A trilogy of visa rejections—Nkiacha Atemnkeng reflects on his embassy misadventures
I am a Western visa rejection expert. Three times—even though I work at an airport. But I am mostly a…
Category: Travel
Covid-19 and an author’s transformation into silence, by Niq Mhlongo
Niq Mhlongo on searching for stories during a pandemic. I arrive in Berlin on Monday, 10 February 2020. It is…
[Sampler issue] Read an excerpt from a new edition of DDT Jabavu’s travelogue In India and East Africa / E-Indiya nase East Africa, in isiXhosa and English
The JRB presents an excerpt, in isiXhosa and English, from DDT Jabavu’s travelogue In India and East Africa / E-Indiya…
Kinshasa, a Love Story—Zukiswa Wanner encounters beauty and brutality on her visit to the Congolese capital for the Fête du livre de Kinshasa
Zukiswa Wanner reflects on her recent visit to the Democratic Republic of the Congo for the Fête du livre de…
‘We are African writers, we write as Africans and we share our books as Africans’—The tiny island of Mayotte has big plans for books, reports James Murua
The JRB Editorial Advisory Panel member James Murua reports back from his trip to the Salon du Livre de Mayotte, which took place…
‘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,…
Reflections on an afternoon in Coyaba—Elinor Sisulu on meeting Peter Abrahams, an almost forgotten South African literary centenarian
This year marks one hundred years since Peter Abrahams’s birth. Elinor Sisulu reflects on her meeting with the author at…
[City Editor] Arsène, Mos Def, Ben Okri and me—authors and the problems of mistaken identity, by Niq Mhlongo
On 25 June 2019, during the State of the Nation (SONA) debate, our Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula tried to impress…
[City Editor] The Binj outside books—Niq Mhlongo recounts adventures with his friend, Binyavanga Wainaina
Header image: Binyavanga Wainaina (second from left) and Niq Mhlongo (far left), with American author and academic Jeffery Renard Allen, Lesego…
Heat, hunger and hidden spots—Sifiso Mzobe introduces Niq Mhlongo to Durban
Sifiso Mzobe shows his fellow scribe, and JRB City Editor, Niq Mhlongo around his hometown of Durban during the Time…
[City Editor] Visa hassles and visa hustles—Niq Mhlongo compares travelling to Nigeria in 2008 and 2018
Header image (left to right): Nozizwe Cynthia Jele, Niq Mhlongo, Siyamthanda Skota, Yanele Nyamela, Phindile Mokoena, Outlwile Tsipane and Mũkoma…
[City Editor] Niq Mhlongo overstays his visa in Dar es Salaam, Morogoro and Mbeya
Two problems are gnawing at my heart as we leave Dar es Salaam to Morogoro on the Sunday afternoon of…
The parties end early but Botswana is lit—Zukiswa Wanner reports back from the Gaborone Book Festival
Two weeks before the end of our JIAS Fellowship, Niq Mhlongo and I decided that as we had been to…
[City Editor] Tanzania and my Vagabond Neurosis—Niq Mhlongo contemplates his irresistible urge to travel
About five months ago a very close friend of mine invited me to his wedding. His big day was Saturday,…
[City Editor] Borders and books—Niq Mhlongo travels to Nairobi with ninety of his novels
Before I leave Johannesburg for Nairobi, Kenya, my friend and fellow author Zukiswa Wanner warns me not to bring more…
[City Editor] Hardly working under the apricot tree in Harare: Niq Mhlongo reports back from his joint book tour with Zukiswa Wanner
The JRB City Editor Niq Mhlongo traveled to Harare recently, for two joint book launches with Zukiswa Wanner. Don’t miss…
[Audio] It’s a writer’s life: That hilarious time Zukiswa Wanner encountered her own book in a Joburg taxi
Zukiswa Wanner launched her latest book, Hardly Working: A Travel Memoir of Sorts, in Johannesburg at African Flavour Books recently, in…
[City Editor] Niq Mhlongo visits the PaGya! Literary Festival, finding a very different Ghana from the one he remembers
Niq Mhlongo recounts his literary travels to Accra, Ghana—in 2008, for the Pan-African Literary Forum, and in 2017 for the…
Two vast countries of weird violence: Olivia Rose Walton contemplates Turkey and South Africa by train
Olivia Rose Walton considers loss and erasure across two landscapes, traversed by train. 1. Kayseri station, Turkey On the steps…
The JRB Vol. 1, Issue 7 cover image features a photograph from Johannesburg In Your Pocket
Our November issue’s cover image comes from Johannesburg In Your Pocket. The photograph features Clive van den Berg’s sculpture The Eland,…
‘Page 19’: A border tale of visas and Eastern Europe by Zukiswa Wanner
Author Zukiswa Wanner recounts high jinks and high drama on her way to Lviv, Ukraine. The following is an excerpt…
[City Editor] Soweto, heart of the nation: Niq Mhlongo takes a tour of his home
Niq Mhlongo reveals what to see and do for the complete experience of Soweto. Of all the entrance points into Soweto,…
[City Editor] The place of the ancestors: Niq Mhlongo leaves the city to walk the hills of Mapungubwe
The JRB’s City Editor Niq Mhlongo takes some time out from sitting under his apricot tree in Soweto to visit…
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….
[City Editor] Niq Mhlongo meets his hero James Joyce in Zurich
‘Let’s meet at 5 pm at the Big Clock.’ My host Olivier Moreillon’s words are ringing in my head as…
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…
[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…
‘Writing is sometimes like a thread that weaves all our hearts into one’: Lidudumalingani reflects on his Caine Prize visit to the United States
Lidudumalingani won the 2016 Caine Prize for African Writing for his short story ‘Memories We Lost’. As part of the…
Dispatch from Conakry: James Murua attends the 2017 World Book Capital celebrations
I travelled across the continent on the morning of Saturday, April 22, to attend one of the most important annual…