Ivorian author Armand Gauz wins 2018 Prix-Ivoire for his novel Camarade Papa
Ivorian Armand Gauz has won the 2018 Prix-Ivoire for his sublime historical fiction novel Camarade Papa. The action is set in…
Category: News
[The JRB Daily] Panashe Chigumadzi wins 2018 Brittle Paper Award for Rights of Conquest, Rights of Desire, published in The JRB
The winners of the 2018 Brittle Paper Awards have been announced—including Panashe Chigumadzi, for her essay ‘History Through the Body or Rights…
[The JRB Daily] Three African authors up for International Dublin Literary Award—the world’s richest annual literary prize
Three African authors have made the longlist for the International Dublin Literary Award, the world’s most valuable annual literary prize for…
[The JRB Daily] 2018 South African Literary Awards winners announced—Mongane Wally Serote is South Africa’s new Poet Laureate
Header image taken by Victor Dlamini Mongane Wally Serote has been announced as South Africa’s new Poet Laureate at the…
Maryse Condé receives The New Academy Prize in Literature, aka the ‘Alternative Nobel’
On 12 October, Maryse Condé was announced as the winner of the New Academy Prize in Literature, an award created…
[The JRB Daily] 2018 Brittle Paper Award shortlists announced, recognising the ‘finest original pieces of writing by Africans published online’
The shortlists for the 2018 Brittle Paper Awards have been announced. The awards were established in 2017 to recognise the…
[The JRB Daily] Anna Burns wins 2018 Man Booker Prize for her ‘utterly distinctive’ novel Milkman
Anna Burns has become the first Northern Irish writer to win the Man Booker Prize. The fifty-six-year-old author won the fiftieth…
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] Shortlist announced for the $100,000 Nigeria Prize for Literature—Africa’s richest literary award
The shortlist for the 2018 Nigeria Prize for Literature has been announced. The prize was founded in 2004, and is awarded…
[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…
‘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…
[The JRB Daily] ‘When they tried to ban the book, this book exploded’—Jacques Pauw’s The President’s Keepers wins Nielsen Booksellers Choice Award
Image: Jacques Pauw (right) with Stephen Long of Nielsen Book group The President’s Keepers by investigative journalist Jacques Pauw has…
[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….
‘Kasala for Myself’—New jazz-suffused poetry from Fiston Mwanza Mujila featured in Asymptote, in English and French
In their Summer issue, Asymptote Journal features new poetry from Congolese author Fiston Mwanza Mujila. Eschewing the more chaotic and…
[The JRB Daily] Longlist announced for the $100,000 Nigeria Prize for Literature—Africa’s richest literary award
The longlist for the 2018 Nigeria Prize for Literature has been announced. The prize was founded in 2004, and is awarded…
[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…
[The JRB Daily] Harry Kalmer and Bongani Ngqulunga win Sunday Times Literary Awards
‘I dedicate this win to my mother and my father, who never went to school. It just shows what…
[The JRB Daily] 2017 Short Story Day Africa Prize winner announced
Nigerian writer Tochukwu Emmanuel Okafor has won the prestigious Short Story Day Africa Prize for his story ‘All Our Lives’. The…
[The JRB Daily] Masande Ntshanga, Omar Robert Hamilton, Anietie Isong and Kayo Chingonyi shortlisted for Society of Authors 2018 Authors’ Awards
Four African authors have been shortlisted for the Society of Authors 2018 Authors’ Awards. South African novelist Masande Ntshanga and…
[The JRB Daily] Irish author Mike McCormack wins ‘world’s richest annual literary prize’ for his one-sentence novel Solar Bones
Irish author Mike McCormack has won the 2018 International Dublin Literary Award for his novel Solar Bones. The 270-page novel…
[The JRB Daily] Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie awarded 2018 PEN Pinter Prize for ‘fierce intellectual determination to define the real truth of our lives and our societies’
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has been awarded the 2018 PEN Pinter Prize. The prize is awarded annually to a writer who, in the…
[The JRB Daily] Kamila Shamsie wins 2018 Women’s Prize for Fiction for her ‘remarkable’ novel Home Fire
Image: Bloomsbury editor-in-chief Alexandra Pringle, Kamila Shamsie and her literary agent Victoria Hobbs (Credit: Bloomsbury UK) British–Pakistani writer Kamila Shamsie…
Mũkoma wa Ngũgĩ’s novel Nairobi Heat is now available in French as Là où meurent les rêves
« Qu’est-ce que ça te fait à toi, l’homme noir d’Amérique, d’être au Kenya ? » Voilà une question qui taraude l’inspecteur Ishmael….
What we talk about when we talk about French: New words enter the 2019 Larousse and Le Robert
The French language is notoriously conservative. There is even a congregation of very serious people—l’Académie française—that decides how the language…
[The JRB Daily] 2018 Sol Plaatje European Union Poetry Award longlist announced
The longlist for the eighth annual Sol Plaatje European Union Poetry Award has been announced by the Jacana Literary Foundation. Sixty-three…
[The JRB Daily] The Golden Man Booker Prize shortlist announced—the ‘five best Booker Prize winners of all time’
The shortlist for the Golden Man Booker Prize, honouring the best work of fiction from the last five decades of the…
[The JRB Daily] Pwaangulongii Dauod wins 2018 Gerald Kraak Award for his essay ‘Africa’s future has no space for stupid black men’
Pwaangulongii Dauod has won the R25 000 Gerald Kraak Award, which honours African writing and photography that ‘provokes thought on the…
[The JRB Daily] 2018 Commonwealth Short Story Prize shortlist announced, including Fred Khumalo and Michelle Sacks
The shortlist has been announced for the seventh annual Commonwealth Short Story Prize. The prize is awarded annually to ‘the best…
[The JRB Daily] Short Story Day Africa Prize shortlist announced, revealing ‘uncomfortable and fascinating truths about who we are’
The shortlist for the Short Story Day Africa Prize for Short Fiction has been announced. The prize is worth $800…
[The JRB Daily] Olga Tokarczuk’s ‘startling’ novel Flights wins 2018 Man Booker International Prize
Flights by Olga Tokarczuk, translated by Jennifer Croft, has been announced as the winner of the 2018 Man Booker International…