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Fabulous reads: Celebrating female African writers

Book overview - New Daughters of Africa: An international anthology of writing by women of African descent by Margaret Busby

New Daughters of Africa: An international anthology of writing by women of African descent, Margaret Busby, Jonathan Ball Publishers, ISBN: 9781868429844 

SHOWCASING the work of more than 200 women writers of African descent, this major international collection celebrates their contributions to literature and international culture.

Twenty-five years ago, Margaret Busby’s groundbreaking anthology Daughters of Africa illuminated the “silent, forgotten, underrated voices of black women” (Washington Post). Published to international acclaim, it was hailed as “an extraordinary body of achievement… a vital document of lost history” (Sunday Times).

New Daughters of Africa continues that mission for a new generation, bringing together a selection of overlooked artists of the past with fresh and vibrant voices that have emerged from across the globe in the past two decades.

Key figures join popular contemporaries in paying tribute to the heritage that unites them. Each of the pieces in this remarkable collection demonstrates an uplifting sense of sisterhood, honours the strong links that endure from generation to generation, and addresses the common obstacles women writers of colour face as they negotiate issues of race, gender and class, and confront vital matters of independence, freedom and oppression.

Custom, tradition, friendships, sisterhood, romance, sexuality, intersectional feminism, the politics of gender, race, and identity— all and more are explored in this glorious collection of work from over 200 writers.

New Daughters of Africa spans a wealth of genres—autobiography, memoir, oral history, letters, diaries, short stories, novels, poetry, drama, humour, politics, journalism, essays and speeches—to demonstrate the diversity and remarkable literary achievements of black women.

 

Margaret Busby. IMAGE: Submitted

ABOUT THE EDITOR

Margaret Busby is a major cultural figure around the world. She was born in Ghana and educated in the UK and was Britain’s youngest and first black woman publisher when she co-founded Allison & Busby in the late 1960s.

An editor, broadcaster and literary critic, she has also written drama for BBC radio and the stage.

She has judged numerous national and international literary competitions, and served on the boards of such organisations as the Royal Literary Fund, Wasafiri magazine and The Africa Centre. She lives in London

At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
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MariClair Smit

Former journalist and current KZN digital campaign co-ordinator.

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