The prestigious Columbia University has an online library research guide focusing on the African novel. Titled The Novel in Africa, the guide allows readers to search for and locate African novels by author, date, electronic availability and more.

According to the website, the research guide “contains citations for print and electronic resources available at Columbia University in support of a research on the novel in Africa.” Along with The Novel in Africa guide, the African Diaspora & African Literatures guide provides a more global perspective on African literatures.

African Studies Librarian at Columbia University, Yuusuf Caruso, said The Novel in Africa research guide was “based on a series of courses taught over the last 10-12 years at Columbia which emphasized certain authors and their most well-known novels.”

The guide features African literature in English and all books listed are located on campus and can be checked out from the library or consulted in the African Studies Reading Room at 607 Butler Library. It also includes a list of encyclopedias, handbooks, journals, blogs, and other Internet resources for readers who might be interested in locating literary criticism written about African novels.

Although this guide is only for use by Columbia University students and faculty, here is a list of African studies library collection guides and locations in the United States as well as Europe and Australia for those who might be located elsewhere.

Happy reading!