We announced that we would begin publishing reviews of the top three stories from the Short Story Day Africa Prize. The stories, alongside 18 others, appear in ID: New Short Fiction from Africa, edited by Nebila Abdulmelik, Otiene Owino, and Helen Moffett, and published by New Internationalist (UK & USA). ID is out in bookstores and on Amazon Kindle. Ethiopia’s Agazit Abate was first runner-up […]
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#SSDA2018 | Review of Tochukwu Emmanuel Okafor’s All Our Lives | Mapule Mohulatsi
We announced that we would begin publishing reviews of the top three stories from the Short Story Day Africa Prize. The stories, alongside 18 others, appear in ID: New Short Fiction from Africa, edited by Nebila Abdulmelik, Otiene Owino, and Helen Moffett, and published by New Internationalist (UK & USA). ID is out in bookstores and on Amazon […]
Megan Ross’ Milk Fever: An Intimate Meditation on Motherhood and the Female Body | Mapule Mohulatsi
“Nobody will ever get my milk no more except my own children. I never had to give it to nobody else—and the one time I did it was took from me—they held me down and took it. Milk that belonged to my baby . . . . I know what it is to be without […]
Introducing Brittle Paper’s Short Story Day Africa Stories Review
Short Story Day Africa’s presence on the literary scene is revitalising. Founded in 2011, the organisation launched a themed competition in 2013 that has evolved, by its fifth year, into the leading prize for short fiction on the continent. The prize went to Kenya’s Okwiri Oduor in 2013, South Africa’s Diane Awerbuck in 2014, South […]
Review | Hybridising Histories in Peter Kimani’s Dance Of The Jakaranda | Matthew Lecznar
Peter Kimani’s novel Dance of the Jakaranda—published in the UK by Saqi Books—makes for an enlightening and beguiling read. At one level, it is the story of Kenya’s transition from British colonial rule to independence in 1963, told from the perspectives of a diverse range of protagonists. But as the narrative proceeds, Kimani gradually adds […]
The Magic of Things Fall Apart
Sometime in April, I received an email from the BBC Culture’s editor to nominate five stories that I believed had “the most impact on shaping ideas and changing minds through history.” The same invitation had been sent to other writers, critics, and academic the world over. 108 people from 35 countries responded, including myself. On […]
This Essay Collection is a South Africa-Inspired Feminist Anthem for All Women
In the era of #metoo and #timesup, we are, more than ever before, in need of writing that deepens our understanding of feminism and the female experience. Women writers are stepping up to the task, spearheading all kinds of literary projects centered on exploring all the complexities of gender inequality while proposing strategies for resistance […]
I hold a doctorate in English from Duke University and recently joined the Marquette University English faculty as an Assistant Professor. I love teaching African fiction and contemporary British novels. Brittle Paper is the virtual space/station where I play and experiment with ideas on how to reinvent African fiction and literary culture.
