Blessing Uwisike

Book News November 05, 2026

South African Bookstagrammer Dr. Nokukhanya Ntsaluba Graduates with a PhD in Law and Gender from SOAS South African book influencer Nokukhanya Ntsaluba is now Dr. Ntsaluba! She has graduated with a PhD in Law and Gender and shared a set of six photos of the milestone on Instagram, posing in red and gold doctoral robes, a soft blue bonnet, and a sharp pinstriped suit on a tree-lined London street. Ntsaluba is the creator behind @pretty_x_bookish, and Brittle Paper readers know her well. Born and raised in Pretoria, she was named our 2023 Social Media Influencer of the Year for her work promoting African and African diaspora literature online. She has been a regular presence in our coverage ever since. In 2021, she reimagined Akwaeke Emezi’s Dear Senthuran through photography for Faber. In 2023, she joined a Brittle Paper-curated conversation with fellow bookstagrammers at Africa Writes. Her comments were also featured in our piece on reactions to the final book in Tomi Adeyemi’s Orïsha trilogy. In 2025, she returned with her #AroundTheWorldInBooks reading challenge, which encourages readers to widen their horizons. Her academic path has run alongside her online work. Before the PhD, she worked at UN Women, and she completed her doctorate at SOAS University of London, where her research focused on law and gender. She has said that books offer a way to transport yourself to another reality for a few hours, and her page has made reading feel cool, communal, and joyful for a lot of people. Congratulations to Dr. Nokukhanya Ntsaluba on this achievement! See more photos from her graduation below. Photos: via Nokukhanya Ntsaluba’s Instagram.

by Blessing Uwisike

Events November 05, 2026

Bhakti Shringarpure’s Leila Aboulela: Writing as Refuge, the First Biography of the Sudanese Writer, Launches at SOAS on 10 November 2026

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News November 04, 2026

British-Nigerian Poet Theresa Lola Is a Judge for the 2027 Women’s Prize for Fiction

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News November 04, 2026

Goretti Kyomuhendo, Nzube Nlebedim, and Godfrey Mwampembwa Are the Fall 2026 Tejumola Olaniyan Creative Writers-in-Residence

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News November 04, 2026

British-Nigerian Author Yomi Adegoke Showed Up as Goldilocks for Halloween

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Essays November 03, 2026

Whose Knowledge? and DAIR Launch Findings on Community-Centered Language Tech for Kiswahili and Tigrinya

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News November 03, 2026

Abdelrahman ElGendy and Mohamed Mbougar Sarr Are Finalists for the 2026 National Book Awards

by Blessing Uwisike