This is Africa recently announced their first list of the 100 best books in Africa, in the categories fiction, poetry and non-fiction. The books were published between 2010 and 2014 by African authors across the continent. In future, TIA will compile the list on an annual basis.
With the proliferation of international “best books of 2014” lists, This is Africa’s local list, selected by Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah, Oris Aigbokhaevbolo, Kagure Mugo and Bwesigye bwa Mwesigire, is a welcome addition.
Among the top 100 best books are titles by internationally acclaimed authors Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Americanah), Sefi Atta (A Bit of Difference), Ngugi wa Thiong’o (Wizard of the Crow), NoViolet Bulawayo (We Need New Names), Taiye Selasi (Ghana Must Go) and Okwiri Oduor (Dream Chasers).
Here are the South African authors who made the list:
Fiction
In the fiction category are veteran novelists Lauren Beukes, Zakes Mda and Imraan Coovadia, for Zoo City, Rachel’s Blue and Tales of the Metric System. Newcomers Nadia Davids, Ekow Duker and Masande Ntshanga made the list with their debut novels, An Imperfect Blessing, Dying in New York and The Reactive.
Helena S Paige, the pen name of Helen Moffett, Sarah Lotz and Paige Nick, is on the list for her series of choose-your-own-erotic-adventure novels – A Girl Walks into a Bar, A Girl Walks into a Wedding and A Girl Walks into a Blind Date.
Futhi Ntshingila’s second novel, Do Not Go Gentle, and Niq Mhlongo’s third, Way Back Home, also made the list, along with Adults Only, edited by Joanne Hichens, Bad Sex by Leon de Kock, Sister-Sister by Rachel Zadok, Finding Soutbek by Karen Jennings and Penumbra by Songeziwe Mahlangu.
Poetry
Letter to South Africa: Poets Calling the State to Order appears in the poetry category, which includes poems by South African poets in English, Afrikaans, isiXhosa and Sepedi, with English translations.
Letter to South Africa contains poems by Lebogang Mashile, Makhosazana Xaba, Jitsvinger, Tumelo Khoza, Sindiwe Magona, Willem Anker, Gabeba Baderoon, Siphiwe ka Ngwenya, Andries Bezuidenhout, Zandra Bezuidenhout, Marius Crous, Leon de Kock, Phillippa Yaa de Villiers, Nosipho Kota, Julian de Wette, Danie Marais, Justin Fox, and many more.
Non-Fiction
Zakes Mda’s Sometimes there is a Void: Memoirs of an Outsider and Zukiswa Wanner’s Maid in SA: 30 Ways to Leave your Madam are on the non-fiction list, as well as Glen Retief, for The Jack Bank: A Memoir of a South African Childhood, and Mandela’s Nelson Mandela: Conversations with Myself.
Honorary South Africans on the list are Yewande Omotoso for Bom Boy and Jamala Safari for The Great Agony and Pure Laughter of the Gods.
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Book details
- Adults Only: Stories of love, lust, sex and sexuality edited by Joanne Hichens
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EAN: 9781928230007
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- Rachel’s Blue by Zakes Mda
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EAN: 9780795706813
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- Bad Sex by Leon de Kock
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EAN: 9781415201527
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- Dying in New York by Ekow Duker
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EAN: 9781770103924
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- A Girl Walks into a Bar by Helena S Paige
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EAN: 9780908387915
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- A Girl Walks into a Wedding by Helena S Paige
EAN: 9780908387939
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- A Girl Walks into a Blind Date by Helena S Paige
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EAN: 9780908387953
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- The Reactive by Masande Ntshanga
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EAN: 9781415207192
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- Tales of the Metric System by Imraan Coovadia
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EAN: 9781415207239
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- Do Not Go Gentle by Futhi Ntshingila
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EAN: 9781920590505
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- Zoo City (SA edition) by Lauren Beukes
EAN: 9781770098183
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- Sister-Sister by Rachel Zadok
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EAN: 9780795704727
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- Finding Soutbek by Karen Jennings
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EAN: 9781907320200
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- An Imperfect Blessing by Nadia Davids
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EAN: 9781415207154
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- Penumbra by Songeziwe Mahlangu
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EAN: 9780795704680
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- Way Back Home by Niq Mhlongo
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EAN: 9780795704789
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- Letter to South Africa: Poets Calling the State to Order by Various South African Poets
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EAN: 9781415201251
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- The Jack Bank: A Memoir of a South African Childhood by Glen Retief
EAN: 9780312590932
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- Maid in SA: 30 Ways to Leave your Madam by Zukiswa Wanner
EAN: 9781431408962
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- Sometimes there is a Void: Memoirs of an Outsider by Zakes Mda
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EAN: 9780143527442
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- Nelson Mandela: Conversations with Myself by Nelson Mandela
EAN: 9780230749016
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