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September 12
South Africa: Johannesburg's Underbelly Is Explored in Niq Mhlongo's Fresh New Novel About a Messy Break-Up
Niq Mhlongo was born in Soweto, Johannesburg in 1973 and grew up under apartheid, South Africa's institutionalised racial segregation under white minority rule. He graduated in… Read more »
July 23
Africa: Pandemic Effects Linger, and Art Invites Us to Pause and Behold Distance, Time and Trauma
When I finished the manuscript for my book The Pause, which looked at the COVID-19 pandemic through the idea of "pausing," a notion frequently invoked in pandemic discussions of… Read more »
June 28
South Africa: Ordinary White South Africans and Apartheid - Bound to a Racist System They Helped Prop Up
In South Africa, apartheid was a divisive political system entrenched by a white minority who regarded other ethnic groups as inferior, creating townships on the outskirts of… Read more »
June 27
South Africa: Peter Randall - a Pioneering Publisher Who Established the Radical Ravan Press in South Africa
Peter Randall, a pioneering South African activist publisher and educator, passed away on 5 June 2024 in Johannesburg. He was the co-founder of Ravan Press, which published books… Read more »
June 11
Africa: Girls Usually Read Better Than Boys. Why This Isn't the Case in Some African Countries
In most parts of the world, girls outperform boys in reading. Girls are more likely to read at or above the expected level of proficiency for their grade compared to boys. Read more »
February 29
Africa: How Teens Benefit From Being Able to Read 'Disturbing' Books That Some Want to Ban
Should we worry, as massive book-banning efforts imply, that young people will be harmed by certain kinds of books? For over a decade and through hundreds of interviews, my… Read more »
March 04
Congo-Kinshasa: Congo Style - How Two Dictators Shaped the DRC's Art, Architecture and Monuments
What kind of art is left behind by totalitarian regimes? A new free-to-read book called Congo Style: From Belgian Art Nouveau to African Independence explores the visual culture,… Read more »
February 16
Africa: What's Behind the Astonishing Rise in LGBTQ+ Romance Literature?
A major transformation is underway in Romancelandia. Read more »
Africa: Ai Will Let Us Read 'Lost' Ancient Works in the Library At Herculaneum for the First Time
On 19 October 1752, a discovery was made 20 metres underneath the town of Resina, near Naples in Italy. Peasants digging wells in the area around Mount Vesuvius had struck marble… Read more »
February 20
Africa: Women in South Africa's Armed Struggle - New Book Records History At First Hand
South Africa's young democracy was a culmination of years of sweat, blood and revolution against the apartheid regime. In the early 1960s, after decades of "non-violence" as a… Read more »
February 19
East Africa: What Are Sabaki Languages? How People Formed Ethnic Groups Along the Coast of East Africa
A new book called Ethnicity, Identity and Conceptualizing Community in Indian Ocean East Africa tracks the history of the coastal communities of east Africa and how the Sabaki… Read more »
Zimbabwe: Nervous Conditions - On Translating One of Zimbabwe's Most Famous Novels Into Shona
The publishing journey of Zimbabwean writer and film-maker Tsitsi Dangarembga's Nervous Conditions wasn't easy. Yet the novel is today considered by many as one of Africa's 100… Read more »
February 08
Zimbabwe: Books - Folklore and Fantasy Combine in Langabi, a Supernatural Historical Epic From Zimbabwe
In 2023, award-winning Zimbabwean author Christopher Mlalazi published a new book, Langabi: Season of the Beast. He's the author of novels like Running with Mother (2012), Dancing… Read more »
January 24
Africa: Five Books About the Covid Pandemic to Look Out for in 2024
Vi-fi, short for virus fiction, describes contemporary fiction that features the devastating events of world-changing outbreaks and epidemics. Rooted in science fiction, vi-fi… Read more »
January 22
Zimbabwe: Weaver Press Is Closing - How One Small, Brave Zimbabwean Publisher Made a Difference
With the news that it is to halt operations it's a fitting time to take stock of Weaver Press in Zimbabwe. Read more »
December 25, 2023
East Africa: 4 Must-Read Books From East Africa - From Tanzanian Masters to Ugandan Queens
East African literature continues to grow and reshape itself in exciting new ways. The world really did take notice of the region when Tanzanian-British author Abdulrazak Gurnah… Read more »
East Africa: 4 Must-Read Books From East Africa in 2023 - From Tanzanian Masters to Ugandan Queens
East African literature continues to grow and reshape itself in exciting new ways - and 2023 was no exception. The world really did take notice of the region when Tanzanian-British… Read more »
November 05, 2023
East Africa: Birds of East Africa - New Book Reveals Their Extraordinary Diversity and Changing Behaviour
101 Curious Tales of East African Birds is a new book that uses academic research to tell fascinating stories about the tropical birds of east Africa, from well-known species to… Read more »
October 06, 2023
Africa: 20 Years After the Publication of 'Purple Hibiscus,' a Generation of African Writers Have Followed in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Footsteps
Twenty years ago, in October 2003, 26-year-old Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie burst onto the North American publishing scene with her debut novel," Purple Hibiscus." Read more »
October 03, 2023
Africa: African Thinkers Analyse Some of the Big Issues of Our Time - Race, Belonging and Identity
The subjects of race, identity and belonging are often fraught with contention and uneasiness. Who are you? Who belongs? Who is native, or indigenous to a place? These perennial… Read more »
August 31, 2023
South Africa: Winnie and Mandela Biography - a Masterful Tale of South Africa's Troubled, Iconic Power Couple
A new book on South African liberation struggle icons Nelson and Winnie Mandela is a masterful biography of the pair. It's a work of scholarship involving an immense body of… Read more »
July 31, 2023
Nigeria: Kole Omotoso, the Nigerian Writer, Scholar and Actor Who Inspired a Continent
Bankole Ajibabi Omotoso, better known as Kole Omotoso, the Nigerian novelist, playwright, journalist, scholar and actor, died on 19 July 2023. His son Akin Omotoso, a filmmaker,… Read more »
July 04, 2023
Mozambique: Paulina Chiziane, Mozambique's Grand Novelist, Finally Receives Her Prestigious Award
Paulina Chiziane, the first woman to publish a novel in Mozambique, has become the first African woman to receive the most important award for Portuguese literature, the… Read more »
July 02, 2023
South Africa: Zondo At Your Fingertips - New Book Offers an Accessible and Condensed Version of South Africa's Ambitious Corruption Inquiry
Anti-corruption activist Paul Holden has done South Africa a great favour by summarising the work of the judicial commission that probed massive corruption under former president… Read more »
May 15, 2023
Ghana: Black and Bold Queens Is a New Children's Book Celebrating Women in Ghana's History
A new children's book, Black and Bold Queens: Women in Ghana's History explores the lives of 16 notable female pioneers and leaders in the West African country, with a strong focus… Read more »
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