[Fiction Issue] ‘The Boy and Other Disasters’, a new short story by Keletso Mopai
The JRB presents a new short story by Keletso Mopai. The Boy and Other Disasters Papa’s face was fat and…
Category: Fiction
[Fiction Issue] An excerpt from ‘Vacation’, a work in progress by Sebastian Murdoch
The JRB presents an excerpt from a work in progress, titled ‘Vacation’, by Sebastian Murdoch. ‘Oh my god, look,’ Sadie…
[Fiction Issue] ‘From the Air’, a new short story by Wamuwi Mbao
The JRB presents a new short story by Wamuwi Mbao. From the Air Fare forward, you who think that you…
[Fiction Issue] ‘You wake up on a spaceship’s operating table surrounded by strange creatures’, a new short story by Byron Loker
The JRB presents a new short story by Byron Loker. You wake up on a spaceship’s operating table surrounded by strange…
[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] ‘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…
[The JRB Daily] Winners of the inaugural Bank Windhoek Doek Literary Awards announced
The winners of the first ever Bank Windhoek Doek Literary Awards have been announced. The awards recognise Namibian writers, poets…
[The JRB Daily] 2021 South African Literary Awards winners announced
The winners of the 2021 South African Literary Awards have been announced. The winning writers were announced in a virtual…
[The JRB Daily] ‘A great year for African writing’—Damon Galgut wins the 2021 Booker Prize for Fiction, for his novel The Promise
South African author Damon Galgut has won the 2021 Booker Prize for Fiction for his novel The Promise. The announcement was…
‘Where is the last rational place left in the world, for heaven’s sake?’—Lebohang Mojapelo interviews Wole Soyinka on his new novel, Chronicles from the Land of the Happiest People on Earth
Lebohang Mojapelo interviews Wole Soyinka on his new novel. Chronicles From the Land of the Happiest People on EarthWole SoyinkaBloomsbury,…
‘This is the voice of contemporary South African fiction’—Joanne Ruth Davis reviews Mphuthumi Ntabeni’s new novel The Wanderers
Mphuthumi Ntabeni’s The Wanderers is a novel that indicates a storyteller in love with the art of telling tales, writes…
Even for women brave enough to reclaim their lives, external forces stand ready to keep them confined—Shayera Dark reviews Ukamaka Olisakwe’s Ogadinma: Or, Everything Will Be All Right
Shayera Dark reviews Ogadinma: Or, Everything Will Be All Right by Ukamaka Olisakwe. Ogadinma: Or, Everything Will Be All RightUkamaka…
‘Often we know ourselves and other people by the stories we construct’—Abdulrazak Gurnah on how to write fiction
Tanzanian novelist Abdulrazak Gurnah received the 2021 Nobel Prize in Literature, an announcement that came as a welcome surprise to…
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…
[The JRB exclusive] Read ‘Water for Wine’ by Jenny Robson, winner of the 2021 Kendeka Prize for African Literature
The JRB presents the winning stories of the inaugural Kendeka Prize for African Literature. The winners of the 2021 Kendeka…
[The JRB exclusive] Read ‘The Women of Atinga House’ by Fatima Okhuosami, first runner-up in the 2021 Kendeka Prize for African Literature
The JRB presents the winning stories of the inaugural Kendeka Prize for African Literature. The winners of the 2021 Kendeka…
[The JRB exclusive] Read ‘Au Pair’ by Okpanachi Irene Ojochegbe, second runner-up in the 2021 Kendeka Prize for African Literature
The JRB presents the winning stories of the inaugural Kendeka Prize for African Literature. The winners of the 2021 Kendeka…
‘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….
‘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 ~~~…
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…
[The JRB Daily] 2021 UJ Prizes for South African Writing in English winners announced
The winners of the University of Johannesburg Prizes for South African Writing in English have been announced—and it’s a clean sweep for…
[The JRB Daily] Shortlists announced for 2021 UJ Prizes for South African Writing in English
The shortlists for the University of Johannesburg Prizes for South African Writing in English have been announced. The 2021 edition…
[The JRB Daily] 2021 South African Literary Awards shortlists revealed
The shortlists for the 2021 South African Literary Awards have been announced. Now in their sixteenth year, the SALAs are…
[The JRB Daily] 2021 Kendeka Prize for African Literature winners announced
The winners of the inaugural Kendeka Prize for African Literature have been announced in Thika, Kenya. From a shortlist of…
[The JRB Daily] Marguerite Poland and Andrew Harding win the 2021 Sunday Times/CNA Literary Awards
The winners of the 2021 Sunday Times/CNA Literary Awards have been announced. The awards celebrate ‘the best of South African…
[The JRB Daily] The 2021 Booker Prize for Fiction shortlist is announced—including Damon Galgut and Nadifa Mohamed
The 2021 Booker Prize shortlist has been revealed—and includes two African authors for the second time in as many years:…
[The JRB Daily] ‘It is the book I never thought I would get to write. I never thought I’d be well enough’—Susanna Clarke wins 2021 Women’s Prize for Fiction for Piranesi
Susanna Clarke has been announced as the winner of the 2021 Women’s Prize for Fiction, for her second novel Piranesi….
‘I decided to give up writing and to rethink my life’—Karen Jennings chats to Jennifer Malec about her Booker Prize-longlisted novel, An Island
Karen Jennings was recently longlisted for the Booker Prize, for her novel An Island. Here she chats to The JRB…
‘A compellingly affecting hero figure for the remaking of the human’—Wamuwi Mbao reviews Sorrowland, the new novel by Rivers Solomon
Rivers Solomon’s Sorrowland rearranges the furniture of the hardening genre of novels resolved to deal with North America’s history of…
New short fiction: ‘Eye Contact’ by Agatha Zaza
The JRB presents a new short story by Agatha Zaza. Eye Contact This will be her husband. Litiya looks carefully at…