Books and belonging—Fred Khumalo reflects on how James Hadley Chase and Alan Paton changed his life
Fred Khumalo recalls being swept off his feet by Alan Paton, the African Writers Series and James Hadley Chase. It’s a question…
Category: Fiction
The rediscovery of the ordinary does not preclude the extraordinary—Jennifer Malec reviews Esi Edugyan’s novel Washington Black
The JRB Editor Jennifer Malec reviews Esi Edugyan’s Man Booker Prize-shortlisted novel, Washington Black. Washington Black Esi Edugyan Serpent’s Tail, 2018 Esi…
New short fiction: ‘The Golden Egg’ by Sandile Ngidi
The JRB presents a new short story by Sandile Ngidi. ~~~ The Golden Egg I am sad today. I am…
‘An imaginative understanding of the next person’—Prof Muxe Nkondo considers Can Themba’s significance in South Africa’s world of differences
At a recent Johannesburg symposium on the life of literary icon Can Themba, organised by author Siphiwo Mahala as a…
Alain Mabanckou’s new novel Les cigognes sont immortelles tackles a turbulent three days in Congolese history
Alain Mabanckou’s new novel, Les cigognes sont immortelles, spans three important days in the life of a Congolese boy from…
Prix Femina and Prix Femina étranger longlists revealed—including Abubakar Adam Ibrahim and Olga Tokarczuk
It’s awards season in the French-speaking literary world! A number of big prizes revealed their longlists in the month of…
[The JRB Daily] Lesego Rampolokeng and Barbara Boswell win the UJ Prizes for South African Writing
The winners have been announced for the University of Johannesburg Prizes for South African Writing in English for works published in…
[The JRB Daily] 2018 South African Literary Awards shortlists revealed—and new Poet Laureate to be announced
The 2018 South African Literary Awards shortlists have been announced, with nominees including Malebo Sephodi, Nick Mulgrew, Kelwyn Sole and…
[The JRB Daily] ‘Remarkably diverse’ 2018 Man Booker Prize shortlist announced
The six authors shortlisted for the £50,000 Man Booker Prize have been announced—with 27-year-old debut novelist Daisy Johnson becoming the youngest…
[The JRB Daily] Fred Khumalo to publish a book of short stories in isiZulu—uManzekhofi Nezakhe
Kwasukela Books, a new publisher dedicated to isiZulu fiction, has announced Fred Khumalo’s isiZulu debut, uManzekhofi Nezakhe. The book will…
[The JRB Daily] Siphiwo Mahala delivers his inaugural postdoctoral address at the premiere of his new documentary on Can Themba
Author Siphiwo Mahala gave gave his inaugural postdoctoral address last night at the Market Theatre, Johannesburg, as part of a…
[The JRB Daily] UJ Prize shortlists announced—novels dominate this year
The shortlists for the 2017 University of Johannesburg Prizes for South African Writing in English have been announced. Unlike most…
‘You have to write like a suicide bomber, you have to detonate’—Arundhati Roy discusses The Ministry of Utmost Happiness
Arundhati Roy visited South Africa on a book tour recently, and sat down with The JRB to discuss her highly…
‘Utterly mysterious, and utterly worthy of our attention’—Wamuwi Mbao reviews Asymmetry, the debut novel by Lisa Halliday
Lisa Halliday’s debut Asymmetry is a genuinely surprising novel, which invites us to question how men and women are rendered in…
A kaleidoscopic novel of radiant beauty—Bongani Kona reviews the new English translation of Ondjaki’s Transparent City
In Transparent City, Ondjaki writes Angola not as an insignificant place in the margins of history but as if it…
‘I want the reader to be an active participant, to work things out for themselves’—Craig Higginson chats about his new novel, The White Room
Craig Higginson’s sixth novel, The White Room, was published by Picador Africa in August. He chatted to The JRB Editor Jennifer Malec about…
‘Authors in the West don’t worry about whether Africa will understand them’—Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi discusses Kintu at Wits
Ugandan author Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi visited Wits University in August, for a discussion around her debut novel, Kintu. Kintu Jennifer…
A glorious mixture of low and high culture—Loftus Marais reviews Robin Robertson’s Man Booker Prize-longlisted book, The Long Take
The Long Take by Robin Robertson is longlisted for the 2018 Man Booker Prize. Here is poet Loftus Marais’s short…
New short fiction: ‘Looking for Simphiwe’ by Sifiso Mzobe
The JRB is proud to present a new short story by award-winning author Sifiso Mzobe. Mzobe was born and bred…
[Photo Editor] Original portraits of Arundhati Roy 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…
Of Fathers and Grandfathers—Read an excerpt from House of Stone, the debut novel by Novuyo Rosa Tshuma
The JRB is proud to present an excerpt from House of Stone, the debut novel by Novuyo Rosa Tshuma. House of…
Read an excerpt from Congolese–French author Wilfried N’sondé’s novel Un océan, deux mers, trois continents, winner of the Prix Ahmadou-Kourouma
Un océan, deux mers, trois continents is the realisation of an idea I had forming in my mind for about…
[The JRB Daily] ‘You can’t hide who you are when writing fiction’—Arundhati Roy considers the legacy of VS Naipaul
Indian writer Arundhati Roy, in South Africa on a book tour, sat down with The JRB to discuss her books…
[The JRB Daily] Remembering VS Naipaul in South Africa
VS Naipaul, who died aged eighty-five on Saturday, spent some months in South Africa in 2009, researching his final book….
Novuyo Rosa Tshuma and Panashe Chigumadzi in conversation—Meditations on the traumas and triumphs of Zimbabwe’s histories
‘History is created in the mouth …’ Novuyo Rosa Tshuma and The JRB Contributing Editor Panashe Chigumadzi both have new…
‘Historical fiction is a way of fighting rootlessness’—Ayesha Harruna Attah discusses her new novel The Hundred Wells of Salaga
Ayesha Harruna Attah’s new novel, The Hundred Wells of Salaga, has just been published by Cassava Republic Press. She chatted…
How to eat a small child–Yemisi Aribisala considers the question of representation in books for children of colour and the legacy of Little Black Sambo
Yemisi Aribisala recalls her first encounter with Little Black Sambo, and asks: Who is responsible if the image of the…
‘We should wrench the power away from the West and determine our own canon’—Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi talks to CA Davids about her novel Kintu
Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi is in South Africa in August to discuss her lauded debut novel, Kintu. She spoke to CA…
A curiously enthralling existentialist novel—Wamuwi Mbao reviews OK, Mr Field, the debut novel by South African poet Katharine Kilalea
OK, Mr Field, the debut novel by acclaimed South African poet Katharine Kilalea, is a pleasingly minimalist, idiosyncratic novel, writes…
[City Editor] Borders and books—Niq Mhlongo travels to Nairobi with ninety of his novels
Before I leave Johannesburg for Nairobi, Kenya, my friend and fellow author Zukiswa Wanner warns me not to bring more…
New short fiction: ‘Water Treason’ by Andile Ndlovu
The JRB presents an original short story by Andile Ndlovu. Water Treason Two jugs of water was all Bulelani’s mother…
[Photo Editor] Original portraits of Mohale Mashigo and Niq Mhlongo 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…
Seoul and Sky: JMG Le Clézio’s new novel, Bitna, sous le ciel de Séoul
2008 Nobel Prize-winning Franco-Mauritian author JMG Le Clézio has dipped his pen into the world of transnational literature again, but…
[The JRB Daily] 2018 Man Booker Prize longlist announced—no African authors for the second year running
The 2018 Man Booker Prize longlist has been announced, including a graphic novel for the first time. The £50,000 prize had…
[The JRB Daily] Masande Ntshanga, Omar Robert Hamilton, Anietie Isong and Kayo Chingonyi among the winners at the 2018 Society of Authors Authors’ Awards
Five African authors are among the winners of the 2018 Society of Authors Authors’ Awards. The awards distribute the United…
[The JRB Daily] The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje honoured as the greatest-ever winner of the Man Booker Prize
Michael Ondaatje’s ‘transformative’ novel The English Patient has won the Golden Man Booker Prize, a one-off award for the best work of…
[The JRB Daily] Kenyan writer Makena Onjerika wins the 2018 Caine Prize for African Writing
Kenyan writer Makena Onjerika has won the nineteenth edition of the Caine Prize for African Writing for her short story…
Bucking against the inevitability of her martyrdom—The Negressity of Black womenhood and The Ones With Purpose
Mbali Sikakana considers Nozizwe Cynthia Jele’s new novel The Ones With Purpose in the context of Hilton Als’s groundbreaking 1996…
‘I have always been interested in hidden histories’—Harry Kalmer chats about his award-winning debut English novel, A Thousand Tales of Johannesburg
Harry Kalmer won the 2018 Barry Ronge Fiction Prize recently, for his novel A Thousand Tales of Johannesburg. He chatted to…
‘As I wrote and rewrote, I made new discoveries’—An exclusive interview with Short Story Day Africa Prize winner Tochukwu Emmanuel Okafor
Tochukwu Emmanuel Okafor chatted to The JRB Editor Jennifer Malec about winning the Short Story Day Africa Prize, and his writing life. *…