Stephen Embleton

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. 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 Brittle Paper gathered the thoughts of 100 African writers, including myself, to pay tribute to one of our African literary greats. 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  Read the 100 here .

"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. Your words live on, mfowethu. Camagu / ǁGammāgu" 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. The African speculative fiction community came together and created a memoriam for Nick in the July issue of Locus Magazine.

Android Press publicly revealed the cover design for the "Mothersound: The Sauúti Anthology" 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 "Mothersound" . The anthology now moves into its crowdfunding phase with the November publication release! The "Mothersound" Type-Design After Toba's original cosmic woman creation, I added the additional layer enhancements (including the cityscape of Toba's) Illustration Build Sequence

As a fan of Jorge Luis Borges (his writing and the man), I felt compelled to illustrate him in black and white 🖊️📚  Jorge Luis Borges – Stephen Embleton – 24 May 2023 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. Jorge Luis Borges – Stephen Embleton – Detail #illustration  #inkillustration #borges #JorgeLuisBorges  Jorge Luis Borges – Stephen Embleton – 24 May 2023 (FULL) Prints available on Society6

  "The Good Nigerian" by David Dison (2023) 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. FULL COVER: "The Good Nigerian" by David Dison (2023)

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.  SAUÚTI: AN AFRO-CENTRIC UNIVERSE Fri, May 12, 2023 UK 9PM-10PM (Pacific 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM)Panelists:  Eugen Bacon Stephen Embleton Xan van Rooyen Jude Umeh Wole Talabi (moderator) 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. If you have access, watch the full panel chat here:  https://events.sfwa.org/events/sauuti-an-afro-centric-universe/

"Madness" by Esomnofu Ebelenna (2023) 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. Full cover: "Madness" by Esomnofu Ebelenna (2023)

"Yamtarawala, the Warrior King" by Henry Akubuiro (2023) – watercolour/digital 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. Full cover: "Yamtarawala, the Warrior King" by Henry Akubuiro (2023) Some of the reference images.