New Ça va, ça va le monde! radio play features The Belly of the Atlantic by Senegalese author Fatou Diome
Radio France Internationale’s series of radio plays of contemporary Francophone literature, « Ça va, ça va le monde ! »…
Category: International
[The JRB Daily] JM Coetzee reads a new story, ‘The Glass Abattoir’, and announces a new book to feature Elizabeth Costello
As part of the programme for an international congress on ‘The work of John Maxwell Coetzee in Latin America’, JM…
[The JRB Daily] 2017 Man Booker Prize shortlist announced
The shortlist for the 2017 Man Booker Prize for Fiction has been announced, with six books described as ‘playful, sincere,…
‘With any luck people will be reading The Sellout fifty years from now’ – an interview with Man Booker Prize-winning author Paul Beatty
The JRB Academic Editor Simon van Schalkwyk spoke to Paul Beatty, whose novel The Sellout won the 2016 Man Booker…
A rollicking tale: Alex Lichtenstein reviews Charles van Onselen’s new book The Cowboy Capitalist: John Hays Hammond, the American West and the Jameson Raid
Charles van Onselen’s new book offers a gripping narrative, a witty voice dripping with matchless sarcasm, and unparalleled knowledge of…
Exclusive interview: Petina Gappah speaks about the highs and lows of her writing career, and reveals details of her next book
Petina Gappah sat down with The JRB contributor Bongani Kona. Gappah is a Zimbabwean writer with law degrees from Cambridge, Graz…
Two new poems by Nii Ayikwei Parkes
bottle i think of the room, the way it separated into definite things…
Ten years, thirty portraits: A Victor Dlamini retrospective
The JRB is honoured to present a selection of Victor Dlamini’s finest photographs, spanning 2007 to 2017. Publisher’s note: I…
A guide for writing from the outside in: Sisonke Msimang on how Howard W French maps the road between the Africa of her childhood and the China of her imagination
In his three books on Africa–China relations, Howard W French’s thinking is robust—sometimes forcefully so—and yet fundamentally respectful. A…
James Baldwin in Rhodesia: Percy Zvomuya picks out a thread from the forgotten war book Black Fire!
In the late nineteen-seventies, James Baldwin encountered an ‘extraordinary and illuminating’ Rhodesian book, which influenced his thought around black rage…
[Sponsored] An interview with bestselling author Ali Land ahead of her South African tour
Ali Land, the author of Good Me Bad Me—‘one of the most extraordinary, controversial and explosive literary debuts of 2017’—is in…
‘A writer utterly in control of her medium’: Wamuwi Mbao reviews Scaachi Koul’s glittering collection of essays, One Day We’ll All Be Dead and None of This Will Matter
In her debut collection of essays, One Day We’ll All Be Dead and None of This Will Matter, Scaachi Koul delivers…
Salman Rushdie’s finest writing in many years: CA Davids reviews The Golden House
Despite a tone of hopelessness, Salman Rushdie’s latest novel The Golden House carries majesty, from its prose to its world-weary gaze….
From the fringe to the centre: Meet ‘The New French’ in the latest issue of Words Without Borders
The French-language literary tradition distinguishes between ‘French’ or ‘hexagonal’ literature, written by authors born in France (the hexagon), and ‘Francophone’…
Listen to Paul Beatty read from The Sellout
The Sellout Paul Beatty One World 2015 The JRB recorded this reading by Paul Beatty during his recent visit to…
Mauritian author Ananda Devi wins the 2017 Firecracker Award for Fiction for Eve Out of Her Ruins
Mauritian author Ananda Devi’s Eve Out of Her Ruins has been highly lauded since appearing in English, in late 2016,…
New translation of Marie NDiaye’s psychological drama My Heart Hemmed In
Since her first literary outing at seventeen with the novel Quant au riche avenir, Marie NDiaye has challenged and beguiled both readers…
[The JRB Daily] JRB Contributing Editor Bongani Madondo up for Brittle Paper Literary Award
Main image: Bongani Madondo photographed by JRB Photo Editor Victor Dlamini To celebrate their seventh anniversary, Brittle Paper recently launched the…
[The JRB Daily] Tribute to the extraordinary Dambudzo Marechera, thirty years after his death
18 August 2017 is the thirtieth anniversary of the death of Zimbabwean writer Dambudzo Marechera. He would have been sixty-five….
The Johannesburg Review of Books Vol. 1, Issue 4 (August 2017)
The fourth issue of The Johannesburg Review of Books has arrived—and not a moment too soon, in our humble opinion….
‘The place you return to is always slightly different’: Imraan Coovadia reviews Haruki Murakami’s new book, Men Without Women
Men Without Women Haruki Murakami Harvill Secker, 2017 In Haruki Murakami’s collection of seven stories, Men without Women, the characters…
A shared secondhand experience of South Africa: Mbali Sikakana reviews Zinzi Clemmons’s What We Lose
What We Lose Zinzi Clemmons Fourth Estate, 2017 Memory itself is an internal rumour —George Santayana But most of…
Literary activism in Côte d’Ivoire: Edwige-Renée Dro explains the Abidjan Lit phenomenon
Africa has a language problem. We don’t read enough in our indigenous languages, and we don’t read in the same…
[Photo Editor] An original portrait of Sisonke Msimang by Victor Dlamini
Victor Dlamini is The JRB’s Photo Editor. We feature his work on our Instagram channel. ~~~ Sisonke Msimang, photographed by Victor Dlamini…
[City Editor] Niq Mhlongo meets his hero James Joyce in Zurich
‘Let’s meet at 5 pm at the Big Clock.’ My host Olivier Moreillon’s words are ringing in my head as…
‘How to write about everything’—Binyavanga Wainaina on the problems faced by African writers, and how to overcome them
Binyavanga Wainaina spoke eloquently about his writing career and his life, and how the two are intertwined, at Wits University…
[Sponsored] Astonishing and brilliant: A State of Freedom, the new novel from Neel Mukherjee
A State of Freedom, the new novel from Neel Mukherjee, will be out from Penguin Random House South Africa this month….
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie named a nouvelle héroïne of literature in France
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has been named one of the nouvelle héroïnes of literature by the French newspaper and veritable institution,…
The book that was read around the world: Masande Ntshanga chats about the many versions of his debut novel, The Reactive
Masande Ntshanga’s debut novel, The Reactive, came out from Umuzi in 2014. Since then, it has won international publishing contracts…
Pavel Buys an Ejector Seat: Read an exclusive English excerpt from Richard de Nooy’s new book, Van kleine helden
Richard de Nooy’s new book, Van kleine helden, was launched in the Netherlands earlier this month. He’s currently working on…
[The JRB Daily] 2017 Man Booker Prize longlist announced—no African authors make the cut
The longlist for the 2017 Man Booker Prize for Fiction has been announced. The prize, worth £50,000, was first awarded…
[The JRB Daily] Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie pays touching tribute to Binyavanga Wainaina: ‘A great and rare and genuine talent’
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie paid homage to Binyavanga Wainaina yesterday evening, in a touching message read out at an event at…
[The JRB Daily] Turbulent, hopeful and long overdue: Henrietta Rose-Innes considers transformation in South African literature in the Times Literary Supplement
The United Kingdom release of Henrietta Rose-Innes’s latest novel, Green Lion, is imminent, and to mark the occasion she has written…
[The JRB Daily] Sudanese writer Bushra al-Fadil wins the 2017 Caine Prize for African Writing
Sudanese writer Bushra al-Fadil has won the 2017 Caine Prize for African Writing for his story ‘The Story of the…
The Johannesburg Review of Books Vol. 1, Issue 3 (July 2017)
The third issue of The Johannesburg Review of Books is here, with some big reviews, in-depth interviews and quality ruminations…
[Sponsored] The White Road – the hotly anticipated new book from Sarah Lotz – is out in June
The White Road, the chilling new thriller by Sarah Lotz, is out in June locally from Jonathan Ball Publishers. The…
‘What is the acceptable amount of blood for good literature?’ Panashe Chigumadzi reviews Arundhati Roy’s The Ministry of Utmost Happiness
The Ministry of Utmost Happiness Arundhati Roy Hamish Hamilton/Penguin Random House, 2017 Algebra. For the last twenty years Arundhati Roy…
[City Editor] Niq Mhlongo meets Shaka Zulu at a restaurant in Cologne, Germany
Having been here for three weeks now, I think it should be considered an act of blasphemy to describe or…
‘A dazzling new voice’: Olufunke Ogundimu reviews Lesley Nneka Arimah’s What It Means When a Man Falls From the Sky
What It Means When a Man Falls From the Sky Lesley Nneka Arimah Riverhead Books, 2017 Lesley Nneka Arimah’s debut collection of short stories,…
‘I appreciate stories that mess with me a little’: Yewande Omotoso on her latest book, The Woman Next Door
The Woman Next Door Yewande Omotoso Chatto & Windus, 2017 Yewande Omotoso spoke to Johannesburg Review of Books editor Jennifer…