excerpt from the debut novel of Zimbabwean author SL Masunda. Imagine Ghosts Telling Tales in…
Letter: Sarah Ruden responds to David van Schoor’s review of her translation of Augustine’s Confessions
Sarah Ruden responds to David van Schoor’s review of her translation of Augustine’s Confessions, ‘Translation as nuclear arms race’, published in the November…
Theatre and family trees: A new short story by Moroccan writer Driss Ksikes
Driss Ksikes gives us a vivid intergenerational short story in ‘Fuckin’ Family’ (‘Putain la famille’). For a long time, family…
The JRB Vol. 1, Issue 8 cover image features a photograph from Johannesburg. Made in China
The JRB cover image this week comes from Johannesburg. Made in China, the ninth book of Fourthwall Books’s acclaimed series Wake Up,…
[The JRB Daily] The Caine Prize wasn’t what I thought it would be: Efemia Chela traces the real value of big literary prizes
In a piece for the Caine Prize blog titled ‘An Unexpected Prize’, Efemia Chela describes how losing out on the…
[The JRB Daily] He seemed invincible: Petina Gappah reflects on Robert Mugabe’s rule
Writing for the New Yorker, The JRB Editorial Advisory Panel member Petina Gappah contemplates ‘How Zimbabwe Freed Itself From Robert Mugabe’. Mugabe’s resignation…
[The JRB Daily] Dove, Lifebuoy and apartheid: Panashe Chigumadzi considers soap’s hidden significance in the control of black bodies
The New York Review of Books has featured an article by Panashe Chigumadzi, titled ‘Soap and South Africa’s “Fatal Intimacy”‘….
[The JRB Daily] 2017 South African Literary Awards winners announced
The winners of the 2017 South African Literary Awards (SALAs) have been announced. The SALAs are awarded annually by the…
[The JRB Daily] Six African authors up for world’s richest annual literary prize, the International Dublin Literary Award
Six African authors have made the longlist for the International Dublin Literary Award, the world’s most valuable annual literary prize for…
The Johannesburg Review of Books Vol. 1, Issue 7 (November 2017)
Welcome to the seventh issue of The Johannesburg Review of Books. This month, it gives me great pleasure to announce…
All the President’s Keepers: Imraan Coovadia reviews Jacques Pauw’s sensational exposé on Jacob Zuma and the gangster state
Jacques Pauw’s new book The President’s Keepers shows that children will have it harder tomorrow and that the children of South…
Linger No More: Mandela speaks from the grave, and Bongani Madondo speaks to his medium, author Mandla Langa
Nelson Mandela altered the world. He affected everyone in it, in ways few will ever manage. He also died before…
Beware of angels and other executives of perfection: Wamuwi Mbao appraises JM Coetzee’s Late Essays
Like watching JM Coetzee solve a series of Rubik’s cubes, only more entertaining: Wamuwi Mbao reviews Late Essays: 2006–2017. Late Essays: 2006–2017…
‘Speaking Shona was associated with humiliation’: Petina Gappah on the influence, on her writing, of Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o’s Decolonising the Mind
Exclusive to The JRB, a new essay by Petina Gappah on the influence of Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o’s work on her…
Fear and loathing in Bordeaux: Race and the French myth in Marie NDiaye’s My Heart Hemmed In
Efemia Chela reviews Marie NDiaye’s newly translated masterpiece My Heart Hemmed In, a mixture of literary fiction, psychological thriller and…
Two new poems by Mbali Vilakazi
The Johannesburg Review of Books is proud to present previously unpublished poetry by Mbali Vilakazi. The Broken Dreams Then they…
[Sponsored] Fiction is like dreaming: Jennifer Egan chats about her latest book, Manhattan Beach
Manhattan Beach is the long-awaited novel from Jennifer Egan, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of A Visit from the Goon Squad. Manhattan…
[City Editor] Niq Mhlongo visits the PaGya! Literary Festival, finding a very different Ghana from the one he remembers
Niq Mhlongo recounts his literary travels to Accra, Ghana—in 2008, for the Pan-African Literary Forum, and in 2017 for the…
Two vast countries of weird violence: Olivia Rose Walton contemplates Turkey and South Africa by train
Olivia Rose Walton considers loss and erasure across two landscapes, traversed by train. 1. Kayseri station, Turkey On the steps…
Translation as nuclear arms race: David van Schoor reviews Sarah Ruden’s bold interpretation of Augustine’s Confessions
David van Schoor reviews Sarah Ruden’s bold new translation of Augustine’s Confessions. Confessions Sarah Ruden Modern Library, 2017 1. Sine…
‘A confrontation we see as our birthright’: An excerpt from Sisonke Msimang’s new book Always Another Country
Sisonke Msimang, who grew up in exile, describes her first visit to South Africa in December 1990, the year Nelson…
[Photo Editor] Original portraits of Taiye Selasi and Vangile Gantsho 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…
[Temporary Sojourner] All About Eve: Efemia Chela reviews Ananda Devi’s Eve Out of Her Ruins
Efemia Chela travels to the dirty and dangerous streets of Mauritius with Ananda Devi’s Eve Out of Her Ruins in…
Read an excerpt from the first full-length biography of Christopher Okigbo, a cult hero for a new wave of young African writers
Exclusive to The JRB, an excerpt from the newly published first-ever biography of the Nigerian poet Christopher Okigbo: Christopher Okigbo 1930—67, Thirsting…
The JRB Vol. 1, Issue 7 cover image features a photograph from Johannesburg In Your Pocket
Our November issue’s cover image comes from Johannesburg In Your Pocket. The photograph features Clive van den Berg’s sculpture The Eland,…
[The JRB Daily] Durban, South Africa is one of eight new Unesco Cities of Literature
Durban, South Africa’s largest port city and hometown to dozens of noted writers—from the likes of Lewis Nkosi and Ronnie…
[The JRB Daily] South African Literary Awards shortlists announced
The 2017 South African Literary Awards shortlists have been announced, with nominees including Mohale Mashigo, Kopano Matlwa, Nthikeng Mohlele, Etienne van…
[The JRB Daily] Open call for applications for the Malba Writers Residency in Buenos Aires
Open call REM—Malba Writers Residence Annual application: From 5 October to 5 December, 2017 Residences: April-May; September-October, 2018 The Literature…
[The JRB Daily] Exclusive preview: Bongani Madondo’s interview with Mandla Langa, co-author of Nelson Mandela’s Dare Not Linger
To mark the publication of Nelson Mandela’s Dare Not Linger: The Presidential Years, which goes on sale today, The JRB…
[The JRB Daily] Kazuo Ishiguro wins the Nobel Prize in Literature
English author Kazuo Ishiguro has won the Nobel Prize in Literature. The announcement was made by the Swedish Academy this…
[The JRB Daily] Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o is the favourite to win the Nobel Prize in Literature—again
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o is odds-on favourite to win the Nobel Prize in Literature this week. The JRB’s Editor Jennifer Malec…
The Johannesburg Review of Books Vol. 1, Issue 6 (October 2017)
Welcome to the sixth issue of The Johannesburg Review of Books. Half a dozen and going strong! In this edition,…
Disrupting the solipsism of the personal photograph: Wamuwi Mbao reviews Teju Cole’s new book, Blind Spot
How streaked we are by what we see: Teju Cole is at his engrossing best in his new book, Blind…
Professional writers need to be professional readers: Jennifer Malec chats to Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ about her debut novel, Stay With Me
Jennifer Malec sat down with Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ at the recent Open Book Festival in Cape Town to talk about her…