Notable Books of the Year

For our fifth annual 60 Notable Books of the Year list, we invited the literary culture critic Tolu Daniel as guest curator, to make 45 picks. He surveys “a prose landscape in search of quieter, more patient forms,” poetry “less a lyric refuge than a site of confrontation,” and “a shift towards visibility culture” where “books now circulate as events, images, and metrics long before they are encountered as texts.”

From Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Abdulrazak Gurnah, and Stella Nyanzi to Alain Mabanckou, Siphiwe Ndlovu, and Laila Lalami: the notable African books of 2025, guest curated by the literary culture critic Tolu Daniel.

From Chigozie Obioma, Sulaiman Addonia, Reem Gafar, and Dinaw Mengestu to Fiston Mwanza Mujila, Abi Dare, and Nadifa Mohamed: the notable books of 2024 by Africans.

From Leila Aboulela and Emmanuel Dongala to Femi Kayode, Momtaza Mehri, and Fatin Abbas: the notable books of 2023 by Africans.

From Warsan Shire, Romeo Oriogun, and Safia Elhillo to Arinze Ifeakandu, Akwaeke Emezi, NoViolet Bulawayo, and Chinelo Okparanta: our second annual highlight of the top titles of the year by African writers.

From Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Bernardine Evaristo to Teju Cole, Damon Galgut, and Mohamed Mbougar Sarr, our first annual highlight of the top titles of the year by African writers.