[Fiction Issue] ‘The Capture’, an excerpt from a work in progress by Glenn Diaz
The JRB presents an excerpt from a work in progress by Glenn Diaz. The Capture Sleep was beginning to finally…
Category: Book excerpts
[Fiction Issue] ‘Khalifa did not suspect with what nostalgia he would remember those days in later life’—Read an excerpt from Abdulrazak Gurnah’s Afterlives
The JRB presents an excerpt from Afterlives, the new novel from Abdulrazak Gurnah, winner of the 2021 Nobel Prize in…
[Fiction Issue] ‘Sometimes it felt as if I were speaking into a body of water’—Read an excerpt from CA Davids’s new novel How to Be a Revolutionary
The JRB presents an excerpt from How to Be a Revolutionary, the new novel by CA Davids. How to Be…
[Fiction Issue] ‘Prayer was standing in front of me, in panties’—Read an excerpt from the forthcoming collection Anonymous Sex
The JRB presents an excerpt from Anonymous Sex, a forthcoming anthology edited by Hillary Jordan and Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan. Anonymous SexEdited…
[Fiction Issue] ‘He was the sort of writer who saw himself as the carrier of his continent’s honour’—Read an excerpt from Timothy Ogene’s novel Seesaw
The JRB presents an excerpt from Seesaw by Timothy Ogene. SeesawTimothy OgeneSwift Press, 2021 Read the excerpt: My second and…
[Fiction Issue] ‘Filled with blood. She blinked. She closed the book, sighed’—Read an excerpt from James Han Mattson’s Reprieve
The JRB presents an excerpt from Reprieve, the new novel from James Han Mattson. ReprieveJames Han MattsonBloomsbury, 2021 Read the…
[Fiction Issue] ‘The falling man appeared out of nowhere, in the middle of the air, right before Petra’s eyes’—Read an excerpt from Louis Greenberg’s Exposure
The JRB presents an excerpt from Exposure, the new novel from Louis Greenberg. ExposureLouis GreenbergTitan, 2021 Read the excerpt: The…
[Fiction Issue] ‘In anger, my words poisoned my bloodline. I can hear their echoes still’—Read an excerpt from Nokuthula Mazibuko Msimang’s new novel Daughters of Nandi
The JRB presents an excerpt from Daughters of Nandi, the debut work of adult fiction by Nokuthula Mazibuko Msimang. Daughters…
[Fiction Issue] ‘Did I know who my father was? Who he really was?’—Read an excerpt from Chinenye Emezie’s debut novel Glass House
The JRB presents an excerpt from Glass House by Chinenye Emezie. Glass HouseChinenye EmeziePenguin Random House, 2021 Read the excerpt:…
[Fiction Issue] ‘The past was home. Home meant facing the past’—Read an excerpt from Colleen van Niekerk’s debut novel A Conspiracy of Mothers
The JRB presents an excerpt from A Conspiracy of Mothers by Colleen van Niekerk. A Conspiracy of MothersColleen van NiekerkLittle…
[Fiction Issue] ‘She’d often wondered how that cloak of impenetrable privilege would feel around her shoulders’—Read an excerpt from Lọlá Ákínmádé Åkerström’s In Every Mirror She’s Black
The JRB presents an excerpt from In Every Mirror She’s Black, the debut novel by Lọlá Ákínmádé Åkerström. In Every…
[Fiction Issue] Read ‘The Widow of Marabastad’ an excerpt from the new graphic novel All Rise: Resistance and Rebellion in South Africa
The JRB presents an excerpt from All Rise: Resistance and Rebellion in South Africa, a new graphic novel by Richard…
[Fiction Issue] ‘Dreams have always meant something to do with the future, possibility or danger. Dreams are to be taken seriously’—Read an excerpt from Uvile Ximba’s debut novel Dreaming in Colour
The JRB presents an excerpt from Dreaming in Colour, the debut novel by Uvile Ximba. Dreaming in ColourUvile XimbaModjaji Books…
‘Wouter Basson didn’t reply to my queries’—Imraan Coovadia chats to Jennifer Malec about his new book The Poisoners: On South Africa’s Toxic Past
Award-winning author Imraan Coovadia chats to The JRB Editor Jennifer Malec about the mechanisms of good and evil, emailing Wouter Basson, and his…
The 20th anniversary of Bitter Fruit by Achmat Dangor—an excerpt, and a brief publishing history
Achmat Dangor’s novel Bitter Fruit was first published twenty years ago by Kwela Books. It went on, after its United…
Read an excerpt from ‘Dinner with Dambudzo’ by Nthikeng Mohlele, from his new short story collection The Discovery of Love
The JRB presents an excerpt from The Discovery of Love, the new collection of short stories from Nthikeng Mohlele. The…
Understanding Pan-Africanist struggles for global slavery and colonialism reparations, by Adekeye Adebajo
The JRB presents an edited excerpt from the Introduction to The Pan-African Pantheon: Prophets, Poets and Philosophers by Adekeye Adebajo….
‘If you dodge your death enough times, fate stops trying to find you’—Read an excerpt from Rešoketšwe Manenzhe’s new short story ‘Ramosela’, from Hauntings
The JRB presents an excerpt from Rešoketšwe Manenzhe’s contribution to Hauntings, a forthcoming collection of stories edited by Niq Mhlongo….
The looting that was broadcast across the world—Read an excerpt from History of South Africa by Thula Simpson
The JRB presents an exclusive excerpt from Thula Simpson’s new book History of South Africa. History of South Africa: From…
‘What is the meaning of this hallucination that refuses to end?’—Read an excerpt from Perfect Hlongwane’s new novel Sanity Prevail
The JRB presents an excerpt from Sanity Prevail, the new novel by Perfect Hlongwane. Sanity PrevailPerfect HlongwaneBlackBird Books, 2021 ~~~…
‘It is dangerous to be gay in Uganda’—Read the personal experience of Angel, a 32-year-old asylum seeker, from Seeking Sanctuary: Stories of Sexuality, Faith and Migration
The JRB presents an excerpt from John Marnell’s new book Seeking Sanctuary: Stories of Sexuality, Faith and Migration. Seeking Sanctuary:…
‘Nothing, virtually no project, no cultural initiative, was left unbrushed by the CIA reptilian coils’—Wole Soyinka. Read an excerpt from White Malice: The CIA and the Neocolonisation of Africa
The JRB presents an excerpt from Susan Williams’s new book White Malice: The CIA and the Neocolonisation of Africa. White…
Three poems by Dominique Botha, from Donkerberg/Bloodwood
The JRB presents new poetry from Donkerberg/Bloodwood, a bilingual anthology by the award-winning writer Dominique Botha, published by Dwarsrivier. everything…
Read an excerpt from ‘The Lumumba Business’, a new story by Fiston Mwanza Mujila, from The American Way: Stories of Invasion
The JRB presents an excerpt from the forthcoming publication The American Way: Stories of Invasion. The American Way: Stories of…
‘Tendai Huchu’s Maestro of Lonely Learning’—Read an excerpt from The African Novel of Ideas by Jeanne-Marie Jackson
The JRB presents an excerpt from Jeanne-Marie Jackson’s new book The African Novel of Ideas: Philosophy and Individualism in the…
‘You gave me permission to lean into the terrible, of both myself and the people I wrote into existence’—Read an excerpt from Akwaeke Emezi’s new book Dear Senthuran: A Black Spirit Memoir
The JRB presents an excerpt from Dear Senthuran: A Black Spirit Memoir by Akwaeke Emezi. Dear Senthuran: A Black Spirit…
Four poems by Saaleha Idrees Bamjee, from Zikr
The JRB presents poetry by Saaleha Idrees Bamjee, selected from Zikr, published by uHlanga Press, and winner of the Ingrid…
‘Grief—a word that seemed too small to encompass the world I had been plunged into’—Read Sisonke Msimang’s essay from Our Ghosts Were Once People: Stories on Death and Dying
In a new anthology on death and dying, Sisonke Msimang writes about the multiple losses faced when her mother passed…
‘The violators were in breach of the unwritten codes that make for proper new South Africanness’—Read ‘Foreign Familiars’, from Pumla Dineo Gqola’s new book Female Fear Factory
The JRB presents an excerpt from Female Fear Factory, the highly anticipated new book from Pumla Dineo Gqola. Female Fear…
‘He could hear it. A sound that made his back grow cold, made the hair on his arms rise. It was the sound of bones’—Read an excerpt from An Island by Karen Jennings
The JRB presents an excerpt from Karen Jennings’s new novel An Island, which was recently longlisted for the Booker Prize….
‘The Pit was a place steeped in gloom, where people seldom went, and where certainly no one went alone’—Read an excerpt from Ashraf Kagee’s new novel By the Fading Light
The JRB presents an excerpt from By the Fading Light, the new novel from European Union Literary Award-winner Ashraf Kagee….
‘Whatever Sobhuza does, he ensures that he leaves no trace’—Read an excerpt from Mandla Langa’s forthcoming novel The Lost Language of the Soul
The JRB presents an exclusive excerpt from The Lost Language of the Soul, the new novel by EAP member Mandla…
‘All the talk about this virus leaves me hoping I contract the bloody thing before I have to face anything more about my past’—Read an excerpt from Futhi Ntshingila’s forthcoming novel They Got To You Too
The JRB presents an exclusive excerpt from They Got To You Too by Futhi Ntshingila, which will be published in…
‘These are the nuances of poverty’—Read an excerpt from Razina Theba’s new memoir A Home on Vorster Street
The JRB presents an excerpt from A Home on Vorster Street: A Memoir by Razina Theba. A Home on Vorster…
‘I can tell you a lot about sex with a man to whom you are not attracted’—Read an excerpt from Lisa Taddeo’s debut novel Animal
The JRB presents an excerpt from Animal by Lisa Taddeo, the bestselling author of Three Women. AnimalLisa TaddeoBloomsbury Circus, 2021…
‘He was no longer working for the colonial state, and had fully taken on his revolutionary status’—Read an excerpt from Amílcar Cabral: The Life of a Reluctant Nationalist
The JRB presents an excerpt from António Tomás’s new book Amílcar Cabral: The Life of a Reluctant Nationalist. Amílcar Cabral:…
‘He missed hamburgers terribly sometimes’—Read an excerpt from Brandon Taylor’s new short story collection Filthy Animals
The JRB presents an excerpt from Filthy Animals, the new collection of stories by Brandon Taylor, the Booker Prize-shortlisted author…
Poetry by Keith Lewis, Nqobile Lombo, Busisiwe Mahlangu, Mthabisi Sithole and Xabiso Vili from Yesterdays and Imagining Realities: An Anthology of South African Poetry
The JRB presents poems by Keith Lewis, Nqobile Lombo, Busisiwe Mahlangu, Mthabisi Sithole and Xabiso Vili, selected from Yesterdays and…
View an excerpt from African Cosmologies: Photography, Time, and the Other, including work by Zanele Muholi, Hélène A Amouzou and Wilfred Ukpong
The JRB presents an excerpt from African Cosmologies: Photography, Time, and the Other. African Cosmologies: Photography, Time, and the OtherFotofestSchilt…
[The JRB exclusive] Read an excerpt from a new edition of Lewis Nkosi’s one-act play Flying Home!, and a note by the editor
The JRB presents an exclusive excerpt from Lewis Nkosi: The Black Psychiatrist | Flying Home: Texts, Perspectives, Homage. The book,…