tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54484474985112529392024-03-26T02:30:13.502-07:00Stephen EmbletonWhere Stephen writes about his writing and other writing things, and some other things as well.Stephen Embletonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04318895837146242200noreply@blogger.comBlogger156125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448447498511252939.post-85800228273094631792024-03-09T04:14:00.000-08:002024-03-09T04:14:05.841-08:00The Celestial Machine – Commission<p> A recent commission: The Celestial Machine</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7t5v5vt-xgjZBqVQf52wlVE_J1hwNVUqzwQ34sReS6mGO4_eAdeFsuZ26ie03Qq50lrolU0wSFi3p2QUy_vpMbLZM-QkX-tEXpJSvThuXqVCYZiiadO2InSSvhmlvu2JFeLrzIKub8vqqehaFDh4sDt1NgJeS-aZIZrkCvAJ1-QF-A950i0NieC_xk8Zo/s1427/Monolith_Machine_Final_clean_sm.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1113" data-original-width="1427" height="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7t5v5vt-xgjZBqVQf52wlVE_J1hwNVUqzwQ34sReS6mGO4_eAdeFsuZ26ie03Qq50lrolU0wSFi3p2QUy_vpMbLZM-QkX-tEXpJSvThuXqVCYZiiadO2InSSvhmlvu2JFeLrzIKub8vqqehaFDh4sDt1NgJeS-aZIZrkCvAJ1-QF-A950i0NieC_xk8Zo/w640-h500/Monolith_Machine_Final_clean_sm.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p>This was interesting and fun to create. The client (<a href="https://stephen.embleton.co.za/2023/08/bsfa-fission-3-cover-design.html">seeing some of my recent work</a>) wanted a type of machine schematic but with specific themes. With their Zimbabwean heritage, they wanted to somehow incorporate the <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/figure/The-Monolith-Stone-originally-found-at-Dhlo-dhlo-now-in-the-Zimbabwe-National-Museum-in_fig17_314372772" target="_blank">Matsatse/Venus</a> elements from the Dhlo-dhlo monolith – an artefact which records the movement of Venus. I included the pattern-path the planet Venus takes “around” Earth as a design element in the background and expanded from that idea of vectors and movement with other elements from southern African motifs.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRHNqDff77_gPPJ_8Wh2vwO9ll8yFtlEdEl_F1TtRM09cu_9FHS_fApvelFOKqpU6UQx1VLAXiqkCTb0VoW4ueunqdhYn5PNN6p2E1sMPsPMkNQU6Tb93hGl5CbRRntr3moGIZ0Ua1JOMDe-quAKK98vlwiGBK0GJHh4dQOJt_8yv_noNgyOIUuf-SxMmU/s800/zimbabwe_reference.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRHNqDff77_gPPJ_8Wh2vwO9ll8yFtlEdEl_F1TtRM09cu_9FHS_fApvelFOKqpU6UQx1VLAXiqkCTb0VoW4ueunqdhYn5PNN6p2E1sMPsPMkNQU6Tb93hGl5CbRRntr3moGIZ0Ua1JOMDe-quAKK98vlwiGBK0GJHh4dQOJt_8yv_noNgyOIUuf-SxMmU/s320/zimbabwe_reference.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some references</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p>From the full colour finished art, I gave options for duo tone and black and white versions.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC8osMEz4vanFMTAhUYsjc70QVK0bFR5yb6WwNEDNFeSvbcCFa8Fq04z4Yi5PaPufl8ALIFd-Npy6Vap6DTiNGWWqtnUPT2eRJfK5i6zJ-hRrqW9fV-2zonPZO2tCUfPOkXEi0cLAEejrhLINB7xSr0a6ZX3YnA4h9J9V-hQ112WGRCm4tqEWdvHLIwpNS/s1427/Monolith_Machine_paper_sm.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1113" data-original-width="1427" height="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC8osMEz4vanFMTAhUYsjc70QVK0bFR5yb6WwNEDNFeSvbcCFa8Fq04z4Yi5PaPufl8ALIFd-Npy6Vap6DTiNGWWqtnUPT2eRJfK5i6zJ-hRrqW9fV-2zonPZO2tCUfPOkXEi0cLAEejrhLINB7xSr0a6ZX3YnA4h9J9V-hQ112WGRCm4tqEWdvHLIwpNS/w640-h500/Monolith_Machine_paper_sm.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuMbPdFSY4gZz6s8HzsXZQnTrr-4s0zb6yDaD7NPfsJWZY5hGnA47STxOil0f8NYObnaYvkPGlruPE5EhqRsXb0k31RsGwn1swqDNwZ0JPpyNMP-Uya6QvdrUn1kD_aE_vs9Oq2o0HsyU1QXqhj6dtdpjSjsJciBb6OxVWK4dRxLEkrgadAm4_bbIZ8rVw/s1427/Monolith_Machine_bw_02_sm.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="998" data-original-width="1427" height="448" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuMbPdFSY4gZz6s8HzsXZQnTrr-4s0zb6yDaD7NPfsJWZY5hGnA47STxOil0f8NYObnaYvkPGlruPE5EhqRsXb0k31RsGwn1swqDNwZ0JPpyNMP-Uya6QvdrUn1kD_aE_vs9Oq2o0HsyU1QXqhj6dtdpjSjsJciBb6OxVWK4dRxLEkrgadAm4_bbIZ8rVw/w640-h448/Monolith_Machine_bw_02_sm.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>Stephen Embletonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04318895837146242200noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448447498511252939.post-12935163336211957222024-03-01T06:56:00.000-08:002024-03-01T06:56:58.808-08:00Mothersound Anthology 2023 BSFA Award Finalist<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrWPSrN2FI3E_nh3jQsMm872AZJoMHAfSKfQNRj9usu4iUJ180-QLW6tVfFk7CP6iGFkQlU8qzG0YQaP6gkoH3VVMb5IMOyYQ9T33YO35fMbO60OI-MlLsoKzSCpAY5lslOENU2dEDCTDfDXFS9Qq_t54eN_Ue5SBotHyhhb63yEys8hPYHAeH7ko-anjL/s926/BSFA_Finalist_2024.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="926" data-original-width="926" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrWPSrN2FI3E_nh3jQsMm872AZJoMHAfSKfQNRj9usu4iUJ180-QLW6tVfFk7CP6iGFkQlU8qzG0YQaP6gkoH3VVMb5IMOyYQ9T33YO35fMbO60OI-MlLsoKzSCpAY5lslOENU2dEDCTDfDXFS9Qq_t54eN_Ue5SBotHyhhb63yEys8hPYHAeH7ko-anjL/s320/BSFA_Finalist_2024.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p style="text-align: left;">The British Science Fiction Association announced the shortlist for the 2023 BSFA Awards, with <b><i>Mothersound; The Sauútiverse Anthology</i></b> a finalist in the BEST COLLECTIONS category! </p><p style="text-align: left;">The overall nominations is such a great display of work from everyone involved in so many great projects! </p><p style="text-align: left;">#BSFAAwards2023</p></div><p><b>BEST COLLECTIONS: (FINALIST)</b></p><p><i><a href="https://www.android-press.com/product-page/mothersound-the-sau%C3%BAtiverse-anthology-paperback" target="_blank">Mothersound: The Sauutiverse Anthology</a></i>, Wole Talabi (ed) </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKrIyXTbOrRcz6kradZUHXBR-XCfP6nimn1wf0XjP0J3qQAN-a4HcQx7sUA1_9MjLswZ2ZvtQAHPC8m_R4PgKFH-CgVtOo6W3agXP4SVti3DWdlYNlypf4fQw2y_lp7xXh8F94eustjDJGu2vRPZBm3GkHINm4kn_8XSgP4ToT11OBewg1IPbojwh_MLFd/s2338/Mothersound_Sauuti%20Cover%20Final_front_proof.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2338" data-original-width="1523" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKrIyXTbOrRcz6kradZUHXBR-XCfP6nimn1wf0XjP0J3qQAN-a4HcQx7sUA1_9MjLswZ2ZvtQAHPC8m_R4PgKFH-CgVtOo6W3agXP4SVti3DWdlYNlypf4fQw2y_lp7xXh8F94eustjDJGu2vRPZBm3GkHINm4kn_8XSgP4ToT11OBewg1IPbojwh_MLFd/s320/Mothersound_Sauuti%20Cover%20Final_front_proof.jpg" width="208" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.bsfa.co.uk/bsfa-awards-longlist">See the full shortlist of fantastic works for 2023.</a></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2DPFwl0VSdWcYhpqJWcrsdlipyognADdXKYtBJAfotdXpw-Z7v-ZFgVNNUgm44b1-p4B_VPtRqar7PY_hrhIag-xMauIMGUfXGQRFkt3PnK1VzUyOkpzPWqOj4hAOEZf5QlCucOr8MPU2-YRaJndYTViIC40_GjY9rvtoJOwFhsYrNeec6aldhjPxY6x-/s1207/BSFA%20Website%20Header2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="1207" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2DPFwl0VSdWcYhpqJWcrsdlipyognADdXKYtBJAfotdXpw-Z7v-ZFgVNNUgm44b1-p4B_VPtRqar7PY_hrhIag-xMauIMGUfXGQRFkt3PnK1VzUyOkpzPWqOj4hAOEZf5QlCucOr8MPU2-YRaJndYTViIC40_GjY9rvtoJOwFhsYrNeec6aldhjPxY6x-/w640-h160/BSFA%20Website%20Header2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: center;">ORIGINAL NOMINATED/LONGLIST:</h2><p>The British Science Fiction Association announced the longlist for the 2023 BSFA Awards, including three of my stories and my artwork (<b><i>Mothersound</i></b> anthology). And The Sauúti Collective rightly getting a good number of nominations!</p><p>The overall nominations is such a great display of work from everyone involved in so many great projects! </p><p>#BSFAAwards2023</p><p><b>Short Fiction: (LONGLISTED)</b></p><p></p><ul><li><b><i><a href="https://theshallowtalesreview.com.ng/soyinkas-memory-stephen-embleton/" target="_blank">Soyinka's Memory</a></i></b> – Stephen Embleton – <a href="https://theshallowtalesreview.com.ng/soyinkas-memory-stephen-embleton/" target="_blank">The Shallow Tales Review</a> – Nzube Nlebedim (ed)</li><li><b><i><a href="https://www.mvmediaatl.com/product-page/languages-of-water" target="_blank">Taking Turns</a></i></b> – Stephen Embleton – <a href="https://www.mvmediaatl.com/product-page/languages-of-water" target="_blank">Languages of Water, MVmedia</a> – Eugen Bacon (ed) </li></ul><p></p><p><br /></p><p><b>Shorter Fiction (Novella): (LONGLISTED)</b></p><p><b><i><a href="https://stephen.embleton.co.za/2023/11/released-mothersound-anthology.html">Undulation</a></i></b> – Stephen Embleton – <a href="https://www.android-press.com/product-page/mothersound-the-sau%C3%BAtiverse-anthology-paperback" target="_blank">Mothersound: The Sauútiverse Anthology</a> – Wole Talabi (ed), Android Press</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFdUtcSRSNIB2K5n7wx9LYo8PQREw7QzWEBJ03MROMrT3KqfYYKumW53Wy2FVn7htMFt-oBuoFvDMNbb2kjSEsZPej4zErvmpoUHBN1udV3BEgM6dCQ_tEO-HO6Hd8Eft7avmrhoglhJ4-Mzg4w2zrVl9LPDjaoGwWh5rHNTv42SiIyP9p8milbk9VC2ZJ/s6100/Paramikule%20Zekunekude.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="6000" data-original-width="6100" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFdUtcSRSNIB2K5n7wx9LYo8PQREw7QzWEBJ03MROMrT3KqfYYKumW53Wy2FVn7htMFt-oBuoFvDMNbb2kjSEsZPej4zErvmpoUHBN1udV3BEgM6dCQ_tEO-HO6Hd8Eft7avmrhoglhJ4-Mzg4w2zrVl9LPDjaoGwWh5rHNTv42SiIyP9p8milbk9VC2ZJ/s320/Paramikule%20Zekunekude.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Undulation</i></b> – Stephen Embleton</td></tr></tbody></table><p><b><br /></b></p><p></p><p><b>Artwork: (LONGLISTED)</b></p><p><a href="https://stephen.embleton.co.za/2023/11/released-mothersound-anthology.html">Cover and interior art</a> of <b><i><a href="https://www.android-press.com/product-page/mothersound-the-sau%C3%BAtiverse-anthology-paperback" target="_blank">Mothersound The Sauúti Collective anthology</a></i></b> – proud to be joined with Akintoba Kalejaye – Android Press</p><p><b><br /></b></p><p><b>BEST COLLECTIONS (I am involved in above): (LONGLIST)</b></p><p>- <i><a href="https://www.mvmediaatl.com/product-page/languages-of-water" target="_blank">Languages of Water</a></i>, Eugen Bacon (ed), MVmedia (Milton Davis)</p><p>- <i><a href="https://www.android-press.com/product-page/mothersound-the-sau%C3%BAtiverse-anthology-paperback" target="_blank">Mothersound: The Sauutiverse Anthology</a></i>, Wole Talabi (ed) </p><p> </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Stephen Embletonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04318895837146242200noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448447498511252939.post-39941545521994657002024-01-21T01:19:00.000-08:002024-01-21T01:21:39.701-08:004x BSFA Nominations – Longlist Announced<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2DPFwl0VSdWcYhpqJWcrsdlipyognADdXKYtBJAfotdXpw-Z7v-ZFgVNNUgm44b1-p4B_VPtRqar7PY_hrhIag-xMauIMGUfXGQRFkt3PnK1VzUyOkpzPWqOj4hAOEZf5QlCucOr8MPU2-YRaJndYTViIC40_GjY9rvtoJOwFhsYrNeec6aldhjPxY6x-/s1207/BSFA%20Website%20Header2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="1207" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2DPFwl0VSdWcYhpqJWcrsdlipyognADdXKYtBJAfotdXpw-Z7v-ZFgVNNUgm44b1-p4B_VPtRqar7PY_hrhIag-xMauIMGUfXGQRFkt3PnK1VzUyOkpzPWqOj4hAOEZf5QlCucOr8MPU2-YRaJndYTViIC40_GjY9rvtoJOwFhsYrNeec6aldhjPxY6x-/w640-h160/BSFA%20Website%20Header2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p>The British Science Fiction Association announced the longlist for the 2023 BSFA Awards, including three of my stories and my artwork (<b><i>Mothersound</i></b> anthology). And The Sauúti Collective rightly getting a good number of nominations!</p><p>The overall nominations is such a great display of work from everyone involved in so many great projects! </p><p><br /></p><p><b>Short Fiction:</b></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b><i><a href="https://theshallowtalesreview.com.ng/soyinkas-memory-stephen-embleton/" target="_blank">Soyinka's Memory</a></i></b> – Stephen Embleton – <a href="https://theshallowtalesreview.com.ng/soyinkas-memory-stephen-embleton/" target="_blank">The Shallow Tales Review</a> – Nzube Nlebedim (ed)</li><li><b><i><a href="https://www.mvmediaatl.com/product-page/languages-of-water" target="_blank">Taking Turns</a></i></b> – Stephen Embleton – <a href="https://www.mvmediaatl.com/product-page/languages-of-water" target="_blank">Languages of Water, MVmedia</a> – Eugen Bacon (ed) </li></ul><p></p><p><br /></p><p><b>Shorter Fiction (Novella):</b></p><p><b><i><a href="https://stephen.embleton.co.za/2023/11/released-mothersound-anthology.html">Undulation</a></i></b> – Stephen Embleton – <a href="https://www.android-press.com/product-page/mothersound-the-sau%C3%BAtiverse-anthology-paperback" target="_blank">Mothersound: The Sauútiverse Anthology</a> – Wole Talabi (ed), Android Press</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFdUtcSRSNIB2K5n7wx9LYo8PQREw7QzWEBJ03MROMrT3KqfYYKumW53Wy2FVn7htMFt-oBuoFvDMNbb2kjSEsZPej4zErvmpoUHBN1udV3BEgM6dCQ_tEO-HO6Hd8Eft7avmrhoglhJ4-Mzg4w2zrVl9LPDjaoGwWh5rHNTv42SiIyP9p8milbk9VC2ZJ/s6100/Paramikule%20Zekunekude.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="6000" data-original-width="6100" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFdUtcSRSNIB2K5n7wx9LYo8PQREw7QzWEBJ03MROMrT3KqfYYKumW53Wy2FVn7htMFt-oBuoFvDMNbb2kjSEsZPej4zErvmpoUHBN1udV3BEgM6dCQ_tEO-HO6Hd8Eft7avmrhoglhJ4-Mzg4w2zrVl9LPDjaoGwWh5rHNTv42SiIyP9p8milbk9VC2ZJ/s320/Paramikule%20Zekunekude.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Undulation</i></b> – Stephen Embleton</td></tr></tbody></table><b><br /></b><p></p><p><b>Artwork:</b></p><p><a href="https://stephen.embleton.co.za/2023/11/released-mothersound-anthology.html">Cover and interior art</a> of <b><i><a href="https://www.android-press.com/product-page/mothersound-the-sau%C3%BAtiverse-anthology-paperback" target="_blank">Mothersound The Sauúti Collective anthology</a></i></b> – proud to be joined with Akintoba Kalejaye – Android Press</p><p><b><br /></b></p><p><b>BEST COLLECTIONS (I am involved in above):</b></p><p>- <i><a href="https://www.mvmediaatl.com/product-page/languages-of-water" target="_blank">Languages of Water</a></i>, Eugen Bacon (ed), MVmedia (Milton Davis)</p><p>- <i><a href="https://www.android-press.com/product-page/mothersound-the-sau%C3%BAtiverse-anthology-paperback" target="_blank">Mothersound: The Sauutiverse Anthology</a></i>, Wole Talabi (ed) </p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJIL8ZLqiQt_O5phCjSMioWdvmjfnDUM18ocUtlTpD2bKZuDZJ0Rv-HIMw0KbxyNd1Clo7pHX16OOiw4EsJKc1sc7wKPYD9nn-2BnDowXVB2vpRdH4JD2EW1N5Yml_ArT2xoc-Q_Z9l9PfWBixI8gYAcGttpu6ra9oHZ8eN6E2LaP6HWkkkwzsu7IfPQsy/s1500/languages%20of%20water%20cover.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJIL8ZLqiQt_O5phCjSMioWdvmjfnDUM18ocUtlTpD2bKZuDZJ0Rv-HIMw0KbxyNd1Clo7pHX16OOiw4EsJKc1sc7wKPYD9nn-2BnDowXVB2vpRdH4JD2EW1N5Yml_ArT2xoc-Q_Z9l9PfWBixI8gYAcGttpu6ra9oHZ8eN6E2LaP6HWkkkwzsu7IfPQsy/s320/languages%20of%20water%20cover.jpeg" width="213" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKrIyXTbOrRcz6kradZUHXBR-XCfP6nimn1wf0XjP0J3qQAN-a4HcQx7sUA1_9MjLswZ2ZvtQAHPC8m_R4PgKFH-CgVtOo6W3agXP4SVti3DWdlYNlypf4fQw2y_lp7xXh8F94eustjDJGu2vRPZBm3GkHINm4kn_8XSgP4ToT11OBewg1IPbojwh_MLFd/s2338/Mothersound_Sauuti%20Cover%20Final_front_proof.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2338" data-original-width="1523" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKrIyXTbOrRcz6kradZUHXBR-XCfP6nimn1wf0XjP0J3qQAN-a4HcQx7sUA1_9MjLswZ2ZvtQAHPC8m_R4PgKFH-CgVtOo6W3agXP4SVti3DWdlYNlypf4fQw2y_lp7xXh8F94eustjDJGu2vRPZBm3GkHINm4kn_8XSgP4ToT11OBewg1IPbojwh_MLFd/s320/Mothersound_Sauuti%20Cover%20Final_front_proof.jpg" width="208" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.bsfa.co.uk/bsfa-awards-longlist" target="_blank">See the full list of fantastic works nominated for 2023.</a></p><p><br /></p>Stephen Embletonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04318895837146242200noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448447498511252939.post-82794971060289256812023-11-28T22:56:00.000-08:002024-03-22T00:55:32.693-07:00ANNOUNCED: Bloomsbury Academic Acquires Essay Anthology<p> </p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU6rQH6MtVK4WvmboK6QYqrQSRu9CQwTnDFEDxVZAZQAirSaOycS6eiAEBAzc6DsLJt64_3_y9plB11uTua314ho9sjEufiOOf7OAbPLnEM3EHUegW3H2kmye5cvDJsFwVzA6W_hknCd6T4wgw7sxnp_MPifv0-pe_D689iZ_aCFBoWz7N3SPB7uS0ySPX/s621/Bloomsbury_PublishersMarketplace_11-2023.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="621" height="494" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU6rQH6MtVK4WvmboK6QYqrQSRu9CQwTnDFEDxVZAZQAirSaOycS6eiAEBAzc6DsLJt64_3_y9plB11uTua314ho9sjEufiOOf7OAbPLnEM3EHUegW3H2kmye5cvDJsFwVzA6W_hknCd6T4wgw7sxnp_MPifv0-pe_D689iZ_aCFBoWz7N3SPB7uS0ySPX/w640-h494/Bloomsbury_PublishersMarketplace_11-2023.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>Great to part of this! Thanks, to Eugen Bacon, who initiated this over a year ago: Bloomsbury Academic will be publishing this essay anthology covering a HUGE range of topics and insights within Afro-Centred Futurisms, including my essay <b><i>“Cosmologies and Languages Building Africanfuturism”.</i></b></p><blockquote><p>Afro-Centered Futurisms in Our Speculative Fiction is an accessible work of criticism that will appeal to scholarly readers and broader enthusiasts of Afrocentric and speculative literature. </p></blockquote><p>British Fantasy Award winner Eugen Bacon (ed.)'s AFRO-CENTERED FUTURISMS IN OUR SPECULATIVE FICTION, an anthology of original artistic essays infused with creative excerpts from award-winning African writers on the futurisms in their speculative fiction; a new kind of African study in an evaluative gaze at African history, African spirituality, Afrosurrealism, 'becoming', black radical imagination, cultural identity, decolonizing queerness, myths, linguistic cosmologies, and more, featuring an introduction by Suyi Okungbowa, to Amy Martin at Bloomsbury Academic, by Jennie Goloboy at Donald Maass Literary Agency.</p><p>This vibrant and approachable book is part of the <a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/au/series/black-literary-and-cultural-expressions/" target="_blank">Black Literary and Cultural Expressions</a>, and engages with difference—featuring stimulating chapters by Aline-Mwezi Niyonsenga, Cheryl S. Ntumy, Dilman Dila, Eugen Bacon, Nerine Dorman, Nuzo Onoh, Shingai Njeri Kagunda, Stephen Embleton, Tobi Ogundiran and Xan van Rooyen.</p><p>Out by Bloomsbury in 2024/25. </p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/au/afrocentered-futurisms-in-our-speculative-fiction-9798765114674/" target="_blank">Read more here.</a></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><h3 style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #474d66; font-family: TiemposHeadline; font-size: 2rem; line-height: 1.2; margin: 0px 0px 3rem; padding: 0px;">Table of Contents</h3><div aria-expanded="true" class="product-detail-description__body readmore-toc" data-readmore="" id="undefined1" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #212529; font-family: "Open Sans", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 600; height: 713.906px; max-height: none; overflow: hidden; transition: height 100ms ease 0s; width: 575px;"><i style="box-sizing: border-box;">Preface</i><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><i style="box-sizing: border-box;">The Structure of This Book</i><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Chapter 1. On Afrocentric Futurisms–The Case for an Inclusive Expression<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><i style="box-sizing: border-box;">Suyi Okungbowa, Nigeria/Canada</i><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Chapter 2. Cosmologies and Languages Building Africanfuturism<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><i style="box-sizing: border-box;">Stephen Embleton, South Africa/UK</i><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Chapter 3. An Afrofuturistic Dystopia and the Afro-irreal<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><i style="box-sizing: border-box;">Eugen Bacon, Tanzania/Australia</i><i style="box-sizing: border-box;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></i>Chapter 4. The power of African Spirituality in Africanfuturism<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><i style="box-sizing: border-box;">Nuzo Onoh, Nigeria/UK</i><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Chapter 5. Black Futurisms vs. Systems of Domination<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><i style="box-sizing: border-box;">Shingai Njeri Kagunda, </i><i style="box-sizing: border-box;">Kenya</i><i style="box-sizing: border-box;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></i>Chapter 6. Faith and Fantasy–Afrofuturist and Africanfuturist Spirituality<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><i style="box-sizing: border-box;">Cheryl S. Ntumy, </i><i style="box-sizing: border-box;">Ghana</i><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Chapter 7. Queer Imaginings in Africanfuturism Inspired by African History<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><i style="box-sizing: border-box;">Xan van Rooyen, South Africa/Finland</i><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Chapter 8. Afrofuturism and Exploring Cultural Identity as a Process of Becoming<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><i style="box-sizing: border-box;">Aline-Mwezi Niyonsenga, Rwanda/Australia</i><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Chapter 9. Fabulist Imaginings in Tales of the Dark and Fantastic<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><i style="box-sizing: border-box;">Tobi Ogundiran, Nigeria/USA</i><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Chapter 10. A Vision for Direct Democracy in Yat Madit<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><i style="box-sizing: border-box;">Dilman Dila, Uganda</i><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Chapter 11. A Gaze at Post-Colonial Themes That Re-Envision Africa<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><i style="box-sizing: border-box;">Nerine Dorman, South Africa</i><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Chapter 12. Denouement: Autoethnography–the Self-As-Research<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><i style="box-sizing: border-box;">Eugen Bacon, Tanzania/Australia</i></div><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p>Stephen Embletonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04318895837146242200noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448447498511252939.post-87765871655852300922023-11-23T04:38:00.000-08:002023-11-23T04:38:11.642-08:00The Art of Sauúti<p>Sauúti is an all-round creative collective, encouraging any manner of creative expression to represent this shared-world we have created.</p><p>Check out more on the released <a href="https://stephen.embleton.co.za/2023/11/released-mothersound-anthology.html"><b><i>Mothersound: The Sauúti Anthology</i></b> here.</a></p><p>It was great to be able to write as well as create art (including the co-created anthology cover design) for mine and others' stories in the final <i>"Mothersound: The Sauúti Anthology"</i>. And the perfect opportunity for me to play with varying styles and techniques.</p><p><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: center;">Impudu-pudu (lightning bird)</h2><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK2Xk9mu-k8ww8Hq0PRvoLOv88fKcnkR22JQz6CBvak6bA43jWT-QSLiipTCiQ-MI0fsWEl_IWQAC9kjVOPxUe8zD8dxC5giBCFsqeuIMz853XWEp55nei90ZdoYIV1znh-wJwkO02nBMUGrz6xi8Q0gnReshRGCU2KTz2Vki8ckphIeqHDibIhl5s1g/s1684/impudu-pudu_Stephen%20Embleton_30-05-2023_03_crop_sm.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1502" data-original-width="1684" height="570" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK2Xk9mu-k8ww8Hq0PRvoLOv88fKcnkR22JQz6CBvak6bA43jWT-QSLiipTCiQ-MI0fsWEl_IWQAC9kjVOPxUe8zD8dxC5giBCFsqeuIMz853XWEp55nei90ZdoYIV1znh-wJwkO02nBMUGrz6xi8Q0gnReshRGCU2KTz2Vki8ckphIeqHDibIhl5s1g/w640-h570/impudu-pudu_Stephen%20Embleton_30-05-2023_03_crop_sm.jpg" width="640" /></a></p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcLOzFtxinaH9nbadNtANRS0aoJkn24YFpA7r4AV5UcMkrW7iatOentMimUzUlWQLlLjwxDvCGQiAoo6pAyE9rZEZ5MLGLcSr7qujn_CXuQdgkJy69yKMujtfGPoHvPZaGsduru7VRN2l04JGSIexbxhpCoA0bfGj6b9bvkjucXU4nzM9zEDwXrCbFCQ/s2320/impudu-pudu_Stephen%20Embleton_30-05-2023_03_sm.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2320" data-original-width="1684" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcLOzFtxinaH9nbadNtANRS0aoJkn24YFpA7r4AV5UcMkrW7iatOentMimUzUlWQLlLjwxDvCGQiAoo6pAyE9rZEZ5MLGLcSr7qujn_CXuQdgkJy69yKMujtfGPoHvPZaGsduru7VRN2l04JGSIexbxhpCoA0bfGj6b9bvkjucXU4nzM9zEDwXrCbFCQ/w464-h640/impudu-pudu_Stephen%20Embleton_30-05-2023_03_sm.jpg" width="464" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Impudu-pudu lightning bird</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p></p><p>Eugen Bacon created an awesome giant lightning bird called the impudu-pudu. At the time, I was playing with my physical rolled ink work (scanned from 2019) and using them digitally. This was the perfect style to try something textural and visceral for this sequence of Eugen's story <i>“Sina, The Child With No Echo”.</i></p><p>Here is the layered illustration.</p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX3likrUH0o7HoU9ja7QK-2WC6cjOkazejJAjn7HDxVTiMXQUWjm8SoechgQYYQQ2ZZ8C8Bn4WewRHyoA1zqHtBf95wmmZ7pizmAecPtini0lo8-kBZr6HvnEceGAFqjjs5Cbx-3uw5Lk2dA9EVB7gDZMNubt9U4kaxWHp8TT2KBR_5Xz0U7BYpjg6hg/s600/impudu-pudu_Stephen-Embleton_30-05-2023_03_SEQUENCE_smaller.gif" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX3likrUH0o7HoU9ja7QK-2WC6cjOkazejJAjn7HDxVTiMXQUWjm8SoechgQYYQQ2ZZ8C8Bn4WewRHyoA1zqHtBf95wmmZ7pizmAecPtini0lo8-kBZr6HvnEceGAFqjjs5Cbx-3uw5Lk2dA9EVB7gDZMNubt9U4kaxWHp8TT2KBR_5Xz0U7BYpjg6hg/s16000/impudu-pudu_Stephen-Embleton_30-05-2023_03_SEQUENCE_smaller.gif" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Layered elements for the Impudu-pudu bird – rolled ink</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><h2 style="text-align: center;">The Way of Baa’gh</h2><p>The crab-like creatures of Cheryl S. Ntumy's <i>“The Way of Baa’gh”</i> were something I wanted to try my hand at. Combining original hand drawn ink, and digitally coloured.</p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2900" data-original-width="4170" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5W_73ag14AGxpbipWBiKtxkjwdQOS4k4gVaE10n4EruGbiAL7JUtZFDkF6uMZWBIw_dm9-KrBETU_MCKOfeWZ6wRQC8NtEho_UuQOc9fY4NkC9mYqhQQGk1BhOwk375fzWiiWyjrbfphX5RyEF7j6TRCwwMo-d7jR1uCL6FqQMuBBbMnu8ZuEoQFoAA/w640-h446/Way%20of%20Baagh_04_bw.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The original hand drawn ink</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5W_73ag14AGxpbipWBiKtxkjwdQOS4k4gVaE10n4EruGbiAL7JUtZFDkF6uMZWBIw_dm9-KrBETU_MCKOfeWZ6wRQC8NtEho_UuQOc9fY4NkC9mYqhQQGk1BhOwk375fzWiiWyjrbfphX5RyEF7j6TRCwwMo-d7jR1uCL6FqQMuBBbMnu8ZuEoQFoAA/s4170/Way%20of%20Baagh_04_bw.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></a></div><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp4Jq-gtfThGsCNJjIw_cxCxvrPpWmMtKGlHnBBQh9J6bQfPJfjWMGz-JwEkoi3UBOw2Tb74FgrtxLxUzv4EkLZ3Gs46JFJ-uM_W3P4VZThDdB9yaxe5p9F-EjEj4AGktUYSKqI4ZutfdYqLK6M9FDD-_jca1c1BI3krMXxeV-DXAZL3YriAcvrOWPDw/s4032/Way%20of%20Baagh_05_colour.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp4Jq-gtfThGsCNJjIw_cxCxvrPpWmMtKGlHnBBQh9J6bQfPJfjWMGz-JwEkoi3UBOw2Tb74FgrtxLxUzv4EkLZ3Gs46JFJ-uM_W3P4VZThDdB9yaxe5p9F-EjEj4AGktUYSKqI4ZutfdYqLK6M9FDD-_jca1c1BI3krMXxeV-DXAZL3YriAcvrOWPDw/w640-h480/Way%20of%20Baagh_05_colour.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Full Illustration</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirZCw9jVeEOewFU9V4Tnjx1u5lbsf6pi-d02c0MyQ0o9q1xTMlTPbfjZlT8RDLD4_W5-F_JZ5T6R2JjC4iALbcHjDQ4IKmNLOx2l2M7SzoLYH8wChVphCv8ljctf4MYrXqzWOqH6XLBccYynoi4LHCpE9gzgKmzNlr3s1nLAs4xcO7fAZ6Z7DOzXZbcA/s4170/Way%20of%20Baagh_01_colour.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2900" data-original-width="4170" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirZCw9jVeEOewFU9V4Tnjx1u5lbsf6pi-d02c0MyQ0o9q1xTMlTPbfjZlT8RDLD4_W5-F_JZ5T6R2JjC4iALbcHjDQ4IKmNLOx2l2M7SzoLYH8wChVphCv8ljctf4MYrXqzWOqH6XLBccYynoi4LHCpE9gzgKmzNlr3s1nLAs4xcO7fAZ6Z7DOzXZbcA/w640-h446/Way%20of%20Baagh_01_colour.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p>Not too sure about what I could do within the Sauúti world as far as illustrating was concerned, the first image I felt compelled (for a number of reasons) to tackle was the VERY technically difficult spiral village Paramikule Zékunekude (the villages are called paramikules, Zékunekude is a specific one in my story) featured in my novella in the "Mothersound: The Sauúti Anthology" titled <i>"Undulation"</i>.</p><p><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: center;">Undulation</h2><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKUP5beOIWBfJdIqjQI9R5FfpdMJoG1PUz_BUkhzns3Epyfqbzdyx-BDILPpqMQJuG7CDe3kOfEvoOcG65_cgj0zwYmjgLRtPxbH5lvR2wVay61kR3DjaH_TK45oBcE6jBuBFriv4w07Wj-MBxuk0seTuBn2efZAdvIMpGIHNItqVWn4XdXm10XIqRBw/s6100/Paramikule%20Zekunekude.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="6000" data-original-width="6100" height="630" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKUP5beOIWBfJdIqjQI9R5FfpdMJoG1PUz_BUkhzns3Epyfqbzdyx-BDILPpqMQJuG7CDe3kOfEvoOcG65_cgj0zwYmjgLRtPxbH5lvR2wVay61kR3DjaH_TK45oBcE6jBuBFriv4w07Wj-MBxuk0seTuBn2efZAdvIMpGIHNItqVWn4XdXm10XIqRBw/w640-h630/Paramikule%20Zekunekude.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The final digitally coloured illustration</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSR_JOgSq5vUMT9EG3myMLc04TDdiVnpi9P4vgYo4hK9rWuW5llznp-In6CaAZIkMZDQe5PCWImu2LFPwCJA_NHqS1Eb3V602ton51PUBeUYHgC5gj87xSphthYt2FuRE4Ot8vkxL-a1r5uAFYTSZ8T-B0JaR-RPR6JnoaAqt7PYKzsjX6fj8QoW7SZg/s6100/Paramikule%20Zekunekude_BW.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="6000" data-original-width="6100" height="630" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSR_JOgSq5vUMT9EG3myMLc04TDdiVnpi9P4vgYo4hK9rWuW5llznp-In6CaAZIkMZDQe5PCWImu2LFPwCJA_NHqS1Eb3V602ton51PUBeUYHgC5gj87xSphthYt2FuRE4Ot8vkxL-a1r5uAFYTSZ8T-B0JaR-RPR6JnoaAqt7PYKzsjX6fj8QoW7SZg/w640-h630/Paramikule%20Zekunekude_BW.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The original hand drawn ink</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p><p>I then played with two other scenes within my story – more intimate.</p><p>The first is the protagonist – Hmahein – in a "reflective" moment before her auspicious performance as part of the Order of Ruevaagi (the storytellers and historians) initiate.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic_4MS8sgIPWVeSYsQfFDQBZRT9vdnTFUFC9QcMx9GHrJckJzLreSzW40sKOYU1KS5gFeREE2AOyW8nJUL_mgYBIk6DE6qVBjp42hJvuEdWg4kmwh5VSVwqryPiviEScEoHIxgNukSOULgDINcJJdj155NZMUZejZhG9Wojmh5Jas02utiRYuMrY2j1Q/s3488/Hmahein_01.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2688" data-original-width="3488" height="309" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic_4MS8sgIPWVeSYsQfFDQBZRT9vdnTFUFC9QcMx9GHrJckJzLreSzW40sKOYU1KS5gFeREE2AOyW8nJUL_mgYBIk6DE6qVBjp42hJvuEdWg4kmwh5VSVwqryPiviEScEoHIxgNukSOULgDINcJJdj155NZMUZejZhG9Wojmh5Jas02utiRYuMrY2j1Q/w400-h309/Hmahein_01.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Hmahein" – The original hand drawn ink</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAmMtzeAZhwfoeRS2MIHUyncUBfA_m95L498yEJVhOGzogmBlN3B_Azke8Iq0gbAbOtdSj3P81HCFYcX8KqWNCY932uVJ4pTxi-30L_zeSdxnhN5D-2Z9y8Zx4yY4aUs6jXBqnLZDa-mcVxtyVbyvr9oQABJeg1-enqBA1xUlTcqS8Xm_rtANk5bcs5A/s3648/Hmahein_03b.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2688" data-original-width="3648" height="472" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAmMtzeAZhwfoeRS2MIHUyncUBfA_m95L498yEJVhOGzogmBlN3B_Azke8Iq0gbAbOtdSj3P81HCFYcX8KqWNCY932uVJ4pTxi-30L_zeSdxnhN5D-2Z9y8Zx4yY4aUs6jXBqnLZDa-mcVxtyVbyvr9oQABJeg1-enqBA1xUlTcqS8Xm_rtANk5bcs5A/w640-h472/Hmahein_03b.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Hmahein" – The final digitally coloured piece</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>The second piece, a close up of a secondary character – Waioke – as he goes about his tailoring of Hmahein's performance garments and most importantly, depicting his magic. Waioke is part of the Order of the Zéhemgwile – the tailors and clothes makers.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioGowWYsz9Jw5Ewee5oM3Wr-uUlIpvqYAkMmjdSgNEDhqrRyuB8myj4HfBAWScVtifztL1J68FdxwPRVf2y1uCRQlYIl5U3rolHMUjjV2KRsBXoIcxa_NQohV9mMEs53_RyKkeJ28cwGJuQczsuaAusfv0VElakUrJTdgDXo4lI2bGvQa6y5AIp8MYZg/s4032/Waioke%20Hands%20Sewing.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioGowWYsz9Jw5Ewee5oM3Wr-uUlIpvqYAkMmjdSgNEDhqrRyuB8myj4HfBAWScVtifztL1J68FdxwPRVf2y1uCRQlYIl5U3rolHMUjjV2KRsBXoIcxa_NQohV9mMEs53_RyKkeJ28cwGJuQczsuaAusfv0VElakUrJTdgDXo4lI2bGvQa6y5AIp8MYZg/w640-h480/Waioke%20Hands%20Sewing.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Waioke"– The final digitally coloured piece</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU_xckvMbU43uhBmbNtVSH4ldrR4yYyghBrLhdBB84DOcrPF6qn0Ke4KSdXvaWmtcqU4b2eTsVdeu-8679h_oz-LWfEnxnAdYVO-8_cx_w1Sh7BfJ-SzTl4SdjCpPfvnLvTLmH3Q5ruyC2zQxdSlu_21Vvo3A2nJFLCWXNrEuNtqiP_6ZVvDz-xL0qfw/s4032/Waioke%20Hands%20Sewing_BW.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU_xckvMbU43uhBmbNtVSH4ldrR4yYyghBrLhdBB84DOcrPF6qn0Ke4KSdXvaWmtcqU4b2eTsVdeu-8679h_oz-LWfEnxnAdYVO-8_cx_w1Sh7BfJ-SzTl4SdjCpPfvnLvTLmH3Q5ruyC2zQxdSlu_21Vvo3A2nJFLCWXNrEuNtqiP_6ZVvDz-xL0qfw/w400-h300/Waioke%20Hands%20Sewing_BW.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Waioke" – The original hand drawn ink</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /><br /></p>Stephen Embletonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04318895837146242200noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448447498511252939.post-70617023124660564462023-11-23T04:31:00.000-08:002023-11-23T04:43:08.846-08:00RELEASED: Mothersound Anthology<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2500" data-original-width="2500" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXjylj8LoVjSdODuljIKp4IT4LT_lGoGpmfPbmOXDiNIMgHSn1gOrptZPNMzOy9XZ8107EOzpWpwNMKrhgAblBGwSPi2fiVYiBUTXNpMcrwHI7-9ZiOiNKxH6hE6kbcC3Ged117I7ualskrWm-uhpBS04Zwbl3-Ph6EfN4gPeDZnoE6tOSYcsG3BGUcIAc/w640-h640/Sauuti%20Cover%20Final_front_proof_SQ_Release_sm.jpg" width="640" /></div><br /><p>The day finally came! Mothersound: The Sauútiverse Anthology released on 21 November 2023. The entire Sauúti Collective are overjoyed and relieved and excited to have this out in the world and available in both print and ebook in the US and UK, through Android Press and Luna Press respectively. AUDIO BOOK COMING SOON.</p><p>I had the privilege of creating <a href="https://stephen.embleton.co.za/2023/11/the-art-of-sauuti.html">5 art pieces </a>for various stories (including my own: <b><i>Undulation</i></b>), and assisting Akintoba Kalejaye with the cover design and title design:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirmnopUVjRtfY8pG7JFGbHYMJHDrcfshncoKmNIJ3cupryxE6BO4rSKjSVAi0SY_VDfrXZRrejj8mhGCBeeI8Rkmgs0t6K66Bq7KXQSjlDTg1nEYNbd_mk30e9zNdbOSdvodyKcHqBXm00lbU3WtGJFmj4Ujn4_MjxGTqFpm28l3j4_lpgv_pNXm2aogmp/s1400/mothersound.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="1400" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirmnopUVjRtfY8pG7JFGbHYMJHDrcfshncoKmNIJ3cupryxE6BO4rSKjSVAi0SY_VDfrXZRrejj8mhGCBeeI8Rkmgs0t6K66Bq7KXQSjlDTg1nEYNbd_mk30e9zNdbOSdvodyKcHqBXm00lbU3WtGJFmj4Ujn4_MjxGTqFpm28l3j4_lpgv_pNXm2aogmp/w640-h182/mothersound.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Purchase copies of <b><i>Mothersound: The Sauútiverse Anthology</i></b> here:</div><div>Amazon – <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/1958121606/" target="_blank">paperback</a> and <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Mothersound-Sauútiverse-Anthology-Wole-Talabi-ebook/dp/B0CNQ9GWDT/" target="_blank">ebook/Kindle</a></div><div>Amazon UK – <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mothersound-Sau%C3%BAtiverse-Anthology-Wole-Talabi/dp/1958121606/" target="_blank">paperback</a> and ebook</div><div>Barnes & Noble – <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/mothersound-wole-talabi/1144046757" target="_blank">paperback</a></div><div>View and Review on <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/201289005-mothersound" target="_blank">Goodreads</a></div><br /><p>Check out some of the blurbs so far:</p><p>The starred review on <a href="https://www.publishersweekly.com/9781958121603" target="_blank">Publisher's Weekly</a>:</p><blockquote><p>"This shared-world anthology from (Wole) Talabi stands out for both its cross-genre reach and the immense scope of its ambitions. ...this feels like the start of something monumental."</p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p></p><blockquote><p>“𝙈𝙊𝙏𝙃𝙀𝙍𝙎𝙊𝙐𝙉𝘿: 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙖𝙪𝙪́𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙚 𝘼𝙣𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙤𝙜𝙮, is a rare and distinct Afrocentric treat that hums in the unity of a collective enriched with universal storytelling and the many languages of Mother Africa.” — 𝗡𝘂𝘇𝗼 𝗢𝗻𝗼𝗵, Queen of African Horror, and recipient of the 2022 Bram Stoker Lifetime Achievement Award</p></blockquote><p></p><p><br /></p><p></p><blockquote><p>“The 𝙎𝙖𝙪𝙪́𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙚 is a mind-blowing, highly imaginative and deeply compelling sandbox. The wide range and excellent quality of these stories are a testament to that, offering yet another formidable trove of authors of African descent. In 𝙈𝙊𝙏𝙃𝙀𝙍𝙎𝙊𝙐𝙉𝘿, Talabi and company have offered us something seminal. This book will continue to influence the canon of Afrocentric futurisms for years to come.” — 𝗦𝘂𝘆𝗶 𝗗𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗢𝗸𝘂𝗻𝗴𝗯𝗼𝘄𝗮, award-winning Nigerian author of David Mogo, Godhunter and The Nameless Republic trilogy</p></blockquote><p></p><p><br /></p><p></p><blockquote><p>“The 𝙎𝙖𝙪𝙪́𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙚 is a powerful original collective concept, and this debut anthology clearly shows collaboration can create more than the sum of its parts while remaining firmly true to its African heritage and taking that boldly into the future.” — 𝗜𝘃𝗼𝗿 𝗪. 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗻, writer and editor of AfroSF</p></blockquote><p> </p><blockquote><p>"Fantastika at its best. The Sauútiverse invites a reader to drown in a poetic world, built with a Tolkenian attention to gripping detail, and full of creatures who excite the imagination in a dream-like rollercoaster. The illustrations are works of art in themselves, adding spice to the stories, and I found myself wishing there were more paintings, more stories, and more pages to keep me up in the wee hours." — 𝗗𝗶𝗹𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗗𝗶𝗹𝗮, internationally acclaimed and award-winning social activist, filmmaker and author of Yat Madit stories</p></blockquote><p></p><p><br /></p><p>Below is the Table of Contents – wait until you read them!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAmnoxMRdu546FJwvfjuIxykghWiIfWBW7ZMPhwtiyILXpqxSVTDUxFB2j-DuKWxNvmQiDbtWNeu7aKj02Ppt_5jlMB9pbRxGwwrnsVgOvH0M-xh1LrVjPIBFY3J4qTp0nRaBBRhmvEdRHrRpO8ZwYXAzfC31oLJ8Ke-2Oca3KeprCt3D95DqbVnw8PZpb/s2500/Sauuti%20ToC_sm.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2500" data-original-width="2500" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAmnoxMRdu546FJwvfjuIxykghWiIfWBW7ZMPhwtiyILXpqxSVTDUxFB2j-DuKWxNvmQiDbtWNeu7aKj02Ppt_5jlMB9pbRxGwwrnsVgOvH0M-xh1LrVjPIBFY3J4qTp0nRaBBRhmvEdRHrRpO8ZwYXAzfC31oLJ8Ke-2Oca3KeprCt3D95DqbVnw8PZpb/w640-h640/Sauuti%20ToC_sm.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Foreword: I Dream Of Sauúti – Fabrice Guerrier</li><li>Welcome to the Sauútiverse – Wole Talabi</li><li>Our Mother, Creator – Stephen Embleton & Wole Talabi</li><li>What Has No Mouth? – Dare Segun Falowo</li><li>The Way of Baa'gh – Cheryl S. Ntumy</li><li>The Grove’s Lament – Tobias S. Buckell</li><li>Xhova – Adelehin Ijasan</li><li>A City, a Desert, and All Their Dirges – Somto Ihezue and Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki</li><li>Sina, the Child With No Echo – Eugen Bacon</li><li>The Rakwa Wa-Ya'yn – Stephen Embleton & Wole Talabi</li><li>Undulation – Stephen Embleton</li><li>The Hollowed People – T.L. Huchu</li><li>Muting Echoes, Breaking Tradition – Eye Kay Nwaogu</li><li>Kalabashing – J. Umeh</li><li>Lost in the Echoes – Xan van Rooyen</li><li>Hologhiri – Akintoba Kalejaye</li></ol><p></p><p><br /></p><p>The 5 pieces I created for the anthology (<a href="https://stephen.embleton.co.za/2023/11/the-art-of-sauuti.html">more details here</a>):</p><h2 style="text-align: center;">Impudu-pudu (lightning bird)</h2><div>Eugen Bacon created an awesome giant lightning bird in her <i>“Sina, The Child With No Echo”</i> called the impudu-pudu. At the time, I was playing with my physical rolled ink work (scanned from 2019) and using them digitally. This was the perfect style to try something textural and visceral for this sequence of Eugen's story.</div><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK2Xk9mu-k8ww8Hq0PRvoLOv88fKcnkR22JQz6CBvak6bA43jWT-QSLiipTCiQ-MI0fsWEl_IWQAC9kjVOPxUe8zD8dxC5giBCFsqeuIMz853XWEp55nei90ZdoYIV1znh-wJwkO02nBMUGrz6xi8Q0gnReshRGCU2KTz2Vki8ckphIeqHDibIhl5s1g/s1684/impudu-pudu_Stephen%20Embleton_30-05-2023_03_crop_sm.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1502" data-original-width="1684" height="570" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK2Xk9mu-k8ww8Hq0PRvoLOv88fKcnkR22JQz6CBvak6bA43jWT-QSLiipTCiQ-MI0fsWEl_IWQAC9kjVOPxUe8zD8dxC5giBCFsqeuIMz853XWEp55nei90ZdoYIV1znh-wJwkO02nBMUGrz6xi8Q0gnReshRGCU2KTz2Vki8ckphIeqHDibIhl5s1g/w640-h570/impudu-pudu_Stephen%20Embleton_30-05-2023_03_crop_sm.jpg" width="640" /></a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: center;">The Way of Baa’gh</h2><p>The crab-like creatures of Cheryl S. Ntumy's <i>“The Way of Baa’gh”</i> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirZCw9jVeEOewFU9V4Tnjx1u5lbsf6pi-d02c0MyQ0o9q1xTMlTPbfjZlT8RDLD4_W5-F_JZ5T6R2JjC4iALbcHjDQ4IKmNLOx2l2M7SzoLYH8wChVphCv8ljctf4MYrXqzWOqH6XLBccYynoi4LHCpE9gzgKmzNlr3s1nLAs4xcO7fAZ6Z7DOzXZbcA/s4170/Way%20of%20Baagh_01_colour.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2900" data-original-width="4170" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirZCw9jVeEOewFU9V4Tnjx1u5lbsf6pi-d02c0MyQ0o9q1xTMlTPbfjZlT8RDLD4_W5-F_JZ5T6R2JjC4iALbcHjDQ4IKmNLOx2l2M7SzoLYH8wChVphCv8ljctf4MYrXqzWOqH6XLBccYynoi4LHCpE9gzgKmzNlr3s1nLAs4xcO7fAZ6Z7DOzXZbcA/w640-h446/Way%20of%20Baagh_01_colour.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><h2 style="text-align: center;">Undulation</h2><div><p>Three featured in my novella <i>"Undulation"</i>.</p></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKUP5beOIWBfJdIqjQI9R5FfpdMJoG1PUz_BUkhzns3Epyfqbzdyx-BDILPpqMQJuG7CDe3kOfEvoOcG65_cgj0zwYmjgLRtPxbH5lvR2wVay61kR3DjaH_TK45oBcE6jBuBFriv4w07Wj-MBxuk0seTuBn2efZAdvIMpGIHNItqVWn4XdXm10XIqRBw/s6100/Paramikule%20Zekunekude.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="6000" data-original-width="6100" height="630" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKUP5beOIWBfJdIqjQI9R5FfpdMJoG1PUz_BUkhzns3Epyfqbzdyx-BDILPpqMQJuG7CDe3kOfEvoOcG65_cgj0zwYmjgLRtPxbH5lvR2wVay61kR3DjaH_TK45oBcE6jBuBFriv4w07Wj-MBxuk0seTuBn2efZAdvIMpGIHNItqVWn4XdXm10XIqRBw/w640-h630/Paramikule%20Zekunekude.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The final digitally coloured illustration</td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><p>I then played with two other scenes within my story – more intimate.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAmMtzeAZhwfoeRS2MIHUyncUBfA_m95L498yEJVhOGzogmBlN3B_Azke8Iq0gbAbOtdSj3P81HCFYcX8KqWNCY932uVJ4pTxi-30L_zeSdxnhN5D-2Z9y8Zx4yY4aUs6jXBqnLZDa-mcVxtyVbyvr9oQABJeg1-enqBA1xUlTcqS8Xm_rtANk5bcs5A/s3648/Hmahein_03b.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2688" data-original-width="3648" height="472" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAmMtzeAZhwfoeRS2MIHUyncUBfA_m95L498yEJVhOGzogmBlN3B_Azke8Iq0gbAbOtdSj3P81HCFYcX8KqWNCY932uVJ4pTxi-30L_zeSdxnhN5D-2Z9y8Zx4yY4aUs6jXBqnLZDa-mcVxtyVbyvr9oQABJeg1-enqBA1xUlTcqS8Xm_rtANk5bcs5A/w640-h472/Hmahein_03b.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Hmahein" – The final digitally coloured piece</td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioGowWYsz9Jw5Ewee5oM3Wr-uUlIpvqYAkMmjdSgNEDhqrRyuB8myj4HfBAWScVtifztL1J68FdxwPRVf2y1uCRQlYIl5U3rolHMUjjV2KRsBXoIcxa_NQohV9mMEs53_RyKkeJ28cwGJuQczsuaAusfv0VElakUrJTdgDXo4lI2bGvQa6y5AIp8MYZg/s4032/Waioke%20Hands%20Sewing.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioGowWYsz9Jw5Ewee5oM3Wr-uUlIpvqYAkMmjdSgNEDhqrRyuB8myj4HfBAWScVtifztL1J68FdxwPRVf2y1uCRQlYIl5U3rolHMUjjV2KRsBXoIcxa_NQohV9mMEs53_RyKkeJ28cwGJuQczsuaAusfv0VElakUrJTdgDXo4lI2bGvQa6y5AIp8MYZg/w640-h480/Waioke%20Hands%20Sewing.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Waioke"– The final digitally coloured piece</td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Stephen Embletonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04318895837146242200noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448447498511252939.post-90013475281304411512023-10-02T07:03:00.008-07:002023-11-05T01:16:53.688-07:00Africa Writes 2023 – The Sauútiverse<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYB_QW-QLp8bVyHG84te1N4gZclyFtKlxWRM4oEBtYviG2UsGqduA68RUP5dKHOLqOuJhYgwSGlR3pbOYcidWy0qMeSfajm911RhDXk6F0VjMoSXdnhrdUALSz_yEQLEcALTVHd5hhrNngKFprNavI6PlE3KFMV6osENSEhKvNmvTjSaChP5Cs5-jMdCQl/s962/Africa%20Writes%20202023_Stephen_76890005_sq1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="962" data-original-width="962" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYB_QW-QLp8bVyHG84te1N4gZclyFtKlxWRM4oEBtYviG2UsGqduA68RUP5dKHOLqOuJhYgwSGlR3pbOYcidWy0qMeSfajm911RhDXk6F0VjMoSXdnhrdUALSz_yEQLEcALTVHd5hhrNngKFprNavI6PlE3KFMV6osENSEhKvNmvTjSaChP5Cs5-jMdCQl/w400-h400/Africa%20Writes%20202023_Stephen_76890005_sq1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p></p><p>It was such a great venue at the British Library and an eager <a href="https://africawrites.org/africa-writes-2023/" target="_blank">Africa Writes</a> audience listening to Cheryl Ntumy, Wole Talabi, Jude Umeh and myself talk about the The Sauúti Collective and our awesome project on 1 October 2023.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu5TWbUKnS26IS8s1zPHHGYDYK4FqMK00n97u9iEAPYkNEEaOg1Fd2f9I2Dopuz9srekcBPpVqsWf_ZKUJoNTMOO4Zl_zpz3NPKbB5rc_w4As5PxCtCvWgmZO5Zy67yGqnLO9yJ_Hn_WUbqBz8qCtS3UbjoLQDwqoYkwS4i5uft57eZAYbYD0awVD9knOs/s1677/Sauuti_AfricaWrites_2023_02.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1369" data-original-width="1677" height="522" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu5TWbUKnS26IS8s1zPHHGYDYK4FqMK00n97u9iEAPYkNEEaOg1Fd2f9I2Dopuz9srekcBPpVqsWf_ZKUJoNTMOO4Zl_zpz3NPKbB5rc_w4As5PxCtCvWgmZO5Zy67yGqnLO9yJ_Hn_WUbqBz8qCtS3UbjoLQDwqoYkwS4i5uft57eZAYbYD0awVD9knOs/w640-h522/Sauuti_AfricaWrites_2023_02.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jude Umeh and I</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>Great questions at the end (cutting many short as we were over time) ⏱️ And then some speaking to us afterwards — showing we have a good thing for everyone to join in on! </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAem6S4b06fgIQ9KrArwoG09Gdt72MhNDM1cKTMsh8jvKnE3iDbOTnCFsTpfnCNOgaUi5c-hOVBLOkGiNEHXt4NSqawPOsOKJeISwIbg1un5LsLWZvTYOt680j22wT7KgL1sdcro4xP1XotP6XyDmnjJeZB2QDwPoo2tVLwSVbElsP8se5NLhYhvLlrGl8/s4032/IMG_8011.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAem6S4b06fgIQ9KrArwoG09Gdt72MhNDM1cKTMsh8jvKnE3iDbOTnCFsTpfnCNOgaUi5c-hOVBLOkGiNEHXt4NSqawPOsOKJeISwIbg1un5LsLWZvTYOt680j22wT7KgL1sdcro4xP1XotP6XyDmnjJeZB2QDwPoo2tVLwSVbElsP8se5NLhYhvLlrGl8/s320/IMG_8011.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqZ7GO4_96HU6EFeSFnDCQPHh0ftV-kd5BXWbj4xBLu5kqXwQhsMkC1bOq38cGmC8oIrN524bpYO7d9kbIK-rru3iIxXpVXkucuXO9k840QHQdIwSlP1wMhP15K0S7VK8pV_sC3cuXaNT8hgXTMsq72pS6WqazpcuYzn2gtivqhGwn2G_4YLdu6tjsb-G8/s4032/IMG_8010.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqZ7GO4_96HU6EFeSFnDCQPHh0ftV-kd5BXWbj4xBLu5kqXwQhsMkC1bOq38cGmC8oIrN524bpYO7d9kbIK-rru3iIxXpVXkucuXO9k840QHQdIwSlP1wMhP15K0S7VK8pV_sC3cuXaNT8hgXTMsq72pS6WqazpcuYzn2gtivqhGwn2G_4YLdu6tjsb-G8/s320/IMG_8010.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz-NK5lYjqua5nae4a-oqIh2ZsKOejNHpDGGwTB8DlNMbP45mJT-6Uv8AdblnWVrDaVPrrc-7EH0iCvvyyCpx9NVaOXbndu__Qv8ngaIhyphenhyphenOzvEYTqHHijBk6P2o6hNPvHFvwzgzb7R4Z7ygoHPQutfr9UrAOosmHCztwz8lEMtYrzb1kRL60aCaUGHZrLl/s2221/IMG_8004.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1970" data-original-width="2221" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz-NK5lYjqua5nae4a-oqIh2ZsKOejNHpDGGwTB8DlNMbP45mJT-6Uv8AdblnWVrDaVPrrc-7EH0iCvvyyCpx9NVaOXbndu__Qv8ngaIhyphenhyphenOzvEYTqHHijBk6P2o6hNPvHFvwzgzb7R4Z7ygoHPQutfr9UrAOosmHCztwz8lEMtYrzb1kRL60aCaUGHZrLl/s320/IMG_8004.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTrgUK1-C27f3g8o1MxIVVztQTikrGqZ90RVmzUZDwimMLuQWDvmts268PIE1VOKWO_bcN_AxmwaUMj5G0phhRCz3RfsYa3hHTKwRUDqZ5unzg7fOO3_HlIB9AcnDlQJFHww_4MMD3ierEna5xIhTYQHT-gNGN1cMSUpi6VX3r4eXaCvZ-BbWNI_WI-olX/s4032/IMG_8012.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTrgUK1-C27f3g8o1MxIVVztQTikrGqZ90RVmzUZDwimMLuQWDvmts268PIE1VOKWO_bcN_AxmwaUMj5G0phhRCz3RfsYa3hHTKwRUDqZ5unzg7fOO3_HlIB9AcnDlQJFHww_4MMD3ierEna5xIhTYQHT-gNGN1cMSUpi6VX3r4eXaCvZ-BbWNI_WI-olX/s320/IMG_8012.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A great Q&A</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>We spoke about <a href="https://sauuti.com/" target="_blank">The Sauúti Collective</a>'s nearly two-year journey beginning with <a href="https://brittlepaper.com/" target="_blank">Brittle Paper</a> and <a href="https://syllble.com/sauuti/" target="_blank">Syllble</a> to the Mothersound anthology (<a href="https://www.android-press.com/" target="_blank">Android Press</a>) coming soon and our project which is beyond what we imagined with people eager to read AND participate in its future. </p><p>🪐✨🚀</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhotaa_j_oae8D_fPjzOsFFZZ7siy7mfTevp0S14Tbkayiktb3f66BIsbp0siqL8teynTOw0Y8YK3mwUZndF7aZqA0uOzKrP4pg5vlYV0_MFhA4sUHhxcf3tlsvW3scpNPMrkzBq-PYCQPp2fYrbc4e-a65M2bee7itjnTXBOLt7yMZX_dab96WvBHXvgSA/s1600/Africa%20Writes%20202023_Desta_Nwora_76890008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1060" data-original-width="1600" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhotaa_j_oae8D_fPjzOsFFZZ7siy7mfTevp0S14Tbkayiktb3f66BIsbp0siqL8teynTOw0Y8YK3mwUZndF7aZqA0uOzKrP4pg5vlYV0_MFhA4sUHhxcf3tlsvW3scpNPMrkzBq-PYCQPp2fYrbc4e-a65M2bee7itjnTXBOLt7yMZX_dab96WvBHXvgSA/w640-h424/Africa%20Writes%20202023_Desta_Nwora_76890008.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Myself, Desta Haile, Jude Umeh and Nwora Emenike</td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaJ6d6O6usweK7vvSGy3ukzyYiQiCmGsl6jJeMIGuLtlzasuNDQQPVdldY5998N-bAeQNbkePldmAqeX2Bc_nLSq_llD69TGbl5BeofAAFc0C9n_AhaJEDzStEpcKoupfKL2r1gy-IP8nHlH1srvjyoSMBdA_Ar1lX_0BzHWKUuaBor9Q-aoAzjmRyEkf8/s4032/IMG_7986.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaJ6d6O6usweK7vvSGy3ukzyYiQiCmGsl6jJeMIGuLtlzasuNDQQPVdldY5998N-bAeQNbkePldmAqeX2Bc_nLSq_llD69TGbl5BeofAAFc0C9n_AhaJEDzStEpcKoupfKL2r1gy-IP8nHlH1srvjyoSMBdA_Ar1lX_0BzHWKUuaBor9Q-aoAzjmRyEkf8/s320/IMG_7986.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6SDjaEpHmGbgEcwvHa0wdIg0DnPRi7HJGRkjWXFUvnpmYXwpYX6U_FRLWI8HRCl89ZFfApKvXWvsK6vs6AzI2_s9o-CgdGkMtvDmWUwfgv6y-A89fM0yCkUKSDlK0tXIuzK14gL4pwb-NezWnnvt7lWJViVK_Kt1XC1SOsI-g5qEhXDWuMNNaTTk8nX-1/s4032/IMG_7994.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6SDjaEpHmGbgEcwvHa0wdIg0DnPRi7HJGRkjWXFUvnpmYXwpYX6U_FRLWI8HRCl89ZFfApKvXWvsK6vs6AzI2_s9o-CgdGkMtvDmWUwfgv6y-A89fM0yCkUKSDlK0tXIuzK14gL4pwb-NezWnnvt7lWJViVK_Kt1XC1SOsI-g5qEhXDWuMNNaTTk8nX-1/s320/IMG_7994.jpeg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My books!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOQxIeJ0kVSmL6AGZH51qAsUC4fEQdDxczHjutsrVrzLjy-HpUBijZXyYB1rG7s2w62DvuXDSdSm2vvfikhwj3Db5XqSTJOfFSI8ekJZbTBZZEflkyMEyVSUr25SnwEk05_TwbcTFvWj4SehcYVi3BrT5PcipMWt2rVE3BZfqMBVmUYMbjZloha8dxWN1F/s4032/IMG_7995.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOQxIeJ0kVSmL6AGZH51qAsUC4fEQdDxczHjutsrVrzLjy-HpUBijZXyYB1rG7s2w62DvuXDSdSm2vvfikhwj3Db5XqSTJOfFSI8ekJZbTBZZEflkyMEyVSUr25SnwEk05_TwbcTFvWj4SehcYVi3BrT5PcipMWt2rVE3BZfqMBVmUYMbjZloha8dxWN1F/s320/IMG_7995.jpeg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wole's book!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil21DR8MiGW8M4lUBnRP5p1r1mtYPgx_XSIwVoymfbtTDRWxAiLnfqGJocSgL3Ot1-8GVmiaAdQJnxnWWhGGdhUYCcsMERKjOFEGDBo4nO8W8Ldnu2V1BURFxMevumCjRM6hAPhwUV45S4VkgRqMLc5-LoGeWF1yAUHPTS6aBAZup0eEQ5G9Q_5HcP5po9/s4032/IMG_7996.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil21DR8MiGW8M4lUBnRP5p1r1mtYPgx_XSIwVoymfbtTDRWxAiLnfqGJocSgL3Ot1-8GVmiaAdQJnxnWWhGGdhUYCcsMERKjOFEGDBo4nO8W8Ldnu2V1BURFxMevumCjRM6hAPhwUV45S4VkgRqMLc5-LoGeWF1yAUHPTS6aBAZup0eEQ5G9Q_5HcP5po9/s320/IMG_7996.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My book!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEvazZhU4qB0C9lKMXQBQoIViVJ-hI2zUGjpm9K0qq8cBPNunqAxDDwvcYYH7MNqUp1-GInXo2obWhiaZvuTfyeK1F3T4MtqUTSAMPB5UT3q_1JcQ8F1SdzCrHHFqxJRHmTNy3ko6Njlm38wg2-NZDcY9aNXsgxuoq4qDudrR5jIij5zmWh1Dg0bs7edre/s4032/IMG_8005.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEvazZhU4qB0C9lKMXQBQoIViVJ-hI2zUGjpm9K0qq8cBPNunqAxDDwvcYYH7MNqUp1-GInXo2obWhiaZvuTfyeK1F3T4MtqUTSAMPB5UT3q_1JcQ8F1SdzCrHHFqxJRHmTNy3ko6Njlm38wg2-NZDcY9aNXsgxuoq4qDudrR5jIij5zmWh1Dg0bs7edre/s320/IMG_8005.jpeg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Desta Haile introducing</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgozyqBhUwSVSs0bs052jen2UZW0kvesmnk-1weFDO2o5cJQ5CVTDS4URYrUNA63SM7_jJi2k9BuvSysHzdqPlOsr6XG-xgnxl7MU95-EPSuoNXiIb4jEsIP6CxNGq6NAZUsiM87GU6awfZgTic6h4WGQ5lYr20UL4Ez6LjJyiR6Ooj0pI-4c3rubOCW54m/s3088/IMG_8006.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3088" data-original-width="2316" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgozyqBhUwSVSs0bs052jen2UZW0kvesmnk-1weFDO2o5cJQ5CVTDS4URYrUNA63SM7_jJi2k9BuvSysHzdqPlOsr6XG-xgnxl7MU95-EPSuoNXiIb4jEsIP6CxNGq6NAZUsiM87GU6awfZgTic6h4WGQ5lYr20UL4Ez6LjJyiR6Ooj0pI-4c3rubOCW54m/s320/IMG_8006.jpeg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jude and I on stage and getting ready</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA_XasfQ0XumxL0ljegpDM2wS9KxkrpvhJhNo8MIdg3lsY7HZHC7Umrz5Y5_O66E8aMElfFnVOR8jF8HzFRRghsaL3jZ7_7NDTwDuUDEDPz5HzOrmnEZcWMIZ_c-8mInuV5HoIoKPW5-JH87xxplVJ1D3dd8QVBAXEuTO0JS68AG1ZU6VTbVugTCacZXVw/s530/Sauuti_AfricaWrites_2023_crop.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="530" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA_XasfQ0XumxL0ljegpDM2wS9KxkrpvhJhNo8MIdg3lsY7HZHC7Umrz5Y5_O66E8aMElfFnVOR8jF8HzFRRghsaL3jZ7_7NDTwDuUDEDPz5HzOrmnEZcWMIZ_c-8mInuV5HoIoKPW5-JH87xxplVJ1D3dd8QVBAXEuTO0JS68AG1ZU6VTbVugTCacZXVw/s320/Sauuti_AfricaWrites_2023_crop.jpg" width="290" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And we're off...</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: right;"></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6JRt4ESKibertwztQuWVZRtL1zExwfXEhB3MPH3VhuwYbbjztiKSJN49-93ba_ovPw8Vyq5I3cegIjxe26tBus2B5sij9VUVSbcKb0piL7weUFkW1PErRiU3zc7DP70EA9fGYMQiCoyfrl2CQwXlQOQqvXsVgB3bNhr_9I1lZhmBwGPdNPpYi_KOfxFzd/s4032/IMG_8013.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6JRt4ESKibertwztQuWVZRtL1zExwfXEhB3MPH3VhuwYbbjztiKSJN49-93ba_ovPw8Vyq5I3cegIjxe26tBus2B5sij9VUVSbcKb0piL7weUFkW1PErRiU3zc7DP70EA9fGYMQiCoyfrl2CQwXlQOQqvXsVgB3bNhr_9I1lZhmBwGPdNPpYi_KOfxFzd/s320/IMG_8013.jpeg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fun after</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVKVvuOUxIqu9n2atD1-4aPoOud19UHXqbrG24KE22XUY78C7pS0FxAloSNLv6g7VxDeCqjaPZeLG4C26D54iRfnHEG4QLKBpbs6gENoMDW3QphRriZD2Ni8_KSf5Fs9d7jGWN2p49AMMZbgf-cVCy04kxeH26f0tyKe5ffxBy0xv5QahGanChYXwQm6kw/s4032/IMG_8014.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVKVvuOUxIqu9n2atD1-4aPoOud19UHXqbrG24KE22XUY78C7pS0FxAloSNLv6g7VxDeCqjaPZeLG4C26D54iRfnHEG4QLKBpbs6gENoMDW3QphRriZD2Ni8_KSf5Fs9d7jGWN2p49AMMZbgf-cVCy04kxeH26f0tyKe5ffxBy0xv5QahGanChYXwQm6kw/s320/IMG_8014.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The fantastic photography socials team!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh509MGycdXRaRkYzGDEauuloUjg5xituPoYmb7cKUZD3sdprH1kKK4mfeg39Gvtqrizg5uLcsGdYTsG-tu_hyCk8aWaZHBra_c70FeuHbRza6xe-6ELqpU3Jd2jyqB6qPwSak26HTyRWcLKNsbdnEtNBkVbYh_tHr5H_S0D7drRx3J1jdkUBgS_rdclzuu/s4032/IMG_8016.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh509MGycdXRaRkYzGDEauuloUjg5xituPoYmb7cKUZD3sdprH1kKK4mfeg39Gvtqrizg5uLcsGdYTsG-tu_hyCk8aWaZHBra_c70FeuHbRza6xe-6ELqpU3Jd2jyqB6qPwSak26HTyRWcLKNsbdnEtNBkVbYh_tHr5H_S0D7drRx3J1jdkUBgS_rdclzuu/s320/IMG_8016.jpeg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Signing Bones & Runes is always special</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN4Qem_1YvVUZDZu_6J8tG92iNPUlDbgRwAEP3E2GE63lBKgDLaH6VpqY0VPR-kWUq7M_NaF1mqdilc6DLdkdwDmHmcuD3cZEgyfELtFUresZf4Pd6n298P5WYJMt9SjSfxAjTcAafVpn7fqfMoz6jWYicTHT62TXIl9WSdOQKk7Fogs2YsV0AaJYNgQ67/s4032/IMG_8018.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN4Qem_1YvVUZDZu_6J8tG92iNPUlDbgRwAEP3E2GE63lBKgDLaH6VpqY0VPR-kWUq7M_NaF1mqdilc6DLdkdwDmHmcuD3cZEgyfELtFUresZf4Pd6n298P5WYJMt9SjSfxAjTcAafVpn7fqfMoz6jWYicTHT62TXIl9WSdOQKk7Fogs2YsV0AaJYNgQ67/s320/IMG_8018.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhluUOXeD23oM2IQjxqHHV7G70wknvG5b34ApRRxLQhTh25401cmjKei04BrMHeEb7dx2oxpq3sVq2PPwSGccvCMRpkUum7OEL06L7Wh_8STWXTvPjVe5By-IfxtqGq5HjVHrNiXJwpSq0JoWVETCu8o22CmiUdEoKqkLYaIFYVnmmhA58XnhoH81ebT2ZM/s4032/IMG_8020.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhluUOXeD23oM2IQjxqHHV7G70wknvG5b34ApRRxLQhTh25401cmjKei04BrMHeEb7dx2oxpq3sVq2PPwSGccvCMRpkUum7OEL06L7Wh_8STWXTvPjVe5By-IfxtqGq5HjVHrNiXJwpSq0JoWVETCu8o22CmiUdEoKqkLYaIFYVnmmhA58XnhoH81ebT2ZM/s320/IMG_8020.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0Dw0O2HJXfpc4a3Ln2gbdmhpQsLaAB3An7Upr2Zw7nCzT11nTnvcWfSZuFUB9cpihqs6j_WtOpygH0R8Rzn8iHm1Pxshyw_AKjsa89Y29qnHi5ttOGLUZRIGSScJYsJtcUTi-CNaYQCnKceHc3fUWTxhPLWoKj4OYlkLaf4k5zHbKs_XF6fx0SY7MSe68/s4032/IMG_8024.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0Dw0O2HJXfpc4a3Ln2gbdmhpQsLaAB3An7Upr2Zw7nCzT11nTnvcWfSZuFUB9cpihqs6j_WtOpygH0R8Rzn8iHm1Pxshyw_AKjsa89Y29qnHi5ttOGLUZRIGSScJYsJtcUTi-CNaYQCnKceHc3fUWTxhPLWoKj4OYlkLaf4k5zHbKs_XF6fx0SY7MSe68/s320/IMG_8024.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Good chats, good food!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP9ia_rFNuXx-hB2uIoOA3sPdwAynKep3_dU3a_KLQTq_L_TuhHnusWs8WY3L2W6QfgJN9zEc0p1HrMQaWt8jX7G1loHmjuOK1OPbcyUdQrRVMpLlbpPP-XnNgXPzI4qS_CX-I5uY6D3-HIHNdTyyTjwRo_TmOE8ovvZF58ChAb2eeTTsXN1hdrqdxyKQV/s1353/IMG_8028.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1353" data-original-width="828" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP9ia_rFNuXx-hB2uIoOA3sPdwAynKep3_dU3a_KLQTq_L_TuhHnusWs8WY3L2W6QfgJN9zEc0p1HrMQaWt8jX7G1loHmjuOK1OPbcyUdQrRVMpLlbpPP-XnNgXPzI4qS_CX-I5uY6D3-HIHNdTyyTjwRo_TmOE8ovvZF58ChAb2eeTTsXN1hdrqdxyKQV/s320/IMG_8028.jpg" width="196" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Juce Umeh</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgscOrQ6M8msXQ8GD4HQd8OxZIvTwYpKhVySYaa3O8Nr0UQYGRB4TfHpn2PCQSrx2nf_nQLOaNGWtXduCgdCkUiRuqBR6kuy2ObAN7PKJ46y1l_vA2OincPn9-8aAsB3wlH_r9Rqb0dYi69wJzGo4tDumpiXdrmTh-EQxE2SYoTUq_W6OWzyeroFyv2ZTnS/s1600/Africa%20Writes%20202023_Stephen_76890005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1060" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgscOrQ6M8msXQ8GD4HQd8OxZIvTwYpKhVySYaa3O8Nr0UQYGRB4TfHpn2PCQSrx2nf_nQLOaNGWtXduCgdCkUiRuqBR6kuy2ObAN7PKJ46y1l_vA2OincPn9-8aAsB3wlH_r9Rqb0dYi69wJzGo4tDumpiXdrmTh-EQxE2SYoTUq_W6OWzyeroFyv2ZTnS/s320/Africa%20Writes%20202023_Stephen_76890005.jpg" width="212" /></a></div><div style="text-align: right;"></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitNp4ms__FNwRHY_cb9VIu99JEBzsZwcdpMEPG_oUWHTowNBA9-CKz5APZjuYIlzbVuTStX9iKPlhyphenhyphenhVxxPkUCHhhkjGQNTIHI3Y2BTbkS8ZxvjlcFQw2xJbSwLSF8Ej4wrSs1-4ATuG9qkbuMBNb7I-a6jp977_BpCAtVLqa9s0Wv5bC1821VGUqqTs12/s1456/IMG_8030.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1456" data-original-width="828" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitNp4ms__FNwRHY_cb9VIu99JEBzsZwcdpMEPG_oUWHTowNBA9-CKz5APZjuYIlzbVuTStX9iKPlhyphenhyphenhVxxPkUCHhhkjGQNTIHI3Y2BTbkS8ZxvjlcFQw2xJbSwLSF8Ej4wrSs1-4ATuG9qkbuMBNb7I-a6jp977_BpCAtVLqa9s0Wv5bC1821VGUqqTs12/s320/IMG_8030.jpg" width="182" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Signing Bones & Runes</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiynwSvckip2t3QcqqhXZZkknY8hMACrRLtcU77HrvkJ5lixVf9DtmwXJjVBJR4fg7BQDUUrkx1TiaUc0bPF53dbgoUAn-NuXywLAcCcqozwgApn-YnZC5taKumZolqEVb81kcRxjTbLhyphenhyphenFDnUFqxSc-i9q5Okpvrejveoyx4b3Uwni_5Lo2CRviIUzRF6g/s1600/Africa%20Writes%20202023_Stephen_76890003a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1060" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiynwSvckip2t3QcqqhXZZkknY8hMACrRLtcU77HrvkJ5lixVf9DtmwXJjVBJR4fg7BQDUUrkx1TiaUc0bPF53dbgoUAn-NuXywLAcCcqozwgApn-YnZC5taKumZolqEVb81kcRxjTbLhyphenhyphenFDnUFqxSc-i9q5Okpvrejveoyx4b3Uwni_5Lo2CRviIUzRF6g/s320/Africa%20Writes%20202023_Stephen_76890003a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhejSqXeT-uoblxk681KEV9Z7GDBQEMi9qvYQ90A5JZq6jlzNSIa92a6l86Bg7tlQYED6zid3j_B8w92MLWISSyiAaxFcWb3B_l4F0YRVwTsQ6vUyVnf-apMzuDI0RU49MG5AE3jEidydA-XV_im3q5bkxjHo22OWDu3dPmAU9iQZHH54pflAxjp2ejcdZX/s2048/Stephen_Jude_2023.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhejSqXeT-uoblxk681KEV9Z7GDBQEMi9qvYQ90A5JZq6jlzNSIa92a6l86Bg7tlQYED6zid3j_B8w92MLWISSyiAaxFcWb3B_l4F0YRVwTsQ6vUyVnf-apMzuDI0RU49MG5AE3jEidydA-XV_im3q5bkxjHo22OWDu3dPmAU9iQZHH54pflAxjp2ejcdZX/s320/Stephen_Jude_2023.jpeg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We had fun</td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ4bt-VG_oHGqw4hPVPOAfvO1kPtgbK4RCC3p1PI3412blgKLxlhcvA64mFG7LveUVhgCnOZ1F-h85C0n0kcGvY0EcqRpbpjEc3dHnZ4H7YRum1Dbl4sOocxnn0nBPYnMayNlTCUGIec6F7DeWkWpgbj9DPgfmJ_Ma3ZFqHQTjnMnDNchT0386hgxYiOhs/s1600/Africa%20Writes%20202023_Stephen_Jude_76890004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1060" data-original-width="1600" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ4bt-VG_oHGqw4hPVPOAfvO1kPtgbK4RCC3p1PI3412blgKLxlhcvA64mFG7LveUVhgCnOZ1F-h85C0n0kcGvY0EcqRpbpjEc3dHnZ4H7YRum1Dbl4sOocxnn0nBPYnMayNlTCUGIec6F7DeWkWpgbj9DPgfmJ_Ma3ZFqHQTjnMnDNchT0386hgxYiOhs/w400-h265/Africa%20Writes%20202023_Stephen_Jude_76890004.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />Stephen Embletonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04318895837146242200noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448447498511252939.post-83148757033501990472023-08-15T23:22:00.001-07:002023-10-28T23:49:50.148-07:00BSFA Fission #3 Cover Design<p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN9h9w8nAiOhL2Gez1ZoqBNiLLm1sIRkwdv4D5uK2_6-d53XBsXvjFiVV0Ol7uww5USZJm4L8ZeylfNLIRK-DANuolgd7QSgvEMphj-V22yY8BMXuSZkx0TBHuSyFg3hPaDS6You_srmkIMKmx9EBFZ1XzdFth60BPgwGGUAicud5MFdIJ6DH4bpLfa8EQ/s4668/Fission%203%20Cover_17_HIGHRES_front.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4668" data-original-width="3030" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN9h9w8nAiOhL2Gez1ZoqBNiLLm1sIRkwdv4D5uK2_6-d53XBsXvjFiVV0Ol7uww5USZJm4L8ZeylfNLIRK-DANuolgd7QSgvEMphj-V22yY8BMXuSZkx0TBHuSyFg3hPaDS6You_srmkIMKmx9EBFZ1XzdFth60BPgwGGUAicud5MFdIJ6DH4bpLfa8EQ/w416-h640/Fission%203%20Cover_17_HIGHRES_front.jpg" width="416" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Front Cover Design</td></tr></tbody></table><br /> <p></p><p>I was asked by fellow Sauúti collaborator, Eugen Bacon, to design the cover for the third volume of the British Science Fiction Association's (BSFA) Fission anthology. We both wanted to infuse it with our own African influences, and with my <a href="https://stephen.embleton.co.za/2023/08/in-conjunction-with-isibheqe.html" target="_blank">ongoing research on various African writing systems</a>, I played with the forms from Nsibidi. The fact that Eugen and co-editor, Gene Rowe (<b>who have put together a stellar volume of stories!</b>) were willing to venture into a more graphic cover design idea is a testament to this entire anthology.</p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fission-Stories-British-Science-Association/dp/1910987190/" target="_blank">Fission #3 is available here.</a></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAGaYsebuyu5u3gyyaRXCC731uvgJAyvQ2N-H7BDlTfdk8dQS_ELJRhpCrsAqz0EAlfOjkBFkbKpNPxPDzqBDN1DufFOgZO6GaEIkqRsJUGRfB7fmDTjJ9kfoNSZ0ZuWsvCC1HWySAVK7qcDShRI8nvolzCyMscawomPqIk_2Va8shHsWUzrLTskl7QWLe/s6568/Fission%203%20Cover_17_HIGHRES.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4678" data-original-width="6568" height="456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAGaYsebuyu5u3gyyaRXCC731uvgJAyvQ2N-H7BDlTfdk8dQS_ELJRhpCrsAqz0EAlfOjkBFkbKpNPxPDzqBDN1DufFOgZO6GaEIkqRsJUGRfB7fmDTjJ9kfoNSZ0ZuWsvCC1HWySAVK7qcDShRI8nvolzCyMscawomPqIk_2Va8shHsWUzrLTskl7QWLe/w640-h456/Fission%203%20Cover_17_HIGHRES.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Full Cover Spread</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.bsfa.co.uk/fission" target="_blank">Find out more about this volume and the contributing authors.</a></p><p><br /></p>Stephen Embletonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04318895837146242200noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448447498511252939.post-25345483937650903772023-08-06T22:56:00.002-07:002023-08-06T23:05:33.414-07:00RELEASED: Languages of Water Anthology<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyTrY5jDlB3cu92UF7hkR6342_aUHoIFVpBzTCfmrJMpFgcIkMabn0LcMMTQl-JytFq0tFQz3cXgTnyT-n1f766h4OjzPBlGonQ_WrufaIaSOXIMAjTJZLFJUc2C0PuRnd3ErUX5OLIP3LE4UvbaBMQlOSNjjHwmqOcjrZuD3Ptkr7kN2qdpsoqGrAyuqq/s3652/IMG_5989.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3652" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyTrY5jDlB3cu92UF7hkR6342_aUHoIFVpBzTCfmrJMpFgcIkMabn0LcMMTQl-JytFq0tFQz3cXgTnyT-n1f766h4OjzPBlGonQ_WrufaIaSOXIMAjTJZLFJUc2C0PuRnd3ErUX5OLIP3LE4UvbaBMQlOSNjjHwmqOcjrZuD3Ptkr7kN2qdpsoqGrAyuqq/w530-h640/IMG_5989.jpeg" width="530" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p>This jam packed anthology, "Languages of Water", is available! 📚 Included is my short story '<b><i>Taking Turns'</i></b>.</p><blockquote><p>'Languages of Water was born out of an experiment to explore how a particular story, and the conversations around it, can inspire other stories in different contexts . . . it’s a curious document that illustrates how speculative fiction in general and the burgeoning field of clifi in particular can unite writers across borders to inspire open conversation, collaboration, and community – the same vital tools we need to fight the ongoing climate crisis.'</p><p> –Archita Mittra, LOCUS MAGAZINE</p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p>#climatefiction #speculativefiction </p><p>Available on <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Languages.../dp/B0BWLP78ZX/ref=sr_1_1" target="_blank">Amazon</a> and publisher <a href="http://www.mvmediaatl.com/product-page/languages-of-water" target="_blank">MVMedia</a>.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiWiK2uAaoJjoalnqhwBsEIpzQ8uZ74-JgPkwgG6cQKEunv-zKMeOuOIKZ0_aiv85jHKMHHZuqTu1WIN6GyxHuHm7UaVHIMxxhzt1SuuqK4aaHuMRywEvTe1NZjGszWrj4fAmSL9HMRVSTh_CqP1YEXy3slwMeAsjV4ypRt5Gx5nXhK7Ur5RWaOb3697TA/s4032/IMG_5988.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiWiK2uAaoJjoalnqhwBsEIpzQ8uZ74-JgPkwgG6cQKEunv-zKMeOuOIKZ0_aiv85jHKMHHZuqTu1WIN6GyxHuHm7UaVHIMxxhzt1SuuqK4aaHuMRywEvTe1NZjGszWrj4fAmSL9HMRVSTh_CqP1YEXy3slwMeAsjV4ypRt5Gx5nXhK7Ur5RWaOb3697TA/w300-h400/IMG_5988.jpeg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><p> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNs8MXV9sbqwuI9gJzcVftOPETrzpv8DN-6NFvyHC3cfLx_dQ45snKn16mG-_J00YvcYeuL81MWbeCse9HYpryc5dcEO-6cJ0-Ynhhq4kJnSpfr6XuX2kuNGf-j7Z5XFuwk5Pqk3Ijxyg2iJxOt2ypM7bUg9X7k8sNel_sAGI1hpvkEp5sDcOFnvVtMg/s2018/Languagues%20of%20Water%20-%20THUMBNAIL.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2018" data-original-width="1300" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNs8MXV9sbqwuI9gJzcVftOPETrzpv8DN-6NFvyHC3cfLx_dQ45snKn16mG-_J00YvcYeuL81MWbeCse9HYpryc5dcEO-6cJ0-Ynhhq4kJnSpfr6XuX2kuNGf-j7Z5XFuwk5Pqk3Ijxyg2iJxOt2ypM7bUg9X7k8sNel_sAGI1hpvkEp5sDcOFnvVtMg/w412-h640/Languagues%20of%20Water%20-%20THUMBNAIL.png" width="412" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cover Art by John Jennings</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Languages of Water – a cross-lingual hybrid anthology</i></b></p><p>This was an interesting anthology to participate in and so glad I could contribute. And it’s finally here (nearly)! I thoroughly enjoyed the research I did for my short story ("<i>Taking Turns</i>"). </p><p>Thanks to Eugen Bacon for her work 👏🏼 in putting this together and Milton Davis and MVmedia for publishing!</p><p>With this lovely cover art by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/john.jennings.9659" target="_blank">John Jennings</a>. </p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>Featuring (in alphabetical order):</b></p><p>Aldegunda Matoyo, Alvin Pang, Andrew Hook, Audrey Chin, Cheng Tim Tim, Clara Chow, Clare Rhoden, David Carlin, Dominique Hecq, E. Don Harpe, Erin Latimer, Eugen Bacon, Francesca Rendle-Short, Jill Jones, Kyongmi Park, Nikki Bacon, Nuzo Onoh, Oz Hardwick, Pandora, Quyên Nguyễn-Hoàng, Ramya Jirasinghe, Rina Kikuchi, Seb Doubinsky, Stephen Embleton, Sudeep Chatterjee, Tamantha Smith, Zephyr Li.</p><p><br /></p><p>Find out more on <a href="https://eugenbacon.com/blog/languages-of-water-a-cross-lingual-hybrid-by-eugen-bacon/" target="_blank">Eugen Bacon's blog</a> and <a href="https://www.mvmediaatl.com/product-page/languages-of-water" target="_blank">order here</a>.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Stephen Embletonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04318895837146242200noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448447498511252939.post-28159275829597340222023-08-03T12:45:00.004-07:002023-08-05T00:32:17.430-07:00African Writing Systems Diagram Design<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7SDwT7qAKTyuCVYsmSPo2_KEWZETNuAadE3EM0z79tMJeFCs0LAQKrhzjT1XcUdj4GPmYqoAqNyN7DPHfCV7W3rJwve-elK8P5WyS41yo1s6xXF5jF-1gqWzLOXSov-PfpiZUJMaZQV8B-YsdKJjjNtWDUUyc5jLLlhZ-PY9-WPBSJVK1y-VuzMvhwduc/s2500/African%20Writing%20Systems_sq.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2500" data-original-width="2500" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7SDwT7qAKTyuCVYsmSPo2_KEWZETNuAadE3EM0z79tMJeFCs0LAQKrhzjT1XcUdj4GPmYqoAqNyN7DPHfCV7W3rJwve-elK8P5WyS41yo1s6xXF5jF-1gqWzLOXSov-PfpiZUJMaZQV8B-YsdKJjjNtWDUUyc5jLLlhZ-PY9-WPBSJVK1y-VuzMvhwduc/w640-h640/African%20Writing%20Systems_sq.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p>In conjunction with <span class="xv78j7m" spellcheck="false"><a href="https://isibheqe.org.za/" target="_blank">isibheqe.org.za</a></span> this is a visual representation of various African writing systems Pule kaJanolinji and I have been working on for the past few months. A continuous work in progress. Visit their site for more information and links to the respective syllabary projects.</p><p>The map depicts the array of ancient and modern writing forms found all over the continent, and some show the branches of origins. <span class="x1xsqp64 xiy17q3 x1o6pynw x19co3pv xdj266r xcwd3tp xat24cr x39eecv x2b8uid" data-testid="emoji" style="background-image: url("https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/images/emoji.php/v9/t4b/1/16/1f4dc.png"); background-size: 16px 16px; cursor: default;"><span class="xexx8yu xn5pp95 x18d9i69 x2fxd7x x1yqt14a x1bhl96m">📜</span></span> <span class="x1xsqp64 xiy17q3 x1o6pynw x19co3pv xdj266r xcwd3tp xat24cr x39eecv x2b8uid" data-testid="emoji" style="background-image: url("https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/images/emoji.php/v9/tc8/1/16/1f440.png"); background-size: 16px 16px; cursor: default;"><span class="xexx8yu xn5pp95 x18d9i69 x2fxd7x x1yqt14a x1bhl96m">👀</span></span> <span class="x1xsqp64 xiy17q3 x1o6pynw x19co3pv xdj266r xcwd3tp xat24cr x39eecv x2b8uid" data-testid="emoji" style="background-image: url("https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/images/emoji.php/v9/t6c/1/16/2764.png"); background-size: 16px 16px; cursor: default;"><span class="xexx8yu xn5pp95 x18d9i69 x2fxd7x x1yqt14a x1bhl96m">❤️</span></span></p><p><br />It is included in Pule’s August 2023 presentation: <br /><b><i>UBUCIKO BOKULOBA: African Writing Systems as Creative Cultural Technologies<br /></i></b><br /><br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2aK6-N9S3Ricq2Zz6v6G5Aso_EamaFpKigGZm7cfWFaTMdKRXbSHymgxArGmH7OmGVeduTCYY6vHr_Y_xffJ9BZ3apLljz6iN0Fpa0jt1C8s1dW3ObpLfkOXWs9TEQw0k3VZ7J0cYU_-2-MiqTl0gtfBqcue9DRoO-iS3Z797PIAIfoMS6IzbhWD03bEx/s2481/African%20Writing%20Systems_key.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2481" data-original-width="1754" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2aK6-N9S3Ricq2Zz6v6G5Aso_EamaFpKigGZm7cfWFaTMdKRXbSHymgxArGmH7OmGVeduTCYY6vHr_Y_xffJ9BZ3apLljz6iN0Fpa0jt1C8s1dW3ObpLfkOXWs9TEQw0k3VZ7J0cYU_-2-MiqTl0gtfBqcue9DRoO-iS3Z797PIAIfoMS6IzbhWD03bEx/w452-h640/African%20Writing%20Systems_key.png" width="452" /></a></div><p></p><br /><br />Included here are:<br /><br />1. Arabiese-Afrikaans<br />2. isiBheqe soHlamvu / Ditema tsa Dinoko<br />3. chiMbire<br />4. Mwangwego<br />5. Lusona<br />6. Mandombe<br />7. Ńdébé<br />8. Luo<br />9. Bamum<br />10. Adinkra<br />11. Vai<br />12. Osmanya<br />13. Wakandan<br />14. Nsibidi<br />15. Old Nubian<br />16. Ge’ez<br />17. Zaghawa<br />18. Adlam<br />19. N’ko<br />20. Proto-Sinaitic Script<br />21. Meroitic (derivative of Mdw Ntr)<br />22. Wadi el-Hol<br />23. Coptic*<br />24. *from Demotic<br />25. *from Hieratic<br />26. *from Mdw Ntr (Egyptian name for Hieroglyphs)<br />27. TifinaghStephen Embletonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04318895837146242200noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448447498511252939.post-43119983013673829332023-07-03T23:28:00.003-07:002023-07-03T23:28:15.013-07:00Brittle Paper's 100 Writers Celebrate Ama Ata Aidoo’s Life and Work<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtCJixXCYHqP2EsRnpiiIIV5BQ0TT1uWpCgWG3ALO31Dn-x-2ricfouoq8mChjxa3wHzugoz50CdzfFvnyKUUMdxDo7b85XtVH9gSJe7zXwBLBgIJ-nZwjsTdKyMLcuZah0EW6hPdEGo92fO5PTINDhTEKZDIwL89WHcCXP9B9BX5mVJUslPmIPs27aSsH/s828/IMG_5479.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="823" data-original-width="828" height="398" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtCJixXCYHqP2EsRnpiiIIV5BQ0TT1uWpCgWG3ALO31Dn-x-2ricfouoq8mChjxa3wHzugoz50CdzfFvnyKUUMdxDo7b85XtVH9gSJe7zXwBLBgIJ-nZwjsTdKyMLcuZah0EW6hPdEGo92fO5PTINDhTEKZDIwL89WHcCXP9B9BX5mVJUslPmIPs27aSsH/w400-h398/IMG_5479.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p>The passing of Ama Ata Aidoo on May 31, 2023 at the age of 81 left the African literary world at a loss as we mourned a woman with a vast literary contribution, as well as her activism and willingness to engage and debate.</p><blockquote><p>For us Africans, literature must serve a purpose: to expose, embarrass, and fight corruption and authoritarianism. It is understandable why the African artist is utilitarian. — Prof Ama Ata Aidoo</p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p>Brittle Paper gathered the thoughts of 100 African writers, including myself, to pay tribute to one of our African literary greats.</p><p><br /></p><blockquote><p>Africa’s writers and poets, duly revered by her people, should be elevated to the global stage for the world to hear/read and love. Prof Ama is one of those voices which has and will continue to ring out of our hearts and souls. We keep her voice alive. — Stephen Embleton </p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p>Read the <a href="https://brittlepaper.com/2023/06/100-african-writers-celebrate-ama-ata-aidoos-life-and-work/" target="_blank">100 here</a>.</p>Stephen Embletonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04318895837146242200noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448447498511252939.post-54080620922361451002023-06-13T09:39:00.001-07:002023-06-15T21:56:33.419-07:00Rest In Peace Nick Wood<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKfedn6jkGYCVkAaH851jG4cZHnocRn06sN2Q9jgrEyTi3PfgLvtJ4o3BY0fjqfYdg1WuHjwgXx8jBkEZkDodZU7EB04eJNFj2MnhaWYlM0Uw85I9kSm2vERboHmXH0imMwjVuG9qcrXc3H6YKzCtuJ_djn2TvnxENTxWglvId-gcfpWgw1wDSlYOsxQ/s1737/nick_wood_closeup.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1737" data-original-width="1396" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKfedn6jkGYCVkAaH851jG4cZHnocRn06sN2Q9jgrEyTi3PfgLvtJ4o3BY0fjqfYdg1WuHjwgXx8jBkEZkDodZU7EB04eJNFj2MnhaWYlM0Uw85I9kSm2vERboHmXH0imMwjVuG9qcrXc3H6YKzCtuJ_djn2TvnxENTxWglvId-gcfpWgw1wDSlYOsxQ/w514-h640/nick_wood_closeup.jpg" width="514" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p><i>"Our friend, colleague and African SFF writer and supporter, Nick Wood, has passed away. We at the ASFS send his family our deep love and condolences as we all mourn the passing of someone who selflessly strove to promote, support and represent Africa on the world stage with dignity and enthusiasm, and with his smile that could light up the galaxy.</i></p><p><i>Your words live on, mfowethu.</i></p><p><i>Camagu / ǁGammāgu"</i></p><p><br /></p><p>I wanted to pay tribute to this awesome human and African speculative fiction writer and supporter after his unexpected passing in June 2023. A digital illustration I hope captures the person we all love and respect.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTa4FuDtIQO_JG18F5MQ09XpnJki1HsLUgVNy_lpbkrslZU0nSTdSjUHd_EGdwDjFkah-jGVS6WHVrm1Ck7CqyBWLRUu1bxR44GiH-Itz_bNLedWR29WMa654ATcE5WuvbhBlFZQnIT4tYs2SekXFiPdok5SlElN8VMiLzYchPtR3pm_X9EWfntVD22Q/s3114/Nick%20Wood_1961-2023.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3114" data-original-width="2170" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTa4FuDtIQO_JG18F5MQ09XpnJki1HsLUgVNy_lpbkrslZU0nSTdSjUHd_EGdwDjFkah-jGVS6WHVrm1Ck7CqyBWLRUu1bxR44GiH-Itz_bNLedWR29WMa654ATcE5WuvbhBlFZQnIT4tYs2SekXFiPdok5SlElN8VMiLzYchPtR3pm_X9EWfntVD22Q/w446-h640/Nick%20Wood_1961-2023.jpg" width="446" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The African speculative fiction community came together and created a memoriam for Nick in the July issue of Locus Magazine.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN4nmcLgN5ShIvnDs652JL002nWsB01btLsDB_j9D6Z632RZBJuAB5eALx8Me76fLeJFt0lX7lCeShYrZecV2Gt5y87eQQKKJjaWs3BpgfSrEvh_X02mhkB9TjsjQ2Es_eGhLAuQodML2WqG5i_TIqOzdHdfp-LE5izJrhEHnioA-EtPww2uCDonnicg/s1500/Nick%20Wood_1961-2023_7_5x10_proof.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1125" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN4nmcLgN5ShIvnDs652JL002nWsB01btLsDB_j9D6Z632RZBJuAB5eALx8Me76fLeJFt0lX7lCeShYrZecV2Gt5y87eQQKKJjaWs3BpgfSrEvh_X02mhkB9TjsjQ2Es_eGhLAuQodML2WqG5i_TIqOzdHdfp-LE5izJrhEHnioA-EtPww2uCDonnicg/w480-h640/Nick%20Wood_1961-2023_7_5x10_proof.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p style="text-align: right;"></p>Stephen Embletonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04318895837146242200noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448447498511252939.post-42038465847349975792023-06-08T01:20:00.000-07:002023-06-08T01:20:05.552-07:00Sauúti Anthology Cover Reveal<p><a href="https://www.android-press.com/explore-the-sauutiverse?ref=bk-ec-22263" target="_blank">Android Press</a> publicly revealed the cover design for the <i>"Mothersound: The Sauúti Anthology"</i> designed and illustrated by Akintoba (Toba) Kalejaye and myself. It was fun to add further layers to Toba's initial cosmic woman piece, and created the type-design for <i><u>"Mothersound"</u></i>.</p><p>The anthology now moves into its <a href="https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/c7e9c948-7d9f-4aa4-b359-9c2112fcfdfb/landing" target="_blank">crowdfunding phase</a> with the November publication release!</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjmhr7-anrxiioKjfoFf6Zr5vOhEGalMm1RRxEl3lrk0NnIcziRX6xIoItEaKHep70aKUIda9_4ReriRHkfO3B18_ZxW8fNqjBmvjW4_qSS1zg3ExrYZ258PI9oPD8oT6DKs71uN4bdSLQGWnlNiGWJKJsNigLzdsFC6YrsIQw1HI161eG6NOwThvb4Q/s2338/Sauuti%20Cover%20Final_front_proof.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2338" data-original-width="1523" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjmhr7-anrxiioKjfoFf6Zr5vOhEGalMm1RRxEl3lrk0NnIcziRX6xIoItEaKHep70aKUIda9_4ReriRHkfO3B18_ZxW8fNqjBmvjW4_qSS1zg3ExrYZ258PI9oPD8oT6DKs71uN4bdSLQGWnlNiGWJKJsNigLzdsFC6YrsIQw1HI161eG6NOwThvb4Q/w416-h640/Sauuti%20Cover%20Final_front_proof.jpg" width="416" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs96kLThpNAAvRX3Uo6qTYymTla4qnDfGTrVLp8vT8cqur4aijL1IAoDmMpsaucLjL1jrgbSkYXhWxorgU-Segu8-Qf5xt5jNPS5BdRIMzSrgbdqUcN8khMeoc9pgSC9h-T23CAq4et7Tpfl_flHm4Oy0pHTJX8V0iRfpdWYWAKmxsLwl2yVJnI01Z0A/s1400/mothersound%202.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="1400" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs96kLThpNAAvRX3Uo6qTYymTla4qnDfGTrVLp8vT8cqur4aijL1IAoDmMpsaucLjL1jrgbSkYXhWxorgU-Segu8-Qf5xt5jNPS5BdRIMzSrgbdqUcN8khMeoc9pgSC9h-T23CAq4et7Tpfl_flHm4Oy0pHTJX8V0iRfpdWYWAKmxsLwl2yVJnI01Z0A/w640-h182/mothersound%202.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The "Mothersound" Type-Design</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">After Toba's original cosmic woman creation, I added the additional layer enhancements (including the cityscape of Toba's)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDtd1dz18p8EIsbeaOPMeO8oC8K95Mj2mR1ZKcWZ08zqdPTCZsFFBvaQR5PznEcEUJhoxRQpwsbY7SE5bNZA0rlfo-3IvvdOpF2ePa-XCWyfQTwyvuQh_3_k_i4X2vfgY81FtGcHjVlHCm4SFDM7iyu3M1uOcmyBazCLFMCWk8_jOO9TOZul3aH8kPiQ/s800/Cosmic-Sequence_FINAL_sm.gif" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="560" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDtd1dz18p8EIsbeaOPMeO8oC8K95Mj2mR1ZKcWZ08zqdPTCZsFFBvaQR5PznEcEUJhoxRQpwsbY7SE5bNZA0rlfo-3IvvdOpF2ePa-XCWyfQTwyvuQh_3_k_i4X2vfgY81FtGcHjVlHCm4SFDM7iyu3M1uOcmyBazCLFMCWk8_jOO9TOZul3aH8kPiQ/s16000/Cosmic-Sequence_FINAL_sm.gif" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Illustration Build Sequence</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Stephen Embletonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04318895837146242200noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448447498511252939.post-23591678214091827352023-05-24T21:55:00.001-07:002023-05-24T22:29:35.314-07:00Jorge Luis Borges Illustration<p>As a fan of Jorge Luis Borges (his writing and the man), I felt compelled to illustrate him in black and white 🖊️📚 </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga9U3WZUBAVp7we9RzNy6BFCzjVemK26zPV-ciaZjOt1KIVQAACkC6RO1d6l1BzNrmyBQT57Nvi0pCixG32-2BMtaxG_FIU9rKUOkM8VEe7i0duFpZ7r5ey_QcZAug4WpYEUyVMMDsqRBzwVUowMJ4h7gr60lHmnw-riz0VE8PBC3c4aTG7pcJcfclNQ/s2226/Jorge%20Luis%20Borges_Stephen%20Embleton_2023_01_sq.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2226" data-original-width="2226" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga9U3WZUBAVp7we9RzNy6BFCzjVemK26zPV-ciaZjOt1KIVQAACkC6RO1d6l1BzNrmyBQT57Nvi0pCixG32-2BMtaxG_FIU9rKUOkM8VEe7i0duFpZ7r5ey_QcZAug4WpYEUyVMMDsqRBzwVUowMJ4h7gr60lHmnw-riz0VE8PBC3c4aTG7pcJcfclNQ/w640-h640/Jorge%20Luis%20Borges_Stephen%20Embleton_2023_01_sq.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jorge Luis Borges – Stephen Embleton – 24 May 2023</td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><p>I set out to do a pen and. ink drawing but soon realised a white on black technique would be more interesting. I used an old rolled ink background I did on paper in 2018, and in Photoshop, added the white illustrated brushwork. With limited physical resources on hand at the moment, digital is a great option for me. Knowing how real brushwork should look, means I can give a natural feel to the image.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxlGKcOpVp4p1JpJKsFZ814fqLTuJo0WSQBNxdcNYZsOkQ2Tj2ZlXgirBHjUBYQv0GmW5m_DLaxpkt5EwwRzKyY1WmfIJ5-qStiv3liNN0SeGVi9KxVCN009wOXZnJ41ytHTil-HRXiA-jO92l6hsmuD2d-aFr94w8HlRzvbz8-sF1TL8CxGRigvCoFw/s614/Jorge%20Luis%20Borges_Stephen%20Embleton_2023_06_cropDETAIL.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="614" data-original-width="614" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxlGKcOpVp4p1JpJKsFZ814fqLTuJo0WSQBNxdcNYZsOkQ2Tj2ZlXgirBHjUBYQv0GmW5m_DLaxpkt5EwwRzKyY1WmfIJ5-qStiv3liNN0SeGVi9KxVCN009wOXZnJ41ytHTil-HRXiA-jO92l6hsmuD2d-aFr94w8HlRzvbz8-sF1TL8CxGRigvCoFw/w640-h640/Jorge%20Luis%20Borges_Stephen%20Embleton_2023_06_cropDETAIL.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jorge Luis Borges – Stephen Embleton – Detail</td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><p>#illustration #inkillustration #borges #JorgeLuisBorges </p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_mk9u684Kf8bBGs0QjdAjIw2B9dfj_PRDTQkVt-bH_ZvKynu7VjXRM_X3Zorgrx-5_ae4jQ3Qn5w9owYMD0qnutljkI7x3nufsS2S4O-PF5-qfppQZswQZIvLWbv_SM42tOvCKX-MrllN4nskrFig8KMuV4eHabSJXg7nSzskBDYsVF_ODgSRm0udlQ/s3804/Jorge%20Luis%20Borges_Stephen%20Embleton_2023_06_FULL.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3804" data-original-width="2665" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_mk9u684Kf8bBGs0QjdAjIw2B9dfj_PRDTQkVt-bH_ZvKynu7VjXRM_X3Zorgrx-5_ae4jQ3Qn5w9owYMD0qnutljkI7x3nufsS2S4O-PF5-qfppQZswQZIvLWbv_SM42tOvCKX-MrllN4nskrFig8KMuV4eHabSJXg7nSzskBDYsVF_ODgSRm0udlQ/w448-h640/Jorge%20Luis%20Borges_Stephen%20Embleton_2023_06_FULL.jpg" width="448" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jorge Luis Borges – Stephen Embleton – 24 May 2023 (FULL)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><h3 style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://society6.com/spembleton" target="_blank">Prints available on Society6</a></h3><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://society6.com/spembleton" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="700" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhsbhd8RiZB7pvCGQ3aRMbrPeFcySbMvQLED20t-42Ukrij-w48QGNrJlE0CA7GCewwm93DBVPzrNvFhd-dXKnf-xJX4WJBlfpDfh7UFOjrx0K7udfcjTwPhhgPkcW3Z87Qc-dbUMvJLIPPg5MRGzWZkFQ3OwI8wReetF1FWfSIvdY6DnfJjmbRuB6pg/w400-h400/jorge-luis-borges8324299-framed-prints%20(3).jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://society6.com/spembleton" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="700" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnIglGQKg9kIsqGVY56gWi1siiX2bEjZHVTTbwir-k0nXENK4yiw6bTSPyIZNumJvEuQhiR2E_ZrEhncYlVy0lRFq6SSeZrVf9WC-nBDQ6MxvN-RrgvQlS2njXDxzUL8Gzk43p18rR9qZX3WsjnahRWADIQRCpZjTkmOupHBYzqt0hkf__nehlUHsTzA/w400-h400/jorge-luis-borges8324299-framed-prints%20(1).jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Stephen Embletonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04318895837146242200noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448447498511252939.post-74388965292475771182023-05-14T01:23:00.001-07:002023-05-26T22:35:16.928-07:00Book Cover Design: The Good Nigerian (UK Edition)<p> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTyC6yW9pwHwlAgE_3DHLIz0VJ61nVm5FMWqrxW_sLib1L_4aZV-BZKk_aA8Aaiw2JF9jmKLhX9txnP5LC3SjNMzpyqlYlf3k9zKxEazew9smk6lx0NKk64pJ-RAPqgNnRrxginllkLXBHnmaOA_BSl9c0MEsXaI6YLW3IsSwAEU-ZeoxBLGSJrVbWLA/s1170/The%20Good%20Nigerian_Cover%20FINAL%20proof_cover.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1170" data-original-width="761" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTyC6yW9pwHwlAgE_3DHLIz0VJ61nVm5FMWqrxW_sLib1L_4aZV-BZKk_aA8Aaiw2JF9jmKLhX9txnP5LC3SjNMzpyqlYlf3k9zKxEazew9smk6lx0NKk64pJ-RAPqgNnRrxginllkLXBHnmaOA_BSl9c0MEsXaI6YLW3IsSwAEU-ZeoxBLGSJrVbWLA/w416-h640/The%20Good%20Nigerian_Cover%20FINAL%20proof_cover.jpg" width="416" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"The Good Nigerian" by David Dison (2023)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p>It was a pleasure to be asked to design the UK edition cover for David Dison's successful "The Good Nigerian". Set in Joburg, I thought it fitting to contrast the colours and flowers of the Jacaranda trees, with the gritty cityscape, weapon and profile of a man uneasy with his surroundings. The textured title further emphasises the Nigerian (flag) connection.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVpjpl2g-a4q-9nW9BVyq8nBSA6YI8Rl-5j_pVWyH4Jq5AuMlvy1zfFvMAcLTGu-9k9bCINW2mFNJ5v03LVYs8TvNlFd7AwWXxJEdcVhvdG0Y6z5OVd5CQq5nlIs0eqqly12rA-YtkvyopGxMGVP0Fy_IKoJzxyU1y49wE2bFqQJUzsUELZOE_2toOrQ/s1024/Good%20Nigerian_Paperback%20reveal_03a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="768" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVpjpl2g-a4q-9nW9BVyq8nBSA6YI8Rl-5j_pVWyH4Jq5AuMlvy1zfFvMAcLTGu-9k9bCINW2mFNJ5v03LVYs8TvNlFd7AwWXxJEdcVhvdG0Y6z5OVd5CQq5nlIs0eqqly12rA-YtkvyopGxMGVP0Fy_IKoJzxyU1y49wE2bFqQJUzsUELZOE_2toOrQ/w300-h400/Good%20Nigerian_Paperback%20reveal_03a.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaZP2UHWsf9JWh8S09nHrrDTJsxClEO0jP7SMrH3ewMeQ-3VOH7hi5mtyrk7_YePETET14VvJ5uWrUv-WBCaIA425eLJLKpl9nlHy88WqMjMv8H3IVBsOhVExZ4cMsQvu013YaB8hfaD9_aulmWOpbpBzYGhmJapElr6ubm86d520nAwdGbOYhSEfwxA/s1024/Good%20Nigerian_Paperback%20reveal_02a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="768" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaZP2UHWsf9JWh8S09nHrrDTJsxClEO0jP7SMrH3ewMeQ-3VOH7hi5mtyrk7_YePETET14VvJ5uWrUv-WBCaIA425eLJLKpl9nlHy88WqMjMv8H3IVBsOhVExZ4cMsQvu013YaB8hfaD9_aulmWOpbpBzYGhmJapElr6ubm86d520nAwdGbOYhSEfwxA/w300-h400/Good%20Nigerian_Paperback%20reveal_02a.jpg" width="300" /></a></div></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-7kFtToKpSs1qD5g-3cpEaKCuogleNwp9XNcXj8F5Jn8dLimXFfexPo2Fi_DQSzWsyS3RjBJSq9pej61CS1KhAwqZWvjQelU731jR1HR-rKOyk4EbO8xyUkL6PBGRw2QcwqahvRpZV9NmflUN_kVI_s68GjZ6HyHRs-ub4t9RYepn7Bj7taybYgjNMQ/s1024/Good%20Nigerian_Paperback%20reveal_01a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="768" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-7kFtToKpSs1qD5g-3cpEaKCuogleNwp9XNcXj8F5Jn8dLimXFfexPo2Fi_DQSzWsyS3RjBJSq9pej61CS1KhAwqZWvjQelU731jR1HR-rKOyk4EbO8xyUkL6PBGRw2QcwqahvRpZV9NmflUN_kVI_s68GjZ6HyHRs-ub4t9RYepn7Bj7taybYgjNMQ/w300-h400/Good%20Nigerian_Paperback%20reveal_01a.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfUxSEFn3EtN1JqahMMy3XAzMPvdAzXuPA1OubvBw8HDQsBvmLb7EjzfzH5ee52TXk62J86l-Qb0GbHg6OEiPzoJFH5Dqa91biHwz_r8cUJ2KbZ1PJDG_XIGV3peTsDOh0sVuEPR_CXrKNKyNmGMiH7csn-zrsQFF43P-a0X88WsdrLmUoFhaF8AEyBQ/s1643/The%20Good%20Nigerian_Cover%20FINAL%20proof.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1170" data-original-width="1643" height="456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfUxSEFn3EtN1JqahMMy3XAzMPvdAzXuPA1OubvBw8HDQsBvmLb7EjzfzH5ee52TXk62J86l-Qb0GbHg6OEiPzoJFH5Dqa91biHwz_r8cUJ2KbZ1PJDG_XIGV3peTsDOh0sVuEPR_CXrKNKyNmGMiH7csn-zrsQFF43P-a0X88WsdrLmUoFhaF8AEyBQ/w640-h456/The%20Good%20Nigerian_Cover%20FINAL%20proof.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">FULL COVER: "The Good Nigerian" by David Dison (2023)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Stephen Embletonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04318895837146242200noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448447498511252939.post-85688183145100653342023-05-13T00:46:00.004-07:002023-05-13T00:58:11.624-07:00SFWA 2023 Nebula Sauúti Panel (Anaheim, California) – 12 May 2023<p>I was able to attend the 2023 Nebula Conference (Anaheim, California) as a virtual guest and have a great panel session with fellow Sauúti Collective members Eugen Bacon, Xan van Rooyen, Jude Umeh and Wole Talabi. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCo1hLaBYMFSVj4lhtFora04R2Doz8kQ-2GWyD3IqkJUVbHwRaK8oTvUQT6SJ3qQly56GyDULCrIq-FhtyJQvqC82TuNztYNacQvAMy3DEG1KLRFBrdCnvaAmMt2d-z08vkjAimwt1_MtmOhfcUykBWD9ixDqQIHZggeq7QsfgEY1HuVzrCyhxSGQqcw/s1080/Sauuti%20Instagram%20Square.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCo1hLaBYMFSVj4lhtFora04R2Doz8kQ-2GWyD3IqkJUVbHwRaK8oTvUQT6SJ3qQly56GyDULCrIq-FhtyJQvqC82TuNztYNacQvAMy3DEG1KLRFBrdCnvaAmMt2d-z08vkjAimwt1_MtmOhfcUykBWD9ixDqQIHZggeq7QsfgEY1HuVzrCyhxSGQqcw/w400-h400/Sauuti%20Instagram%20Square.png" width="400" /></a></div><p><a href="https://events.sfwa.org/events/sauuti-an-afro-centric-universe/" target="_blank">SAUÚTI: AN AFRO-CENTRIC UNIVERSE</a></p><p>Fri, May 12, 2023 UK 9PM-10PM (Pacific 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM)Panelists: </p><ul><li>Eugen Bacon</li><li>Stephen Embleton</li><li>Xan van Rooyen</li><li>Jude Umeh</li><li>Wole Talabi (moderator)</li></ul><p>The Sauútiverse is an African collective initiative, drawing from the Swahili word ‘sauti’ that means ‘voice’ to create a five-planet system orbiting a binary star. A world rooted deeply in a variety of African mythology, language, and culture. Sauúti weaves in an intricate magic system based on sound, oral traditions and music.</p><p>If you have access, watch the full panel chat here: <a href="https://events.sfwa.org/events/sauuti-an-afro-centric-universe/">https://events.sfwa.org/events/sauuti-an-afro-centric-universe/</a></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXkpY6LdOT9jTmek-RTSwrHm7onKjWp0F2gzFZ0jQnktdNKAoNKhrtNazBVV57gGkV8UMddHhGr-PJQr3hl5NhbzTMdBx8KHBJGj0_AAfFhRtB73AIljPNxc4xfhhnVRVifX2mNn299DAevB-FIa1mAONxEx2nVP_IV6Ho7bsNW6eebPG69Lgg9NscUQ/s1040/Afro%20Centric1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="952" data-original-width="1040" height="586" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXkpY6LdOT9jTmek-RTSwrHm7onKjWp0F2gzFZ0jQnktdNKAoNKhrtNazBVV57gGkV8UMddHhGr-PJQr3hl5NhbzTMdBx8KHBJGj0_AAfFhRtB73AIljPNxc4xfhhnVRVifX2mNn299DAevB-FIa1mAONxEx2nVP_IV6Ho7bsNW6eebPG69Lgg9NscUQ/w640-h586/Afro%20Centric1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK5wZ-9geKTckavzwU2d0tDP2HSxJ_TrCXfNvXRvFMojPuYinn3k1IL85royp0x7Sw1Sh6t64KvMMyREHudE858dH4wXXH4UNQ35Trn3Z4D_eRh5zIYc5q5ODvjckAtEkMMl4mNSQJkasdCkMtgJjc35GWqZsuSVgD-hweiGMhp74yBwNinmIvoIR84g/s1920/Afro%20Centric4.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1020" data-original-width="1920" height="340" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK5wZ-9geKTckavzwU2d0tDP2HSxJ_TrCXfNvXRvFMojPuYinn3k1IL85royp0x7Sw1Sh6t64KvMMyREHudE858dH4wXXH4UNQ35Trn3Z4D_eRh5zIYc5q5ODvjckAtEkMMl4mNSQJkasdCkMtgJjc35GWqZsuSVgD-hweiGMhp74yBwNinmIvoIR84g/w640-h340/Afro%20Centric4.PNG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Stephen Embletonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04318895837146242200noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448447498511252939.post-31292935961030670282023-05-08T01:39:00.005-07:002023-05-14T01:52:17.624-07:00Book Cover Design: Madness<p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFvuh8DjQawcUqsypvItQIW6JVddrCrB3l0kS2d8H_Xlaz1CDNneuVBeUQqMktLjwlZojo1nhpnTMNnKWmnxj1aXwANwhxLhe4M085ZJymXdhCmPeAy1_zxsOkf3IyFOLg30L7CTkMBWG53O8PWxFJHYRBNqQMDMtLvnXXYVzb0-4ESfe8MZnmRXHujg/s1170/Madness%20Esomnofu%20Ebelenna_Cover_cover%20proof.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1170" data-original-width="762" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFvuh8DjQawcUqsypvItQIW6JVddrCrB3l0kS2d8H_Xlaz1CDNneuVBeUQqMktLjwlZojo1nhpnTMNnKWmnxj1aXwANwhxLhe4M085ZJymXdhCmPeAy1_zxsOkf3IyFOLg30L7CTkMBWG53O8PWxFJHYRBNqQMDMtLvnXXYVzb0-4ESfe8MZnmRXHujg/w416-h640/Madness%20Esomnofu%20Ebelenna_Cover_cover%20proof.jpg" width="416" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Madness" by Esomnofu Ebelenna (2023)</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">Taking a photograph by Susan Wilkinson, adding the floral silkscreen motif and superimposing the custom stamped typographic design, I wanted something soft (fabric) yet course in its texture (linen) and grey rather than warm. Unsettling. And taking this further with the misaligned text of the back cover.</p><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG3yE7oxzEUxYOi8kf0wDzHSw35m8BMN0qzutV_QySFHJvv0xIxmZcgSLTaRxAvgRLcYn_1LrRGG3jLN31vvxmIPrEmz50csA3mSYds0ndvLc-A0YVg43OX6H8ei8P8frVGu7EDt8RI9uAibuJdSnSc6VfOCQ5hDxSu3g0qlZuTanN96c5JCqM7WXD4g/s1679/Madness%20Esomnofu%20Ebelenna_Cover%20proof%20sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1170" data-original-width="1679" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG3yE7oxzEUxYOi8kf0wDzHSw35m8BMN0qzutV_QySFHJvv0xIxmZcgSLTaRxAvgRLcYn_1LrRGG3jLN31vvxmIPrEmz50csA3mSYds0ndvLc-A0YVg43OX6H8ei8P8frVGu7EDt8RI9uAibuJdSnSc6VfOCQ5hDxSu3g0qlZuTanN96c5JCqM7WXD4g/w640-h446/Madness%20Esomnofu%20Ebelenna_Cover%20proof%20sm.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Full cover: "Madness" by Esomnofu Ebelenna (2023)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><br />Stephen Embletonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04318895837146242200noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448447498511252939.post-58947082060300036262023-04-05T01:19:00.002-07:002023-04-05T01:19:59.751-07:00Book Cover Design: Yamtarawala, the Warrior King<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1748" data-original-width="1140" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_nfxLdc5Q8fnfhdKnpEKDD4k2PjKYPEz0weZ4Mev2VjJ6lChWvUKoQR-oxCgPWug_psmmzlQ-LVBnCHSxxNZYMVoNVKaeQEkc66cjBtd28ieaRY0TDGFHwIficdfJBWpSDvdbBwN94RxcTxdDB-o9W6Cy7QwsqkvP7iFub7Jq-MKnGrcsgmZNVnt95w/w418-h640/Yamtarawala%20the%20Warrior%20King_cover.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="418" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Yamtarawala, the Warrior King" by Henry Akubuiro (2023) – watercolour/digital</td></tr></tbody></table><p>After researching the events and era of the play's events, I felt a simple yet dramatic illustration would be best. Using splashed and dripping paint as blood, I morphed those into flowers (also featured in the inner layout) and the elongated spears of the warriors of the time. Amongst the "chaos" I featured the imagined profile of the bearded warrior king.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1924" data-original-width="2686" height="458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg190vdStUg3v2N4tTOygsFHfW6axvV4jHzDnEPssBKnfaODD42PbC05_CM9bMNu-iaHz5WBptd55E0zdNHWwxoG-h5H_kv9_p00nUo-8U6Ry2lRu_Fu2MPoeIk4BlvZyEavG94-U0QXo4Htpkzht1P0tBghotf_MlFfQsXCfJhqx5NTfmre4CNz7qUCg/w640-h458/Yamtarawala%20the%20Warrior%20King.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Full cover: "Yamtarawala, the Warrior King" by Henry Akubuiro (2023)</td><td class="tr-caption"><br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Some of the reference images.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgB7e9KEhw-Vv87dlrC-0xnYFwWVuHkiqz9BkjbBHZRFyme3KB75vXGlFmjPggUpFkdSv32LgvF6JlbFtZFymqMDv9PxYChXAmdEz8lV1a6kQSTO7TkFvXR_eGjlRPQlBDFKG5xBY6ogR_cVq2JLy_J6lyf_C8aknyv0BYY-33K-Q06WOTo3Ijxb_1Nvg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="614" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgB7e9KEhw-Vv87dlrC-0xnYFwWVuHkiqz9BkjbBHZRFyme3KB75vXGlFmjPggUpFkdSv32LgvF6JlbFtZFymqMDv9PxYChXAmdEz8lV1a6kQSTO7TkFvXR_eGjlRPQlBDFKG5xBY6ogR_cVq2JLy_J6lyf_C8aknyv0BYY-33K-Q06WOTo3Ijxb_1Nvg=w400-h240" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjLoiNZp_Honv6wPV1_FaxbXQgcO_Omyx-K6LJe2BmlONf4j2lgYUiuH67s_6Id8-K9HG6fbMdiktUKsQZP_O9_1vi7uNxehA_5r3OEIfTL0UM5noXYjDq1mUi969bBtjN3FPdD4TR9w15Wc0_sX0TzEG14EgHeMH6QhwieqyyicZZUyT-ro954X_fnrw" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2896" data-original-width="2896" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjLoiNZp_Honv6wPV1_FaxbXQgcO_Omyx-K6LJe2BmlONf4j2lgYUiuH67s_6Id8-K9HG6fbMdiktUKsQZP_O9_1vi7uNxehA_5r3OEIfTL0UM5noXYjDq1mUi969bBtjN3FPdD4TR9w15Wc0_sX0TzEG14EgHeMH6QhwieqyyicZZUyT-ro954X_fnrw=w400-h400" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><br /><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Stephen Embletonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04318895837146242200noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448447498511252939.post-82176094691973378242023-03-21T00:18:00.003-07:002023-03-21T00:18:51.220-07:00"The Lake Goddess" Released March 2023<p>It was a proud day to celebrate the release of this wonderful, and enigmatic book: The Lake Goddess. Until now, only published in Nigeria, I wanted to celebrate the work of Flora Nwapa and publish this posthumous book to a wider audience. I had the privilege of not only editing the book (with my Editor's Introduction) but also designed the cover.</p><p>Rather than depicting any perceived dark and mysterious theme, and the legendary figure of Ogbuide (the Lake Goddess herself), I wanted to reflect the vibrancy of the story's real-world lake region of Oguta as well as the people and their traditions.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLSS6yrLYB_2LeRxzCuTKLrYs-ZrxtRt1t2cPjzm2tE1Xf2OatdPaMnkW742LMoDzu2KsK3hoiFMO32xERhyEfmzxmWXc3cuq14rKsqfyf_XKLkNI-80ofMCWeGs-aXPPJP_aVAKCsI2zbVp5w_BspY847USenNMG9KuRo70ycILWXL8DYaxCs9jUQDA/s775/Lake%20Goddess_Print_01.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="775" data-original-width="602" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLSS6yrLYB_2LeRxzCuTKLrYs-ZrxtRt1t2cPjzm2tE1Xf2OatdPaMnkW742LMoDzu2KsK3hoiFMO32xERhyEfmzxmWXc3cuq14rKsqfyf_XKLkNI-80ofMCWeGs-aXPPJP_aVAKCsI2zbVp5w_BspY847USenNMG9KuRo70ycILWXL8DYaxCs9jUQDA/w498-h640/Lake%20Goddess_Print_01.jpg" width="498" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paperback (Feb/March 2023)</td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><p>20 March 2023: I spent the day with Ejine Nzeribe, showing her damp Oxford, talking about her mother Flora Nwapa, and Flora’s novel, <b><i>The Lake Goddess</i></b>, which we published in the UK this month 📖 and ending with some ugba (oil bean seed) from Ona Nwelue ❤️🌶️</p><p>Read my Editor's Introduction to the new edition below...</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj21gzRvvqZlv8fS4_ivROAJOCs0PAEYg-1Ar4XVKoBrGeyAoRg3IYMFkLLppilQsPfxhnqJ0xFJdtufycDEZkUQtb0BuVm7kJZYJWNQYYDQd8DWjFzOzPlIJ0Sll2YhbeG6HKMZdl53o63iI8zOxGBHfYpsRqoOhyHeECXE7CbdR49AvajAKh_cX-d8Q/s4032/IMG_4452.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj21gzRvvqZlv8fS4_ivROAJOCs0PAEYg-1Ar4XVKoBrGeyAoRg3IYMFkLLppilQsPfxhnqJ0xFJdtufycDEZkUQtb0BuVm7kJZYJWNQYYDQd8DWjFzOzPlIJ0Sll2YhbeG6HKMZdl53o63iI8zOxGBHfYpsRqoOhyHeECXE7CbdR49AvajAKh_cX-d8Q/w400-h300/IMG_4452.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaVblMTk5gqPG91PxiOBPlUcqzrSJv_vN6nMMwu7lUlDyOmBb-cAq19cvbGAbrW1NKXp2Ny-D4Pqbr37xga9yUpS9gXd-ysjPlQOhSy5vEpQJjvMPHy-9wymJsIo1fYCUjCC3WDd-fbmpcTPGreSPOA1ohbvExv9zGFJtWwyIp0E51AqeEARztqS--GQ/s4032/IMG_4455.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaVblMTk5gqPG91PxiOBPlUcqzrSJv_vN6nMMwu7lUlDyOmBb-cAq19cvbGAbrW1NKXp2Ny-D4Pqbr37xga9yUpS9gXd-ysjPlQOhSy5vEpQJjvMPHy-9wymJsIo1fYCUjCC3WDd-fbmpcTPGreSPOA1ohbvExv9zGFJtWwyIp0E51AqeEARztqS--GQ/w400-h300/IMG_4455.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDnN3V6kXzLSHFx4LNX_9QtbVP9roNxk8JwkEEjr3HdlGkJ3PwghPNUUUswiw00k6GpAy5e6BPk7NiI_c5JoQ0A52bWfhgVSqR_5KBff11STLeKeIrDGTjgeLoNP56o_Uoe3L_eKv0dwGf_CnzM7T0tQLY3vdWolIPR3QbIWZoekszDil3EPMB9NZYhg/s4032/IMG_4459.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDnN3V6kXzLSHFx4LNX_9QtbVP9roNxk8JwkEEjr3HdlGkJ3PwghPNUUUswiw00k6GpAy5e6BPk7NiI_c5JoQ0A52bWfhgVSqR_5KBff11STLeKeIrDGTjgeLoNP56o_Uoe3L_eKv0dwGf_CnzM7T0tQLY3vdWolIPR3QbIWZoekszDil3EPMB9NZYhg/w300-h400/IMG_4459.jpeg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ugba (oil bean seeds)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpVZQw1B3xpFghVP8NNPsUZaUxZBEIuQ-zlD8ZR8dLRTE1mF8iPZqxIoCJPJvttPikQKnZYqw6aSecqYOvg4v0QH_cme0WOCxwABIfmtSHnkW7DTHzbApj5Q1rztZKjcDrtwm7pGDW_DplxwLfMCgMDIuGqNINbv03M9WlzsnKqelY6I8YUB-RjmEjNQ/s4032/IMG_4461.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpVZQw1B3xpFghVP8NNPsUZaUxZBEIuQ-zlD8ZR8dLRTE1mF8iPZqxIoCJPJvttPikQKnZYqw6aSecqYOvg4v0QH_cme0WOCxwABIfmtSHnkW7DTHzbApj5Q1rztZKjcDrtwm7pGDW_DplxwLfMCgMDIuGqNINbv03M9WlzsnKqelY6I8YUB-RjmEjNQ/w640-h480/IMG_4461.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ejine Nzeribe and Stephen</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM2tee8cky48qf4nk-ym0W5jJ6YjVICCnokUqWeNsFNsdsuBZpML2rxp8l2TQ6xXuCPAjYZQnPaegfjiYzlCI18KuDxsH4msSomPG8NE1bbdun3gnYCPzxRU2nXMqh2qNPj9rs4ke4kcQK8l_g7yWC7rLrXJBF6Lxs-lBTs_-JC4TdT6yte7SW59nCgA/s2612/IMG_4472%202.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2612" data-original-width="2598" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM2tee8cky48qf4nk-ym0W5jJ6YjVICCnokUqWeNsFNsdsuBZpML2rxp8l2TQ6xXuCPAjYZQnPaegfjiYzlCI18KuDxsH4msSomPG8NE1bbdun3gnYCPzxRU2nXMqh2qNPj9rs4ke4kcQK8l_g7yWC7rLrXJBF6Lxs-lBTs_-JC4TdT6yte7SW59nCgA/w636-h640/IMG_4472%202.jpeg" width="636" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ejine Nzeribe (left), Stephen, Ona Nwelue (right)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCRjwyUDw7_corSZ-yLjnJn1-U-iUsUMPD-8qDyKsDyG1DQW_SdlTPyiLqaeqznGsBgjciLgHB4uc9N2eug60gjVoZChi6m8D3_5DNd1PQf9kxcFqRIShkZbfnv7CWK-FY8ziCAIlG6GLQRwzt8E8R-_anmqLhlkF_hX6NExtuuHZjgL7j3zgJh5_NZA/s4032/IMG_4476_edit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCRjwyUDw7_corSZ-yLjnJn1-U-iUsUMPD-8qDyKsDyG1DQW_SdlTPyiLqaeqznGsBgjciLgHB4uc9N2eug60gjVoZChi6m8D3_5DNd1PQf9kxcFqRIShkZbfnv7CWK-FY8ziCAIlG6GLQRwzt8E8R-_anmqLhlkF_hX6NExtuuHZjgL7j3zgJh5_NZA/w300-h400/IMG_4476_edit.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><h4 style="text-align: center;">Editor's Introduction:</h4><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Ogbuide wants every woman to have a voice.”<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></i></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"><br /></span></span></i></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It has been a privilege to work with Flora Nwapa’s family — her three children, Ejine Nzeribe, Amede Nzeribe, and Uzoma Nwakuche — and seeing their commitment to their mother’s legacy, ensuring it is kept alive in a world, which will always yearn for the magic of Ogbuide, The Lake Goddess. <b><i>The Lake Goddess </i></b>is a testament to the power of traditions, beliefs and heritage, in a world quick to minimise the importance of cosmologies, of the eons of ancestors trying to make sense of the world around them, and calling on something greater than themselves for guidance.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"><br /></span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I wanted to have an understanding of who Flora Nwapa was, and continues to be, for three individuals who have remained steadfast custodians of their mother’s work, and in particular, the bold task of having posthumously published <b><i>The Lake Goddess </i></b>in 2019, decades after her passing. Thirty years is a long time, but just below the surface reside the memories of their lives together, hints at where Flora Nwapa was in her own life when she wrapped up the manuscript for <i>The Lake Goddess, </i>and the day-to-day lives not often spoken of, when <b><i>The Lake Goddess </i></b>is very much that – the day-to- day lives of a community rationalising the old and the new. For Ejine and I, our first face-to-face meeting in Lagos in 2022 was an emotional one: speaking of mothers and who they are to us, being brought up by them and growing up to see who they are in our world, and to the rest of the world. Ejine shared the turmoil of the political climate as a girl and her profound experiences of her mother, and remarkably, the direct experience of The Lake Goddess herself when forced to leave their old lives and home behind. And we are indebted to Obioma Nnaemeka, who edited the version that we are publishing.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"><br /></span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As the first woman published under the original African Writers Series, Flora Nwapa’s <b><i>Efuru </i></b>was bold in its approach and representation of her world and worldview. To me, <b><i>The Lake Goddess </i></b>is even bolder. It was a pleasant surprise to read the connection to <b><i>Efuru </i></b>within the narrative, tying her first novel to her final work. Flora Nwapa’s characters face the world head on and express their views, with few grey areas. They argue, as I imagine Flora Nwapa did within herself, or in conversations with others, for a changing world to better understand how they function on tradition versus new ideas, and the strength in the feminine aspect of society and beliefs, revealing a deeper thread of higher power within us all.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Stephen Embleton<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Editor<br />Oxford, December 2022<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p><br /></p><p><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaSqmIS7G6g_cdpt37gkI_yQlKRuTTwNGRL2xg_ffiHghC07yZKbsvHJ9PGRRuD09TNInaMx7G8QM5f5UhhlXqVAwt8FXUTs-IHcD-F12VFiMZmslMAzS3oTdifEPBmIfwDjlx-V_4l1GkEABgOVa6PjbqvGGDm8YO90IjGmbXkxMLvW0gpr4b3Ay7rA/s1746/The%20Lake%20Goddess%20Cover_FINAL.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1746" data-original-width="1140" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaSqmIS7G6g_cdpt37gkI_yQlKRuTTwNGRL2xg_ffiHghC07yZKbsvHJ9PGRRuD09TNInaMx7G8QM5f5UhhlXqVAwt8FXUTs-IHcD-F12VFiMZmslMAzS3oTdifEPBmIfwDjlx-V_4l1GkEABgOVa6PjbqvGGDm8YO90IjGmbXkxMLvW0gpr4b3Ay7rA/w418-h640/The%20Lake%20Goddess%20Cover_FINAL.jpg" width="418" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Lake Goddess by Flora Nwapa (2023 Edition)</td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWg-DDylO-W118fmFKx3MiS2RpeGcMrK8KtoEMTlPaV4D7mhd-kPA67hlXKPas9zBEnGAzJxddWctXlxaO8C7h6M3t15PzkL8VuC1qVBjtupAXpAldgkGWcAqH3zzTI3ERSkbLtZtWUcs6PK9R81glOSLj29QmbvDVt98HLHXTQrgPXl3NohgOdtVeVg/s2048/Lake%20Goddess_Print_03.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWg-DDylO-W118fmFKx3MiS2RpeGcMrK8KtoEMTlPaV4D7mhd-kPA67hlXKPas9zBEnGAzJxddWctXlxaO8C7h6M3t15PzkL8VuC1qVBjtupAXpAldgkGWcAqH3zzTI3ERSkbLtZtWUcs6PK9R81glOSLj29QmbvDVt98HLHXTQrgPXl3NohgOdtVeVg/w480-h640/Lake%20Goddess_Print_03.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paperback (Feb/March 2023)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div>Ejine gifted me a copy of two of Flora Nwapa's plays recently published in Nigeria:</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEittObPDCrYU_5-j7TcfVlfpCpXnYyK1F1CzjAEyfWbpQdeD1iM4FX2BoD_I3fsZIy5Y4C2FAY2Txt11eHQHiUgMgpgCiwAUZlNXvXS-wp2gPXeJWJX1Wy3RMmoSyjMdNzk_JVNlmp90-D_2U2Jq_VGY8MMxF7jzOrYzJKpyDuP-7KlsIYljh45h9NKfg/s4032/IMG_4477.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEittObPDCrYU_5-j7TcfVlfpCpXnYyK1F1CzjAEyfWbpQdeD1iM4FX2BoD_I3fsZIy5Y4C2FAY2Txt11eHQHiUgMgpgCiwAUZlNXvXS-wp2gPXeJWJX1Wy3RMmoSyjMdNzk_JVNlmp90-D_2U2Jq_VGY8MMxF7jzOrYzJKpyDuP-7KlsIYljh45h9NKfg/w300-h400/IMG_4477.jpeg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUWASEBADMcC0z_z_ebsrcQluL7XRt3QOg58AIBRPGcaN5bWa_lQfxG1Lkj6-xojvpZzow0RE6NqhgwHm6LjLLCj_gfGXCMHvrV3QSFg9D3Hgx8oYdg8z0qlWvzNnRvdyMGKQpVmKMLTSBODd50yfu416k9jyt_X46o2RxJXTkGfjQSN3d2mPre8uUjA/s4032/IMG_4479.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUWASEBADMcC0z_z_ebsrcQluL7XRt3QOg58AIBRPGcaN5bWa_lQfxG1Lkj6-xojvpZzow0RE6NqhgwHm6LjLLCj_gfGXCMHvrV3QSFg9D3Hgx8oYdg8z0qlWvzNnRvdyMGKQpVmKMLTSBODd50yfu416k9jyt_X46o2RxJXTkGfjQSN3d2mPre8uUjA/w300-h400/IMG_4479.jpeg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixjGkj7nE8yCcHhuER8uZKsaVL_CcBfsrOty7hXg12xlhuo23Y1vJrPimwGsnhyZkgu-doa5Cq07KKP3NZkE0DVLHowXuoIUlo-250GGtIJtF7de6RUamUwitmHWg4emgAP2qbNJI6PeEtsjCc__3tgVGYngQ-Il-Wify5kKgSi6gE2yO_Pd245NqYVQ/s4032/IMG_4480.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixjGkj7nE8yCcHhuER8uZKsaVL_CcBfsrOty7hXg12xlhuo23Y1vJrPimwGsnhyZkgu-doa5Cq07KKP3NZkE0DVLHowXuoIUlo-250GGtIJtF7de6RUamUwitmHWg4emgAP2qbNJI6PeEtsjCc__3tgVGYngQ-Il-Wify5kKgSi6gE2yO_Pd245NqYVQ/w300-h400/IMG_4480.jpeg" width="300" /></a></div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Stephen Embletonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04318895837146242200noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448447498511252939.post-81673262347374134112023-02-03T22:22:00.000-08:002023-02-03T22:22:09.885-08:00Review: The James Currey Anthology<p>Eugen Bacon's review of the James Currey Anthology features in <a href="https://aurealis.com.au/store/aurealis-157/" target="_blank">Aurealis Magazine #157</a> (Australia) in February 2023.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAJj9KCa9lqnDDoOwCyLFFWFCiTFS38BEaGcC9SEp36SCrogX2Au5i1mDsBgkDgXhYeCmiIuo35iba9WQQGvEO439HBsMGcXHkcb4mqAdRXGK9br-zvp8etODrAQq-kXmfgFWmo9Uqm30ZTi-73wPbxazhbn91g-CW_vH2uMBtxo7n6RU4Kua51WZ9VA/s1500/JCAnthology_Aurealis%20Review%202023.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1500" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAJj9KCa9lqnDDoOwCyLFFWFCiTFS38BEaGcC9SEp36SCrogX2Au5i1mDsBgkDgXhYeCmiIuo35iba9WQQGvEO439HBsMGcXHkcb4mqAdRXGK9br-zvp8etODrAQq-kXmfgFWmo9Uqm30ZTi-73wPbxazhbn91g-CW_vH2uMBtxo7n6RU4Kua51WZ9VA/w400-h400/JCAnthology_Aurealis%20Review%202023.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbDzVEPzo17pFau5TPpLVgevtxBsnxRg7saD9mZ1Bisbzj5aZ4JE5pnWD9iGr2aTWx_BmfwUBSWY4eqwiYQBY8-WzAlQkU004TtQQ01cg_Ie2Bpk7LDHtaaN4xgW8jM0Zl_208mbD08f89hpRtCsaQTC_tpwXat-9Vo8ecu0ocsprQ0SOA0tZpnZgorw/s3000/JCAnthology_social_04.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="3000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbDzVEPzo17pFau5TPpLVgevtxBsnxRg7saD9mZ1Bisbzj5aZ4JE5pnWD9iGr2aTWx_BmfwUBSWY4eqwiYQBY8-WzAlQkU004TtQQ01cg_Ie2Bpk7LDHtaaN4xgW8jM0Zl_208mbD08f89hpRtCsaQTC_tpwXat-9Vo8ecu0ocsprQ0SOA0tZpnZgorw/w400-h400/JCAnthology_social_04.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB27bcY1u8_sBYnh3IoJgiTVbfYXnJZYxYEI8K9_LnJ0lQ3cqhl3-fizljSUlF8h8cAHoJarzBaC02Ad1VIh9VcUVo__dTe02HhoQRfQ9AQPcafCGAKm3KqS0ptYs2uqh3u3R23Qwsabjs69ORN59-xfTI47tDlsjVlw4IaMKdfKcbprDobzDtxVz8dA/s3000/JCAnthology_social_01a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="3000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB27bcY1u8_sBYnh3IoJgiTVbfYXnJZYxYEI8K9_LnJ0lQ3cqhl3-fizljSUlF8h8cAHoJarzBaC02Ad1VIh9VcUVo__dTe02HhoQRfQ9AQPcafCGAKm3KqS0ptYs2uqh3u3R23Qwsabjs69ORN59-xfTI47tDlsjVlw4IaMKdfKcbprDobzDtxVz8dA/w400-h400/JCAnthology_social_01a.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbxradxGNX7f7ik8-6zvDHWNaxWAcxN7OsLMDvesZv3X_epZg0OAH4osqdte0-Bcb5jnMBVLSDNZ40CcVOWLiAYH1GXH-SLbt1KMzgoAgSbUVknmFWsnJPeZdlj807j-RWxNDxNGwWl2-YaJ4pX07Ho6oU6Do0Yfw56BSqeiRI4vZeHIaT7-WiSNm-4g/s3000/JCAnthology_social_02a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="3000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbxradxGNX7f7ik8-6zvDHWNaxWAcxN7OsLMDvesZv3X_epZg0OAH4osqdte0-Bcb5jnMBVLSDNZ40CcVOWLiAYH1GXH-SLbt1KMzgoAgSbUVknmFWsnJPeZdlj807j-RWxNDxNGwWl2-YaJ4pX07Ho6oU6Do0Yfw56BSqeiRI4vZeHIaT7-WiSNm-4g/w400-h400/JCAnthology_social_02a.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfoJATWd_upP4GMNVhCKr0mhcrTju3wpVsKYpXbPcmuEXUV0aqEzjUvnpWvO5ZNHm1-EtSQ094wCvY4yWXSrOb0EKoHLdKhxZ3uE3Y4kXYHvGk5O92Voz0F9Dut4Q_qsXADUNQpeSLuWQGPfuvyruRGL9oC9u564Oej64k7shK7SO7DoTcglwKzXibMQ/s3000/JCAnthology_social_02b.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="3000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfoJATWd_upP4GMNVhCKr0mhcrTju3wpVsKYpXbPcmuEXUV0aqEzjUvnpWvO5ZNHm1-EtSQ094wCvY4yWXSrOb0EKoHLdKhxZ3uE3Y4kXYHvGk5O92Voz0F9Dut4Q_qsXADUNQpeSLuWQGPfuvyruRGL9oC9u564Oej64k7shK7SO7DoTcglwKzXibMQ/w400-h400/JCAnthology_social_02b.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhljy8GC2AY8_QvdHbLQzoispk4sGOPjA3Ht9-xuFQQTbSQNwQvAUV-hKpbUtBrrtfq9UTmQeh8SNIl7H50utcwAz56fEG4j6HGPXTqwyLqep507zKeGenIHPNwkLustjlJry03PIyROJiejh0m5xrq5Hi40KaU5qH6EbsezOijpqMwRWwx8nJtVZL7Cg/s3000/JCAnthology_social_03.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="3000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhljy8GC2AY8_QvdHbLQzoispk4sGOPjA3Ht9-xuFQQTbSQNwQvAUV-hKpbUtBrrtfq9UTmQeh8SNIl7H50utcwAz56fEG4j6HGPXTqwyLqep507zKeGenIHPNwkLustjlJry03PIyROJiejh0m5xrq5Hi40KaU5qH6EbsezOijpqMwRWwx8nJtVZL7Cg/w400-h400/JCAnthology_social_03.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />The Review in full here:<div><br /></div><div>
<div class="page" title="Page 52">
<div class="layoutArea">
<div class="column">
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">Review by Eugen Bacon </span></p>
</div>
</div>
</div></div>
<div class="page" title="Page 52">
<div class="section">
<div class="layoutArea">
<div class="column">
<p><span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">This unique anthology of everything African comes in two parts: short stories and </span><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; font-size: 12pt;">creative essays. Editor Stephen Embleton, himself award-winning as a writer, </span><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; font-size: 12pt;">showcases the diversity of African fiction writing and the intensity of African critical </span><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; font-size: 12pt;">thinking. This book sings voices from the continent on matters of death, dirge, </span><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; font-size: 12pt;">superstition, patriarchy, belonging, and more.</span></p></div></div>
<div class="layoutArea">
<div class="column">
<p><span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">The pertinent miscellany opens with Mbaeze Nnedimma’s darkly twisted </span><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; font-size: 12pt;">‘Ihekanwa’, the voice of a child on the power of fear and belief </span><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; font-size: 12pt;">a Rubin’s blossom—young and tender, the rarest plant with its properties of healing—</span><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; font-size: 12pt;">belief.</span></p></div></div>
<div class="layoutArea">
<div class="column">
<p><span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">Offering the secret of </span><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; font-size: 12pt;">in a shoebox is N. A. Ntumy’s ‘Don’t Whisper the Secret’ that talks to sickness and</span></p></div></div>
<div class="layoutArea">
<div class="column">
<p><span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">A standout emerges in Uchechukwu Peter Umezurike’s ‘The Story is an Egg, or </span><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; font-size: 12pt;">Five Fragments’ that unravels in mindful vignettes, stories within a story, rich with </span><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; font-size: 12pt;">African naming and the storytelling tradition of the motherland. Lynn Nyaera </span><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; font-size: 12pt;">stretches out the matriarchal theme in a shrewd story on the lengths a mother will go </span><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; font-size: 12pt;">for her children.</span></p></div></div>
<div class="layoutArea">
<div class="column">
<p><span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">The stories resurrect friendship, family, forbidden love and what else in canny or </span><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; font-size: 12pt;">resourceful characters with innate or learnt skills of survival, sometimes their very </span><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; font-size: 12pt;">existence at stake.</span></p></div></div>
<div class="layoutArea">
<div class="column">
<p><span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">In a mood change, the creative nonfiction pieces skilfully wrap around </span><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; font-size: 12pt;">unsettlement, tribal warfare, the sense of belonging, unbelonging, censorship and age-</span><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; font-size: 12pt;">old matters still affecting African peoples and societies today.</span></p></div></div>
<div class="layoutArea">
<div class="column">
<p><span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">A laudable anthology from true grassroots, paying homage to an academic </span><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; font-size: 12pt;">publisher specialising in African studies. James Currey, co-founder of James Currey </span><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; font-size: 12pt;">publishers, now an imprint of Boydell & Brewer, is sometimes termed ‘The Godfather </span><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; font-size: 12pt;">of African Literary’ for his pioneering of African literature to British and then global </span><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; font-size: 12pt;">attention.</span></p></div></div>
<div class="layoutArea">
<div class="column">
<p><span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">Currey’s well-founded belief remains integral to the rise of Chinua Achebe, </span><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; font-size: 12pt;">Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o and other African greats and newer writers today. </span><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPS; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">The James </span><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPS; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">Currey Anthology </span><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; font-size: 12pt;">reminds us this.</span> </p></div></div></div></div><div><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p></div>Stephen Embletonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04318895837146242200noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448447498511252939.post-2151540140895375912023-01-30T22:56:00.004-08:002023-12-09T03:27:04.061-08:00Soyinka's Memory (Short Story) Published<p>My latest short story, <a href="https://theshallowtalesreview.com.ng/soyinkas-memory-stephen-embleton/" target="_blank"><i><b>“Soyinka's Memory</b></i><b><i>”</i></b></a>, published in <a href="https://theshallowtalesreview.com.ng/" target="_blank">The Shallow Tales Review</a> <a href="https://theshallowtalesreview.com.ng/issue-40-january-2023/" target="_blank">“MEMORY” #40</a> January 2023."</p><p>On 17 August 2022 I reached out to Professor Wole Soyinka (through Onyeka Nwelue) regarding the early draft of a short story I had written which featured a fictional Wole Soyinka. Within a few hours I received a direct response! I am pleased to share that the short story is now published in The Shallow Tales Review, along with Professor Soyinka’s acknowledgment of the work, below the title. <b><i><u>Please note: an acknowledgment is not an endorsement.</u> </i></b>I also included the rather poignant and apt sentence he wrote in his email to me within the final draft of the short story itself: <i>“My ‘memory’ is under strain.”</i> The rest of the short story is FICTION – in a small part autobiographical, but for the most part it is fiction.</p><p>It is magical realism. It expands on an original Jorge Luis Borges short story from 1938,<i> <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1998/04/13/shakespeares-memory" target="_blank">“Shakespeare's Memory”</a></i>.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCU8bgbh9M5itnq-R57LMHZyqD8Vb1NKpMCTOIAPFyLDKCJXmK52hywZULXf2rOH8Tqt4kqM9mqhsooYEvkfGIXWX2ZxwS6xwHf__hFI-9gT1RRqqxlRMXGcS_HQTTaF-Y9svNP6pFbmAJVgsCWuoGZYf16Mdd4ef5P8qNsbK7qMrqMsibGi4kMTuN9g/s1004/Soyinkas-Memory.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="590" data-original-width="1004" height="376" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCU8bgbh9M5itnq-R57LMHZyqD8Vb1NKpMCTOIAPFyLDKCJXmK52hywZULXf2rOH8Tqt4kqM9mqhsooYEvkfGIXWX2ZxwS6xwHf__hFI-9gT1RRqqxlRMXGcS_HQTTaF-Y9svNP6pFbmAJVgsCWuoGZYf16Mdd4ef5P8qNsbK7qMrqMsibGi4kMTuN9g/w640-h376/Soyinkas-Memory.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><i></i></p><blockquote><p><i>“Embleton begins his riveting story, <b>Soyinka’s Memory</b>, based on his fictional conversation with Professor Wole Soyinka, an intriguing literary generic, by saying, “I bear the weight of Soyinka’s memory, real and imagined.” The reality in this opening sentence admits that we can be a part of a memory that is not ours.”</i></p><p>– Orji Victor Ebubechukwu, <a href="https://theshallowtalesreview.com.ng/dont-you-remember/" target="_blank">Nonfiction Editor, The Shallow Tales Review</a></p></blockquote><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>The Premise:</p><p>A fictional version of myself, Stephen, as a writer, approaches a fictional “Soyinka” via email to ask to be granted the transferral of all “Soyinka’s Memory” to me. Written with myself as narrator in the past tense, reflecting on the events that have occurred, I tell of how “Soyinka” agreed (with a matter-of-fact “Yes” response) and a video chat was set up where he conveyed his own motivations to do so – even after the arrogant “Stephen” considered the possibility of “a degree of tech-illiteracy” (making the weight of the burden to come even more satisfying for the reader). The story is set after much time has passed between the initial “transfer”, where I am overcome with the immensity of such Memories on myself as a writer and individual finding his way in the world. I reflect on that journey, from elation at having a resource like no other, to being overwhelmed by it all. I delve into beliefs around memory (and its harnessing and transferral), as well as the significance on our experiences on the Continent — culturally, politically and personally. </p><p>It is set in the same “world” as the original Borges short story, referencing his narrator (Sörgel) and even contains a word count of 3,100 words – similar length to Borges’ story. One odd or coincidental sentence early in Borges’ piece includes this <i>“…who just recently died in <b><u>Pretoria</u></b>.”</i> And that was one of the catalysts for me! There is acknowledgment of the original Borges piece in a number of instances, and going so far as to rename Pretoria to Tshwane in my line: </p><p><i></i></p><blockquote><i>Though I don’t wish my circumstances on anyone, no matter the outcome, it was better than dying in Tshwane. Or dying, generally. </i></blockquote><p></p><p>There are many references to Soyinka's works and wealth of knowledge and experiences, as one would expect, particularly if I am to give fictional voice and credibility to the persona of a real man.</p><p><br /></p><p>Themes:</p><p>It revolves around memories (and history), learning from those lived memories, and the importance of those capable/skilled enough to transmit those for the benefit of the world to learn from; in our modern social media world the desire to “acquire” talent and be successful overnight; privilege to the extreme (acquiring the memory of someone else, without any respect for what it means); the arrogance and entitlement of desperation; appreciating our ancestors and elderly, their experiences and knowledge, rather than disrespecting and dismissing them as outdated; decolonising everything including the mind.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5SimcxxDSsm2keJu4MJwHK5VK8rnE_Q9dE6FEjpow_d4_ibmquet9Md4B76dIvX64HwHwKCJAyCJqkkg7bJTmfExti3Pp1Sultw_dnwoMlMLKdOzhOiPcXRkPkFVl2gnjyalt9KFCplDhTZboapNKPAi550DneJm3hljVrYCq8qbFGGoRbt02BjMiFQ/s2000/IMG_3869.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="1414" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5SimcxxDSsm2keJu4MJwHK5VK8rnE_Q9dE6FEjpow_d4_ibmquet9Md4B76dIvX64HwHwKCJAyCJqkkg7bJTmfExti3Pp1Sultw_dnwoMlMLKdOzhOiPcXRkPkFVl2gnjyalt9KFCplDhTZboapNKPAi550DneJm3hljVrYCq8qbFGGoRbt02BjMiFQ/w452-h640/IMG_3869.JPG" width="452" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNffhJH_Q2OFrmsPOfUtgOvx2Agq9yqEco0ioZm4sBHmbIzHg_-jovdfHlvGZj8fi1R1EkJxsjrwvGNSjvXziMALTIV53Hi-Y20pYwOa01CjeWDyq9VLq7PAFq3WSG-YLkmD6PCeQSHOaO32Enz9dmwMD0qYUbpkoSMWnHER9wn7Vh2Kkd3fzkVwbuRw/s1400/shallowtales_40_03.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1400" data-original-width="1400" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNffhJH_Q2OFrmsPOfUtgOvx2Agq9yqEco0ioZm4sBHmbIzHg_-jovdfHlvGZj8fi1R1EkJxsjrwvGNSjvXziMALTIV53Hi-Y20pYwOa01CjeWDyq9VLq7PAFq3WSG-YLkmD6PCeQSHOaO32Enz9dmwMD0qYUbpkoSMWnHER9wn7Vh2Kkd3fzkVwbuRw/w400-h400/shallowtales_40_03.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p><a href="https://theshallowtalesreview.com.ng/soyinkas-memory-stephen-embleton/" target="_blank">Read <b><i>“Soyinka's Memory”</i></b> here.</a></p>Stephen Embletonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04318895837146242200noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448447498511252939.post-13146594326163938822023-01-30T22:00:00.000-08:002023-01-30T23:23:26.111-08:00Interview (and Cover Feature): The Shallow Tales Review Jan 2023<p>It was a great surprise today to find out I made the cover of the 40th issue of <b style="font-style: italic;"><a href="https://theshallowtalesreview.com.ng/" target="_blank">The Shallow Tales Review</a> </b>(out on 31 Jan)! Along with the inclusion of my short story (<a href="https://theshallowtalesreview.com.ng/soyinkas-memory-stephen-embleton/">"Soyinka's Memory"</a>), I had enjoyed being interviewed for the publication by Nzube Nlebedim – talking about my work, South Africa (my childhood and now) and speculative fiction.</p><p><b><i><a href="https://theshallowtalesreview.com.ng/speculative-fiction-and-the-magic-of-african-literature-a-conversation-with-stephen-embleton/" target="_blank">"Speculative Fiction and the Magic of African Literature: A Conversation with Stephen Embleton"</a></i></b> – <a href="https://theshallowtalesreview.com.ng/issue-40-january-2023/" target="_blank">The Shallow Tales Review #40</a>, 31 January 2023 </p><p><a href="https://theshallowtalesreview.com.ng/speculative-fiction-and-the-magic-of-african-literature-a-conversation-with-stephen-embleton/" target="_blank">Read the full interview here.</a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinhRfrYPE89TXyhx0mPvfbwHgeJXHAfD9aR91ZmowedjWV1GqKZvccynmHBBVqlwETEGMozbXdkhDBRO5IjpButkio3ozLTlBqBauEKFdYkDM3W-Rg8bHK2cbJxbL3NdWnsK-yK3JAPB-5imarJ332BEtn8Xiv7dgrInxrBo7gFqP4HM8J4IR6_snDxQ/s1080/Shallow%20Tales_A%20Conversation%20with%20Stephen%20Embleton.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinhRfrYPE89TXyhx0mPvfbwHgeJXHAfD9aR91ZmowedjWV1GqKZvccynmHBBVqlwETEGMozbXdkhDBRO5IjpButkio3ozLTlBqBauEKFdYkDM3W-Rg8bHK2cbJxbL3NdWnsK-yK3JAPB-5imarJ332BEtn8Xiv7dgrInxrBo7gFqP4HM8J4IR6_snDxQ/w640-h640/Shallow%20Tales_A%20Conversation%20with%20Stephen%20Embleton.PNG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>The Table of Contents for Issue #40:</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNffhJH_Q2OFrmsPOfUtgOvx2Agq9yqEco0ioZm4sBHmbIzHg_-jovdfHlvGZj8fi1R1EkJxsjrwvGNSjvXziMALTIV53Hi-Y20pYwOa01CjeWDyq9VLq7PAFq3WSG-YLkmD6PCeQSHOaO32Enz9dmwMD0qYUbpkoSMWnHER9wn7Vh2Kkd3fzkVwbuRw/s1400/shallowtales_40_03.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1400" data-original-width="1400" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNffhJH_Q2OFrmsPOfUtgOvx2Agq9yqEco0ioZm4sBHmbIzHg_-jovdfHlvGZj8fi1R1EkJxsjrwvGNSjvXziMALTIV53Hi-Y20pYwOa01CjeWDyq9VLq7PAFq3WSG-YLkmD6PCeQSHOaO32Enz9dmwMD0qYUbpkoSMWnHER9wn7Vh2Kkd3fzkVwbuRw/w400-h400/shallowtales_40_03.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p>Cover for Issue #40:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg0T77jsYuHZWivT-3gGtETTtuIGIQ5UMsSXVYxuOg5qG_OsDc2nOgI356ZO7U5-Btas_BRZkB5HUqUrpVcqGJ-WXtHuMF1UcbTevJ8GbeowOJNullOiQRBYd9WuNfoWzUTza-n_phuPRTv1MXSikXc6_RdQW0E_ihrFzj9BDzSki00dZ_spau06h-fw/s2000/IMG_3869.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="1414" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg0T77jsYuHZWivT-3gGtETTtuIGIQ5UMsSXVYxuOg5qG_OsDc2nOgI356ZO7U5-Btas_BRZkB5HUqUrpVcqGJ-WXtHuMF1UcbTevJ8GbeowOJNullOiQRBYd9WuNfoWzUTza-n_phuPRTv1MXSikXc6_RdQW0E_ihrFzj9BDzSki00dZ_spau06h-fw/w452-h640/IMG_3869.JPG" width="452" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Stephen Embletonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04318895837146242200noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448447498511252939.post-75616758618075723812023-01-25T02:01:00.014-08:002023-05-14T01:52:52.139-07:00Book Cover Designs (Various)<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaSqmIS7G6g_cdpt37gkI_yQlKRuTTwNGRL2xg_ffiHghC07yZKbsvHJ9PGRRuD09TNInaMx7G8QM5f5UhhlXqVAwt8FXUTs-IHcD-F12VFiMZmslMAzS3oTdifEPBmIfwDjlx-V_4l1GkEABgOVa6PjbqvGGDm8YO90IjGmbXkxMLvW0gpr4b3Ay7rA/s1746/The%20Lake%20Goddess%20Cover_FINAL.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1746" data-original-width="1140" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaSqmIS7G6g_cdpt37gkI_yQlKRuTTwNGRL2xg_ffiHghC07yZKbsvHJ9PGRRuD09TNInaMx7G8QM5f5UhhlXqVAwt8FXUTs-IHcD-F12VFiMZmslMAzS3oTdifEPBmIfwDjlx-V_4l1GkEABgOVa6PjbqvGGDm8YO90IjGmbXkxMLvW0gpr4b3Ay7rA/w261-h400/The%20Lake%20Goddess%20Cover_FINAL.jpg" width="261" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Lake Goddess by Flora Nwapa (2023 Edition)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>I have had the pleasure of designing a number of book covers over recent years (two of them my own, and two as editor).</p><p>Below are examples of some of them.</p><p><br /></p><p><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTyC6yW9pwHwlAgE_3DHLIz0VJ61nVm5FMWqrxW_sLib1L_4aZV-BZKk_aA8Aaiw2JF9jmKLhX9txnP5LC3SjNMzpyqlYlf3k9zKxEazew9smk6lx0NKk64pJ-RAPqgNnRrxginllkLXBHnmaOA_BSl9c0MEsXaI6YLW3IsSwAEU-ZeoxBLGSJrVbWLA/s1170/The%20Good%20Nigerian_Cover%20FINAL%20proof_cover.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1170" data-original-width="761" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTyC6yW9pwHwlAgE_3DHLIz0VJ61nVm5FMWqrxW_sLib1L_4aZV-BZKk_aA8Aaiw2JF9jmKLhX9txnP5LC3SjNMzpyqlYlf3k9zKxEazew9smk6lx0NKk64pJ-RAPqgNnRrxginllkLXBHnmaOA_BSl9c0MEsXaI6YLW3IsSwAEU-ZeoxBLGSJrVbWLA/w416-h640/The%20Good%20Nigerian_Cover%20FINAL%20proof_cover.jpg" width="416" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"The Good Nigerian" by David Dison (2023)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfUxSEFn3EtN1JqahMMy3XAzMPvdAzXuPA1OubvBw8HDQsBvmLb7EjzfzH5ee52TXk62J86l-Qb0GbHg6OEiPzoJFH5Dqa91biHwz_r8cUJ2KbZ1PJDG_XIGV3peTsDOh0sVuEPR_CXrKNKyNmGMiH7csn-zrsQFF43P-a0X88WsdrLmUoFhaF8AEyBQ/s1643/The%20Good%20Nigerian_Cover%20FINAL%20proof.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1170" data-original-width="1643" height="456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfUxSEFn3EtN1JqahMMy3XAzMPvdAzXuPA1OubvBw8HDQsBvmLb7EjzfzH5ee52TXk62J86l-Qb0GbHg6OEiPzoJFH5Dqa91biHwz_r8cUJ2KbZ1PJDG_XIGV3peTsDOh0sVuEPR_CXrKNKyNmGMiH7csn-zrsQFF43P-a0X88WsdrLmUoFhaF8AEyBQ/w640-h456/The%20Good%20Nigerian_Cover%20FINAL%20proof.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">FULL COVER: "The Good Nigerian" by David Dison (2023)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFvuh8DjQawcUqsypvItQIW6JVddrCrB3l0kS2d8H_Xlaz1CDNneuVBeUQqMktLjwlZojo1nhpnTMNnKWmnxj1aXwANwhxLhe4M085ZJymXdhCmPeAy1_zxsOkf3IyFOLg30L7CTkMBWG53O8PWxFJHYRBNqQMDMtLvnXXYVzb0-4ESfe8MZnmRXHujg/s1170/Madness%20Esomnofu%20Ebelenna_Cover_cover%20proof.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1170" data-original-width="762" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFvuh8DjQawcUqsypvItQIW6JVddrCrB3l0kS2d8H_Xlaz1CDNneuVBeUQqMktLjwlZojo1nhpnTMNnKWmnxj1aXwANwhxLhe4M085ZJymXdhCmPeAy1_zxsOkf3IyFOLg30L7CTkMBWG53O8PWxFJHYRBNqQMDMtLvnXXYVzb0-4ESfe8MZnmRXHujg/w416-h640/Madness%20Esomnofu%20Ebelenna_Cover_cover%20proof.jpg" width="416" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Madness" by Esomnofu Ebelenna (2023)</td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG3yE7oxzEUxYOi8kf0wDzHSw35m8BMN0qzutV_QySFHJvv0xIxmZcgSLTaRxAvgRLcYn_1LrRGG3jLN31vvxmIPrEmz50csA3mSYds0ndvLc-A0YVg43OX6H8ei8P8frVGu7EDt8RI9uAibuJdSnSc6VfOCQ5hDxSu3g0qlZuTanN96c5JCqM7WXD4g/s1679/Madness%20Esomnofu%20Ebelenna_Cover%20proof%20sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1170" data-original-width="1679" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG3yE7oxzEUxYOi8kf0wDzHSw35m8BMN0qzutV_QySFHJvv0xIxmZcgSLTaRxAvgRLcYn_1LrRGG3jLN31vvxmIPrEmz50csA3mSYds0ndvLc-A0YVg43OX6H8ei8P8frVGu7EDt8RI9uAibuJdSnSc6VfOCQ5hDxSu3g0qlZuTanN96c5JCqM7WXD4g/w640-h446/Madness%20Esomnofu%20Ebelenna_Cover%20proof%20sm.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Full cover: "Madness" by Esomnofu Ebelenna (2023)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1748" data-original-width="1140" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_nfxLdc5Q8fnfhdKnpEKDD4k2PjKYPEz0weZ4Mev2VjJ6lChWvUKoQR-oxCgPWug_psmmzlQ-LVBnCHSxxNZYMVoNVKaeQEkc66cjBtd28ieaRY0TDGFHwIficdfJBWpSDvdbBwN94RxcTxdDB-o9W6Cy7QwsqkvP7iFub7Jq-MKnGrcsgmZNVnt95w/w418-h640/Yamtarawala%20the%20Warrior%20King_cover.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="418" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Yamtarawala, the Warrior King" by Henry Akubuiro (2023) – watercolour</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: center;">"Yamtarawala, the Warrior King" by Henry Akubuirois a historical dramatic play.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1924" data-original-width="2686" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg190vdStUg3v2N4tTOygsFHfW6axvV4jHzDnEPssBKnfaODD42PbC05_CM9bMNu-iaHz5WBptd55E0zdNHWwxoG-h5H_kv9_p00nUo-8U6Ry2lRu_Fu2MPoeIk4BlvZyEavG94-U0QXo4Htpkzht1P0tBghotf_MlFfQsXCfJhqx5NTfmre4CNz7qUCg/w400-h286/Yamtarawala%20the%20Warrior%20King.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Full cover: "Yamtarawala, the Warrior King" by Henry Akubuiro (2023)</td><td class="tr-caption"><br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaSqmIS7G6g_cdpt37gkI_yQlKRuTTwNGRL2xg_ffiHghC07yZKbsvHJ9PGRRuD09TNInaMx7G8QM5f5UhhlXqVAwt8FXUTs-IHcD-F12VFiMZmslMAzS3oTdifEPBmIfwDjlx-V_4l1GkEABgOVa6PjbqvGGDm8YO90IjGmbXkxMLvW0gpr4b3Ay7rA/s1746/The%20Lake%20Goddess%20Cover_FINAL.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1746" data-original-width="1140" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaSqmIS7G6g_cdpt37gkI_yQlKRuTTwNGRL2xg_ffiHghC07yZKbsvHJ9PGRRuD09TNInaMx7G8QM5f5UhhlXqVAwt8FXUTs-IHcD-F12VFiMZmslMAzS3oTdifEPBmIfwDjlx-V_4l1GkEABgOVa6PjbqvGGDm8YO90IjGmbXkxMLvW0gpr4b3Ay7rA/w418-h640/The%20Lake%20Goddess%20Cover_FINAL.jpg" width="418" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://stephen.embleton.co.za/2023/03/the-lake-goddess-released-march-2023.html">The Lake Goddess by Flora Nwapa (2023 Edition)</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLSS6yrLYB_2LeRxzCuTKLrYs-ZrxtRt1t2cPjzm2tE1Xf2OatdPaMnkW742LMoDzu2KsK3hoiFMO32xERhyEfmzxmWXc3cuq14rKsqfyf_XKLkNI-80ofMCWeGs-aXPPJP_aVAKCsI2zbVp5w_BspY847USenNMG9KuRo70ycILWXL8DYaxCs9jUQDA/s775/Lake%20Goddess_Print_01.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="775" data-original-width="602" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLSS6yrLYB_2LeRxzCuTKLrYs-ZrxtRt1t2cPjzm2tE1Xf2OatdPaMnkW742LMoDzu2KsK3hoiFMO32xERhyEfmzxmWXc3cuq14rKsqfyf_XKLkNI-80ofMCWeGs-aXPPJP_aVAKCsI2zbVp5w_BspY847USenNMG9KuRo70ycILWXL8DYaxCs9jUQDA/w311-h400/Lake%20Goddess_Print_01.jpg" width="311" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paperback (Feb 2023)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWg-DDylO-W118fmFKx3MiS2RpeGcMrK8KtoEMTlPaV4D7mhd-kPA67hlXKPas9zBEnGAzJxddWctXlxaO8C7h6M3t15PzkL8VuC1qVBjtupAXpAldgkGWcAqH3zzTI3ERSkbLtZtWUcs6PK9R81glOSLj29QmbvDVt98HLHXTQrgPXl3NohgOdtVeVg/s2048/Lake%20Goddess_Print_03.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWg-DDylO-W118fmFKx3MiS2RpeGcMrK8KtoEMTlPaV4D7mhd-kPA67hlXKPas9zBEnGAzJxddWctXlxaO8C7h6M3t15PzkL8VuC1qVBjtupAXpAldgkGWcAqH3zzTI3ERSkbLtZtWUcs6PK9R81glOSLj29QmbvDVt98HLHXTQrgPXl3NohgOdtVeVg/w300-h400/Lake%20Goddess_Print_03.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paperback (Feb 2023)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSEECyRr5FD_Q2rlQSR90pT7QWDIIRpKuEiaN4KdrvLLu6VZkAy0x6CM9V8sBK8Kmx9h1_OKcmN2lTLY_Ne9B4qw-mTGL7Vev11hqNZR0VLVZCZ197BRGz_T6_CE8HKSfUs5a14j3cLvx9n3ERKCq17gLLprhW7p-lvB-IH-OmrAHq0xrfkLRZhga7oA/s1778/Death%20and%20the%20Kings%20Grey%20Hair.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1778" data-original-width="1158" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSEECyRr5FD_Q2rlQSR90pT7QWDIIRpKuEiaN4KdrvLLu6VZkAy0x6CM9V8sBK8Kmx9h1_OKcmN2lTLY_Ne9B4qw-mTGL7Vev11hqNZR0VLVZCZ197BRGz_T6_CE8HKSfUs5a14j3cLvx9n3ERKCq17gLLprhW7p-lvB-IH-OmrAHq0xrfkLRZhga7oA/w416-h640/Death%20and%20the%20Kings%20Grey%20Hair.jpg" width="416" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(2023) Death and the Kings Grey Hair by Denja Abdullahi (Play)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaxLss-zm6lRVIVCbTAD3w7td_p12YSzj72FuvH_2CoFvJU8d_L9IFa7WsSh7xflA9gOMq32gLbTPkmy0M53FjhzIS6H8Y1DylwigHrDRmwn7SJpzaHB__7gG7k4YGdcU4hGixk1-Vx544ss-VgtPVCdu8cL7aA-rgjNFzhOAVWGq8HrDloa6l3OvZUg/s1782/Rogues%20of%20the%20East_Cover.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1782" data-original-width="1160" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaxLss-zm6lRVIVCbTAD3w7td_p12YSzj72FuvH_2CoFvJU8d_L9IFa7WsSh7xflA9gOMq32gLbTPkmy0M53FjhzIS6H8Y1DylwigHrDRmwn7SJpzaHB__7gG7k4YGdcU4hGixk1-Vx544ss-VgtPVCdu8cL7aA-rgjNFzhOAVWGq8HrDloa6l3OvZUg/w416-h640/Rogues%20of%20the%20East_Cover.jpg" width="416" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(2023) Cover Design for Ikenna Okeh's 2023 (Crime Novel)</td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP4cmgGUK3B5qAPNNBWKTM8OcTNLe9yEl98qNH24BlBWPohOBpKPvlmz56TIlbczzGIPOBkRphL-4jQMc-lrFftXwUQL0utjDqZxP2MzGkCOENcyJLiEMSPf3mmNpq4_uFat80nsxUM3AUMKrwplLa_jtYoZ1GA5eENxzQrn7PnmO2JDsduvju0wtRHw/s1936/Harmattan_final%20cover.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1936" data-original-width="1260" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP4cmgGUK3B5qAPNNBWKTM8OcTNLe9yEl98qNH24BlBWPohOBpKPvlmz56TIlbczzGIPOBkRphL-4jQMc-lrFftXwUQL0utjDqZxP2MzGkCOENcyJLiEMSPf3mmNpq4_uFat80nsxUM3AUMKrwplLa_jtYoZ1GA5eENxzQrn7PnmO2JDsduvju0wtRHw/w416-h640/Harmattan_final%20cover.jpg" width="416" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(2023) Harmattan by Ivan Sršen (novel)</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3T87jvyaNVd4mGGzCXpIRfxpYlDsiITHQSw_nvC4Fyo7UNE3ud9kZ3eaZlOIC5XUHVgdxGq_iDG0j_9eS8QMZv4mY7OF3iml90-IkHKlQuq3UIJlE8WHeN8rcHGSdw2dKEmfexvyKjuGLkBC3uYxyNE87Q5sqiR1nPwJhGeWFJE2QVgt6B_TMLX34HA/s1024/Harmattan_IMG_3984.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="682" data-original-width="1024" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3T87jvyaNVd4mGGzCXpIRfxpYlDsiITHQSw_nvC4Fyo7UNE3ud9kZ3eaZlOIC5XUHVgdxGq_iDG0j_9eS8QMZv4mY7OF3iml90-IkHKlQuq3UIJlE8WHeN8rcHGSdw2dKEmfexvyKjuGLkBC3uYxyNE87Q5sqiR1nPwJhGeWFJE2QVgt6B_TMLX34HA/w400-h266/Harmattan_IMG_3984.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbwIyMSIuKwZUkpK2y5zGOaFLl5TMLEtp2X-gGt1bWEooAwW14ipCts89OzD6pmBIxL1A3nCXQ3H70Bn3uQf8LcUM_43BRx1x8pqz7rkdLKZNiBUkOpo4eSs-gW6oshvzn7x5KSHbj6t6azUS3QOSUYVCuV6FqRMGamEUb6l5vPh901ZMvToV4OE9czg/s2338/JCA_Cover_FINAL_FRONT.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2338" data-original-width="1524" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbwIyMSIuKwZUkpK2y5zGOaFLl5TMLEtp2X-gGt1bWEooAwW14ipCts89OzD6pmBIxL1A3nCXQ3H70Bn3uQf8LcUM_43BRx1x8pqz7rkdLKZNiBUkOpo4eSs-gW6oshvzn7x5KSHbj6t6azUS3QOSUYVCuV6FqRMGamEUb6l5vPh901ZMvToV4OE9czg/w418-h640/JCA_Cover_FINAL_FRONT.jpg" width="418" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(2022) The James Currey Anthology</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://stephen.embleton.co.za/2022/03/bones-runes-paperback-published.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="4684" data-original-width="3049" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhQna0rJzuBAN8X1N_MW4locT_KzM9BwSqzFaR1jyKBREqm-N2SIo6TIvwv3-X9nkgcsxJdXXYeLFszGTyi7-7IW8OFlKhodu72AMAbodd7RoPpxJbYZQ0IDfrnWw8jv1kIWHfWikrY1kK28FPoU9ssvks09_ih7cXW8p0CPRXkRS_cZ_lRW2e2wXm7tA=w416-h640" width="416" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://stephen.embleton.co.za/2022/03/bones-runes-paperback-published.html" target="_blank">(2021/2022) Bones & Runes Book Cover & Illustrations</a> (Fantasy Novel)<br /><br /><br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTwrtbq-p_6KfP3xttLw26HXg-vYIAoG09bOp9CpGgNUv1k2uJ3atmJSwhoDPq_4fgruiu8l98nuTDS1zimGrd2cqkXlEDn9ASRr30j197jHlTIZZdnAXNsYZjioK-3dGCsP8PZnGXJ71AU0FbKDKGX65cpH1hhsNfCuEmndb-NN1Otz0ltr5vVQwDBA/s1499/SoulSearching_Cover_FinalProof_2020b.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1499" data-original-width="1000" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTwrtbq-p_6KfP3xttLw26HXg-vYIAoG09bOp9CpGgNUv1k2uJ3atmJSwhoDPq_4fgruiu8l98nuTDS1zimGrd2cqkXlEDn9ASRr30j197jHlTIZZdnAXNsYZjioK-3dGCsP8PZnGXJ71AU0FbKDKGX65cpH1hhsNfCuEmndb-NN1Otz0ltr5vVQwDBA/w426-h640/SoulSearching_Cover_FinalProof_2020b.JPG" width="426" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(2020) Soul Searching Novel Design (SF Novel)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Stephen Embletonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04318895837146242200noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448447498511252939.post-9047127205695180982022-12-05T02:50:00.006-08:002022-12-05T02:50:36.230-08:00 Anthology Featured in Brittle Paper 100 Notable African Books of 2022<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://brittlepaper.com/2022/11/brittle-paper-debuts-100-notable-african-books-of-the-year-list/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGtmvQhm8PpM_c6-CbSaVyzxhjPAwkFeIb2ojw2qUWT5H7tjyLjWJo1_HKAd9-q4ml-ubuLfTq1BevcFbaE4KB2OqekObxvHvS6bdon45XADKXe5vdAxsKsblV5IwlbJliusdyfRWuHPUUDhlrrP0cKQOq0KkE-eYVUggWcwWBixBPN6dqv4QsXoEa8w/w640-h640/james%20currey%20anthology.png" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><div>I am so glad, and proud, to have The James Currey Anthology, which I edited, included in the <b><u><i><a href="https://brittlepaper.com/2022/11/brittle-paper-debuts-100-notable-african-books-of-the-year-list/" target="_blank">Brittle Paper 100 Notable African Books of 2022</a></i></u></b> 🔥❤️</div><div><br /></div><div>Congratulations to the 12 contributors whose works made this book what it is.</div><div><br /></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>C. S. Hadebe (South Africa) </li><li>Bontsi Z. Kennedy, nee Morewane (Botswana)</li><li>Ifunanya Madufor (Nigeria)</li><li>Gothataone Moeng (Botswana)</li><li>Majini Ya Mombasa (Kenya) </li><li>Nzube Nlebedim (Nigeria) </li><li>Mbaeze Nnedimma (Nigeria) </li><li>Cheryl S. Ntumy (Ghana) </li><li>N. A. Ntumy (Botswana) </li><li>Lynn Nyaera Onywere (Kenya)</li><li>Maxine Sibihwana (Uganda)</li><li>Uchechukwu Peter Umezurike (Nigeria) </li></ul></div><div><br /></div></div>#africanliterature<div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://brittlepaper.com/2022/11/brittle-paper-debuts-100-notable-african-books-of-the-year-list/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv0mPY6hiAez-kCyE8adRKpAtuyj1lYAhSd0IqBOE4hpcRrskr1EsAbxYt4Lb1zF9GwZZdOKlU24xM-cZgBAJc8esFl4VVK-2o_5nZ5vm1jBLGSNlsNXBQV0cpLWOSyRYCYjnl3Y5KN-_F_FrL2IIcMaVZUaby_z0minfbcBKI5d---1YO6Rn7Qau0rw/w640-h640/Instagram%20-%20100%20Notable%20African%20Books%202022%20copy.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p></div>Stephen Embletonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04318895837146242200noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448447498511252939.post-14440568375674004102022-12-02T05:30:00.003-08:002023-01-27T03:56:07.810-08:00TEN QUESTIONS With Stephen Embleton – Published in Aké Review 2022<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu020hyGLCXalu7VbMTOENKwJS3MQigNguBTPyDEv_zdyRapSz4dKLh5LydwWZscSpWAtqlMTkXMZnX-eoPj4wBuFSbaBMvPdx9Xzi0M__iR_NjOdGhqTcB3qiGFOf5ecgAtEUtJk6HywvrVTYKjXdVf8o6LJFkAptqQEVAfjpFefVM1zUhO9Utd0k2A/s4032/IMG_2861.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu020hyGLCXalu7VbMTOENKwJS3MQigNguBTPyDEv_zdyRapSz4dKLh5LydwWZscSpWAtqlMTkXMZnX-eoPj4wBuFSbaBMvPdx9Xzi0M__iR_NjOdGhqTcB3qiGFOf5ecgAtEUtJk6HywvrVTYKjXdVf8o6LJFkAptqQEVAfjpFefVM1zUhO9Utd0k2A/w480-h640/IMG_2861.jpeg" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aké Review 2022</td></tr></tbody></table><p>On their 2022 Festival theme of "Homecoming", my <a href="https://akefestival.org/ten-questions-with-stephen-embleton" target="_blank">Ten Questions and Answers</a> were published in the Aké Review Volume 9.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9-nP31H9ETx81iN5qw51HoIDEp4PI2WLRR_0VH-j7bJYXIescTuoEXjLvnc43yeg35xSgNwKr3Dkb_zKFMHWg7SVnXE_axiA0Lm4yQv6HmaQbjr135Nmj0vjd8fJsmBV1JL3xuuxxYJCClhBI3ooDDHUdd99Ak5kHBuQCKWXWsB-5lMvq44tgwX7tFg/s1112/ake%20review%202022.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1112" data-original-width="781" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9-nP31H9ETx81iN5qw51HoIDEp4PI2WLRR_0VH-j7bJYXIescTuoEXjLvnc43yeg35xSgNwKr3Dkb_zKFMHWg7SVnXE_axiA0Lm4yQv6HmaQbjr135Nmj0vjd8fJsmBV1JL3xuuxxYJCClhBI3ooDDHUdd99Ak5kHBuQCKWXWsB-5lMvq44tgwX7tFg/w281-h400/ake%20review%202022.jpeg" width="281" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://akefestival.org/ten-questions-with-stephen-embleton">Read the 10 Questions/Answers here.</a></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_0_oxT-6AAipLcNaJY05NieNGOTnOOa_tT5Zv0p2MKGYRM7jkhW7p0p0eGETzqu4mmpBD_jN0T_9MK0Xt253Hnk-aqzQX2XQoktuiVL_bRsBVIx1dguN3TPfZWTbaQ8TwRrgbw74md253CVN3QiF2AGwCkQH-cGcuZcNwgGAHSFz3gu2nfMhbCySWbw/s400/ake_2022_homecoming.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="400" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_0_oxT-6AAipLcNaJY05NieNGOTnOOa_tT5Zv0p2MKGYRM7jkhW7p0p0eGETzqu4mmpBD_jN0T_9MK0Xt253Hnk-aqzQX2XQoktuiVL_bRsBVIx1dguN3TPfZWTbaQ8TwRrgbw74md253CVN3QiF2AGwCkQH-cGcuZcNwgGAHSFz3gu2nfMhbCySWbw/s320/ake_2022_homecoming.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Stephen Embletonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04318895837146242200noreply@blogger.com