The sixth annual conference of Forever Africa Conference and Events was held on the 7th of June 2023. It was an Africa Research Day which aimed to bring together students and staff at the University of Bristol for a day focused on sharing research and reflecting on approaches to teaching Africa within the University and elsewhere, as well as sharing advice on careers in Africa-focused research. As such, the day consisted of 3 panels focused around

  • research presentations from Bristol staff outlining the research they undertake in/on/of Africa;
  • a roundtable on Teaching Africa in UK Higher Education; as well as in African institutions with input from University of Bristol academics and external speakers; and
  • a panel on various careers in African Research.

During the Teaching Africa panel, one of the things we talked about (raised by Dr Afua Twum-Danso Imoh) was the value of fiction written by contemporary African writers for doing this teaching about Africa. In response, I have written this short list of 20+ suggestions, which includes two travelogues.

What other works or authors would you recommend? Please enter them in the comments section.

(Suggestions made after the initial publication of this post can be found below this list.)

Aboulela, Leila. Lyrics Alley. Hachette UK, 2010.

Adebajo, Adekeye. The Trial of Cecil John Rhodes. 1st edition. Jacana Media, 2021.

Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi. Half of a Yellow Sun. Alfred A. Knopf Incorporated, 2006.

Atta, Sefi. Everything Good Will Come. Moreton-in-Marsh: Interlink Books, 2005.

Bulawayo, NoViolet. We Need New Names. Hachette UK, 2013.

Chigumadzi, Panashe. These Bones Will Rise Again. The Indigo Press, 2018.

Clemmons, Zinzi. What We Lose. Fourth Estate, 2017.

Dangaremba, Tsitsi. Book of Not. Banbury, Oxfordshire, U.K: Ayebia Clarke Publishing Ltd, 2006.

Daré, Abi. The Girl with the Louding Voice. Penguin, 2021.

Garricks, Chimeka. A Broken People’s Playlist. 2020.

Gyasi, Yaa. Homegoing. Penguin UK, 2016.

Huchu, Tendai. The Hairdresser of Harare. Jacana Media, 2010.

John, Elnathan. Born on a Tuesday. Open Road+ Grove/Atlantic, 2016.

Kilanko, Yejide. Daughters Who Walk This Path. Penguin, 2012.

Mamoun, Rania. Thirteen Months of Sunrise. England: Comma Press, 2019.

Mengiste, Maaza. The Shadow King. Canongate Books, 2019.

Nelson, Caleb Azumah. Open Water. Singel Uitgeverijen, 2021.

Ngũgĩ, Mũkoma Wa. Unbury Our Dead With Song. Nairobi, Kenya: Cassava Republic Press, 2021.

Owuor, Yvonne Adhiambo. Dust. Granta Books, 2014.

Selasi, Taiye. Ghana Must Go. Penguin UK, 2013.

Serpell, Namwali. The Old Drift. Random House, 2019.

Unigwe, Chika. On Black Sisters Street. Random House, 2011.

Yusuf, Ahmed Ismail. The Lion’s Binding Oath and Other Stories. Livermore, California: Catalyst Press, 2018.

Nyabola, Nanjala. Travelling While Black: Essays Inspired by a Life on the Move. London: C. Hurst & Co. Publishers Ltd, 2020.

Mogoatlhe, Lerato. Vagabond: Wandering Through Africa on Faith. Blackbird Books, 2019.

Further suggestions

Let me know if you have any suggestions not here already and I will add them to the list

From Afua Twum-Danso Imoh
  • Chinua Achebe – the African Trilogy. We cannot forget the classics. I have read it 4 times but would read it again. I could see it being used not just for history but also for some sociology and political science courses.
  • Ama Ata Aidoo – Changes and My Sister Killjoy – for gender-related courses.
  • Ousmane Sembene – God’s Bits of Wood – a novel based on real-life events, i.e., a railway workers’ strike.
  • Tsitsi Dangarembga – Nervous Conditions – a powerful book which provides an account of the consequences of colonialism.
  • Chimanda Ngozi Adichie – Purple Hibiscus – a book that disturbed me, but it would be great for courses on children’s rights and childhoods.
  • Petina Gappah – an amazing Zimbabwean author who wrote a book of short stories, An Elegy for Easterly and then her first novel, The Book of Memory
  • Amma Darko is a Ghanaian Author who does not get enough attention – Not without Flowers
  • Ferdinand Oyono-The House Boy
From Rafael Mitchell
  • Paradise by Abdulrazak Gurnah (& any/everything else by Abdulrazak Gurnah)
  • Serowe: Village of the Rain Wind by Bessie Head (not really fiction or contemporary, but a wonderful literary account of oral histories which still speak to the present)
From Kate Mackenzie: some francophone texts which have English translations
  • Alain Mabanckou, Petit Piment (Éditions du Seuil, 2015);
  • Emmanuel Dongala, Johnny chien méchant (Le Serpent à plumes, 2002);
  • Scholastique Mukasonga, Notre-Dame du Nil (Gallimard, 2012); and
  • Tierno Monénembo, L’Aîné des orphelins (Éditions du Seuil, 2000).
From Ian Hunt

One author I really admire is Zoë Wicomb. Still Life, her last book, may be her best – but for teaching purposes her book of short stories, The One That Got Away (Five Leaves Press, Nottingham), would be more appropriate, as would the other novel, Playing in the Light.

A few more from other people
  • The Death of Vivek Orji by Akwaeze Emezi
  • The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives by Lola Shoneyin
  • Lakiriboto by Ayodele Olofintuade
  • The Famished Road by Ben Okri
  • Under the Udala Tree by Chinelo Okparanta
  • Dance of the Jakaranda by Peter Kimani
  • Arrow of God by Chinua Achebe

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

6 COMMENTS

  1. Thanks for the list, lots for me to work through there!

    I’d add:
    – *Paradise* by Abdulrazak Gurnah (& any/everything else by Abdulrazak Gurnah)
    – *Serowe: Village of the Rain Wind* by Bessie Head (not really fiction or contemporary, but a wonderful literary account of oral histories which still speak to the present)

  2. How about some francophone texts: Alain Mabanckou, Petit Piment (Éditions du Seuil, 2015); Emmanuel Dongala, Johnny chien méchant (Le Serpent à plumes, 2002); Scholastique Mukasonga, Notre-Dame du Nil (Gallimard, 2012); and Tierno Monénembo, L’Aîné des orphelins (Éditions du Seuil, 2000). All also available in English translations.

  3. This is incredibly useful and I will learn from it. Thank you. One author I really admire is Zoë Wicomb. Still Life, her last book, may be her best – but for teaching purposes her book of short stories, The One That Got Away (Five Leaves Press, Nottingham), would be more appropriate, and of the other novels Playing in the Light.

  4. Here are a few more suggestions that Dr Afua has asked me to add:

    Chinua Achebe-the African Trilogy. We cannot forget the classics. I have read it 4 times but would read it again. I could see it used not just for history but some sociological and political science courses.
    Ama Ata Aidoo- Changes and My Sister Killjoy-for gender-related courses.
    Ousmane Sembene-God’s Bits of Wood-a novel based on real life events ie railway workers’ strike.
    Tsiti Dagaremba-Nervous Conditions-a powerful book which provides an account of the consequences of colonialism.
    Chimanda Ngozi Adichie- Purple Hibiscus – book that disturbed me but it would be great for courses on children’s rights and childhoods.
    Pettina Gappah- an amazing Zimbabwean author who wrote a book of short stories- An Elegy for Easterly and then her first novel- The Book of Memory
    Amma Darko is a Ghanaian Author who does not get enough attention- Not without Flowers
    Ferdinand Oyono-The House Boy

  5. Further recommendations:
    The Death of Vivek Orji by Akwaeze Emezi
    The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives by Lola Shoneyin
    Lakiriboto by Ayodele Olofintuade
    The Famished Road by Ben Okri
    Under the Udala Tree by Chinelo Okparanta
    Dance of the Jakaranda by Peter Kimani
    Arrow of God by Chinua Achebe

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