• Wayne Marshall

Does Afrobeats come from the continent or the diaspora. This reviewer of a new book on the genre's history and rapid takeover of our airwaves and playlists, argues we need to center Africa more.

• Faisal Ali

The award-winning Djiboutian author, Abdourahman Waberi, shares his reflections on writing, power and living with a disability.

• Tinashe Mushakavanhu

With its new edition, Penguin Classics disfigures Zimbabwean writer Dambudzo Marechera’s novel 'The House of Hunger.'

• Carmela Garritano

A book by writer Melissa Thackway and director Jean-Marie Teno highlights an ethical and politically engaged partnership between filmmaker and film critic.

• Zikhona Valela

The author of 'Now You Know How Mapetla Died,' a book on the murder of a leading Black Consciousness leader, writes about her research.

• Sarah K. Miles

In its first few years, the magazine 'Révolution Africaine' opened possibilities for Franco-Algerian cooperation. It was then co-opted by the state.

• Otoniya J. Okot Bitek

Rwandan writer Scholastique Mukasonga chronicles life, death, return and grief in her story collection, 'Igifu.'

• Lesley Nicole Braun

Anyone who has attempted to describe dance in writing knows how difficult it is. These books on dance on the continent and the diaspora gets close.

• Bwesigye Bwa Mwesigire

The writings of Ugandan lawyer David Mpanga are both literary and legalistic, rooted in African conceptions of storytelling and self-determination.

• Jeremy Cronin

Despite its proud history, the South African Communist Party has recently taken a backseat in South African politics. Understanding its roots helps us understand how it got here and what it will take to be rejuvenated.

• Hugo ka Canham

On the publication of his book on black life on the margins, the South African author reflects on work that expand the meaning of being black on the world.

• Ari Gautier

A historical novel by Sudanese writer Abdelaziz Baraka Sakin narrates an unusual love story between a slave and a princess.

• Paul T. Clarke

In his new book ‘The Blinded City,’ Matthew Wilhelm-Solomon takes readers into inner city Johannesburg not as it was or could be, but as it is.

• Mphuthumi Ntabeni

If an author writes with empathy, precision and authenticity about experiences foreign to their own, they're a good writer and not a cultural appropriator.

• M. Lynx Qualey

Libyan writer Ibrahim Al-Koni’s latest novel is a philosophical retelling of the story of Amazigh queen Al-Kahina.

• Mahvish Ahmad
• Koni Benson
• Hana Morgenstern

Revisiting the papers of left, anti-colonial revolt from the continent can remind us of messy, rich alternatives.

• Helen Epstein

Uganda’s rulers don’t get that clobbering words is impossible. The pen will escape every hammer, and cross borders to haunt oppressors, even if the authors are no longer around.

• Grace A. Musila

An anthology brings together 27 international scholars to deepen our understanding of popular culture on the African continent.

• Bhakti Shringarpure

What happens when black and brown authors write about white people? Although novels by Chinelo Okparanta and Mohsin Hamid tread into this risky unknown, they do not go far enough.

• Ronnie Kasrils

Author RW Johnson's latest aberration is a mix of fiction and lazy research that misrepresents anti-apartheid struggle leaders.