This page provides links to most of the work that has been published in my name on the internet.
Published work by Kris Van der Bijl — freelance book reviewer, literary critic, and content writer specialising in South African literature, African fiction, and speculative writing.
My literary criticism and book reviews have appeared in Wasafiri, News24, The Johannesburg Review of Books, Brittle Paper, and other leading publications. I also conduct in-depth author interviews and write creative fiction and poetry.
Below you’ll find links to my published book reviews, literary criticism, author interviews, and creative writing. For samples of my SEO content writing, B2B copywriting, thought leadership articles, and ghostwriting projects, please contact me directly as most carry confidentiality agreements.
On: For You, I’d Steal a Goat by Niq Mhlongo. World Literature Today 100:1 (2025).
The contradiction of lazy AI work in SA’s fight against joblessness. News24. 2025-10-02.
The Rhetorical Machinery of South Africa’s Coalition Politics. African Arguments. 2025-09-23..
Nnedi Okorafor offers a meditation on identity and technology in her latest novel. News24. 2025-08-27.
‘Once Removed feels rare’—Kris Van der Bijl reviews David Mann’s debut short story collection. The Johannesburg Review of Books. 2025-03-25.
The First Murder on Mars: Sam Wilson’s new mystery thriller is a tale of power and survival. News24. 2024-10-15.
On: The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera and Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon by Wole Talabi. Wasafiri: International Journal of Contemporary Writing 39:3 (2024).
Nick Clelland’s Good Hope explores the price of freedom in a dystopian Western Cape. News24. 2024-08-08.
A fascinating experiment: Tanya Meeson’s new fiction unearths visions of a drowned world. News24. 2024-06-07.
Ways of Travelling: Kharys Ateh Laue’s Sketches. Africa in Words. 2024-05-24.
Womb City: A Speculative Fiction and Horror Novel of Anxiety, Trauma, and Hope. News24. 2024-04-25.
Rise of the Maassassins: What is driving the Sarah J Maas ‘romantasy’ phenomenon? News24. 2024-03-22.
Future Imperfect: Babette Gallard takes readers on a pilgrimage through ecological disaster. News24. 2024-02-20.
On: Sensory studies manifesto: tracking the sensorial revolution in the arts and human sciences by David Howes. Anthropology Southern Africa 46:3 (2023).
On: Afterword by Nina Schuyler. Full Stop. 2023-12-18.
What We Talk About When We Talk About Hell: A Review of Parallel Hells by Leon Craig. Fantastika Journal for Imaginative Narratives 7:2 (2023).
Unearthing the Stories of Families and their Histories: A Dialogue with Tsitsi Mapepa. Africa in Dialogue. 2023-10-16.
Creating Kariba: A Dialogue with James Clarke, Daniel Snaddon and Daniel Clarke. Africa in Dialogue. 2023-06-30.
The Historical Roots of a Landscape: A Dialogue with Bridget Pitt. Africa in Dialogue. 2023-02-03.
On: The Library of the Dead by TL Huchu. Wasafiri: International Contemporary Writing 37:4 (2022).
On: A History of Disappearance by Sarah Lubala. New Coin Poetry 58:2 (2022).
The Girl I Once Saw. The Kalahari Review. 2021-11-16.
Exploring the Fact in Fiction: A Dialogue with A’Eysha Kassiem. Africa in Dialogue. 2021-10-01
A Bridge From Our Own Subjectivities: A Dialogue with Idza Luhumyo. Africa in Dialogue. 2021-09-17.
The Only World I Know Is This One: A Dialogue with Masande Ntshanga. Africa in Dialogue. 2021-08-30.
On: Gripscapes: Newly Selected Poems by Norman Morrissey. LitNet. 2021-08-19.
Searching for Home Along A Hibiscus Coast: A Dialogue with Nick Mulgrew. Africa in Dialogue. 2021-07-19.
Art in the Era of Catastrophe: A Dialogue with Véronique Tadjo. Africa in Dialogue. 2021-06-12.
Two Poems in New Coin Poetry 57:1 (2021).
The Light and Dark of Life: A Dialogue with Sue Nyathi. Africa in Dialogue. 2021-05-21.
On: All The Places by Musawenkosi Khanyile. Brittle Paper. 2021-05-20.
On: An Illuminated Darkness by Jacques Coetzee. LitNet. 2021-05-12.
pluming in bed. Jalada Africa 09. 2021-02-14.
On: Finding My Way: Reflections on South African Literature by Duncan Brown. LitNet. 2020-10-14.
Building the African Sci-fi Canon: An Interview with Ivor Hartmann. Brittle Paper. 2020-09-30.
On: Steeped in Heritage: The Racial Politics of South African Rooibos Tea by Sarah Ives. LitNet. 2020-06-15.
Refrain. Ja Magazine. 2020-01-16.
Old Gold on Trains. Odd Magazine. 2018-09-01.
Kris Van der Bijl 