Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
latest news & developments
Power decides whose voice becomes truth and whose reputation has staying power
When dominant narratives control how communities or individuals are perceived, reputations are reduced to stereotypes, biases emerge, achievements are undervalued and potential…
Imagining new futures for Africa through speculative fiction
This literature goes beyond Western science fiction, creating a unique identity rooted in the continent’s rich cultural heritage
I still reap the rewards of my mother’s prayers
So many strong black women are marginalised and forgotten — and their roles seen as expected and natural
Fighting for inclusion can never be fascism, Drew Forrest!
The M&G has a responsibility to deplatform dehumanising views, to advocate for free speech but not allow hate speech
South Africa is home to a culture of transphobia
Two M&G articles defending trans-exclusionary views draw on the insidious anti-trans rhetoric flourishing in the UK, but ignore our country’s constitutional protections
‘A weird new sort of fascism’
‘Trans-exclusionary’ views are not unlawful. So what gives self-appointed enforcers the right to police what can and cannot be said about transgender people?
The harrying of Kathleen Stock
The bitterly polarised controversy over the status of transgender people has spawned attacks on freedom of thought and speech at British and South African universities
50 Notable African Books of 2021: Selected by Brittle Paper
The online publication’s annual list celebrates not only the sheer abundance of African literature but its daring, new directions
‘We must also show normal women who do great things’
In conversation: Melinda French Gates, philanthropist, businesswoman and global advocate for women and girls and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, prize-winning author and named one of…
On failed states and the pitfalls of Western commentary
The tendency of Western commentators to dress up African tragedies in the patronizing logic of relativism
Linton Kwesi Johnson gave poetry back to the people
The 2020 winner of the PEN Pinter Prize, LKJ’s poetry puts the ignominy and hardship of the black experience in Britain front and centre in words that echo across the decades
Historical novel tests notion of nation
The past explains the present but not the future because ‘that tiny chaos’ makes the future opaque
SA needs to play catchup with India
"We are a much younger country than India, so it may seem unfair to compare, but we are not too young to make an effort to learn and catch up."
Selling Africa’s good news stories
Low pay and precarious work conditions for most African journalists lead many to seek work with Western news outlets
Mahlangu leads by example
The artist is a national treasure who wants others to do what she has done for Ndebele art