The Kenyan writer challenged Western influence on African culture and history, highlighting heritage and resilience
Informed, provocative, and hopeful — Adebajo’s work resists reduction, embracing Africa’s plurality and persistent spirit
His pen exposed injustice, honoured heritage and helped free the African imagination from colonial constraint
Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu’s novel is a profound exploration of power, memory and the cost of knowledge
The festival runs until Sunday, and brings together over 250 authors, poets and creatives from South Africa and the globe
President Cyril Ramaphosa has paid tribute to Cape Town poet and author James Matthews as an impassioned but elegant chronicler of the struggle against apartheid. Matthews, regarded as one of the early Black Consciousness poets, died in Cape Town on Saturday. He was 95. “James Matthews’s voice will ring in our consciousness following his departure […]
Kola Tubosun has made a documentary about Nigerian creative Wole Soyinka who has just turned 90
The language is subtle; words are tonal and are made up of small units that determine meaning, but this is not reflected in the 26-letter alphabet
Novel writes queerness into a space where it’s forbidden and meanders through the unforgiving politics of Ghana, past and present
Brittle Paper’s 50 Notable African Books is the product of extensive year-round reportage
The online publication’s annual list celebrates not only the sheer abundance of African literature but its daring, new directions
Advocates of retaining Afrikaans as a language of instruction are blind to their own prejudices
Sylvia Arthur, the founder of the Library of African and the African Diaspora in Accra, selects five works by her favourite Ghanaian authors
Sylvia Arthur founded the Library for Africa and the African Diaspora to house her collection and share it with other readers
Zukiswa Wanner has organised a virtual literary festival, from March 23 to 30, to help readers and writers struggling with self-isolation
The HSS Awards honours scholarly works based on their social relevance and contribution to the humanities and social sciences
Activists, poet and animals are explored in fascinating detail
The past explains the present but not the future because ‘that tiny chaos’ makes the future opaque
"Writing poetry requires you to reach a level of clarity and enjoyment of your voice."
The Jamaican-Nigerian writer explores living between cultures in her first short story collection
Masande Ntshanga uses his imagination to create plausible relationships in his genre-bending novels
Although book festivals are generally perceived as adult events, this one is family-centred and includes specific programmes for children.
The Kenyan writer and activist died on Tuesday night after suffering a stroke
The book fair has been a key factor in Somaliland’s embrace of literature
Ayòbámi Adébáyò summons Yoruba folklore and a longstanding literary tradition in her debut novel
South Africa has an undernourished literary tradition, where even among the sophisticated one may find confusion over written work and writers.
The Abantu Book Festival exemplifies the love affair between black people and books. But, who carries the personal cost of this renaissance?
Books like Adichie’s “Americanah” and Gyasi’s “Homegoing” have confounded neat divisions between Western and African literary traditions.
A trip to find the best shops for African literature raised the question of what makes a bookstore worth visiting.
‘In black communities, you don’t only look after your family. From the money you get, you need to pay a monthly allowance for extended family’
Many good writers appear to be solipsists, selfish and even competitive, and unkind. These writers will remain good but will never be great.
Here’s a round-up of places and sites in South Africa where African literature is not lacking