The myth of transcendence—Zanta Nkumane reviews Ocean Vuong’s new novel The Emperor of Gladness
Zanta Nkumane reviews Ocean Vuong’s The Emperor of Gladness, a novel not intent on building a new national myth, but…
Category: USA
‘English is a language I acquired. To make it mine, I had to collapse its rules’—Thabile Makue in conversation with Makhosazana Xaba
This is the ninth in a series of long-form interviews by Patron Makhosazana Xaba to be hosted on The JRB,…
A profoundly beautiful exploration of what ageing means for those who lived in compact with racial separation—Wamuwi Mbao reviews God’s Waiting Room by Casey Golomski
What does it mean to want grace after such a thing as apartheid? What might it look like? God’s Waiting…
A sparkling reflection on friendship, women’s bodies and the vestiges of colonialism—Shayera Dark reviews Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s new novel Dream Count
Through the characters in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Dream Count, we see our own blind spots and our audacity to hope,…
Omar Badsha: an ordinary South African whose struggles and triumphs offer insights into broader social movements—Sean Jacobs reviews Available Light by Daniel Magaziner
Available Light continues Daniel Magaziner’s significant work in shedding light on the lives of Black artists and intellectuals under apartheid,…
‘An incisive portrait of a society grappling with change’—Jennifer Malec reviews Iris Mwanza’s debut novel The Lions’ Den
The Lions’ Den by Iris Mwanza is a historical thriller that reaches into many different corners of its characters’ lives,…
‘The centre of my world is going to be where I say it is’—An interview with Ellah Wakatama on African publishing, excerpted from Imprint Africa
The JRB presents an interview with Ellah Wakatama, facilitated by Joel Cabrita, excerpted from Imprint Africa: Conversations with African Women…
‘They began to see that science was not isolated from politics but shaped by it’—Read an excerpt from Our Science, Ourselves by Christa Kuljian
The JRB presents an excerpt from Christa Kuljian’s new book, Our Science, Ourselves: How Gender, Race, and Social Movements Shaped…
What would Fanon say? Read the Preface to Frantz Fanon: Combat Breathing by Nigel C Gibson
The JRB presents an excerpt from Nigel C Gibson’s new book, Frantz Fanon: Combat Breathing. Frantz Fanon: Combat BreathingNigel C…
‘Africans are free only to the extent of breathing’—Read an excerpt from An Ethos of Transdisciplinarity: Conversations with Toyin Falola by Sanya Osha
The JRB presents an excerpt from Sanya Osha’s latest book An Ethos of Transdisciplinarity: Conversations with Toyin Falola. An Ethos…
‘My pilgrimage to Durban was written before I was born’—Read an excerpt from Roohi Choudhry’s forthcoming debut novel Outside Women
The JRB presents an exclusive excerpt from Roohi Choudhry’s debut novel Outside Women, which will be published in March 2025….
Poetry by Joan Metelerkamp, from Under dark under branches
The JRB presents an excerpt from Under dark under branches, the new poetry collection by Joan Metelerkamp. Under dark under…
Ambiguous utopias—Hedley Twidle salutes Ursula K Le Guin’s The Dispossessed on its 50th anniversary
Ursula K Le Guin’s masterpiece was published fifty years ago this year. In a literary outtake from his most recent…
‘In Africa, the conservative realism of the military mind met the liberatory spirit of the decolonising mind’—Read an excerpt from Soldier’s Paradise by Samuel Fury Childs Daly
The JRB presents an excerpt from Samuel Fury Childs Daly’s new book, Soldier’s Paradise: Militarism in Africa After Empire. Soldier′s…
On identity, poetry, diaspora and Afropessimism—Kweku Abimbola in conversation with Sreddy Yen
Gambia-born poet Kweku Abimbola, whose award-winning first collection of poetry Saltwater Demands a Psalm was published by Graywolf Press in…
New poetry by Daniel Moss
The JRB presents five poems by Daniel Moss. Who Wants. To Go On. A Drive? I Would. For a While. Wake…
[Photo Editor] A portrait of Teju Cole by Victor Dlamini
Victor Dlamini is The JRB’s Photo Editor. We feature his work on our Instagram channel. See this ten-year retrospective of his portraits. View this…
[Fiction Issue] ‘They came riding cattle lorries. Their whole world travelling with them’—Read an excerpt from Magogodi oaMphela Makhene’s Innards
The JRB presents an excerpt from ‘7678B Old Potchefstroom Road’, from Innards, the debut short story collection by Magogodi oaMphela…
‘She puts the worm in her mouth. She swallows it whole. It doesn’t wriggle. Too late now’—Read an excerpt from Lauren Beukes’s new novel, Bridge
The JRB presents an excerpt from Bridge, the new novel from Editorial Advisory Panel member Lauren Beukes. BridgeLauren BeukesPenguin Random House SA, 2023…
[The JRB Daily] ‘Vibrant, nervy, electric, astonishing’ 2023 Booker Prize shortlist announced
The 2023 Booker Prize shortlist has been announced, offering ‘a sense of timelessness even while saying something about how we…
‘An excellent example of the reviewer’s least favourite thing’—Wamuwi Mbao reviews Yellowface by Rebecca F Kuang
In Yellowface, the contrast is turned up so brightly that the shadows disappear, writes Wamuwi Mbao, but it’s the darkness…
A novel of many dark nights and unrelenting mishaps—Shayera Dark reviews Bisi Adjapon’s Daughter in Exile
Daughter in Exile by Bisi Adjapon is a pacy, character-driven novel that surveys the many burdens of living as an…
‘But when she tried to cry, all that spilled out of her was laughter’—Read an excerpt from Ukamaka Olisakwe’s new novel Don’t Answer When They Call Your Name
The JRB presents an excerpt from Don’t Answer When They Call Your Name, the new novel from Ukamaka Olisakwe. Don’t…
‘There are the goodbyes and then the fishing out of the bodies—everything in between is speculation’—Read an excerpt from Wandering Souls by Cecile Pin
The JRB presents an excerpt from Cecile Pin’s debut novel Wandering Souls, longlisted for the 2023 Women’s Prize for Fiction….
‘A superb macaron of darkly satirical fiction’—Wamuwi Mbao reviews Helen DeWitt’s new novella The English Understand Wool
Wamuwi Mbao reviews The English Understand Wool by Helen DeWitt, a book that contains ‘one of the most alarmingly enjoyable…
‘She sat at her dressing table, a plastic bag open on her lap, full of the hair that she had just scissored off her head’—Read an excerpt from Gothataone Moeng’s debut, Call and Response
The JRB presents an excerpt from Call and Response, the debut short story collection from Gothataone Moeng. Call and ResponseGothataone…
[The JRB Daily] Three African writers—Jacob M’hango, ’Pemi Aguda and Arinze Ifeakandu—awarded prestigious O Henry Prize for Short Fiction
Zambian writer Jacob M’hango and Nigerian writers ’Pemi Aguda and Arinze Ifeakandu are among the winners of the prestigious O…
[The JRB Daily] ‘Ambitious, eclectic and hard-hitting’—shortlist announced for 2023 Women’s Prize for Fiction
The shortlist for this year’s Women’s Prize for Fiction has been announced. Half of this year’s list is made up…
[The JRB Daily] ‘Holy ****! Is this real?’ Winners of R3m Windham–Campbell Prizes for fiction, non-fiction, poetry and drama announced
The eight winners of the 2023 Windham–Campbell Prizes have been announced. Now in its eleventh year, the Windham–Campbell Prize is one of…
[The JRB Daily] ‘A glorious celebration of the boundless imagination and creative ambition of women writers’—2023 Women’s Prize for Fiction longlist announced, including Zimbabwean author NoViolet Bulawayo
The longlist for this year’s Women’s Prize for Fiction has been announced, including Zimbabwean novelist NoViolet Bulawayo. The Women’s Prize,…
‘Where else is history but in the stories people tell?’ Wamuwi Mbao reviews The Inheritors by Eve Fairbanks
The Inheritors by Eve Fairbanks is historical storytelling done well, writes Wamuwi Mbao. The InheritorsEve FairbanksJonathan Ball Publishers, 2023 David…
‘With all these familiar horrors, who in the hell was going to believe in zombies?’—Read an excerpt from Nana Nkweti’s debut short story collection Walking on Cowrie Shells
The JRB presents an extract from ‘It Just Kills You Inside’, excerpted from Walking on Cowrie Shells, the debut short…
[The JRB Daily] Yewande Omotoso and NoViolet Bulawayo longlisted for 2023 Dublin Literary Award—the world’s richest annual literary prize
Yewande Omotoso and NoViolet Bulawayo are among a number of writers from Africa longlisted for this year’s Dublin Literary Award….
[Fiction Issue] ‘The night leaves a lot of room for the imagination’—Read an excerpt from Po Bhattacharyya’s work in progress, Animal Behavior
The JRB presents an excerpt from Animal Behavior, a work in progress by Po Bhattacharyya. 1. In the beginning, I’m…
[Fiction Issue] ‘No one had told him that the monsters had long since come out of the shadows’—Read an excerpt from Sebastian Murdoch’s work in progress
The JRB presents an excerpt from a work-in-progress, Strange Vibrations, by Sebastian Murdoch. An hour later, Billy was back on the…
[Fiction Issue] Read ‘The Floating House’, an exclusive excerpt from Meron Hadero’s debut A Down Home Meal for These Difficult Times
The JRB presents an exclusive excerpt from A Down Home Meal for These Difficult Times, the debut collection of short…
‘It is heartening to read introspective characters who don’t believe everything they think is interesting’—Wamuwi Mbao reviews Elif Batuman’s new novel Either/Or
Elif Batuman’s Either/Or is a new and worthy entry into the well-populated gallery of erudite books about people learning how…
[The JRB Daily] Island Prize for a Debut Novel from Africa call for submissions
Submissions for the second annual Island Prize for a Debut Novel from Africa are now open. This literary prize, founded…
[The JRB Daily] ‘Powerful’ 2022 Booker Prize shortlist announced—including NoViolet Bulawayo for Glory
The shortlist for the 2022 Booker Prize has been announced, including Zimbabwean author NoViolet Bulawayo. Bulawayo is shortlisted for Glory,…
African awakenings—Dipo Faloyin chats to Khanya Mtshali about his new book Africa is Not A Country: Breaking Stereotypes of Modern Africa
When I read Africa is Not A Country: Breaking Stereotypes of Modern Africa by Dipo Faloyin, I was overcome with…