‘I am proud that I surrendered to poetry in the ways I did’—Katleho Kano Shoro in conversation with Makhosazana Xaba
This is the second in a series of long-form interviews by Patron Makhosazana Xaba to be hosted on The JRB,…
Category: Africa
‘How does one truly listen, as a writer, in South Africa? How does one write?’ Kyle Allan reviews Kelwyn Sole’s latest collection of poetry Skin Rafts
Kyle Allan reviews Skin Rafts by Kelwyn Sole, a collection of poems that wrestle with a world that is connected…
‘One travels in ideas as well as trains’—Simon van Schalkwyk interviews PR Anderson on his new collection of poetry, Night Transit
Academic Editor Simon van Schalkwyk talks to PR Anderson about travelling to places you’ve never been, the viciousness of history,…
‘Death walks everywhere with people’—Siphokazi Magadla reviews Mxolisi Mchunu’s Violence and Solace: The Natal Civil War in Late-Apartheid South Africa
Siphokazi Magadla reviews Violence and Solace: The Natal Civil War in Late-Apartheid South Africa by Mxolisi R Mchunu, a book…
[The JRB exclusive] Read Keith Oliver Lewis’s short story ‘Blue Boy Lagoon’, the winner of the 2023 Short.Sharp.Stories Awards
The JRB presents ‘Blue Boy Lagoon’ by Keith Oliver Lewis, the winning short story from this year’s Short.Sharp.Stories Awards. The…
‘It’s very important to get our books published back at home’—Fungai Machirori interviews Lucy Mushita on her novel Chinongwa
Set in early twentieth-century Zimbabwe, Chinongwa follows the life of a young girl forced into child marriage with a much…
Poetry by Mxolisi Nyezwa, from Bhlawa’s Inconsolable Spirits
The JRB presents an excerpt from Mxolisi Nyezwa’s new collection of poetry, Bhlawa’s Inconsolable Spirits. Mxolisi NyezwaBhlawa’s Inconsolable SpiritsDeep South,…
‘She sat at her dressing table, a plastic bag open on her lap, full of the hair that she had just scissored off her head’—Read an excerpt from Gothataone Moeng’s debut, Call and Response
The JRB presents an excerpt from Call and Response, the debut short story collection from Gothataone Moeng. Call and ResponseGothataone…
Poetry by PR Anderson, from Night Transit
The JRB presents an excerpt from PR Anderson’s new collection of poetry, Night Transit. Read Simon van Schalkwyk’s interview with…
[The JRB exclusive] Read an excerpt from K Sello Duiker’s Inkwenkwezi efihlakeleyo, a new isiXhosa edition of The Hidden Star, translated by Xolisa Guzula
The JRB presents an excerpt from Inkwenkwezi efihlakeleyo, the new isiXhosa translation of the late K Sello Duiker’s modern South…
[Photo Editor] A portrait of Don Mattera by Victor Dlamini
Victor Dlamini is The JRB’s Photo Editor. We feature his work on our Instagram channel. See this ten-year retrospective of his portraits. View this…
A recent, and very suspicious, lack of loadshedding—A playlist compiled by Tymon Smith
As the brief respite offered by a recent, and very suspicious, lack of loadshedding ends and we are reminded by…
‘Grace is not to walk on water, but to sink without resistance’—Read an excerpt from Lethokuhle Msimang’s debut novel, The Frightened
The JRB presents an excerpt from The Frightened, the debut novel from Lethokuhle Msimang. The Frightened Lethokuhle MsimangKaravan Press, 2023…
What surfaces when a library is burnt? What emerges from the ashes and ruins? Read an excerpt from Lost Libraries, Burnt Archives
The JRB presents an excerpt from Lost Libraries, Burnt Archives, an edited volume of short stories, artworks, poems and essays…
‘He’d had a home once in Johannesburg, until his father was murdered’—Read an excerpt from Sihle Qwabe’s debut novel, The Resurrection
The JRB presents an excerpt from The Resurrection, the debut novel from Sihle Qwabe. The ResurrectionSihle QwabeKwela, 2023 Read the…
‘iCuriosity kubelungu iningi kabi’—Read an excerpt from Written Out: The Silencing of Regina Gelana Twala by Joel Cabrita
The JRB presents an excerpt from Joel Cabrita’s new book Written Out: The Silencing of Regina Gelana Twala. Written Out:…
‘Riotous Deathscapes charts a course of black life in vast deathscapes. It is a portrait of life among the dead’—an excerpt from Hugo ka Canham’s new book
The JRB presents an excerpt from Hugo ka Canham’s forthcoming book Riotous Deathscapes, to be published mid-May. Riotous DeathscapesHugo ka…
[The JRB Daily] Three African writers—Jacob M’hango, ’Pemi Aguda and Arinze Ifeakandu—awarded prestigious O Henry Prize for Short Fiction
Zambian writer Jacob M’hango and Nigerian writers ’Pemi Aguda and Arinze Ifeakandu are among the winners of the prestigious O…
[The JRB Daily] ‘These books are all bold, subversive, nicely perverse’—2023 International Booker Prize shortlist announced
The six novels shortlisted for the 2023 International Booker Prize have been revealed, including Guadeloupian author Maryse Condé, described by…
[The JRB Daily] 2023 Commonwealth Short Story Prize shortlist announced—including six new writers from Africa
Header image: Africa Region shortlistees Buke Abduba, Josiah Mbote, HB Asari, Michael Boyd, Hana Gammon, Matshediso Radebe The shortlist for…
[The JRB Daily] 2023 Island Prize for a Debut Novel from Africa longlist announced
The writers longlisted for the 2023 Island Prize for a Debut Novel from Africa have been announced. This literary prize,…
[The JRB Daily] ‘A glorious celebration of the boundless imagination and creative ambition of women writers’—2023 Women’s Prize for Fiction longlist announced, including Zimbabwean author NoViolet Bulawayo
The longlist for this year’s Women’s Prize for Fiction has been announced, including Zimbabwean novelist NoViolet Bulawayo. The Women’s Prize,…
The Johannesburg Review of Books Vol. 7, Issue 1 (February 2023)
Makhosazana Xaba • Maneo Refiloe Mohale • Wamuwi Mbao • Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu • Sindi-Leigh McBride • Carina Venter •…
‘Where else is history but in the stories people tell?’ Wamuwi Mbao reviews The Inheritors by Eve Fairbanks
The Inheritors by Eve Fairbanks is historical storytelling done well, writes Wamuwi Mbao. The InheritorsEve FairbanksJonathan Ball Publishers, 2023 David…
Portrait of the poet as a genius—Sindi-Leigh McBride reviews Koleka Putuma’s Hullo, Bu-bye, Koko, Come In
Sindi-Leigh McBride reviews Koleka Putuma’s Hullo, Bu-bye, Koko, Come In, a joy to behold even when the subject is devastating….
A book about embrace, but also about the chokehold of segregation—Carina Venter reviews Mr Entertainment: The Story of Taliep Petersen by Paula Fourie
Carina Venter reviews Paula Fourie’s Mr Entertainment: The Story of Taliep Petersen, finding a life that encompasses a country and…
‘Hope is a potent drug’—Jerry Chiemeke reviews Sylva Nze Ifedigbo’s Chinua Achebe Prize-winning novel Believers and Hustlers
Believers and Hustlers by Sylva Nze Ifedigbo, winner of the Chinua Achebe Prize for Literature, explores the sinister underbelly of…
‘I wanted to place myself in conversation with the living and the dead’—Maneo Refiloe Mohale in conversation with Makhosazana Xaba
I remember being eight and geeking out about iambic pentameter … —Maneo Refiloe Mohale This is the first in a…
‘I choose intersectionality, I choose diversity, I choose multiple perspectives.’—Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu chats to Jennifer Malec about her latest novel, The Quality of Mercy
The JRB Editor Jennifer Malec speaks to Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu about casting spells, writing with empathy, and winning one of…
‘Why so long and why now? … I suppose I forgot I was a writer’—Morabo Morojele chats to Lebohang Mojapelo about his forthcoming novel Three Egg Dilemma
Lebohang Mojapelo chatted to Morabo Morojele about his forthcoming novel, Three Egg Dilemma, to be published this month—fifteen years after…
Toyin Falola at Seventy—A Pan-Africanist Luminary for the Digital Age
Toyin Falola, who originally trained as a historian, is simply unparalleled as a vessel of public discourse, collaborative work, and…
New poetry by Simon van Schalkwyk
The Johannesburg Review of Books presents previously unpublished poetry by Simon van Schalkwyk. State rapture It’s always weird to see an ATM wrenched…
[Photo Editor] A portrait of Charl-Pierre Naudé by Victor Dlamini
Victor Dlamini is The JRB’s Photo Editor. We feature his work on our Instagram channel. See this ten-year retrospective of his portraits. View this…
[The JRB exclusive] ‘Papa Mzimkulu dared me to find a woman more beautiful than my mother, said it was impossible’—Read an excerpt from Nthikeng Mohlele’s new short story collection A Little Light
The JRB presents an excerpt from A Little Light, the forthcoming collection of short stories by Nthikeng Mohlele. A Little…
[The JRB exclusive] ‘He could tell something else was coming, something he could not name.’—Read an excerpt from Abubakar Adam Ibrahim’s forthcoming novel, When We Were Fireflies
The JRB presents an excerpt from When We Were Fireflies, the forthcoming novel from acclaimed author Abubakar Adam Ibrahim. When…
‘With all these familiar horrors, who in the hell was going to believe in zombies?’—Read an excerpt from Nana Nkweti’s debut short story collection Walking on Cowrie Shells
The JRB presents an extract from ‘It Just Kills You Inside’, excerpted from Walking on Cowrie Shells, the debut short…
‘Her mother loved Angola more than she loved her daughter’—Read an excerpt from Yara Nakahanda Monteiro’s acclaimed novel Loose Ties
The JRB presents an excerpt from Yara Nakahanda Monteiro’s novel Loose Ties, translated from the Portuguese by Sandy Tamele, which…
[The JRB exclusive] ‘The boy’s eyes gleamed as if they were the only things in the entire world that belonged to him’—Read an excerpt from Troy Onyango’s debut For What Are Butterflies Without Their Wings
The JRB presents an excerpt from For What Are Butterflies Without Their Wings, the debut short story collection from Troy…
‘Michael stands at the edge of the world and looks up into the eternal stars’—Read an excerpt from David Ralph Viviers’s debut novel Mirage
The JRB presents an excerpt from Mirage, the debut novel by David Ralph Viviers. MirageDavid Ralph ViviersUmuzi, 2023 Read the…
‘Every African who has been paying attention to the global Covid-19 response is angry. Listen to us as we tell you why.’—Read an excerpt from Strange and Difficult Times
The JRB presents an excerpt from Strange and Difficult Times: Notes on a Global Pandemic by Nanjala Nyabola. Strange and…