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A drawing of the Africa Continent made of Books An illustration of a woman reading a book in her house with the africa continent being made by books in her library
Illustration by Vanessa Toye

100 Notable African Books of 2022

A Down Home Meal for These Difficult Times

Meron Hadero

Fiction - Short Stories

June 28, 2022 | 224 pages

Restless Books

Hadero blazed into the African literary scene with her Caine Prize winning story "Street Sweep," included in this collection. The stories are magnetic. The characters will stay with you.

BUY

A History of Disappearance

Sarah Lubala

Poetry

February 14, 2022 | 58 pages

Botsotso Pub

Lubala’s family fled the Democratic Republic of Congo two decades ago amidst political unrest. Through these poems and photographs, she explores the violence of displacement in women’s lives.

BUY

A is for Acholi

Otoniya J. Okot Bitek

Poetry

September 20, 2022 | 120 pages

Wolsak and Wynn Publishers

Following the success of 100 DAYS, Bitek returns with a suite of poems that centers Acholi culture and experience in the context of displacement, the politics of language, and legacies of colonialism.

BUY

A Mind to Silence and Other Stories: The Caine Prize for African Writing

(Editor) Anwuli Ojogwu

Fiction - Anthology

October 18, 2022 | 336 pages

Cassava Republic

The Caine Prize's latest collection captures the hottest trends in African writing today: mystery, noir fiction, political thrillers, speculative fiction, and magical realism.

BUY

A Quick Ting On Afrobeats

Christian Adofo

Nonfiction

February 24, 2022 | 175 pages

Jacaranda Books

There is growing interest in the history of Nigeria’s global pop music genre Afrobeats. Christian Adofo traces the transnational evolution of Afrobeats in relation to African and black British cultures and identities.

BUY

A Quiet Teacher

Fiction - Crime

November 1, 2022 | 224 pages

Severn House

Greg Abimbola, a British-Nigerian man, imagines he has left his past as a spy behind and settles into a quiet life as a teacher in an American high school. And then someone turns up dead in the school. A deliciously fast-paced crime thriller!

BUY

A Trail of Crab Tracks

Patrice Nganang

Fiction-Novel

June 7, 2022 | 432 pages

Farrar Straus and Giroux

The final book in Nganang’s Cameroonian trilogy tells the epic story of war and independence through the intimacies and tensions between a father and his son.

BUY

A Visible Man

Edward Enninful

Nonfiction - Memoir

September 6, 2022 | 288 pages

Penguin Books

Edward Enninful is the first Black Editor-in-Chief of British Vogue. The memoir chronicles his amazing journey from the city of Tema in Ghana to astronomical success in fashion, one of the world’s most exclusive industries.

BUY

Across the Kala Pani

Shevlyn Mottai

Fiction-Novel

October 1, 2022 | 286 pages

Penguin Books

In 1909, four women leave India in search of a better life in South Africa. On arrival, they struggle to survive in the face of adversity.

BUY

Africa Is Not A Country

Dipo Faloyin

Nonfiction - Essays

April 7, 2022 | 400 pages

Harvill Secker | W. W. Norton & Company

Dipo Faloyin’s book contributes to the rich tradition of books dispelling harmful stereotypes about Africa. Using humor and deep insights, Faloyin destroys assumption after assumption about Africa as a world of famine and safaris.

BUY

Africa Risen: A New Era of Speculative Fiction

(Editor) Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki | (Editor) Sheree Renée Thomas | (Editor) Zelda Knight

Fiction - Anthology

November 15, 2022 | 528 pages

Tor.com

Edited by a powerhouse trio, the collection displays the sheer diversity of African speculative fiction and includes sci-fi, fantasy, horror and everything in-between.

BUY

Against Decolonization

Olúfemi Táíwò

Nonfiction - Scholarly

September 15, 2022 | 368 pages

Hurst

A provocative and epic call-out, Cornell University professor Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò’s recent book warns against what he calls the “decolonization industry.”

BUY

Against Heaven

Kemi Alabi

Poetry

April 5, 2022 | 80 pages

Graywolf Press

Alabi is a new voice reigniting old conversations. AGAINST HEAVEN challenges common beliefs about God, heaven, religion and calls for new frames for making sense of our world.

BUY

Akata Woman

Nnedi Okorafor

Fiction - YA

January 18, 2022 | 416 pages

Viking Books for Young Readers

The third book in the Africanjujuist Nsibidi Series is about witchy powers “that zip, buzz, creep, swell on this planet and beyond.” The protagonist Sunny embraces new challenges and grows in her power.

BUY

All Rise: Resistance and Rebellion in South Africa

(Illust.) Andre Trantraal | (Illust.) Dada Khanyisa | (Illust.) Liz Clarke | (Illust.) Mark Modimola | (Illust.) Nathan Trantraal | (Illust.) Tumi Mamabolo | (Illust.)Saaid Rahbeeni | Richard Conyngham

Fiction - Comic

May 17, 2022 | 220 pages

Catalyst Press

Historian Richard Conyngham digs deep into the legal archives for stories about everyday South Africans fighting power long before the apartheid era. This comics anthology captures these stories with stunning visuals.

BUY

An African Abroad

Olabisi Ajala

Nonfiction - Memoir

November 14, 2022 | 308 pages

Masobe Books | Olongo Africa

Masobe Books and Olongo Africa join forces to revive this Nigerian travel memoir classic. It chronicles the adventures of Àjàlá during his trip around the world—on his vespa!

BUY

An Angel’s Demise

Sue Nyathi

Fiction-Novel

October 27, 2022 | 354 pages

Pan Macmillan SA

Zimbabwean author Sue Nyathi has always centered women in powerful stories about nation, family, and history. AN ANGEL’S DEMISE is no different. The protagonist is on a path to self-discovery against the backdrop of a nation in turmoil.

BUY

An Unusual Grief

Yewande Omotoso

Fiction

January 25, 2022 | 240 pages

Cassava Republic

Omotoso’s third novel is a strange, deeply moving, and surprising meditation on mourning. Following the death of her daughter, a woman pursues an unusual fascination with her daughter’s life.

BUY

An/other pastoral

(Illust.) Tebogo Cranwell | Tjawangwa Dema

Poetry

April 22, 2022 | 66 pages

No Bindings Press

Motswana Poet T. J. Dema incisively combines history and race with the climate crisis to create riveting poetry that brings an African ecopoetics perspective to our changing world.

BUY

Anansi and the Golden Pot

(Illust.) Tinuke Fagborun | Taiye Selasi

Fiction - Children's Book

February 15, 2022 | 32 pages

DK Children

Taiye Selasi wrote this book for her son Safa. The story is about a boy named Anansi and his unforgettable encounter with the famous spider who is his name’s sake.

BUY

Barzakh: The Land In-Between

Moussa Ould Ebnou

Fiction

November 5, 2022 | 182 pages

Iskanchi Press

English readers can now enjoy yet another book by celebrated Mauritanian author Moussa Ould Ebnou. Archaeologists from the future unearth the bones of a man whose remains hold secrets of ancient humanity.

BUY

Between Starshine and Clay: Conversations from the African Diaspora

Sarah Ladipo Manyika

Nonfiction - Essays

October 6, 2022 | 288 pages

Footnote Press

The collection features interviews with Michelle Obama, Toni Morrison, Wole Soyinka, and many other celebrated writers exploring issues ranging from history to race to politics.

BUY

Black and Female

Tsitsi Dangaremgba

Nonfiction - Essays

August 18, 2022 | 128 pages

Faber Books

Dangarembga is a literary powerhouse. Her first nonfiction book takes readers through the life experiences and lessons that made her the writer and filmmaker she is today.

BUY

Bless the Daughter Raised by a Voice in Her Head

Warsan Shire

Poetry

March 1, 2022 | 96 pages

Random House

Shire’s first collection since she collaborated with Beyoncé on Lemonade and Black Is King is a powerful reflection on the experience of womanhood in the context of displacement.

BUY

Blood Feast

(Trans.) Alice Guthrie | Malika Moustadraf

Fiction - Short Stories

February 8, 2022 | 168 pages

Feminist Press

Moroccan feminist icon Moustadraf was only 37 when she died. BLOOD FEAST combines her short story collection and four posthumously published stories to celebrate her life and talent.

BUY

Blood Scion

Deborah Falaye

Fiction - YA

March 8, 2022 | 432 pages

HarperTeen

In this stunning debut, Deborah Falaye draws from Yoruba Orisha mythology to weave a gripping tale about a girl who possesses the power to change the world. Full of magic and timely social commentary.

BUY

Blood to Poison

Mary Watson

Fiction - YA

April 14, 2022 | 384 pages

Bloomsbury UK

Savannah is destined to die due to an old curse, but she fights for survival at all cost. BLOOD POISON is a feminist story about girls who use their anger to confront the world.

BUY

Blue

(Illust.) Daniel Minter | Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond

Fiction - Children's Book

February 15, 2022 | 40 pages

Knopf

In this gorgeous children’s book, Brew-Hammond traces the color blue across time and place, exploring how it came to mean different things to different people.

BUY

Broken Porcelain

Relebone Rirhandzu eAfrika

Nonfiction - Memoir

March 1, 2022 | 232 pages

Blackbird Books

The Nine Lives of Depression Survivors podcast host bares it all in this memoir about her struggle with mental illness, calling for more understanding and less stigma.

BUY

Can Themba: The Making and Breaking of the Intellectual Tsotsi

Siphiwo Mahala

Nonfiction - Biography

March 30, 2022 | 312 pages

Wits University Press

Can Themba was an iconic Drum-era journalist. Mahala brings Themba's storied career to life in a vivid depiction of his evolution as a cultural figure.

BUY

Casablanca Story

(Trans.) Bill Johnston | In Koli Jean Bofane

Fiction - Crime

May 3, 2022 | 166 pages

Indiana University Press

Congolese author Bofane’s fifth novel is a crime mystery. Sese Seko Tshimanga is stuck in Casablanca on his way to Europe. But things take a confusing turn when a female friend is murdered.

BUY

Chasing Marian

Amy Heydenrych | Gail Schimmel | Pamela Power | Qarnita Loxton

Fiction-Novel

March 1, 2022 | 259 pages

Pan Macmillan SA

Co-written by four South African authors, this feel-good novel tells the story of four strangers who meet on Facebook and form a bond around their mutual love for an author. Full of heart and humor!

BUY

Confident and Killing It

Tiwalola Ogunlesi

Nonfiction

July 7, 2022 | 256 pages

Harper Collins

Ogunlesi is a well-known motivational speaker and life coach. Her debut book is a girl-power anthem with practical guidance for women on how to unlock the power of confidence.

BUY

Days Come and Go

(Trans.) Nchanji Njamnsi | Hemley Boum

Fiction-Novel

November 1, 2022 | 350 pages

Bakwa Books | Two Lines Press

A must-read book for anyone interested in women-centered history! Boum chronicles the lives of three generations of Cameroonian women as they experience a history framed by colonial disruption.

BUY

Each One a Furnace

Tolu Oloruntoba

Poetry

March 22, 2022 | 96 pages

McClelland & Stewart

Nigerian poet and physician Tolu Oloruntoba offers an unusual perspective into contemporary life. He uses the lives of birds as a metaphor for exploring the unsettling aspects of modern existence.

BUY

Emirs in London: Subaltern Travel and Nigeria’s Modernity

Moses E. Ochonu

Nonfiction - Scholarly

April 5, 2022 | 390 pages

Indiana University Press

Moses Ochonu examines an unexplored era in Nigerian history when Muslim aristocrats travelled to Europe and returned home to tell their story in ways that greatly influenced the literature and politics of the period.

BUY

Even When Your Voice Shakes

Ruby Yayra Goka

Fiction - YA

February 15, 2022 | 240 pages

Norton Young Readers | Ouida Books

A maid for a wealthy family has to choose between silence or calling out her assaulter at the risk of losing everything. Ruby Yayra Goka’s 17th book re-imagines the classic maid story for younger readers.

BUY

For You, I’d Steal a Goat

Niq Mhlongo

Fiction - Short Stories

May 6, 2022 | 165 pages

Kwela

From political intrigues to social dilemmas, these 10 stories take the reader through complexities of love, desire, injustice, diaspora, and other facets of the human condition.

BUY

Girls That Never Die

Safia Elhillo

Poetry

July 12, 2022 | 144 pages

One World

How do you write about things you are not supposed to talk about? Elhillo uses the epic form to expose the dangers of silence in a culture where women’s trauma is often repressed.

BUY

Glory

NoViolet Bulawayo

Fiction-Novel

March 8, 2022 | 416 pages

Viking

Bulawayo’s second novel, shortlisted for the Booker, is a “beast fable” told as a humorous satire of Zimbabwe’s contemporary politics. It is experimental, immersive, and entertaining.

BUY

God’s Children Are Little Broken Things

Arinze Ifeakandu

Fiction - Short Stories

June 7, 2022 | 220 pages

A Public Space Books

Ifeakandu’s debut collection explores queer life through fictional stories of gay Nigerian men fighting for love, intimacy, and humanity in a homophobic world.

BUY

Green: Sighs of Our Ailing Planet

Niyi Osundare

Poetry

February 21, 2022 | 132 pages

Black Widow Press | Commonwealth Books

Celebrated Nigerian poet Niyi Osundare has published over 20 books. In his most recent collection, he tackles urgent existential questions about the planet’s survival in the face of ecological crises.

BUY

Harry Sylvester Bird

Chinelo Okparanta

Fiction-Novel

July 12, 2022 | 320 pages

Mariner Books

Okparanta’s second novel is a powerful story about the kind of racism that disguises as love and desire for black bodies, black life, and black pain. It blends satire and speculative fiction.

BUY

Honey & Spice

Bolu Babalola

Fiction - Romance

July 5, 2022 | 368 pages

Headline | William Morrow

Following the succes of LOVE IN COLOUR, Babalola delights readers with this debut novel about a college radio show host who grapples with her feelings for a man who seems to be the wrong type at first glance.

BUY

How to Be a Revolutionary

C.A. Davids

Fiction-Novel

February 8, 2022 | 304 pages

Verso Fiction

A tale of mystery, revolution and friendship, Davids’ novel narrates the unlikely meeting in Shanghai of Beth a former anti-apartheid activist and Zhao a journalist haunted by memories of the Tiananmen Uprising.

BUY

How to Write About Africa

Binyavanga Wainaina

Nonfiction - Essays

September 29, 2022 | 368 pages

Penguin Books

Binyavanga’s untimely death at 48 is still a shock. This collection gathers some of his well-known essays exploring sexuality, art, history, food, and Africa.

BUY

How You Grow Wings

Rimma Onoseta

Fiction - YA

August 9, 2022 | 336 pages

Algonquin Books

Onoseta’s debut novel is about two sisters Cheta and Zam, who grow up in rural Nigeria with an abusive mother and a silent father. To deal with their familial trauma, they use different strategies to survive.

BUY

I Am Because We Are: An African Mother’s Fight for the Soul of a Nation

Chidiogo Akunyili-Pa

Nonfiction - Memoir

January 4, 2022 | 392 pages

House of Anansi Press

Nigerian politician Dora Akunyili is known for revolutionizing the pharmaceutical industry. Her daughter writes this touching memoir, in which she reveals the costs and triumphs of Akunyili’s activist life.

BUY

If an Egyptian Cannot Speak English

Noor Naga

Fiction-Novel

April 12, 2022 | 192 pages

Graywolf Press

This star-crossed love story set in Cairo chronicles the encounters between an Egyptian-American woman visiting Egypt and a brooding artist-junkie from a village.

BUY

Imagination’s Many Rooms

Amatoritsero Ede

Nonfiction - Essays

August 19, 2022 | 178 pages

Griots Lounge Publishing

The impact of Maple Tree Literary Supplement on contemporary African literature cannot be disputed. In this brilliantly curated collection, Amatoritsero Ede shares some of his essay originally published in the groundbreaking journal.

BUY

In the Midst of it All

Thabile Shange

Fiction - Romance

September 9, 2022 | 375 pages

Kwela

Thabile Shange celebrates love across national boundaries. In this feel-good romance, a South African woman named Nandi fights for her Nigerian lover Femi in the face of xenophobic attacks.

BUY

It Doesn’t Have to Be This Way

Alistair MacKay

Fiction - Speculative

February 1, 2022 | 285 pages

Kwela

Mackay’s debut is a post-apocalyptic story set in what is left of Cape Town after the Change. In the story, three queer friends attempt to make sense of a world falling apart and losing itself in the allure of virtual reality.

BUY

Joyful, Joyful: Stories Celebrating Black Voices

(Editor) Dapo Adeola

Anthology - Middle Grade

September 29, 2022 | 192 pages

Two Hoots

From the curious case of a talking book to the joy of jollof rice, the themes in this anthology celebrates the joy of black life. Kudos to award winning children’s book author Dapo Adeola for gifting the world this magic.

BUY

Jummy at the River School

Sabine Adeyinka

Fiction - Middle Grade

January 6, 2022 | 272 pages

Chicken House

Adeyinka has written a delightful and joyous book about girls being the center of their own world. She also puts Nigerian boarding school life in the 1990s in full display.

BUY

Kibogo

(Trans.) Mark Polizzotti | Scholastique Mukasonga

Fiction-Novel

October 13, 2022 | 152 pages

Archipelago

Mukasonga’s award-winning book in four parts uses mythology to tell a gripping account of Rwanda’s encounters with colonialism and Christianity.

BUY

Manorism

Yomi Sode

Poetry

October 6, 2022 | 128 pages

Penguin Books

With this brilliant collection, Sode joins the growing chorus of writers of African descent examining what it means to be black, male, and British.

BUY

News at Noon

Anietie Isong

Fiction

May 19, 2022 | 256 pages

Jacaranda Books

Ifiok, the main character in Isong's debut novel RADIO SUNRISE, returns from fighting corruption in journalism to tackle the spread of hysteria and disinformation around the Ebola epidemic.

BUY

Nubia: The Awakening

Clarence A. Haynes | Omar Epps

Fiction - YA

November 8, 2022 | 368 pages

Delacorte Press

In the year 2098, New York City is ravage by climate crisis. Three teens Zuberi, Uzochi, and Lencho navigate the dangers of the city, all the while haunted by ancestral memories of a utopian African past.

BUY

Okoye to the People: A Black Panther Novel

(Illust.) Noa Denmon | Ibi Zoboi

Fiction - YA

March 22, 2022 | 272 pages

Marvel Press

In this BLACK PANTHER spinoff novel, Okoye of the Dora Milaje has a coming-to-America experience. Her first mission takes her on a journey all the way from Wakanda to Brooklyn in the company of King T’Chaka.

BUY

On My Papa’s Shoulders

Niki Daly

Fiction - Children's Book

May 18, 2022 | 32 pages

Catalyst Press

South African author and illustrator Niki Daly has written numerous children’s books. His recent book features a black father sharing the sublime beauty of everyday life with his son.

BUY

On Rotation

Shirlene Obuobi

Fiction-Novel

June 21, 2022 | 352 pages

Avon Books

Ghanaian cardiologist and writer Shirlene Obuobi’s debut’s book took the romance fiction world by storm. It tells the story of a young Ghanaian woman who finds love amidst the whirlwind of life as a medical student.

BUY

One for Sorrow, Two for Joy

Marie Claire Amuah

Fiction-Novel

August 18, 2022 | 320 pages

One World

Amuah’s novel spans London and Ghana. While battling Addison’s disease, Stella is caught between an abusive home life and a cold-hearted world. The story chronicles her struggle, growth, and fight for survival.

BUY

Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun

Tola Okogwu

Fiction - Middle Grade

June 14, 2022 | 320 pages

Margaret K. McElderry Books

Okogwu’s un-put-downable sci-fi tale is the story of a 12-year-old British-Nigerian girl with psychokinetic superpowers in her hair. A gem for young readers!

BUY

Our Lady of the Mysterious Ailments

T. L. Huchu

Fiction - Speculative

April 5, 2022 | 368 pages

Tor Books

Book #2 of the Edinburgh Nights series sees Ropa, the mbira-playing ghosttalker, move on from the Library of the Dead to a new mystery having to do with an unusual hospital and a boy’s school for magic.

BUY

Patience is a Subtle Thief

Abi Ishola-Ayodeji

Fiction-Novel

May 3, 2022 | 384 pages

HarperVia

What could go wrong when a band of thieves, set on making the biggest score of their lives, enlists the help of a heroine fighting her own demons?

BUY

Peach Country

Nondwe Mpuma

Poetry

April 29, 2022 | 56 pages

Uhlanga

Nondwe Mpuma does unimaginable things with language. Her imagistic poetry is a meditation on experiences and ideas drawn from the rural worlds of her Eastern Cape birthplace.

BUY

Quiet

Victoria Adukwei Bulley

Poetry

June 2, 2022 | 104 pages

Faber Books | Knopf

Bulley is a Young Barbican alumna. Her debut collection is a powerful reflection on the significance of silence and stillness in our increasingly noisy world.

BUY

Radius: A Story of Feminist Revolution

Yasmin El-Rifae

Nonfiction - Memoir

October 18, 2022 | 224 pages

Verso

Examining the Tahir Square uprising and its aftermaths, Journalist El-Rifae looks at how revolutions can fail women but also the powerful solidarities that lead to truly meaningful impact.

BUY

Smoking the Bible

Chris Abani

Poetry

May 17, 2022 | 96 pages

Copper Canyon Press

Chris Abani’s 15th book is a poetry collection centered on brotherly bonds. It powerfully conjures Abani’s signature imaginative universe erected from African worldviews, mythology, the discourse of exile, and contemporary politics.

BUY

So Distant From My Life

(Trans.) Yarri Kamara | Monique Ilboudo

Fiction-Novel

October 27, 2022 | 127 pages

Tilted Axis Press

Jeanphi decides to go to France to attain his dream of a good life. But, pursuing this dream brings up questions about the immigration crisis and the shortcomings of NGO culture.

BUY

Someday, Maybe

Onyi Nwabineli

Fiction-Novel

November 1, 2022 | 352 pages

Graydon House

Exploring themes of grief, mental illness, and irrevocable love, SOMEDAY, MAYBE is a heartrending tale about a young Nigerian woman who loses her husband too soon. Keep the box of tissues close!

BUY

Sọ̀rọ̀sóke: An #Endsars Anthology

(Editor) James Yeku | (Editor) Jumoke Verisimo

Fiction - Anthology

February 7, 2022 | 110 pages

Noirledge

In Oct. 2020, Nigerians took to the streets to protest police brutality. This collection, which captures the bravery of young Nigerians, includes poems written in response to the protest—in real time.

BUY

Such a Beautiful Thing to Behold

Umar Turaki

Fiction - Speculative

May 1, 2022 | 255 pages

Farafina Books | Little A

Turaki imagines a world where the old are ravaged by a mysterious plague while the young are left to navigate the ensuing dystopia. The novel asks what it takes to hold on to what connects us in the midst of a world falling apart.

BUY

The Black Period: On Personhood, Race, and Origin

Hafizah Augustus Geter

Nonfiction - Memoir

September 20, 2022 | 448 pages

Random House

Nigerian-American poet and visual artist Hafizah Geter traces a hopeful journey through the traumas of living in America as a queer, black, disabled person.

BUY

The Blunder

(Trans.) Amy B. Reid | Mutt-Lon

Fiction-Novel

July 12, 2022 | 160 pages

Amazon Crossing

Mutt-Lon’s first English book is a blend of historical fiction and medical thriller. It tells the story of French physician Eugene Jamot and the sleeping sickness treatment that led to hundreds of Cameroonians going blind.

BUY

The Butterfly Jungle

Diriye Osman

Fiction-Novel

March 11, 2022 | 134 pages

Team Angelica Publishing

Mogadishu-born Diriye Osman is a master of the surreal. THE BUTTERFLY JUNGLE is a genre-bending encounter with the mind of a queer British-Somali journalist and its mirroring of contemporary life.

BUY

The Daughters of Nandi

(Editor) Zukiswa Wanner | Nokuthula Mazibuko Msimang

Fiction-Novel

April 11, 2022 | 194 pages

Paivapo

Nandi, the mother of Zulu emperor Shaka, has unfinished business with her descendants. From the ancestral plane, she enlists the aid of human mediums to communicate important knowledge.

BUY

The Feeling House

Saleh Addonia

Fiction - Short Stories

May 5, 2022 | 200 pages

Holland House Books

Saleh was born to Eritrean/Ethiopian parents. He and his family survived the Om Hajar massacre and escaped to a refugee camp in Sudan where he lost his hearing at 12. These short stories draw heavily from Saleh’s personal life.

BUY

The Final Strife

Saara El-Arifi

Fiction - Speculative

June 21, 2022 | 608 pages

Del Rey | HarperVoyager

Saara El-Arifi is a British writer of Sudanese, Arab, and Ghanaian descent. Her epic fantasy is the story of three women whose interconnected lives hold the fate of a divided world. A page turner!

BUY

The Furrows: An Elegy

Namwali Serpell

Fiction-Novel

September 27, 2022 | 288 pages

Hogarth

Namwali Serpell may be known for her epic, genre-bending debut novel set in Zambia. But her second novel departs from the world of politics and sci-fi in order to examine the intimate, all-consuming violence of grief. Keep a box of tissue close!

BUY

The James Currey Anthology

(Editor) Stephen Embleton

Fiction - Anthology

August 19, 2022 | 206 pages

Abibiman Publishing

Challenging the idea that African literature is a monolith, this anthology features writers from across the continent, from Botswana to Nigeria, exploring new questions and trends in speculative fiction, history, and politics.

BUY

The Merciless Ones

Namina Forna

Fiction - YA

May 31, 2022 | 464 pages

Delacorte Press

Evil never sleeps. Namina Forna’s intricately built fantasy world inspired by Sierra Leonean folklore is still dark and enchantingly fantastical in book #2 of the deathless trilogy.

BUY

The Neverending Quest for the Other Shore

(Trans.) Alexander Dickow | Sylvie Kandé

Poetry

March 22, 2022 | 176 pages

Wesleyan University Press

As poet and historian, Kandé examines the failed voyage of 14th century Emperor of Mali Abubakar II in light of contemporary accounts about African migration.

BUY

The Night Will Have Its Say

(Trans.) Nancy Roberts | Ibrahim Al-Koni

Fiction-Novel

August 25, 2022 | 278 pages

Hoopoe

Celebrated Libyan novelist Ibrahim al-Koni takes readers on a thrilling journey through 7th century North Africa to the court of Berber Queen al-Kahina, chronicling her role in the great Muslim wars.

BUY

The Scent of Burnt Flowers

Blitz Bazawule

Fiction-Novel

June 28, 2022 | 256 pages

Ballantine

Bazawule is known for his work on Beyonce’s Black is King. Is his debut novel, a young black couple, on the run from killing a white man in Alabama, end up in Nkrumah’s Ghana.

BUY

The Second Verse

Onke Mazibuko

Fiction-Novel

June 1, 2022 | 374 pages

Penguin Random House South Africa

South African psychologist Onke Mazibuko examines the emotional and psychic experience of teenagers. Set in 1990s East London, the novel is about a boy navigating the confusions of coming of age.

BUY

The White Mosque

Sofia Samatar

Nonfiction - Memoir

October 25, 2022 | 336 pages

Catapult

Fans of Samatar will encounter a new side of the sci-fi author in her memoir where she retraces the steps of German-speaking Mennonites who left Russia for central Asia a century ago.

BUY

These Impossible Things

Salma El-Wardany

Fiction-Novel

June 7, 2022 | 400 pages

Grand Central Publishing | Trapeze Books

El-Wardany’s debut novel is a powerful story of female friendships. Three women share an experience that shakes their relationships with each other and threatens their bond.

BUY

Things They Lost

Okwiri Oduor

Fiction-Novel

April 12, 2022 | 368 pages

Scribner

In her debut novel, Oduor takes us to a dreamy East African world where women are at their most powerful when they lean into the multiple selves and worlds they embody.

BUY

Tomorrow I Become a Woman

Aiwanose Odafen

Fiction-Novel

April 28, 2022 | 416 pages

Scribner

Odafen channels her own experiences into this novel exploring the choices women face, and how to fight for the right to live and love on one’s own terms.

BUY

Truth is a Flightless Bird

Akbar Hussain

Fiction-Novel

February 11, 2022 | 304 pages

Narrative Landscape

Akbar Hussain’s story is an adventure into the seedy underworld of Nairobi. It features a heroine who must navigate the world of drug trafficking, abduction, political corruption to fight for what she believes in.

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TSOO BOI: The Voices That Protest

(Editor) Ama Asantewa Diaka

Anthology

June 16, 2022 | 80 pages

Tampered Press

Like many of its West African neighbors, Ghana has had its share of protests. This collection is an homage to collective dissent as 18 poets speak against power.

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Two Tons O’ Fun

Fred Khumalo

Fiction-Novel

February 1, 2022 | 274 pages

Penguin Random House South Africa

For his 15th book, Fred Khumalo captures the ups-and-downs of teenage life in this story about a girl named Lerato and her experience coming of age in a sprawling South African township.

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Vagabonds!

Eloghosa Osunde

Fiction-Novel

March 15, 2022 | 320 pages

Riverhead Books

VAGABOND! captures the essence of Lagos through queer and trans experiences, filtered through magical realist elements. The story is haunting and irresistible.

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Vegan Africa

Marie Kacouchia

Nonfiction - Cookbook

November 8, 2022 | 192 pages

The Experiment

VEGAN AFRICA takes readers on a vegan culinary journey all over the African continent. The book includes over 70 vegan recipes from over 15 countries!

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Wahala

Nikki May

Fiction-Novel

January 11, 2022 | 384 pages

Custom House | Doubleday

Titled “wahala,” which means trouble in Nigerian pidgin English, May’s novel is about three women who navigate friendship, parenthood, and marriage amidst the wild and sordid dramas of their everyday life.

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Where We End & Begin

Jane Igharo

Fiction - Romance

September 27, 2022 | 368 pages

Berkley

A leading African romance author, Igharo tells the story of a US-based geneticist who returns to Nigeria for a friend’s wedding, only to run into an old flame.

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Why Do You Dance When You Walk

(Trans.) David Bell | (Trans.) Nicola Bell | Abdourahman A. Waberi

Fiction-Novel

November 30, 2022 | 250 pages

Cassava Republic

A man recounts his life to his daughter after she asks about his disability. In this beautifully written novel, Waberi depicts Djiboutian life through the protagonist’s search for belonging.

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Yinka, Where is Your Huzband?

Lizzie Damilola Blackburn

Fiction - Romance

January 18, 2022 | 384 pages

Pamela Dorman Books

Blackburn’s novel has been a massive hit. A witty, feel-good love story, it centers on a high-achieving Nigerian woman in Britain navigating the maddening world of nosy aunties bearing down on her to get married.

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You Made a Fool of Death With Your Beauty

Akwaeke Emezi

Fiction - Romance

May 24, 2022 | 288 pages

Atria Books | Faber Books

The brilliantly prolific Akwaeke Emezi stuns in this mesmerizing romance celebrating queer love in the context of black diaspora experience.

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