[The JRB Daily] Samantha Harvey wins the 2024 Booker Prize for her ‘compact yet beautifully expansive’ novel Orbital
Header image: Courtesy of the Booker Prize British author Samantha Harvey has won the 2024 Booker Prize for her novel Orbital….
Category: Fiction
[The JRB Daily] Jonny Steinberg and Andrew Brown win the 2024 Sunday Times Literary Awards
The winners of the 2024 Sunday Times Literary Awards have been announced. Jonny Steinberg won the Sunday Times Non-fiction Award…
An elegant study of friendship amid the rootedness of political exile—Shayera Dark reviews Hisham Matar’s novel My Friends
In My Friends, Hisham Matar hones in on the push and pull of friendships, their guiding light and the cushion-like…
‘The readers are there, but we’re still figuring out the right distribution model to reach them’—Nozizwe Cynthia Jele introduces her new isiZulu-focused publisher, Happiness Books
Author Nozizwe Cynthia Jele has recently launched a publishing company, Happiness Books, which will specialise in books written in isiZulu. …
‘I do not recall reading many novels that linger so pornographically over the matter of eating’—Wamuwi Mbao reviews Butter by Asako Yuzuki
Butter is keenly attuned to the many ways the private sphere runs on the disproportionate work of women while deliberately…
The treachery and tenacity of fraternal devotion—Jennifer Malec reviews Sally Rooney’s new novel, Intermezzo
In Intermezzo, sexual tension and spiky wit give way to a deeper sense of tenderness and a lighter brand of…
[Sponsored] ‘The story started bending genres by itself’—Find out more about Charl-Pierre Naude’s new novel The Equality of Shadows
Charl-Pierre Naudé’s genre-bending new novel, The Equality of Shadows, is out now from Picador Africa. Naudé is a poet and…
‘I was fascinated by the idea of women existing beyond the confines of the patriarchy and colonialism’—An interview with Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu on The Creation of Half-Broken People
Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu chats to JRB Editor Jennifer Malec about her new novel, The Creation of Half-Broken People. The Creation of Half-Broken…
‘Those few strands of barbed wire fence stood between her and her children, her home, her husband and her country’—Read an excerpt from the new edition of Lauretta Ngcobo’s Cross of Gold
The JRB presents an excerpt from a new edition of Lauretta Ngcobo’s seminal novel Cross of Gold. Cross of GoldLauretta…
Read an excerpt from Sesizophila Ngale Ndlela, the new isiZulu translation of Nozizwe Cynthia Jele’s acclaimed novel The Ones with Purpose
The JRB presents an excerpt from Sesizophila Ngale Ndlela, a new isiZulu translation of Nozizwe Cynthia Jele’s novel The Ones…
‘He cut himself from his country. He had been so proud. But he was damaged by the loss’—Read an excerpt from Lying Perfectly Still by the late Laura Fish
The JRB presents an excerpt from Lying Perfectly Still by Laura Fish, who passed away shortly before her novel’s publication….
[The JRB Daily] 2024 South African Literary Awards shortlists announced—‘reflecting the dynamic and evolving literary scene’
The shortlists for the 2024 South African Literary Awards have been announced. The SALAs are awarded annually by the wRite…
[The JRB Daily] South Korean author Han Kang receives the 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature
The 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded to fifty-three-year-old South Korean novelist Han Kang. Han, whose works include The Vegetarian,…
[The JRB Daily] Morabo Morojele and Jarred Thompson win 2024 UJ Prizes for South African Writing in English for ‘masterful’ and ‘extraordinarily original’ novels
Morabo Morojele and Jarred Thompson have been announced as the winners of the 2024 University of Johannesburg Prizes for South…
[The JRB Daily] ‘The fault lines of our times are here’—2024 Booker Prize shortlist announced
The 2024 Booker Prize shortlist has been announced, offering ‘a diversity of perspective, style and subject matter’. First awarded in…
[The JRB Daily] ‘A triumph of language, storytelling and risk-taking’—South African writer Nadia Davids wins 2024 Caine Prize for African Writing
South African writer Nadia Davids has been announced as the winner of the 2024 Caine Prize for African Writing! The…
[The JRB Daily] 2024 Sunday Times Literary Awards shortlists announced
The shortlists for the 2024 Sunday Times Literary Awards have been revealed. The two awards—the Non-fiction Award and the Fiction…
[The JRB Daily] Shortlists announced for 2024 UJ Prizes for South African Writing in English
Header image: Wisani Mushwana, Siphokazi Magadla, Jarred Thompson, Nthikeng Mohlele, Buntu Siwisa, Morabo Morojele The shortlists for the annual University…
[The JRB Daily] ‘Inspiring new generations of literary talent’—Call for applications for the 2024 Achmat Dangor Literary Prize
Applications for the 2024 Achmat Dangor Literary Prize, an award dedicated to nurturing young, previously disadvantaged writers working in all…
[The JRB Daily] ‘Global voices, strong voices and new voices’—2024 Booker Prize longlist announced, including American born British–Libyan writer Hisham Matar
The 2024 Booker Prize longlist has been announced, featuring ‘blackly comic page-turners, multigenerational epics, meditations on the pain of exile—plus…
[The JRB Daily] Lindani Mbunyuza-Memani wins the 2024 Dinaane Debut Fiction Award for her ‘astonishingly fresh and accomplished’ novel Buried in the Chest
Lindani Mbunyuza-Memani has been announced as the winner of the 2024 Dinaane Debut Fiction Award, for her novel manuscript ‘Buried…
‘A welcome addition to the growing list of literature centring queer lives in Africa’—Shayera Dark reviews Musih Tedji Xaviere’s debut novel These Letters End in Tears
As a novel centred on lesbian love set in an intensely homophobic country, These Letters End in Tears by Musih…
‘Joburg is like a jilted lover’—Niq Mhlongo talks to Jennifer Malec about his latest novel, The City is Mine
Niq Mhlongo chats to JRB Editor Jennifer Malec about his new novel, The City is Mine, and the changes he’s…
‘Listen, when the ancestors bite your ears’—Read an excerpt from Avenues by Train, the debut novel by Farai Mudzingwa
The JRB presents an excerpt from Farai Mudzingwa’s debut novel, Avenues by Train. Avenues by TrainFarai MudzingwaCassava Republic Press, 2023…
‘The dread of Whites and of ghosts loomed in his mind’—Read an excerpt from the new English translation of Louis Timagène Houat’s rediscovered classic The Maroons
The JRB presents an excerpt from the rediscovered classic The Maroons, first published in 1844 and released for the first…
‘Does being a politician have to be a dealbreaker?’—Read an excerpt from Barbara Boswell’s new novel, The Comrade’s Wife
The JRB presents an excerpt from The Comrade’s Wife, the new novel from Barbara Boswell. The Comrade’s WifeBarbara BoswellJacana Media,…
‘Johannesburg winters are brutal; you freeze to the bone marrow here’—Read an excerpt from Nthikeng Mohlele’s new novel Revolutionaries’ House
The JRB presents an excerpt from Revolutionaries’ House, the latest novel from Nthikeng Mohlele. Revolutionaries’ HouseNthikeng MohleleJacana Media, 2024 Johannesburg…
‘This is my third lifespan.’—Read an excerpt from Tlotlo Tsamaase’s debut novel Womb City, a cyberpunk horror set in a future Botswana
The JRB presents an excerpt from Womb City by Tlotlo Tsamaase. Womb CityTlotlo TsamaaseJacana Media (Mother imprint), 2024 08:00 ///…
[The JRB Daily] ‘Both beautiful and uncomfortable, personal and political’—Kairos by Jenny Erpenbeck, translated by Michael Hofmann, wins 2024 International Booker Prize
Jenny Erpenbeck’s novel Kairos, translated by Michael Hofmann, has been announced as the winner of the 2024 International Booker Prize….
[Conversation Issue] A palate cleanser in JM Coetzee’s playful late style—Wamuwi Mbao reviews The Pole and Other Stories
JM Coetzee’s late style has often been indifferently received, but The Pole is a beautifully elegant story, writes Wamuwi Mbao,…
[Conversation Issue] ‘I don’t want to tell my reader what to feel; I want to make them feel’—Tan Twan Eng chats to Jennifer Malec about his new novel The House of Doors
Tan Twan Eng’s third novel, The House of Doors, was longlisted for the Booker Prize, and has just been longlisted…
[The JRB exclusive] ‘I still take my bearings from the inner city’—Read an excerpt from Ivan Vladislavić’s forthcoming book The Near North
The JRB presents an exclusive excerpt from The Near North, the new book by Ivan Vladislavić, which will be published…
[The JRB exclusive] ‘In a single life here there is so much life’—Read an excerpt from Teju Cole’s new novel Tremor
The JRB presents an excerpt from Tremor, the new novel from Teju Cole. TremorTeju ColeFaber and Faber How is one…
[Fiction Issue] Read ‘There’s No Hurry In Botswana’ by Masiyaleti Mbewe
New original fiction in The JRB. ~~~ There’s No Hurry In Botswana By Masiyaleti Mbewe The University of Gaborone’s main…
[Fiction Issue] Read ‘Centres of Gravity’ by Jarred Thompson
New original fiction in The JRB. ~~~ Centres of Gravity By Jarred Thompson Poor robot … That’s what father said…
[Fiction Issue] Read ‘A History of Phantoms’ by Wamuwi Mbao
New original fiction in The JRB. ~~~ A History of Phantoms By Wamuwi Mbao There comes a time and place…
[Fiction Issue] Read ‘Nightcrawler’ by Simon van Schalkwyk
New original fiction in The JRB. ~~~ Nightcrawler By Simon van Schalkwyk I On weekends, I worked as a runner…
[Fiction Issue] Read ‘Bakang Goes to Sea’ by Franki Jenkins
New original fiction in The JRB. ~~~ Bakang Goes to Sea By Franki Jenkins Nolwazi During Rhodes Must Fall every…
[Fiction Issue] Read ‘Do You Remember That Time We Saw the UFO Over Jansenville?’ by Werner Pretorius
New original fiction in The JRB. ~~~ Do You Remember That Time We Saw the UFO Over Jansenville? By Werner…
[Fiction Issue] Read ‘Non Compliant’ by Duane Jethro
New original fiction in The JRB. ~~~ Non Compliant By Duane Jethro ‘His poes also,’ was the first thought that…