My African Reading List

Arinze Ifeakandu is a literary shooting star from Nigeria, with a characteristic, lyrical prose, who has been advocated by authors such as Damon Galgut og Colm Tóibín. God’s Children Are Little Broken Things from 2022 is his literary debut, winning him several literary prizes, including the prestigious Dylan Thomas Prize. In addition to the short story collection, Ifeakandu has published several shorter pieces of both fiction and non-fiction, and is currently working on his first novel. This is Ifeakandu's reading list:* Chinua Achebe* Peter Abrahams, Mine Boy* Imbolo Mbue, Behold the Dreamers* NoViolet Bulawayo, We Need New Names* Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Half of a Yellow Sun * Toni Morrison* James Baldwin* Maya Angelou * Gbenga Adesina * I.S. Jones* Ebenezer Agu* Logan February, Painted Blue with Salt Water* Gbenga Adeoba* Esther Ifesinachi Okonkwo, The Tiny Things Are Heaviest* Eloghosa Osunde, Vagabonds!* Chukwuebuka Ibeh, Blessings* Gbolahan Adeola* Otosirieze Obi-Young from Open country magazine   The host in this episode is Madeleine Gedde MetzEditing and production by the House of LiteratureMusic by Ibou Cissokho The House of Literature’s project to promote African literature is supported by NORAD.

Soukaina Habiballah is from Morocco, and the author of four award-winning poetry collections, a short story collection, a novel and a play, Nini Ya Momo. This is Soukaina Habiballah’s reading list:Iman Mersal, Traces of Enayat, (trans. Robin Moger)                              How To Mend: Motherhood and Its Ghosts (trans. Robin Moger)Abdelfattah Kilito, Thou Shalt Not Speak My Language, (trans. Waïl S. Hassan)Laila Lalami, The Moor’s Account The host in this episode is Åshild Lappegård LahnEditing and production by the House of LiteratureMusic by Ibou Cissokho The House of Literature’s project to promote African literature is supported by NORAD.

Wole Talabi is a Nigerian science fiction author. He is best known for his short stories, most of them collected in the collections Incomplete Solutions and Convergence Problems. His latest novel Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon won the prestigious Nommo award for best novel. Talabi has also edited the anthologies Africanfuturism and Mothersound, both central publications in African fantasy and science fiction.  This is Talabi’s reading list:-       Nnedi Okorafor, Lagoon-       Kojo Laing, Woman of the Aeroplanes-       Lauren Beukes, Zoo City-       Tade Thompson, Rosewater-       Tlotlo Tsamaase, Womb City-       T. L. Huchu, Library of the DeadHe also mentions:-       Ben Okri-       Chinua Achebe-       Wole Soyinka-       Carmen Maria Machado-       Arthur C. Clarke-       Isaac Asimov-       Larry Niven, Ringworld-       Jerry Pournelle-       Cyprian Ekwensi-       Flora Nwapa-       Pemi Aguda, Ghostroots-       Amos Tutuola, My Life in the Bush of Ghosts and The Palm-Wine Drinkard The host in this episode is Daniel Røkholt. Editing and production by the House of Literature. Music by Ibou Cissokho. The House of Literature’s project to promote African literature is supported by NORAD.

Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi is a Ugandan British writer, known for her debut novel Kintu, as well as the short story collection Manchester Happened and the novel The First Woman. She has been awarded the Coomonwealth Short Story Prize and the Windham-Campbell Literature Prize, and also been named one of the 100 most influental Africans by New African magazine.This is Makumbi’s reading list:Brit Bennett, The Vanishing HalfYvonne Battle-Felton, Curdle CreekChinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart                         Arrow of GoodNgugi wa Thiong’oWole SoyinkaNamwali Serpell, The Old Drift                          The FurrowsAyọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀, Stay With MeAyesha Haruna Attah, The Hundred Wells of SalagaLeila Aboulela, Lyrics Alley                       River SpiritThe host in this episode is Åshild Lappegård LahnEditing and production by the House of LiteratureMusic by Ibou CissokhoThe House of Literature’s project to promote African literature is supported by NORAD.

A. Igoni Barrett is a Nigerian writer of novels and short stories, especially well known for his award-winning novel 2015 Blackass. In 2014, he was named on the Hay Festival's Africa39 list of African writers under 40. Barrett is also part of the House of Literature's artistic council, advising in our project to promote African literature.This is Igoni Barrett's reading list:Abdulrazak Gurnah, Afterlives Zoe Wicomb, You Can’t Get Lost in Cape Town Toni Morrison, The Bluest Eye                                    JazzAlex Haley, Roots Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man Yambo Ouloguem, Le devoir de violence (Bound To Violence)Mohamed Mbougar Sarr, La plus secrète mémoire des hommes The host in this episode Åshild Lappegård LahnEditing and production by the House of LiteratureMusic by Ibou CissokhoThe House of Literature’s project to promote African literature is supported by NORAD.

Leila Aboulela is a Sudanese writer, currently living in Scotland. She is the author of six award winning novels, including The Translator (1999), Bird Summons (2019) and River Spirit (2023), as well as a number of plays and short story collections. Aboulela was the first ever winner of the Caine Prize for Fiction, and an elected fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.This is Leila Aboulela’s reading list:Maaza Mengiste, The Shadow KingTayeb Salih, Season of Migration to the North                             The Wedding of ZeinNaguib Mahfouz, The Cairo Trilogy (Palace Walk, Palace of Desire, Sugar Street)                               The Thief and the dogs Ahdaf Soueif, In the Eye of the SunFatin Abbas, Ghost Season Isabella Hammad, The Parisian                               Enter Ghost  The host in this episode is Åshild Lappegård Lahn.Editing and production by the House of Literature.Music by Ibou Cissokho.The House of Literature’s project to promote African literature is supported by NORAD.

Masande Ntshanga is a writer and poet, an editor of New Contrast Magazine and a teacher of creative writing. For his debut novel The Reactive, he was awarded the Betty Trask Award, while his second novel, Triangulum, was nominated for the Nommo Prize for Best Speculative Fiction Novel written by an African. His latest book is the 2020 chapbook Native Life in the Third Millennium.This is Masande's reading list:Imraan Coovadia, Tales of the Metric System                          A Spy in TimeK. Sello Duiker, The Quiet Violence of DreamsNjabulo Ndebele, Fools and Other StoriesHost in this episode is Åshild Lappegård LahnEditing and production by the House of LiteratureMusic by Ibou CissokhoThe House of Literature’s project to promote African literature is supported by NORAD.

Maaza Mengiste is a writer, photographer and teacher of creative fiction at Wesleyan University. Her 2010 debut novel, Beneath the Lion's Gaze, depicts the bloody revolution in 1970s Ethiopia, and was named one of the 10 Best Contemporary African Books by the Guardian. Her second novel The Shadow King, portraying the Italo-Ethiopian war of the 1930s, was shortlisted for the prestigious Booker prize in 2020.This is Maaza Mengiste’s reading list:Ama Ata Aidoo, Our Sister KilljoyMaya Binyam, HangmanMihret Sibhat, The History of a Difficult ChildTsitsi Dangarembga, Nervous ConditionsThe host in this episode is Åshild Lappegård Lahn.Editing and production by the House ofLiterature.Music by Ibou Cissokho. The House of Literature’s project to promote African literature is supported by NORAD.