The Johannesburg Review of Books

The Johannesburg Review of Books features a variety of content, including reviews, essays, poetry, photographs, and short stories from South Africa, the broader African continent, and other regions around the world.

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Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, 1938-2025, RIP

1 month ago | johannesburgreviewofbooks.com | Jennifer Malec

Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, literary giant and cultural revolutionary, died on 28 May, 2025, aged eighty-seven. Ngũgĩ was one of Africa’s most influential literary voices, a tireless champion of indigenous languages and postcolonial identity, and a perennial favourite to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. He was born on 5 January, 1938, in Kamirithu, a village north of Nairobi, Kenya.
The Johannesburg Review of Books Vol. 9, Issue 1 (March 2025)

Mar 25, 2025 | johannesburgreviewofbooks.com | Jennifer Malec

Finuala Dowling • Hassana Moosa • Shayera Dark • Wamuwi Mbao • Sean Jacobs • Seitlhamo Thabo Motsapi • Sihle Ntuli • Megan Ross • Abigail George • Kris Van der Bijl • Victor Dlamini • Jennifer Malec • William Kentridge • Nigel C Gibson • Lindani Mbunyuza-Memani • Yanjanani L Banda • Onke Mazibuko • Ellah Wakatama • Joel Cabrita • Christa Kuljian • Sanya Osha • Lesego Linda Plank • Jessie Cooper Welcome to the first issue of Volume 9 of The Johannesburg Review of Books! In this issue, Finuala...
The JRB Vol 9 2025 – The Johannesburg Review of Books

Mar 25, 2025 | johannesburgreviewofbooks.com | Jennifer Malec
‘An incisive portrait of a society grappling with change’-Jennifer Malec reviews Iris Mwanza’s debut novel The Lions’ Den

Mar 25, 2025 | johannesburgreviewofbooks.com | Jennifer Malec

The Lions’ Den by Iris Mwanza is a historical thriller that reaches into many different corners of its characters’ lives, writes The JRB Editor Jennifer Malec. The Lion’s DenIris MwanzaCanongate, 2024The Lion’s Den, the debut novel by Zambian–American author Iris Mwanza, is described as a legal thriller, and like the best of its genre, it reaches into many different corners of its characters’ lives.
New poetry by Abigail George

Mar 25, 2025 | johannesburgreviewofbooks.com | Abigail George

The JRB presents previously unpublished poetry by Abigail George. ~~~In a lonely city searching for Walt Whitman and Chris Abani(for Virgil)There are things I don’t tell anyone. I blamed the sunlight Secrets I keep to myselfI was young once Ezra Pound’s Alba tell the truth.
[Photo Editor] A portrait of Makhosazana Xaba by Victor Dlamini

Mar 25, 2025 | johannesburgreviewofbooks.com | Victor Dlamini

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[The JRB Daily] Gabrielle Mudiwa awarded inaugural Achmat Dangor Literary Prize

Nov 14, 2024 | johannesburgreviewofbooks.com | Jennifer Malec

Gabrielle Mudiwa has won the first ever Achmat Dangor Literary Prize, an award dedicated to nurturing young, previously disadvantaged writers working in all genres. The award was set up to enable a talented young writer to pursue an MA in Creative Writing at Wits, ensuring that the legacy of Achmat Dangor, the celebrated late South African writer and activist, endures.
[The JRB Daily] Samantha Harvey wins the 2024 Booker Prize for her ‘compact yet beautifully expansive’ novel Orbital

Nov 12, 2024 | johannesburgreviewofbooks.com | Jennifer Malec

British author Samantha Harvey has won the 2024 Booker Prize for her novel Orbital. She receives £50,000 (about R1.15 million) prize money, and was presented with her trophy by Paul Lynch, last year’s winner, at a ceremony in London, UK. ‘I was not expecting that,’ Harvey said in her acceptance speech. ‘We were told that we weren’t allowed to swear in our speech, so there goes my speech. It was just one swear word 150 times. Gosh. I have no idea how to deal with this.
[The JRB Daily] 2024 South African Literary Awards winners announced

Nov 10, 2024 | johannesburgreviewofbooks.com | Jennifer Malec

The winners of the 2024 South African Literary Awards (the SALAs) have been announced. The SALAs are awarded annually by the wRite Associates and the Department of Arts and Culture to celebrate literary excellence in all South African languages. South African writers, translators and other literary practitioners across sixteen categories were honoured at a ceremony held at the Ditsong National Museum of Cultural History in Pretoria on 7 November, International African Writers Day.
[The JRB Daily] Jonny Steinberg and Andrew Brown win the 2024 Sunday Times Literary Awards

Nov 4, 2024 | johannesburgreviewofbooks.com | Jennifer Malec

The winners of the 2024 Sunday Times Literary Awards have been announced. Jonny Steinberg won the Sunday Times Non-fiction Award for Winnie and Nelson: Portrait of a Marriage, and Andrew Brown was awarded the Sunday Times Fiction Prize for The Bitterness of Olives. The winners were announced at The Melrose Gallery in Melrose Arch, Johannesburg. The awards celebrate ‘the best of South African non-fiction and fiction’ from the previous year.