Five lists of African literature we love

Chinua Achebe. Things Fall Apart. Wole Woyinka. Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o. These are the familiar writers and book titles that feature on African literature lists.  It’s hardly surprising since they are among the greats – and we are of course big fans – but Africa has contributed so much more to the art of writing that also deserves to be recognised. And at long last it seems that the international community is starting to recognise that more and more. So we have narrowed down a selection of five lists of books and novelists that show a range of African literature from classic to contemporary. Let us know what you think. Do you have any favourite lists of your own? If so, please share with us in on Facebook or Twitter.

  1. 50 Books By African Women That Everyone Should Read
An avid reader perusing the bookshelves at Africa Writes 2014

An avid reader perusing the bookshelves at Africa Writes 2014

Our sister programme Gateway for Africa, the event listings and culture blog teamed up with Bookshy to compile this list of books by African women that we think that you should read. You can find part two here

  1. Ankara Press Debuts 6 African Romance Novels That are Better Than Mills & Boon
    Brittle Paper breaks down Ankara Press’s exciting anthology of love stories told by six different African voices that was released on Valentine’s Day. This anthology is also the inspiration for one of our panels this year…watch this space!
  1. New Wave of African Writers With an Internationalist Bent
    This one is not so much a list but a piece by The New York Times on the African writers that are making their mark on the global literature scene.
  1. Ten fiction books by African authors that you should pick up now for your holiday
    If choosing a good book is part of your preparation before a holiday then this list is a good place to start. Regardless, it features a good pan-African list of contemporary novels that can be enjoyed any time of the year.
  1. These are the African writers you should be reading right now
    CNN presents a list of 7 popular contemporary African writers.