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Things Fall Apart
by Chinua Achebe
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For too long, the conversation around African Literature has been scattered — across bookshelves in Lagos and London, in university syllabi and diaspora book clubs, in the algorithms of platforms that were never built with this canon in mind. The Littafi Monthly 50 exists to change that.
Every month, we publish a ranked chart of the fifty most significant works in African Literature today. The rankings are not arbitrary. Each title is scored across five weighted categories: Goodreads reader ratings, previous author awards, social media trends, our editorial team's assessments, and, critically, the votes of readers like you.
This is not a best-of-all-time list frozen in amber. It is a living document. Books rise. Books fall. New voices push their way into a canon that is still being written. What you read matters. Who you champion matters. Your vote is part of the record.
Curated selections spanning genres and voices
by Chinua Achebe
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by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
HarperCollins Publishers
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2
by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Narrative Landscape
#1
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3
by Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀
Knopf
#1
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4
by Adedayo Agarau
Fordham University Press
#1
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5
by Yaa Gyasi
Alfred A. Knopf
#1
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6
by Chigozie Obioma
Little, Brown and Company
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by Damilare Kuku
HarperVia/HarperCollins
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8
by Abubakar Adam Ibrahim
Masobe Books
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by Lola Shoneyin
Cassava Republic Press
#1
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10
by Chinelo Okparanta
HarperCollins/Mariner Books
#1
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11
by Chika Unigwe
Masobe Books
#1
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12
by Oyin Olugbile
Masobe Books
#1
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13
by Chimeka Garricks
Masobe Books
#1
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14
by Michael Afenfia
Masobe Books
#1
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15
by Ukamaka Olisakwe
Masobe Books
#1
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by Buchi Emecheta
Heinemann
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by Helon Habila
Penguin Books
#1
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18
by Chukwuebuka Ibeh
Viking Books
#1
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19
by Eloghosa Osunde
Riverhead Books
#1
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20
by Tsitsi Dangarembga
Women’s Press
#1
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21
by Aiwanose Odafen
Ouida Books
#1
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22
by Nnedi Okorafor
HarperCollins
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23
by Abi Dare
Dutton
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by Sefi Atta
Interlink
#1
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by Lizzie Damilola Blackburn
Pamela Dorman Books
#1
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26
by Buchi Emecheta
Allison & Busby
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by Flora Nwapa
Heinemann
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by Amos Tutuola
Faber & Faber
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29
by Foluso Agbaje
Harper Collins' imprint
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by Omolola Ijeoma Ogunyemi
Masobe Books
#1
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31
by Nnamdi Anyadu
Narrative Landscape Press
#1
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32
by Chika Unigwe
Masobe Books
#1
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33
by Tomilola Coco Adeyemo
Masobe Books
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34
by Kulthum Asha
Masobe books
#1
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35
by Elnathan John
Cassava Republic Press
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by NoViolet Bulawayo
Reagan Arthur Books
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by Francesca Ekwuyasi
Arsenal Pulp
#1
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by Remilekun Anikulapo-Kuti
Ouida Books
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by Akwaeke Emezi
Riverhead
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by Obinna Udenwe
Purple Shelves
#1
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by Ama Asantewa Diaka
HarperCollins Publishers
#1
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42
by Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani
Masobe Books
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by Wole Soyinka
Penguin books
#1
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by Peace Adzo Medie
Algonquin Books
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by Nikki May
Mariner Books
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by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o
Heinemann
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by Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah
Dialogue Books
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by Joan Thatiah
Stori Zetu Books
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by Imbolo Mbue
Random House
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50
African literary fiction, romance, contemporary, thriller, speculative fiction
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