Stephen Embleton

From KwaZulu-Natal to Oxford. James Currey Fellow University of Oxford 2022. Founding member of The Sauúti Collective. Charter member @AfricanSFS. Author of the YA African fantasy Bones & Runes, SF thriller Soul Searching. He/Him.



Stephen Embletonspembleton
2024-06-19

Title Design (and cover reveal):

@atthisarts revealed the cover for Cheryl S. Ntumy's @sauutiverse novella, "Songs for the Shadows", with Akintoba Kalejaye's illustration and my title and cover design (using my Andinkra-based font).📖

stephen.embleton.co.za/2024/06

Stephen Embletonspembleton
2024-06-12

I’m grateful to have both “Bones & Runes” (novel) and “Undulation” (novella) as finalists in the African Speculative Fiction Society’s 2024 Nommo Awards.

“Bones & Runes” — Abibiman Publishing 2022
“Undulation” — Mothersound: the Sauútiverse anthology, Android Press 2023

🙏🏼📖👀💫

Stephen Embleton boosted:
The Sauúti Collectivesauutiverse
2024-06-12

Two stories from our MOTHERSOUND Anthology edited by Wole Talabi are finalists in their respective categories in the 2024 Nommo Awards:
• Novella: “Undulation” by @spembleton
• Short Story: “The Way of Baa'gh” by Cheryl S. Ntumy

💫🚀🪐

Award Finalist announcement graphic
Stephen Embletonspembleton
2024-06-08

Thanks to Mame Bougouma Diene for moderating an excellent panel at Nice Fictions on “The Building Blocks of Worldbuilding” where I got to speak about @sauutiverse and the world we’ve created, and hearing from co-panelists Michèle Laframboise, Stéphane Arnier and Benjamin Lupu. 🪐🚀💫

Watch the panel session here:
youtube.com/live/jodTu7Lvvt4

Poster for panel discussion person flying unicorn and 5 headshots of speakersZoom video panelists
Stephen Embleton boosted:
2024-06-04

For those interested, you can now read the first chapter of Waypoint Seven for free over on Mirari Press: miraripress.com/

#freereads #lgbtbooks

Trope image for Waypoint Seven. Text reads: Coming July 1st from Mirari Press and Available as an ebook wherever you buy books. Trope descriptors include aetherpunk, trans MC, adult novella, Spaceships, found-family, secret powers, and inter-dimensional magic.
Stephen Embletonspembleton
2024-06-04

It was an absolute honour to be asked to read our dear departed friend, African SFF writer Nick Wood’s short story “A Pall of Moondust” for the BSFA podcast a few months back. I hope I did it justice, bru. 🙏🏼 ❤️

Now available to listen:
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/

Screenshot of podcast screen
Stephen Embletonspembleton
2024-05-28

So, 2 weeks ago…🎨
It was a pleasure to create the cover for Sauúti colleague @xan_writer aetherpunk novella “Waypoint Seven” published by Mirari Press in South Africa.

It gave me the opportunity to explore my digital illustrating to the extreme.

RELEASING JULY 2024 📖 🔥 👀
amazon.com/dp/B0D5DL8JGN

Find out about the process in my blog post:
stephen.embleton.co.za/2024/05

Waypoint Seven book cover. Figure of transgender man side profile on, with wooden bird necklaceRough character sketch. Figure of transgender man side profile on, with wooden bird necklaceDetail of Figure of transgender man side profile on. Detail of a hand and wooden bird necklace and patterned coat
Stephen Embleton boosted:
2024-05-28

!!!AND DRUMROLL PLEASE!!!

🥁 🥁 🥁 🥁 🥁 🥁 🥁 🥁 🥁 🥁

Here it is, the cover for Waypoint Seven coming July 1st from Mirari Press. The cover was designed by Stephen Embleton.

#writingcommunity #coverreveal #lgbtbooks

Cover for the science fantasy novella Waypoint Seven by Xan van Rooyen. The cover features the main character Runo wearing a brown tunic with a swallow-pendant necklace, his face is shown in profile against a backdrop in rust-texture shades of blue and orange with gold details and a small inserted image of a mountain with a full moon rising behind it.
Stephen Embletonspembleton
2024-04-24

One happy accident for the project was incorporating the “working” components of each letter in the design itself. i.e. when I work on fonts, I find the common weights (stroke thicknesses) and common shapes, and move these around to exact positions. And by making them separate BRIGHT colours (I use magenta and orange) enables me to see each section clearly.

Magenta and orange letter FMagenta and orange A to D lettersMagenta and orange  G to K lettersFull typeface display grid
Stephen Embletonspembleton
2024-04-24

I recently had the pleasure of creating something unique for a friend’s project (more on that to come soon!). And for reasons, I created a custom typeface, a latinised version of the Adrinkra alphabet from Ghana.

Adinkra has some fantastic characteristics and has a very modular form which made it a fun, yet simple, design to work on.

Magnet and orange letter HMagenta and orange letter BMagenta and orange letter EMagenta and orange letter O
Stephen Embleton boosted:
2024-04-19

Interview: Into the Sauútiverse. At the blog, @carturo222 speaks with with Ghanaian author Cheryl Ntumy and @sauutiverse

nerds-feather.com/2024/04/inte

Stephen Embletonspembleton
2023-11-23

Cover Designer’s copy ❤️💫😊
Get your copy out there in the wild. via BSFA

Stephen Embletonspembleton
2023-11-02

So awesome to be able to make your own autumn wreath with local foliage (and remove and add seasonally). 🍁

And these are the real colours!

We started with a thick hawthorn wreath “base” then added the more supple willow to fill it in.
🏡

Autumn wreath hanging on door. Browns, reds, greens
Stephen Embleton boosted:
The Sauúti Collectivesauutiverse
2023-11-01

2 Days to go!🚀

We're funded, but only just.
Help get us there: preorder MOTHERSOUND, the 1st anthology set in an African collaborative science-fantasy shared world⭐️

backerkit.com/c/projects/andro

Cool Planets🌍🪐
Spiritual AI🤖
Sound Magic🎵
And so much more!

Art ©Akintoba Kalejaye

Stephen Embleton boosted:
The Sauúti Collectivesauutiverse
2023-10-28

UPDATE:
We are pleased to announce 𝙈𝙊𝙏𝙃𝙀𝙍𝙎𝙊𝙐𝙉𝘿: 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙖𝙪𝙪́𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙚 𝘼𝙣𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙤𝙜𝙮 will be available in the US, UK & Australia, with publisher Android Press working in conjunction with Luna Press to make it all possible. ❤️

This opens the crowdfunding to supporters in those areas who wish to benefit from the rewards  – including cooies of 𝙈𝙊𝙏𝙃𝙀𝙍𝙎𝙊𝙐𝙉𝘿 on publication.

Thank you! Keep the pledges coming!
📖👀🔥🚀🪐
backerkit.com/c/projects/andro

Stephen Embleton boosted:
The Sauúti Collectivesauutiverse
2023-10-24

Which Sauútiverse planet are you?

Take the Sauúti Quiz:
take.quiz-maker.com/QQ5LHUT5F

📖👀🔥🚀🪐

Stephen Embleton boosted:
The Sauúti Collectivesauutiverse
2023-10-24

🪐Like 𝙒𝙞𝙞𝙢𝙗-𝙤́, are you the humble, unassuming one often underestimated by the others?
📖👀🔥🚀🪐
tinyurl.com/sauutiquiz

Stephen Embleton boosted:
The Sauúti Collectivesauutiverse
2023-10-24

Thank you to all our backers – we are almost there!
📖👀🔥🚀🪐

Support an anthology of the very first African collaborative science-fantasy shared world:

backerkit.com/c/android-press/

Stephen Embletonspembleton
2023-08-07
Stephen Embletonspembleton
2023-08-03

Included here are:

1. Arabiese-Afrikaans
2. isiBheqe soHlamvu / Ditema tsa Dinoko
3. chiMbire
4. Mwangwego
5. Lusona
6. Mandombe
7. Ńdébé
8. Luo
9. Bamum
10. Adinkra
11. Vai
12. Osmanya
13. Wakandan
14. Nsibidi
15. Old Nubian
16. Ge’ez
17. Zaghawa
18. Adlam
19. N’ko
20. Proto-Sinaitic Script
21. Meroitic (derivative of Mdw Ntr)
22. Wadi el-Hol
23. Coptic*
24. *from Demotic
25. *from Hieratic
26. *from Mdw Ntr (Egyptian name for Hieroglyphs)
27. Tifinagh

South-up Africa depicting various writing systems by location

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