Stephen Embleton

  We mourn the loss of one of our giants of literature, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o. Thank you to Brittle Paper for bringing us all together for this. My tribute (below) to Ngũgĩ acknowledges not only his literary legacy, but his contribution to African language usage and recognition on the Continent and around the world. Beginning with a quote by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o on the importance of language for us: “I have become a language warrior. I want to join all those others in the world who are fighting for marginalised languages. No language is ever marginal to the community that created it. Languages are like musical instruments. You don’t say, let there be a few global instruments, or let there be only one type of voice all singers can sing.” – Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o A singular voice like no other from our continent, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o spoke and wrote in his own language, for us all. Language holds the power of a people, a community, an individual. We stand on our own, for our stories. I honour...

  The Nga'phandileh Whisperer Detail  – Stephen Embleton 2025 Getting the opportunity to illustrate anything in our Sauúti shared world is a pleasure and honour. For Eugen Bacon's "The Nga'phandileh Whisperer" , I had the chance to represent the magic of our science fantasy world, experiment with the visual representation of the sound-based magic system (sound wave patterns) and the Afrocentric elements we all write about in our stories. I got to visualise an ominous moonlit scene alive with texture, colour and movement.  African fabrics, beadwork and patterns are rich in inspiration, key elements I drew from to create a tactile illustration. From the central character's dress detail and jewellery, to the rough texture and subtle pattern of the paper background permeating all elements, for me, make it something you want to pick up and hold. Final Cover – Stars & Sabers –  Stephen Embleton 2025 It starts with a sketch, an idea, in rough. From the publisher...

I always enjoy pure typography. And for the cover of Jon Keevy's novel "The Unwoven Warrior", Mirari Press asked me to design a title that was bold and unique. It always seems simple when designers have thousands of good fonts (and many not so good) to choose from. But it's no easy feat, requiring many many tests, tweaks and customisations before you land on what you are happy with as a typographer, but more importantly, what the client and author perceive as best representing what lies beneath the cover – the story! Added to this is having it gel with another talented artist's illustration. In this case,  Bongane Mahlangu's epic vista. As usual, a great brief from Mirari Press and Jon Keevy. I tried a number of samples, customised and we went back and forth. Just when we thought we had something, we went back to the drawing board for something bolder. I took the simple, condensed lettering approach. I emphasised the sharper angles by extending them further –...