[The JRB Daily] Top 10 of 2020—a look back at our most popular articles of the year
This December marked the The JRB’s forty-second issue, the final issue of our fourth volume. With the new year just…
Category: USA
[Fiction Issue] ‘The Reservoir’, a new short story by Sebastian Murdoch
The JRB presents a new short story by Sebastian Murdoch. The Reservoir Virginia had just gotten home from her shift…
[Fiction Issue] ‘I enjoyed occupying blurred lines. Ambiguity was an unsettling yet exhilarating space.’—Read an excerpt from Zaina Arafat’s debut novel, You Exist Too Much
The JRB presents an excerpt from You Exist Too Much, the debut novel from Zaina Arafat. You Exist Too Much…
[Fiction Issue] ‘Were there places in the world where neighbours would have greeted us instead of turning away?’—Read an excerpt from Yaa Gyasi’s new novel Transcendent Kingdom
The JRB presents an excerpt from Transcendent Kingdom, the new novel by Yaa Gyasi. Transcendent KingdomYaa GyasiViking, 2020 Read the…
Remembering Myesha Jenkins, a revolutionary in politics, poetry and jazz, by Christa Kuljian and Makhosazana Xaba
By Christa Kuljian and Makhosazana Xaba Transformation Who I was is not who I am.And who I amis not who I…
[The JRB Daily] The 2020 Booker Prize for Fiction shortlist is announced—including Tsitsi Dangarembga and Maaza Mengiste
The 2020 Booker Prize shortlist has been revealed—and includes two African authors for the first time in years: Tsitsi Dangarembga…
Myesha Jenkins, 1948—2020, RIP
The pioneering poet and activist Myesha Jenkins died in Johannesburg on Saturday, 5 September, 2020. Jenkins moved to South Africa…
‘They hate us like we murdered their entire family.’ Read ‘Shelter in Place’, an essay on anti-Blackness by Adam Smyer
Adam Smyer reflects on a global pandemic and Black Lives Matter. As I write this, we are in roughly Month…
What continuities can be drawn from the murder of Ahmed Timol in apartheid Joburg to the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis? Wamuwi Mbao unpacks the debased tradition of police murdering civilians
The abolition of slavery, formalised gender discrimination, apartheid and other reprehensible ways of being did not occur simply through continued…
Pan-African Anti-Racism and Solidarity Reading List: A Resource from The JRB
In continuing solidarity with the progressive literary community and all who fight racism and anti-Black violence, The JRB presents this…
‘I could easily be the next George Floyd. If I make just one unconscious mistake …’ Read ‘A letter from Texas’, by Nkiacha Atemnkeng
Nkiacha Atemnkeng1619 Ranch Road no. 16 San MarcosTX 78666USA Akale StreetFiango, KumbaSouth West RegionCameroon Dear Papa, Greetings from a sci-fi…
Of fear and motherly love—Rofhiwa Maneta reviews Imani Perry’s memoir Breathe: A Letter to My Sons
Imani Perry’s Breathe is a memoir committed to the radical hope that sees Black boys as more than problems to…
‘Those gold men really think this land belongs to them’—Read an excerpt from How Much of These Hills is Gold, C Pam Zhang’s debut novel, which reimagines the myth of the American West
The JRB presents an excerpt from How Much of These Hills is Gold by C Pam Zhang, a revisionist immigrant…
‘It’s surreal that a coming-of-age story set in Umlazi has found another home in the USA’—International deal for Sifiso Mzobe’s debut novel Young Blood (Plus: Excerpt)
United States publisher Catalyst Press has acquired the rights to publish Sifiso Mzobe’s award-winning novel Young Blood in North America….
[Sampler issue] Read an exclusive excerpt from Silver Sparrow, the new novel from award-winning author Tayari Jones
When did I first discover that although I was an only child, my father was not my father and mine…
[Sampler issue] Read an exclusive excerpt from Jacob Dlamini’s new book The Terrorist Album: Apartheid’s Insurgents, Collaborators, and the Security Police
The JRB presents an exclusive excerpt from The Terrorist Album: Apartheid’s Insurgents, Collaborators, and the Security Police by Jacob Dlamini….
[The JRB Daily] 2020 Pulitzer Prize winners announced—Colson Whitehead becomes only the fourth author to win fiction prize for the second time
American author Colson Whitehead has won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for his novel The Nickel Boys. Whitehead becomes only…
[The JRB Daily] South African poet Mangaliso Buzani wins Glenna Luschei Prize for African Poetry
South African poet Mangaliso Buzani has been announced as the winner of the African Poetry Book Fund’s 2019 Glenna Luschei…
[The JRB Daily] [Exclusive] ‘A notice at the cash register with a sad-face emoji reads, “Sorry! Hand Sanitizer Sold Out!”’—Read an excerpt from Lauren Beukes’s prescient new novel Afterland
The JRB presents an exclusive excerpt from Afterland, the new novel from Editorial Advisory Panel member Lauren Beukes. Afterland is…
[The JRB Daily] 2020 Windham–Campbell Prizes winners announced, including Zambian writer Namwali Serpell
Header image: Top row, left to right: Anne Boyer (non-fiction), Julia Cho (drama), Aleshea Harris (drama), and Bhanu Kapil (poetry);…
[Conversation Issue] ‘I know what lurks in the bushes. And that’s how I write the stories’—Jason Reynolds talks to Tony Eprile about resistance and the imagination
As part of our January Conversation Issue, author and Editorial Advisory Panel member Tony Eprile is in conversation with Jason…
[Conversation Issue] ‘I wanted to throw back the curtain on some of the things and places that “nice” people avoid talking about’—Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan talks to Ben Williams about her bestselling Singlish novel Sarong Party Girls
As part of our January Conversation Issue, The JRB Publisher Ben Williams chats to Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan about her debut…
[Conversation Issue] ‘I seek out women who make unpopular decisions in my writing because they’re more interesting to me’—Nicole Dennis-Benn chats to Wamuwi Mbao about her bestselling novel, Patsy
As part of our January Conversation Issue, Wamuwi Mbao chats to Nicole Dennis-Benn about her work, the process of writing…
[Conversation Issue] ‘Appropriation is not in and of itself a bad thing, but the way it’s invoked in the culture makes it seem like it is’—Lauren Michele Jackson talks to Khanya Mtshali about her book, White Negroes
As part of our January Conversation Issue, Lauren Michele Jackson talks to Khanya Mtshali about her new book, White Negroes:…
[The JRB Daily] Top 10 of 2019—A look back at our most popular articles of the year
This December marked the The JRB’s thirty-second issue, the final issue of our third volume. With the new year—but not…
[Fiction Issue] ‘Georgia’s Errand’, a new short story by Sebastian Murdoch
The JRB presents a new short story by Sebastian Murdoch. Georgia’s Errand ‘Doesn’t that get boring?’ I ask Boone one…
[The JRB Daily] Listen to the new episode of Read This!—featuring The Shadow King and The Water Dancer
The new episode of Read This! is out now—find out what’s hot in the world of books! In this episode, we travel…
[The JRB Daily] 12 African writers nominated for 2020 International Dublin Literary Award—the world’s richest annual literary prize
Twelve African writers have been longlisted for the International Dublin Literary Award, the world’s most valuable annual literary prize for…
A depth charge aimed at the submerged wreckage of slavery—Wamuwi Mbao reviews The Water Dancer, the debut novel by acclaimed writer Ta-Nehisi Coates
Between Baldwin, the world and the Old South—Wamuwi Mbao reviews The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates. The Water DancerTa-Nehisi CoatesHamish…
Fragments, explorations and variations—Jennifer Malec reviews Zadie Smith’s debut collection of short stories, Grand Union, her most American book to date
Zadie Smith, the accomplished, experimental New Yorker—The JRB Editor Jennifer Malec reviews Grand Union. Grand UnionZadie SmithHamish Hamilton, 2019 Read an…
[Temporary Sojourner] Thrill to the layered, secret nature of it—Efemia Chela reviews Maaza Mengiste’s new novel, The Shadow King
The JRB Francophone and Contributing Editor Efemia Chela travels to Ethiopia with the living archive of Maaza Mengiste’s novel, The Shadow King. The…
New poetry by Brendan Joyce, from Character Limit
The Johannesburg Review of Books presents new poetry by Brendan Joyce, from his chapbook, Character Limit. ~~~ 21. To be…
[The JRB Daily] Listen to the new episode of our audio show Read This! featuring Efemia Chela on Wayétu Moore’s novel She Would Be King and an interview with Sarah Ladipo Manyika
The new episode of our books show Read This! is out now—find out what’s hot in the world of literature!…
Jia Tolentino is a moral voice for the secular world—Khanya Mtshali reviews Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion, a collection of essays that explores how we survive our late-capitalist hellscape
In Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion, Jia Tolentino presents her cosmopolitan obsessions with piercing insight and authority, writes Khanya Mtshali. Trick…
American Spy reimagines the American spy, bringing gender and race into the war room—Jennifer Malec reviews Lauren Wilkinson’s new Cold War thriller
The JRB Editor Jennifer Malec reviews Lauren Wilkinson’s debut novel American Spy, a thriller that exposes the human drama that plays out…
[The JRB exclusive] ‘It had happened when I was nine years old, the day after my mother was taken and sold’—Read an excerpt from The Water Dancer, the debut novel by Ta-Nehisi Coates
The JRB presents an excerpt from The Water Dancer, the debut novel by Ta-Nehisi Coates, the critically acclaimed author of…
[Temporary Sojourner] Liberia, the original African escapist fantasy—Efemia Chela reviews Wayétu Moore’s sweeping and poetic debut novel She Would Be King
Fantastic Returns and Where to Find Them—The JRB Francophone and Contributing Editor Efemia Chela travels to Liberia with Wayétu Moore’s…
‘I will always love Africa, because from the minute I arrived it treated me like a white girl.’—Author Adam Smyer reflects on his visit to the Open Book Festival
The following is an edited excerpt from a work in progress by American author Adam Smyer, whose debut novel, Knucklehead,…
[The JRB Daily] 2019 Booker Prize shortlist announced—including Nigerian author Chigozie Obioma
The 2019 Booker Prize longlist has been announced, with the judges praising the ‘extraordinary ambition’ of the six books. First…
Refusing the tyranny of American beauty—Wamuwi Mbao reviews Colson Whitehead’s shocking and unsettling new novel The Nickel Boys
The Nickel Boys is a powerfully controlled novel in which the main character learns that there are no rules by…