[The JRB Daily] South African poet Mangaliso Buzani wins Glenna Luschei Prize for African Poetry
South African poet Mangaliso Buzani has been announced as the winner of the African Poetry Book Fund’s 2019 Glenna Luschei…
Category: South Africa
The Johannesburg Review of Books Vol. 4, Issue 4 (April 2020)
Wamuwi Mbao • Lauren Beukes • Lebohang Mojapelo • Toni Giselle Stuart • Deon Meyer • Angelo Fick • Isobel…
JM Coetzee’s ‘late style’—Angelo Fick reviews The Death of Jesus, the ‘masterful, spare and beautiful’ final book of the Jesus trilogy
There are no easy answers in JM Coetzee’s new novel The Death of Jesus, but the exploration is part of…
Writing Athlone—Gabeba Baderoon’s latest poetry collection The History of Intimacy maps the small hurts of apartheid, writes Toni Giselle Stuart
Toni Giselle Stuart reviews Gabeba Baderoon’s poetry collection The History of Intimacy, which won the 2019 University of Johannesburg Main…
[The JRB Daily] [Exclusive] ‘A notice at the cash register with a sad-face emoji reads, “Sorry! Hand Sanitizer Sold Out!”’—Read an excerpt from Lauren Beukes’s prescient new novel Afterland
The JRB presents an exclusive excerpt from Afterland, the new novel from Editorial Advisory Panel member Lauren Beukes. Afterland is…
[City Editor] The search to find a new vocabulary for the new city—Lidudumalingani muses on literature and lockdown Joburg
Whatever writing emerges from this moment will be an attempt to build a new Johannesburg, writes guest City Editor Lidudumalingani….
‘If I had power over the lexical landscape, I would get rid of the word immigrant’—Nana Oforiatta Ayim talks to Wamuwi Mbao about her debut novel The God Child
Nana Oforiatta Ayim is a Ghanaian writer, filmmaker and art historian. On a balmy traffic-clagged Cape Town morning, I meet…
[Photo Editor] Original portraits of Keorapetse Kgositsile and Nadine Gordimer by Victor Dlamini
Victor Dlamini is The JRB’s Photo Editor. We feature his work on our Instagram channel. Visit this ten-year retrospective of his work. Visit victordlamini.com. Header…
‘Matsephe’s Dance’, a new poem by Isobel Dixon
The Johannesburg Review of Books presents new poetry by Isobel Dixon. ~~~ Matsephe’s Dance It’s the dancing and the laughter…
As a coronavirus ravages the world, cigarettes become currency—read an excerpt from Deon Meyer’s prophetic post-apocalyptic thriller Fever
The JRB presents an excerpt from Fever by Deon Meyer. FeverDeon Meyer, translated by KL SeegersJonathan Ball Publishers, 2016 Read…
[The JRB Daily] ‘A delightfully queer treatment of everyday life’—Jarred Thompson wins 2020 Afritondo Short Story Prize for ‘Good Help is Hard to Find’
South African writer Jarred Thompson has been announced as the winner of the 2020 Afritondo Short Story Prize for his…
[The JRB Daily] ‘A story luminously told’—Marguerite Poland’s historical novel A Sin of Omission shortlisted for prestigious Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction
The shortlist for the 2020 Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction has been announced, including South African author Marguerite Poland,…
Credo Mutwa, 1921—2020, RIP
Vusamazulu Credo Mutwa, renowned traditional healer, author, artist and philosopher, has died at the age of ninety-eight. Mutwa died at…
[The JRB Daily] 2020 Humanities and Social Sciences Awards winners announced, including Fiona Snyckers for Lacuna and Gabeba Baderoon for The History of Intimacy
The winners of the 2020 Humanities and Social Sciences Awards (HSS Awards) have been announced. The awards, now in their…
The Johannesburg Review of Books Vol. 4, Issue 3 (March 2020)
Vonani Bila • Ayanda Billie • Willem Anker • Angelo Fick • Rustum Kozain • Mukoma wa Ngugi • Carey…
Poetry of social obliteration and intimacy—Vonani Bila reviews KwaNobuhle Overcast, the new collection by award-winning poet Ayanda Billie
Vonani Bila considers KwaNobuhle Overcast, the latest book of poetry from Ayanda Billie, who won a South African Literary Award…
‘I had to choose which “truth” would suit the story best’—Willem Anker chats to Jennifer Malec about his novel Red Dog
The JRB Editor Jennifer Malec talks to Willem Anker about his novel Red Dog, which was recently longlisted for the…
JM Coetzee celebrates his 80th birthday in Makhanda—festivities offer a glimpse into the life of John Coetzee, the man, who engenders JM Coetzee, the writer
To honour JM Coetzee’s eightieth birthday on 9 February 2020, an exhibition celebrating his life and work titled Scenes from…
[Sponsored] Bill Gates honours author and doctor Kopano Matlwa Mabaso’s ‘incredible’ work in his ‘Heroes in the Field’ campaign
Kopano Matlwa Mabaso‘s work with under-nourished children has caught the attention of business magnate and philanthropist Bill Gates. Matlwa Mabaso…
‘I am quite normal. I just wonder what JM Coetzee would taste like, slow-roasted, with tarragon.’—Read ‘The man who would be eaten’ by Rustum Kozain
The following piece was written in 2006, since when it has been languishing on the author’s blog. It was revived…
[Sponsored] Cover reveal! Two Months, the new ‘must-read’ psychological thriller by Gail Schimmel
‘A must-read psychological thriller that will have you questioning every angle of “reality”. Unpredictable and compelling.’ – Angela Makholwa, bestselling author…
‘Nipple Hair’, a new poem by Genna Gardini
The Johannesburg Review of Books presents a new poem by Genna Gardini. ~~~ Nipple Hair I used to pluck a…
Harry Garuba, 1958—2020, RIP
Professor Harry Garuba, renowned academic, author and poet, has died, aged sixty-one. Garuba passed away on the evening of 28…
[The JRB Daily] 2020 International Booker Prize longlist announced—including South African author Willem Anker, for his novel Red Dog, translated by Michiel Heyns
The longlisted books for the 2020 International Booker Prize have been revealed, featuring translations from eight languages, originating in Europe,…
[The JRB Daily] 2020 Humanities and Social Sciences Awards shortlists announced—in fiction, non-fiction and creative and digital work
The shortlists for the 2020 Humanities and Social Sciences Awards (HSS Awards) have been announced. The awards, now in their…
[The JRB Daily] ‘I wanted to release a story from a sealed box I had dragged around for decades’—Read an excerpt from Shaun Johnson’s award-winning novel The Native Commissioner
Award-winning author and renowned anti-apartheid journalist Shaun Johnson has died, aged sixty. Read: Shaun Johnson, 1959—2020, RIP Read an excerpt…
Shaun Johnson, 1959—2020, RIP
Shaun Johnson, award-winning author and renowned anti-apartheid journalist, has died, aged sixty. Johnson passed away suddenly on Monday, 24 February,…
[The JRB Daily] Rešoketšwe Manenzhe wins the 2020 Dinaane Debut Fiction Award for her novel manuscript Scatterlings
Rešoketšwe Manenzhe has been announced as the winner of the 2020 Dinaane Debut Fiction Award, for her novel manuscript Scatterlings….
[The JRB Daily] Mohale Mashigo receives the inaugural Philida Literary Award
Mohale Mashigo has received the inaugural Philida Literary Award, named in honour of the late author André Brink’s final published…
The Johannesburg Review of Books Vol. 4, Issue 2 (February 2020)
JM Coetzee • Fred Khumalo • Abdelaziz Baraka Sakin • Lebohang Mojapelo • Khadija Tracey Heeger • Khanya Mtshali •…
[Sponsored] Photo profile: A day in the life of wildlife guide, musician and author James Hendry
Author James Hendry takes us behind the scenes in the bush, where he lives, makes music and writes his books….
Contemplating South Africa’s coalition of traumas through the idea of lost language—Khanya Mtshali reviews Phumlani Pikoli’s Born Freeloaders
In Born Freeloaders, Phumlani Pikoli seeks to provide a meditation on how empire is constructed through language. But the language…
[City Editor] Conjuring his images out of darkness—Lidudumalingani reflects on how the late Santu Mofokeng’s photographs are a kind of visual metaphor for Johannesburg
Johannesburg is a city that dances on the edges of elusive, and yet somehow Santu Mofokeng managed to contain it…
New short fiction: ‘Mr Big Stuff’ by Fred Khumalo
The JRB presents a new short story by Fred Khumalo. ~~~ Mr Big Stuff 1. Harry is butchering Barry White’s…
‘I come from’, a new poem by Khadija Tracey Heeger
The Johannesburg Review of Books presents a new poem by Khadija Tracey Heeger. ~~~ I come from I come from…
[Sponsored] ‘Your birth mother didn’t want you.’ Read an excerpt from Sacrificed, Chanette Paul’s US debut
Catalyst Press has shared an excerpt from Chanette Paul’s novel Sacrificed. Paul is a prolific Afrikaans author, and has written forty-one…
‘You look fancy for a girl who’s just going to the TAB.’ Read ‘The Outsider’ by Isabella Morris, excerpted from Fool’s Gold: Selected Modjaji Short Stories
The JRB presents an excerpt from Fool’s Gold: Selected Modjaji Short Stories, edited by Arja Salafranca. Since its inception in…
[The JRB exclusive] ‘This is not a game of football, it is a slaughter of the innocents!’—Read an excerpt from JM Coetzee’s new novel The Death of Jesus
The JRB presents, exclusively in South Africa, an excerpt from The Death of Jesus, the newly published final novel of…
[The JRB Daily] The AKO Caine Prize announces 2020 judging panel—and major new sponsorship deal
The AKO Caine Prize for African Writing has announced its panel of judges for 2020, and a new sponsorship deal. …
The Johannesburg Review of Books Vol. 4, Issue 1 (January 2020, The Conversation Issue)
Jason Reynolds • Itumeleng Molefi • Nicole Dennis-Benn • Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan • Lauren Michele Jackson • Ebrahim Essa •…