Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, 1936–2018, RIP
Nomzamo Winifred Zanyiwe Madikizela-Mandela, the iconic, controversial South African activist known as ‘the Mother of the Nation’ and, more simply, as…
Nomzamo Winifred Zanyiwe Madikizela-Mandela, the iconic, controversial South African activist known as ‘the Mother of the Nation’ and, more simply, as…
Lizzy Attree has joined the board of Short Story Day Africa. Attree stepped down as the director of the Caine Prize for…
The longlist has been revealed for the 2018 Man Booker International Prize. The Man Booker International celebrates the finest global…
Queer Africa 2: New Stories, a short story collection edited by The JRB Patron Makhosazana Xaba and Karen Martin, has…
Welcome to the third issue of Volume 2 of The Johannesburg Review of Books. In our March 2018 edition, hot…
The Land is Ours is Tembeka Ngcukaitobi’s first book, and it must not be his last, writes Perfect Hlongwane. The…
Thirty-eight Nobel laureates have written an open letter to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, to draw his attention to damage…
The Caine Prize for African Writing has announced that director Lizzy Attree is leaving the organisation. Attree has served as director…
The Africa Centre has announced the shortlists for the 2017 Artists In Residency programmes, including The JRB Contributing Editor Efemia Chela. The…
Welcome to the second issue of Volume 2 of The Johannesburg Review of Books. This month, we are excited and…
An exhibition of JM Coetzee’s newly discovered childhood photography was recently held in Cape Town. Wamuwi Mbao was there. With…
The shortlist for the 2018 9mobile Prize for Literature (formerly the Etisalat Prize for Literature) has been announced. The award…
Hugh Ramapolo Masekela died in Johannesburg today, at the age of seventy-eight, after a long battle with prostate cancer. The…
Hugh Ramapolo Masekela, one of South Africa’s most celebrated and pioneering musicians, has died in Johannesburg. Masekela had been fighting…
Welcome to the first issue of Volume 2 of The Johannesburg Review of Books. This month we said goodbye to Keorapetse…
Nthikeng Mohlele honours South African National Poet Laureate Keorapetse ‘Bra Willie’ Kgositsile, who passed away in January. A Person of…
Guinean novelist and biochemist Tierno Monénembo received the Grand Prix de la Francophonie at a ceremony late last year at…
The English translation of French–Moroccan author Leïla Slimani’s award-winning novel, Chanson Douce, is out this month. The book, the title…
South Africa’s National Poet Laureate, Keorapetse ‘Bra Willie’ Kgositsile, passed away in Johannesburg on Wednesday, 3 January. He was seventy-nine….
South Africa’s National Poet Laureate, Keorapetse ‘Bra Willie’ Kgositsile, has died in Johannesburg. Kgositsile passed away at Milpark Hospital in…
The shortlist for the 2017 Gerald Kraak Award has been announced, including The JRB Francophone and Contributing Editor Efemia Chela….
Sifiso Mzobe and Shubnum Khan were in conversation with Sihle Mthembu at the Abantu Book Festival in Soweto last weekend….
The second annual Abantu Book Festival kicked off in Soweto today, and festival director Thando Mgqolozana emphasised the event’s focus…
The longlist for the 2017 9mobile Prize for Literature (formerly the Etisalat Prize for Literature) has been announced. South African…
Welcome to the eighth issue of The Johannesburg Review of Books. In South Africa, there’s December, and there’s Dezemba—the latter…
Driss Ksikes gives us a vivid intergenerational short story in ‘Fuckin’ Family’ (‘Putain la famille’). For a long time, family…
Éric Vuillard has won the Prix Goncourt 2017 for his book on the rise of Hitler, L’ordre du jour. The…
Writing for the New Yorker, The JRB Editorial Advisory Panel member Petina Gappah contemplates ‘How Zimbabwe Freed Itself From Robert Mugabe’. Mugabe’s resignation…
The winners of the 2017 South African Literary Awards (SALAs) have been announced. The SALAs are awarded annually by the…
Six African authors have made the longlist for the International Dublin Literary Award, the world’s most valuable annual literary prize for…
Welcome to the seventh issue of The Johannesburg Review of Books. This month, it gives me great pleasure to announce…
Durban, South Africa’s largest port city and hometown to dozens of noted writers—from the likes of Lewis Nkosi and Ronnie…
American author George Saunders has won the 2017 Man Booker Prize for Fiction for his novel Lincoln in the Bardo. Saunders…
The 2017 South African Literary Awards shortlists have been announced, with nominees including Mohale Mashigo, Kopano Matlwa, Nthikeng Mohlele, Etienne van…
Open call REM—Malba Writers Residence Annual application: From 5 October to 5 December, 2017 Residences: April-May; September-October, 2018 The Literature…
To mark the publication of Nelson Mandela’s Dare Not Linger: The Presidential Years, which goes on sale today, The JRB…
English author Kazuo Ishiguro has won the Nobel Prize in Literature. The announcement was made by the Swedish Academy this…
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o is odds-on favourite to win the Nobel Prize in Literature this week. The JRB’s Editor Jennifer Malec…
Welcome to the sixth issue of The Johannesburg Review of Books. Half a dozen and going strong! In this edition,…
Since August, Congolese-French author Alain Mabanckou has been posting enigmatic pictures and tweeting with the hashtag #RevolutionBassinDuCongo (samples below). Known…