Stephen Embleton

  Final Cover – Stephen Embleton 2024 It was a pleasure to create the cover for Sauúti colleague Xan van Rooyen's aetherpunk novella "Waypoint Seven" being published by the newly established Mirari Press in South Africa. It gave me the opportunity to explore my digital illustrating to the extreme by incorporating my design and drawing skills – and it would not be the same if I didn't have an understanding of how physical illustrations (brushwork, pencils, paints and textures) really look. It was daunting to start – particularly wanting to deliver Xan something that did their story justice – no pressure. But with Mirari Press' Marius du Plessis having a love and understanding of design, he gave me so much free reign to play. And with each of the phases below, he encouraged and gave feedback (mostly Wow! and keep going). This is very rare with clients. And it was with this collaboration that the illustration and design blossomed over ten days. GET YOUR COPY OF ...

  I'm really pleased to have my 2023 novella, Undulation – from the first Sauúti anthology, Mothersound – included in the HWA Bram Stoker Award Reading List along with 5 others! 6 Sauúti stories, featured in the Mothersound Anthology were included in the 2024 HWA Bram Stoker Award Reading List. Short Fiction: Lost In The Echoes – Xan van Rooyen The Grove’s Lament – Tobias S. Buckell The Way Of Baa’gh – Cheryl S. Ntumy Undulation – Stephen Embleton Xhova – Adelehin Ijasan Long Fiction: A City, A Desert & All Their Dirges – Somto Ihezue & Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki Read the full HWA Bram Stoker Award Reading List here.

 A huge congrats to all involved, especially Eugen Bacon for pulling it all off🙏🏼❤️💫👏🏼 Pre-order now.  Table of Contents Preface The Structure of This Book Chapter 1. On Afrocentric Futurisms–The Case for an Inclusive Expression Suyi Okungbowa, Nigeria/Canada Chapter 2. Cosmologies and Languages Building Africanfuturism Stephen Embleton, South Africa/UK Chapter 3. An Afrofuturistic Dystopia and the Afro-irreal Eugen Bacon, Tanzania/Australia Chapter 4. The power of African Spirituality in Africanfuturism Nuzo Onoh, Nigeria/UK Chapter 5. Black Futurisms vs. Systems of Domination Shingai Njeri Kagunda, Kenya Chapter 6. Faith and Fantasy–Afrofuturist and Africanfuturist Spirituality Cheryl S. Ntumy, Ghana Chapter 7. Queer Imaginings in Africanfuturism Inspired by African History Xan van Rooyen, South Africa/Finland Chapter 8. Afrofuturism and Exploring Cultural Identity as a Process of Becoming Aline-Mwezi Niyonsenga, Rwanda/Australia Chapter 9. Fabulist Imaginings...

  Always great to get reviews. A thorough review of Bones & Runes from James Nicholl. ❤️📖👀 SIDE BY SIDE "Embleton’s tale is engaging and fast paced, his South Africa vividly portrayed. The narrative draws on a diverse assortment of traditions. Rather alarmingly for the protagonists, Mlilo’s is predominant and as the gods so kindly point out to him, in his tradition failure is very much an option even for the best of heroes." Read the full review here.

 A recent commission: The Celestial Machine This was interesting and fun to create. The client ( seeing some of my recent work ) wanted a type of machine schematic but with specific themes. With their Zimbabwean heritage, they wanted to somehow incorporate the Matsatse/Venus 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. Some references From the full colour finished art, I gave options for duo tone and black and white versions.

  The British Science Fiction Association announced the shortlist for the 2023 BSFA Awards, with  Mothersound; The Sauútiverse Anthology  a finalist in the BEST COLLECTIONS category!  The overall nominations is such a great display of work from everyone involved in so many great projects!  #BSFAAwards2023 BEST COLLECTIONS: (FINALIST) Mothersound: The Sauutiverse Anthology , Wole Talabi (ed)   See the full shortlist of fantastic works for 2023. ORIGINAL NOMINATED/LONGLIST: The British Science Fiction Association announced the longlist for the 2023 BSFA Awards, including three of my stories and my artwork ( Mothersound  anthology). And The Sauúti Collective rightly getting a good number of nominations! The overall nominations is such a great display of work from everyone involved in so many great projects!  #BSFAAwards2023 Short Fiction: (LONGLISTED) Soyinka's Memory  – Stephen Embleton –  The Shallow Tales Review  – Nzube Nlebed...

The British Science Fiction Association announced the longlist for the 2023 BSFA Awards, including three of my stories and my artwork ( Mothersound anthology). And The Sauúti Collective rightly getting a good number of nominations! The overall nominations is such a great display of work from everyone involved in so many great projects!  Short Fiction: Soyinka's Memory – Stephen Embleton – The Shallow Tales Review – Nzube Nlebedim (ed) Taking Turns – Stephen Embleton – Languages of Water, MVmedia – Eugen Bacon (ed)  Shorter Fiction (Novella): Undulation – Stephen Embleton – Mothersound: The Sauútiverse Anthology  – Wole Talabi (ed), Android Press Undulation – Stephen Embleton Artwork: Cover and interior art of Mothersound The Sauúti Collective anthology – proud to be joined with Akintoba Kalejaye – Android Press BEST COLLECTIONS (I am involved in above): - Languages of Water , Eugen Bacon (ed), MVmedia (Milton Davis) - Mothersound: The Sauutiverse Anthology , Wole...

  UPDATE: Cover Reveal April 2024 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 “Cosmologies and Languages Building Africanfuturism”. 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.  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 cosmolo...