The Granta Book of the African Short Story | Granta

  • Published: 06/09/2012
  • ISBN: 9781847083333
  • 129x20mm
  • 400 pages

The Granta Book of the African Short Story

Helon Habila

Presenting a diverse and dazzling collection from all over the continent, from Morocco to Zimbabwe, Uganda to Kenya. Helon Habila focuses on younger, newer writers – contrasted with some of their older, more established peers – to give a fascinating picture of a new and more liberated Africa.

These writers are characterized by their engagement with the wider world and the opportunities offered by the end of apartheid, the end of civil wars and dictatorships, and the possibilities of free movement. Their work is inspired by travel and exile. They are liberated, global and expansive. As Dambudzo Marechera wrote: ‘If you’re a writer for a specific nation or specific race, then f*** you.” These are the stories of a new Africa, punchy, self-confident and defiant.

Includes stories by: Fatou Diome; Aminatta Forna; Manuel Rui; Patrice Nganang; Leila Aboulela; Zoë Wicomb; Alaa Al Aswany; Doreen Baingana; E.C. Osondu.

The skill and sophistication of African authors is on display throughout this rich and rewarding book

Joan Smith, The Times

Brings together some of the most exciting voices from this generation

Daily Telegraph

It is an anthology about the agonies of love and war, about family, about longing for home, about transplantation in unaccustomed earth ... The Granta Book of the African Short Story shows, wherever and by whomever they are published, Africa has writers of depth and talent with a multitude of stories as diverse as the continent's countries, cultures and peoples

Petina Gappah, Financial Times

The Author

Helon Habila was born in Nigeria. He has published three novels, Waiting for an Angel (2002), Measuring Time (2007) and Oil on Water (2010). Winner of the Caine Prize 2001, and the Commonwealth Writer’s Prize 2003, Habila currently teaches Creative Writing at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, where he lives with his family.

More about the author →

Helon Habila on Granta.com

Fiction | The Online Edition

The Crocodile Lover

Helon Habila

Fiction | The Online Edition

The Witch’s Dog

Helon Habila

‘The old witch, Nana Mudo, lived alone with her dog on the other side of the grove.’

Essays & Memoir | The Online Edition

Another Age

Helon Habila

‘This snapshot of us in the foyer of the MuSoN Hall has come to symbolize a lot of things to me. Our smiles seem to say that the worst for our country is over, we are gazing beyond the camera into a new and brighter future, where we could be poets without fear of arrest, murder or exile. We had cheques worth 50,000 naira and 20,000 naira in our pockets. But above all the picture is a confirmation of my deepest dream, that of becoming a writer.’