The Greatest Literature of Africa
The Greatest Literature of Africa is based, first of all, on the same research and surveys carried out over the past two decades for the Greatest Literature of All Time and all our other book lists (Greatest Novels, Greatest Stories, Greatest Historical Fiction, and so on).
But, to be frank, the literature of Africa's huge swath of humankind (comprising more than United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and continental Europe combined) has been largely overlooked by many of the critics, scholars and even readers upon which we've previously depended in creating our "greatest" lists.
To do justice to the great writers of Africa, we've had to extend our research widely to find new sources. More than eighty countries and cultures—ancient, pre-colonial, colonial and contemorary—had to be considered.
The resulting list is far from perfect but it's a start, as our research into classic and modern African writing continues. It may serve as a jumping off point for anyone beginning to explore the fascinating literary history of this continent.
Watch for updates as The Greatest Literature of Africa list grows.
Latest update: January 25, 2024
The 88 greatest works of African literature
In chronological order
c.1990 BCE
"The Shipwrecked Sailor"
Egypt,
story
c.1200 BCE
"Tale of Two Brothers"
Anonymous,
Egypt,
story
c.1100 BCE
"Wenamun"
Anonymous,
Egypt,
story
c.150
The Golden Ass
Lucius Apuleius,
Numidia,
novel
397–400
Confessions
Augustine of Hippo,
Numidia,
memoir
c.1322
The Glory of the Kings
Anonymous,
Ethiopia,
novel
1728
The Story of Tambuk
Anonymous,
Kenya,
long poem
1789
The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano
Oloudah Equiano,
Benin,
memoir
1925
Chaka
Thomas Mofolo,
Lesotho,
novel
1926—1967
The Days
Taha Hussein,
Egyot,
memoir
1934
The Call of the Curlew
Taha Hussein,
Egyot,
novel
1942
The Outsider
Albert Camus,
Algeria,
novella
1945
Caligula
Albert Camus,
Algeria,
play
1947
Mafeking Road and Other Stories
Herman Charles Bosman,
South Africa,
story collection
The Plague
Albert Camus,
Algeria,
novel
Midaq Alley
Naguib Mahfouz,
Egypt,
novel
1948
Cry, the Beloved Country
Alan Paton,
South Africa,
novel
1952
The Palm-Wine Drunkard
Amos Tutuola,
Nigeria,
novel
1953
The Dark Child
Camara Laye,
Guinea,
novel
1956
The Fall
Albert Camus,
Algeria,
novella
Houseboy
Ferdinand Oyono,
Cameroon,
novel
1956–1957
Cairo Trilogy
Naguib Mahfouz,
Egypt,
novel series
1958
Things Fall Apart
Chinua Achebe,
Nigeria,
novel
1959
The Sacrificial Egg
Chinua Achebe,
Nigeria,
story
1960
God's Bits of Wood
Ousmane Sembene,
Senegal,
novel
1961
Ambiguous Adventure
Kane Cheikh Hamidou,
Senegal,
novel
1964
Arrow of God
Chinua Achebe,
Nigeria,
novel
1965
The River Between
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o,
Kenya,
novel
The Interpreters
Wole Soyinka,
Nigeria,
novel
1966
The Fate of a Cockroach
Tawfiq Al-Hakim,
Egypt,
play
Season of Migration to the North
Tayeb Salih,
Sudan,
novel
1966–1969
Song of Lawino
Okot p'Bitek,
Uganda,
long poem
1967
Children of Gebelawi
Naguib Mahfouz,
Egypt,
novel
Miramar
Naguib Mahfouz,
Egypt,
novel
A Grain of Wheat
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o,
Kenya,
novel
1968
Love to the Grave
Haddis Alemayehu,
Ethiopia,
novel
The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born
Ayi Kwei Armah,
Ghana,
novel
1969
The Bacchae of Euripides
Wole Soyinko,
Nigeria,
novel
1972
Sizwe Bansi Is Dead
Athol Fugard,
South Africa,
play
1973
Looking on Darkness
Andre Bink,
South Africa,
novel
A Question of Power
Bessie Head,
Botswana,
novel
1974
Dusklands
J. M. Coetzee,
South Africa,
novel
The Conservationist
Nadine Gordimer,
South Africa,
novel
1975
Death and the King's Horseman
Wole Soyinka,
Nigeria,
play
1977
Our Sister Killjoy
Ama Ata Aidoo,
Ghana,
novel
In the Heart of the Country
J. M. Coetzee,
South Africa,
novel
Woman at Point Zero
Nawal El Saadawi,
Egypt,
novel
Petals of Blood
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o,
Kenya,
novel
1978
The House of Hunger
Dambudzo Marechera,
Zimbabwe,
story collection
So Long a Letter
Miriam Bâ,
Senegal,
novel
1979
A Dry White Season
André Brink,
South Africa,
novel
Burger's Daughter
Nadine Gordimer,
South Africa,
novel
1980
Waiting for the Barbarians
J.M. Coetzee,
South Africa,
novel
Devil on the Cross
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o,
Kenya,
novel
1981
July's People
Nadine Gordimer,
South Africa,
novel
1982
"Master Harold"...and the Boys
Athol Fugard,
South Africa,
play
I Will Marry When I Want
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o,
Kenya,
play
1983
The Life and Times of Michael K
J.M. Coetzee,
South Africa,
novel
1984
Another Country
Karel Schoeman,
South Africa,
novel
1985
The True Confessions of an Albino Terrorist
Breyten Breytenbach,
South Africa,
novel
1986
Matigari
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o,
Kenya,
novel
Kaffir Boy
Mark Mathabane,
South Africa,
memoir
Ancestral Voices
Etienne van Heerden,
South Africa,
novel
1987
You Can't Get Lost in Cape Town
Zoë Wicomb,
South Africa,
story collection
1988
Nervous Conditions
Tsitsi Dangarembga,
Zimbabwe,
novel
1991
The Famished Road
Ben Okri,
Nigeria,
novel
1993
Gifts
Nuruddin Farah,
Somalia,
novel
1995
Astonishing the Gods
Ben Okri,
Nigeria,
novel
1997
Kafka's Curse
Achmat Dangor,
South Africa,
novel
1999
Disgrace
J.M. Coetzee,
South Africa,
novel
2000
The Heart of Redness
Zakes Mda,
South Africa,
novel
2003
Purple Hibiscus
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie,
Nigeria,
novel
Elizabeth Costello
J.M. Coetzee,
South Africa,
novel
2004
The Good Doctor
Damon Galgut,
South Africa,
novel
The Cry of Winnie Mandel
Njabulo Ndebele,
South Africa,
novel
2006
Half of a Yellow Sun
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie,
Nigeria,
novel
Wizard of the Crow
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o,
Kenya,
novel
2007
A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier
Ishmael Beah,
Sierra Leone,
memoir
2008
Say You're One of Them
Ulem Akpan,
Nigeria,
novel
Thirteen Hours
Deon Meyer,
South Africa,
novel
2009
The Thing Around Your Neck
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie,
Nigeria,
story collection
2011
Anatomy of a Disappearance
Hisham Marat,
Libya,
novel
2013
Americanah
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie,
Nigeria,
novel
2015–2018
Sands of the Emperor
Mia Couto,
Mozambique,
novel series
2016
What It Means When a Man Falls From the Sky
Lesley Nneka Armah,
Nigeria,
story collection
2021
The Promise
Damon Galgut,
South Africa,
story collection
