Africa's 100 Best Books of the 20th Century

An initiative of the Zimbabwe International Book Fair

View a copy of the final list.

Over the last hundred years African writers have written of their lives, experiences, culture, history and myth; they have written in diverse forms, styles and in many languages. They have been published widely on the African continent, in Europe, the Americas and Asia. They have written in English, French, Portuguese, Arabic, Swahili, and in many other indigenous languages. And they have written with extraordinary originality, flair and great integrity. Nonetheless their work as a corpus deriving from the African continent remains largely unknown and uncelebrated.

To mark the beginning of the 21st century, and encouraged by Professor Ali Mazrui, the Zimbabwe International Book Fair launched the international compilation of "Africa's 100 Best Books." This project was organized in collaboration with the African Publishers Network (APNET), the Pan-African Booksellers Association (PABA), African writers' associations, book development councils, and library associations.

Nominations were sought throughout the African continent and internationally. A comprehensive list of all nominations was published at the ZIBF in August 2001 and during the course of the following year regional panels compiled their own short lists of 100 best books. Closing date for nominations was 30 September 2001.

A jury made the final decision from the short list and the final list of "Africa's 100 Best Books" was announced on February 18, 2002.

See: a copy of the list below.

This allowed ample time for those involved (authors of nominated books and their publishers) to prepare for participation in ZIBF2002. From August 3rd to the 10th in 2002, the fair participants celebrated the authors and publishers on the final list.

Objectives

• The aim of this endeavour is:
  - to celebrate the achievements of African writers over the last century
  - to stimulate debate, discussion, reading, criticism and analysis of African writing
  - to foster the publication and development of new titles and those that are currently out of print
  - to encourage translation of different texts
  - to promote the sale and exchange of books continent-wide and throughout the world
  - and above all to increase awareness and knowledge of books and writing by African authors.

Definition of an African

• Only books written by Africans are eligible. After extensive discussion and debate the ZIBF has for the purpose of this project identified an African as: 'someone either born in Africa or who became a citizen of an African country.' This definition incorporates those African writers who have moved from their countries of birth to other continents. The issue of authors who are not by this definition deemed African but who consider themselves such or those who have made a notable contribution to African scholarship and literature will be addressed on their merit should their books be nominated.

Criteria for nomination of a book

• Nominations were made on the basis that the book has had a powerful, important or affecting influence on the nominator, as an individual, or on society.

What you can do?

• * Use this project to generate discussion among your colleagues and friends, with your teachers or students, and in the media.
  * Use it as a basis for having African writers in your own cities and countries interviewed, or given a platform to speak and to debate their own work.
  * Use it as a positive vehicle for analysis, serious criticism, debate and scholarship.
  * Use it as an excuse to buy or loan books and to extend the breadth of your knowledge and understanding of the great wealth of fiction and non-fiction written by Africans about their lives and societies.
  * Photocopy, translate, circulate and encourage people to seriously complete the nomination forms. Every serious nomination will lend weight and substance to the list; every book that has made an impact on an individual or on society is worthy of note.

Please address all queries and ideas directly to:
Zimbabwe International Book Fair Association
P. O. Box CY1179
Causeway
Harare
Zimbabwe

Fax: 263 4 702129

Africa 100 Best Books of the 20th Century--Final List

The jury selected books in 3 main categories:
-- Literature for Children
-- Creative Writing
-- Scholarship/non-fiction

In the table below, ** indicates a top twelve title.



Literature for children




Asare, Meshack	Ghana	**Sosu's Call	Sub-Saharan Publishers
Al-Homi, Hayam Abbas	Egypt	Adventures of a Breath	Atfalna
Mungoshi, Charles	Zimbabwe	Stories from a Shona Childhood	Baobab Books
Tadjo, Veronique	Côte d'Ivoire	Mamy Wata et le monstre	Nouvelles éditions ivoriennes




Creative writing




Abnudi, `Abd al-Rahman	Egypt	al-Mawt `ala al-asfalt	Atlas
Achebe, Chinua	Nigeria	Arrow of God	Heinemann
Achebe, Chinua	Nigeria	**Things Fall Apart	Heinemann
Aidoo, Ama Ata	Ghana	Anowa	Longman
Almeida, Germano	Cape Verde	O testamento do Sr. Napumoceno da Silva Araújo	Ed. Caminho
Armah, Ayi Kwei	Ghana	The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born	Heinemann
Bâ, Amadou Hampâté	Mali	L'étrange destin de Wangrin	Union générale d'éditions
Bâ, Mariama	Senegal	**Une si longue lettre	Nouvelles éditions africaines
Ben Jelloun, Tahar	Morocco	La nuit sacrée	Seuil
Beti, Mongo	Cameroon	Le pauvre Christ de Bomba	Présence africaine
Brink, André	South Africa	A Dry White Season	Penguin
Bugul, Ken	Senegal	Riwan, ou le chemin de sable	Présence africaine
Cheney-Choker, Syl	Sierra Leone	The Last Harmattan of Alusine Dunbar	Heinemann
Chraibi, Driss	Morocco	Le passé simple	Gallimard
Coetzee, J.M.	South Africa	Life and Times of Michael K	Secker & Warburg
Couto, Mia	Mozambique	**Terra sonâmbula	Ed. Caminho
Craveirinha, José	Mozambique	Karingana ua Karingana	Academica
Dadié, Bernard	Côte d'Ivoire	Climbié	Editions Segiers
Dangarembga, Tsitsi	Zimbabwe	**Nervous Conditions	Women's Press
Dib, Mohammed	Algeria	Algérie, La grande maison, L'incendie, Le métier à tisser	Le Seuil
Diop, Birago	Senegal	Les contes d'Amadou Koumba	Présence africaine
Diop, Boubacar Boris	Senegal	Murambi ou le livre des ossements	Stock
Djebar, Assia	Algeria	**L'amour, la fantasia	J.C. Lattes
Emecheta, Buchi	Nigeria	The Joys of Motherhood	Alison and Busby
Fagunwa, Daniel O.	Nigeria	Ogboju ode ninu igbo irunmale	Nelson
Farah, Nuruddin	Somalia	Maps	Pan Books
Fugard, Athol	South Africa	The Blood Knot	Simondium Publishers
Ghitani, Jamal al-	Egypt	Zayni Barakat	GEBO
Gordimer, Nadine	South Africa	Burgher's Daughter	Jonathan Cape
Head, Bessie	South Africa	A Question of Power	Heinemann
Honwana, Bernardo	Mozambique	Nos matamos o cão tinhoso	Academica
Hove, Chenjerai	Zimbabwe	Bones	Baobab Books
Isegawa, Moses	Uganda	Abessijnse Kronieken	Uigeverij De Bezige Bij
Jordan, Archibald Campbell	South Africa	Ingqumbo yeminyanya	Lovedale Press
Joubert, Elsa	South Africa	Die Swerdjare van Poppie Nongena	Tafelberg
Kane, Cheikh Hamidou	Senegal	L'aventure ambiguë	Editions Juillard
Khosa, Ungulani Ba Ka	Mozambique	Ualalapi	AEMO
Kourouma, Ahmadou	Côte d'Ivoire	Les soleils des indépendances	Le Seuil
Laye, Camara	Guinea	L'enfant noir	Plon
Magona, Sindiwe	South Africa	Living, Loving and Lying Awake at Night	David Philip Publishers
Mahfouz, Naguib	Egypt	**The Cairo Trilogy	Maktabet Misr
Marechera, Dambudzo	Zimbabwe	House of Hunger	Heinemann
Mofolo, Thomas	Lesotho	**Chaka	Morija Sesuto Book Depot
Monenembo, Tierno	Guinea	Un attieké pour Elgass	Le Seuil
Mutwa, Vusamazulu Credo	South Africa	Indaba, My Children	Blue Crane Books
Ngugi wa Thiong'o	Kenya	Caitaani Mutharaba-ini	Heinemann
Ngugi wa Thiong'o	Kenya	**A Grain of Wheat	Heinemann
Niane, Djibril Tamsir	Senegal	Soundjata ou l'épopée mandingue	Présence africaine
Nyembezi, Sibusiso	South Africa	Inkinnsela yaseMgungundlovu	Shuter and Shooter
Okigbo, Christopher	Nigeria	Labyrinths	Heinemann
Okri, Ben	Nigeria	The Famished Road	Spectrum Books
Oyono, Ferdinand	Cameroon	Le vieux nègre et la médaille	Editions Juillard
P'Bitek, Okot	Uganda	Song of Lawino	Heinemann
Pepetela	Angola	A geração da utopia	Dom Quixote
Saadawi, Nawal El	Egypt	Woman at Point Zero	Zed Books
Salih El Tayyib	Sudan	Season of Migration to the North	Heinemann
Sassine, Williams	Guinea	Le jeune homme de sable	Présence africaine
Sembene, Ousmane	Senegal	Les bouts de bois de Dieu	Le livre contemporain
Senghor, Léopold Sédar	Senegal	**Ouevre poétique	Le Seuil
Serote, Mongane	South Africa	Third World Express	David Philip Publishers
Shabaan, Robert Bin	Tanzania	Utenzi wa vita vya uhuru	East African Literature Bureau
Sony Labou Tansi	Congo	La vie et demie	Seuil
Sow Fall, Aminata	Senegal	La grève des battus	Nouvelles éditions africaines
Soyinka, Wole	Nigeria	Death and the King's Horsemen	Spectrum
Tchicaya U Tam'si	Congo	Le mauvais sang - feu de brousse - à trisse-coeur	P.J. Swald
Tutuola, Amos	Nigeria	The Palm-wine Drinkard	Faber
Vera, Yvonne	Zimbabwe	Butterfly Burning	Baobab Books
Vieira, José Luandino	Angola	Nós os do Makulusu	[União dos Escritores Angolanos]
Vilakazi, B.W.	South Africa	Amal'eZulu	Witwatersrand University Press
Yacine, Kateb	Algeria	Nedjma	Le Seuil


Scholarship/non-fiction



Amin, Samir	Egypt	Accumulation on a World Scale	Monthly Review Press
Amadiume, Ifi	Nigeria	Male Daughters, Female Husbands	Zed Books
Andrade, Mario de	Angola	Os nacionalismos africanos	Sa da Costa
Appiah, Anthony	Ghana	In My Father's House	Oxford University Press
Cabral, Amilcar	Guinea-Bissau	Unity and Struggle	Monthly Review Press
Chimera, Rocha	Kenya	Kiswahili, past, present and future horizons	Nairobi University Press
Diop, Cheikh Anta	Senegal	**Antériorité des civilisations nègres	Présence africaine
Doorkenoo, Efua	Ghana	Cutting the Rose	Minority Rights Group
Hayford, J.E. Casely	Ghana	Ethiopia Unbound	Cass
Hountondji, Paulin	Benin	Sur la philosophie africaine	François Maspero
Johnson, Samuel	Nigeria	The History of the Yorubas	G. Routledge & Sons
Kenyatta, Jomo	Kenya	Facing Mount Kenya	Secker & Warburg
Ki-Zerbo, Joseph	Burkina Faso	Histoire de l'Afrique noire	Hatier
Krog, Antjie	South Africa	Country of My Skull	Jonathan Cape
Mama, Amina	Nigeria	Beyond the Mask, Race, Gender and Identity	Routledge
Mamdani, Mahmood	Uganda	Citizen and Subject	James Currey Publishers
Mandela, Nelson	South Africa	Long Walk to Freedom	Little Brown
Marais, Eugene	South Africa	Die Siel van die Mier	J.L. van Schaik
Memmi, Albert	Tunisia	Portrait du colonisé suivi de portrait du colonisateur	L'Etincelle
Mondlane, Eduardo	Mozambique	The Struggle for Mozambique	Penguin
Mphahlele, Ezekiel	South Africa	Down Second Avenue	Faber & Faber
Mudimbe, V.Y.	Dem. Rep. of Congo	The Invention of Africa	Indiana University Press
Nkrumah, Kwame	Ghana	Ghana: The Autobiography of Kwame Nkrumah	Nelson
Plaatje, Sol	South Africa	Native Life in South Africa	P.S. King
Soyinka, Wole	Nigeria	**Ake: The Years of Childhood	Rex Collings
Van Onselen, Charles	South Africa	The Seed is Mine	David Philip Publishers