The JRB Vol. 1, Issue 6 cover image features a photograph from UP UP: Stories of Johannesburg’s Highrises
Main image: Mpho Mokgadi This month’s cover image comes from UP UP: Stories of Johannesburg’s Highrises. UP UP: Stories of Johannesburg’s…
Category: Non-fiction
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…
‘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…
Rights of Conquest, Rights of Desire: Panashe Chigumadzi considers the black female body through a return to JM Coetzee’s Disgrace
This is an an edited excerpt of a longer essay appearing in Panashe Chigumadzi’s forthcoming book, provisionally titled Beautiful Hair…
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….
[Sponsored] We did not know it was the final farewell: An excerpt from Karina M Szczurek’s memoir, The Fifth Mrs Brink
Jonathan Ball Publishers has shared an excerpt from The Fifth Mrs Brink, Karina M Szczurek’s soul-baring memoirs of her life before,…
[Sponsored] Reflecting Rogue – the hotly anticipated new book from Pumla Dineo Gqola
Reflecting Rogue is the much anticipated and brilliant collection of experimental autobiographical essays on power, pleasure and South African culture by…
[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…
[Sponsored] 3 new books commemorate the 40th anniversary of Steve Biko’s death
Pan Macmillan South Africa is publishing three books this year to honour the life and work of Steve Biko. The…
‘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…
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,…
In honour of Emma Mashinini: An excerpt from Strikes Have Followed Me All My Life
… I have always resented being dominated. I resent being dominated by a man, and I resent being dominated by…
[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 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] Win a copy of The Man Who Founded the ANC: A biography of Pixley ka Isaka Seme
The Reading List and Penguin Random House South Africa have got three copies of The Man Who Founded the ANC:…
[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…
‘Three great hopes for a post-apartheid culture, gone too soon’—Hedley Twidle reflects on Phaswane Mpe, Moses Taiwa Molelekwa and K Sello Duiker
Firepool: Experiences in an Abnormal World Hedley Twidle Kwela, 2017 The following is an excerpt from Firepool: Experiences in an…
Finding beauty under apartheid: Interview with Dan Magaziner, and excerpt from his book The Art of Life in South Africa
The Art of Life in South Africa Dan Magaziner UKZN Press, 2017 Main image: Ndaleni group shot, late 1970s, Ndaleni…
Writes of passage, an urban memoir: How a Pan-African journal and American glossies put Bongani Madondo on the Write Path
Sigh the Beloved Country: Braai Talk, Rock ‘n’ Roll & Other Stories Bongani Madondo Picador Africa, 2016 Load up on…
[The JRB Daily] Zakes Mda and Greg Marinovich win Sunday Times Literary Awards
Zakes Mda and Greg Marinovich were announced as the winners of the 2017 Sunday Times Literary Awards last night. The awards…
[The JRB Daily] Rabih Alameddine wins Lambda Literary Award for his novel The Angel of History
Lambda Literary, an organisation advancing lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) literature, has announced the winners of the 29th Annual…
[The JRB Daily] UJ Prize shortlists announced: Fiction, poetry, short stories, essays and biography feature
The shortlists for the 2016 University of Johannesburg Prizes for South African Writing in English have been announced, with works…
[Sponsored] Win a copy of The Republic of Gupta: A Story of State Capture by Pieter-Louis Myburgh
The Reading List and Penguin Random House South Africa have got three copies of The Republic of Gupta: A Story…
[Sponsored] Karina M Szczurek on life with Andre Brink and her new memoir, The Fifth Mrs Brink (including podcast)
Ingrid Winterbach spoke to Karina M Szczurek at the Woordfees literary festival recently about her life with one of South…
[Photo Editor] Two original portraits by Victor Dlamini: Palesa Morudu and Lindiwe Hani
Victor Dlamini is The JRB’s Photo Editor. We feature his work on our Instagram channel. ~~~ Lindiwe Hani, photographed by…
[Sponsored] An excerpt from Pieter-Louis Myburgh’s new book The Republic of Gupta
The Republic of Gupta Pieter-Louis Myburgh Penguin Random House South Africa 2017 In The Republic of Gupta, Pieter-Louis Myburgh delves…
‘You’re not a rejection machine, you’re a search engine’, or, the art of the literary review: A conversation with Philip Gourevitch
The Paris Review Interviews, a series of conversations with great writers on their art ranging from the 1950s to the…
[Sponsored] Submit your manuscript to Pan Macmillan during an open submissions window in May
Pan Macmillan South Africa, one of South Africa’s leading publishers, does not as a rule accept unsolicited manuscripts, but has an open…
[Sponsored] Read John Kane-Berman’s speech from the launch of his new book Between Two Fires
Between Two Fires John Kane-Berman Jonathan Ball Publisher 2017 At recent the launch of his new book Between Two Fires:…
Spectacular collisions of perspectives in Grace A Musila’s A Death Retold in Truth and Rumour: Kenya, Britain and the Julie Ward Murder
A Death Retold in Truth and Rumour: Kenya, Britain and the Julie Ward Murder Grace A Musila James Currey 2015…
Sailing with The Argonauts: A personal history of Christmas, queerness and Maggie Nelson by Efemia Chela
The Argonauts Maggie Nelson Graywolf Press 2016 Actually, no one is inspired by anyone except his own self and his…
Facing up to a techno-feudal world: Richard Poplak reviews Rise of the Robots: Technology and the Threat of a Jobless Future
Rise of the Robots: Technology and the Threat of a Jobless Future Martin Ford Oneworld 2016 The robots are coming….