Aminatta Forna tells the story of legendary Timbuktu and its long hidden legacy of hundreds of thousands of ancient manuscripts. With its university founded around the same time as Oxford, Timbuktu is proof that the reading and writing of books have long been as important to Africans as to Europeans.

David Olusoga explores the incredible journey of the African novel – how a fearless collection of writers created books that were to define the image of Africa in the world.