Imbolo Mbue is Cover Star for the March/April Issue of Poets and Writers
Cameroonian novelist Imbolo Mbue covers the March/April 2021 issue of Poets and Writers. In the cover photo, she looks stunning in her signature afro, a yellow high-neck top, and green double teardrop...
View ArticleIn the Palace of Flowers: The Story of An African Woman in 19th Century Iran
In the 19th century, African women were sold to slavery along the Indian ocean. These women came from Ethiopia, Zanzibar, and Mombasa. Some of them ended up in Iranian ports and were subsequently sold...
View ArticleYewande Komolafe’s NYT Essay on Fufu is an Ode to a West African Staple
Nigerian-American recipe developer and author of “10 Essential Nigerian Recipes” Yewande Komolafe has a short but lovely piece in the New York Times. The essay is an ode to a staple of African cuisine...
View ArticleCongratulations to Wayétu Moore on the Birth of Her Daughter
Congrats to Liberian-American author Wayétu Moore on the birth of her daughter. A few months ago, she shared news of her pregnancy. The child is finally here and mother and child are doing well. What a...
View ArticleExcerpt: Trumpism in Academe by Wole Soyinka
A Preamble It is essential – and honest – to begin with an admission: my position has hardened. Between 1965, when the CIA cultural infiltration scare first hit our complacencies as aspiring...
View ArticlePHOTOS: Book Launch for Wole Soyinka’s Trumpism in Academe
Earlier this month, readers came out to celebrate Wole Soyinka’s new book Trumpism in Academe, the author’s new book published by Bookcraft. The launch was held at the lovely Rovingheights Bookstore,...
View ArticleMohamedou Ould Slahi Centers Animal Life and Worlds in his Debut Novel The...
The Actual True Story of Ahmed and Zarga tells the story of a Bedouin nomad named Ahmed Ould Abdallahi. If the unnamed narrator is to be believed, Ahmed is a descendant of Scheherazade. Ahmed also...
View ArticleWanjikũ Wa Ngũgĩ’s New Book is Titled Seasons in Hippoland
Wanjikũ Wa Ngũgĩ has a new book on the way. The news of her book, which she shared on social media, comes in the heels of her father Ngugi wa Thiongo getting his first International Booker nomination....
View ArticleUCT Library Containing Historic African Literature Collection Destroyed in...
The Jagger Library at the University of Cape Town has been severely damaged by fire. The library houses the university’s special collections, which includes its historic African literature collections....
View ArticleEVENT: Connect Africa Hosts Conversations Between Scholars on New Books About...
On April 30th, Connect Africa is hosting a series of conversations about exciting new books on African literature. Everyone is invited. The event is free; however, registration is required. The event...
View ArticleEVENT | Scholastique Mukasonga and Jeanne-Marie Jackson at the Pittsburgh...
Rwandan author Scholastique Mukasonga and world literature professor Jeanne-Marie Jackson will talk about literature and translation at the Pittsburgh International Literary Festival. The event is...
View ArticlePick of the Week: Exhale: Queer African Erotic Fiction
This week, we are thinking of stories that explore the erotic dimensions of queer African life and asking readers if they’ve read Exhale: Queer African Erotic Fiction published Black Bird Books in...
View ArticleChibundu Onuzo Announces the Official Single for Her New Novel Sankofa
Nigerian novelist Chibundu Onuzo has set a new bar on book publicity. On Instagram a few days ago, she announced the forthcoming release of the official single for her new novel Sankofa. “Ladies and...
View ArticleAfricanfuturism: An Anthology is a Locus Awards Finalist!
Dear BP fam, something we published is a finalist for the Locus Awards! Yes, you heard right. The sci-fi collection we published last year has been nominated for the Locus Award in the “Best...
View ArticleWho’s Who in the Yoruba Pantheon Redefines the Orishas for a New Generation...
Iwalewa Books recently published a new book on Yoruba mythology titled Who’s Who in the Yoruba Pantheon. The book is written by Peju Akande, Jahman Anikulapo and Toni Kan, with illustrations by...
View ArticleExcerpt: Kololo Hills by Neema Shah
Outside the train station in Kampala, the roads were three times as wide as those in her village. They stopped briefly at Motichand’s dukan, which did indeed seem to have anything you could ever need...
View ArticleWatch the Book Trailer for Nadifa Mohamed’s The Fortune Men
Nadifa Mohamed’s forthcoming novel The Fortune Men tells the true story of Mahmood Mattan, a British Somali wrongfully convicted and hanged for the brutal murder of a shopkeeper in 1950s Cardiff. With...
View ArticleNana Nkweti’s Walking on Cowrie Shells Offers Diverse and Complex Story-worlds
Walking on Cowrie Shells is a delightful read. Nkweti’s writing is a gem. Funny and loaded with turns of phrases, it incites chuckles and some laughs but also tears and wonder. A Caine Prize finalist,...
View ArticleEVENT | Book Launch for Tragedy and Postcolonial Literature by Ato Quayson
Wits Institute for Social and Economic Research (WISER) at the University of Witswatersrand is holding a book launch for Prof. Ato Quayson’s new book Tragedy and Postcolonial Literature. Quayson is a...
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