Over the past few years, a number of African novelists have struck out beyond the confines of identity politics and other favoured contemporary themes to harness stories from the past. Our expert panel (Tolulope Adeleru-Balogun, Tunde Leye, Jennife Makumbi and Wayetu Moore) discussed how such works help us to make sense of Africa'a complex and often traumatic history, and identify what still resonates in the present. Can these books also serve as tools to imagine Africa's future or do they mire us in times gone by?