Reading List: Books Released by African Authors in 2013
A. Igoni Barrett, āLove is Power, or Something Like Thatā
A powerful short story collection from the author of āFrom Caves of Rotting Teethā, Nigerian writer Igoni is also something of a literary activist, pioneering a 6-week reading tour by prominent African writers across 4 cities; and founder of the Book Jam reading series. Read more of his work on Guernica and AGNI.
NoViolet Bulawayo, āWe Need New NamesāĀ
Zimbabwean writer Bulawayo won the Caine Prize in 2011 for her story āHitting Budapestā. She recently spoke at the PEN World Voices Festival in New York where she said āI write from my bloodā. This is her debut novel.
Mukoma wa Ngugi, āBlack Star Nairobiā
The name gives it away: the Kenyan author - who splits his time between Kenya and the US - is the son of African lit giant Ngugi wa Thiongāo. Heās also a professor at Cornell University, and his first novel, āNairobi Heatā, isĀ being made into a film
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, āAmericanahā
Known worldwide for her speechesĀ as well as her books, āAmericanahā is the Nigerian authorās third novel. The film adaptation of her bestsellerāHalf of a Yellow Sunā (2006) starring Thandie Newton and Chiwetel EjioforĀ is due to be released later this year. Adichie is the founder of the Farafina Writers Workshop which is currently accepting applications.
Taiye Selasi, āGhana Must Goā
With endorsements by the likes of Salman Rushdie and Toni Morrison, Selasi is quickly establishing herself as a voice to look out for. Her linguistically experimental novel follows a family dealing with love, life-building and the pains of migration. Sheās also known for penning the so-called Afropolitan manifesto āBye-Bye Barbar (Or: What is an Afropolitan?)
'There is a Country: Fiction from South Sudan'
This anthology of eight stories from the worldās newest nation South Sudan is published by McSweeneyās and treats themes of war, migration and displacement as well as love, described as āa fresh and necessary account of an emerging nation, past and presentā.Ā
Alain Mabanckou, āTomorrow I Will be Twenty Years Oldā
This is Congolese novelist, poet and journalist Mabanckouās newest novel, based loosely on his childhood in Congo. It follows 10 year old Michel, his dreams and dramas with his 12yr old girlfriend Caroline all set against the ābigā geopolitical issues of the day. Heās the author of āAfrican Psychoā and 9 other novels.
Aminatta Forna, āThe Hired Manā
Forna is an author and documentary-maker of Sierra-Leonean and Scottish/British heritage. Sheās the author of āThe Memory of Loveā (2010) and her memoir āThe Devil that Danced on the Waterā (2003) explored the conspiracy surrounding her fatherās death by the Sierra Leonean government. Her new novel āThe Hired Manā is set in Croatia and looks at the āethnic cleansingā which followed the dismantling of the former Yugoslavia. Itās been praised by critics.
