iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Wole Talabi | Preorder THE FIST OF MEMORY @wtalabi.com · 23/09/2026

Thanks for including "Decent" here and for mentioning @genni.bsky.social's excellent @sauutiverse.bsky.social novel too. 🙏🏾

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Stephen Embleton @stephenembleton.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Always a pleasure to chat about writing, stories and our imagined worlds…and to do so with these fantastical humans who I’ve learned so much about writing from each of them 💫❤️

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Tade Thompson @tadethompson.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Behold: Cover reveal for ANTARA. The artist @alisonsampson.bsky.social talks you through the process of creating it. We were lucky to have one of my favourite artists. Kind words from @runalongwomble.bsky.social (who also teases a review!) . ANTARA is from @lunapress.bsky.social #AntaraNovel

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Eugen Bacon @genni.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

💞✨ @ala-booklist.bsky.social , @meerkatpress.bsky.social , @sauutiverse.bsky.social www.booklistonline.com/products/982...

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The Sauúti Collective @sauutiverse.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

The Sauúti Collective represents a new model for collaboration in African speculative fiction—one that centres African voices, ownership, and sustainability. Sauúti is building cooperative structures that keep value, rights, and creative control within African communities.

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Stephen Embleton @stephenembleton.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

We’ll be at LA WorldCon for a Sauúti panel 💫🚀

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ZamaShort @zamashort.com · 21/08/2026

Stephen Embleton was born in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and resident in Oxford, since being an Academic Visitor to the African Studies Centre, University of Oxford in 2022. His background is Graphic Design, Creative Direction and Film. Stephen was awarded the Best Novella by an African in the 7th Nommo Awards at Glasgow WorldCon in 2024 for his Sauúti-based novella, 'Undulation'. Stephen was awarded a literary grant by the Royal Literary Fund in 2024, providing financial assistance to write while recognising the literary merit of his body of work and literature-related activities. This has enabled him to focus on his current novel. Stephen's first short story was published in 2015 in Malawi and his debut speculative fiction novel, Soul Searching, was shortlisted for the Nommo Awards in 2021. His YA fantasy novel, Bones & Runes, first published in the UK in 2022, is due for worldwide release in late 2026. Stephen is one of the eleven African writers in the Afro-centric Sauúti Collective science-fantasy shared-world. Stephen is the co-editor, alongside Cheryl Ntumy and Eugen Bacon, on the second Sauúti anthology – out in two volumes, Sauúti Terrors in 2026 and Sauúti Horror in 2027 through Flame Tree Publishing and Simon & Schuster.

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ZamaShort @zamashort.com · 21/08/2026

Stephen Embleton @stephenembleton.bsky.social and Amy Heydenrych on Blaize M. Kaye's @bomoko.bsky.social 'Ethics after the End of the World', ZamaShort #16. Many thanks to you both! See more at: www.zamashort.com/2026/07/zama... #AfricanSFF #Africanfuturism #booksky 🪐📚💙

Image of the book cover for Blaize M. Kaye's 'Ethics after the End of the World', ZamaShort #16.
Text: “A “weighty significance” that’ll hit you like a brick. Prescient, touching, and thought-provoking, Kaye’s going to take you to the precipice of your lived life and afterlife and ask you: what’s the meaning, for you? And offers a choice. So how close are you willing to get to the Truth?”
— Stephen Embleton, 2024 Nommo Award Winner for Best Speculative Fiction Novella, Undulation.

“Blaize Kaye’s vision of the future is tender, prescient and profound. ‘Ethics after the End of the World’ offers us science fiction at its most intimate, allowing us to go beyond picturing the world he has created, to feeling it. Blaize’s work, as seen so clearly in this story, concerns itself with loneliness and loss in this world and others, but is always grounded in human connection.”
— Amy Heydenrych, author of Bad Luck Penny.

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ZamaShort @zamashort.com · 20/08/2026

Subscriber copies for ZamShort #17 now out! If you'd like advance ZamaShort copies right to your inbox every month try out one of our subscription options! #booksky 💙📚 #AfricanSFF #Africanlit

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The Sauúti Collective @sauutiverse.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

The Applied African SF book is out, from Ping Press in collaboration with BSFA Vector, the ASFS, with many contributors including fellow Sauútis: @wtalabi.com, @xanwriter.bsky.social, @genni.bsky.social + two Sauúti-based shorts from J. Umeh and @stephenembleton.bsky.social bit.ly/AppliedAfric...

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The Sauúti Collective @sauutiverse.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Stephen’s Sauúti-based short story, co-created with @bomoko.bsky.social “A Lever is a Complex Machine” is available to download 📖 👀 💫

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Stephen Embleton @stephenembleton.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

This was such a great project to be involved in: co-creating my short story (a @sauutiverse.bsky.social story!) with fellow Durbanite 🇿🇦 @bomoko.bsky.social (who did the science heavy lifting and more). Available free to download bit.ly/AppliedAfricanSF

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Stephen Embleton @stephenembleton.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

This was a great chat talking all things Sauúti and the world we’ve created. ❤️🙏🏼💫

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Adelehin Ijasan @adelehinijasan.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

New to Bluesky! Yes, late to the party. Best time to announce that my short story ‘Of All Who Dream’ appears in @lightspeedmagazine.com this August! It’s a tale that tries to peer beneath the hood of what makes up consciousness and reality. Get epub: www.lightspeedmagazine.com/issues/light...

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Wole Talabi | Preorder THE FIST OF MEMORY @wtalabi.com · 04/08/2026

I love curated “Best-Of” SFF anthologies. There's something about someone collecting stories & saying, “Here, you should read these. Sadly there are fewer Best of anthologies every year. You can help reverse the trend with Locus's new anthology by Friday Aug 7! www.kickstarter.com/projects/204...

locusmag.com

Locus Best Science Fiction & Fantasy of the Year: Volume 1

Delve into the creative worlds of the finest minds writing contemporary science fiction, fantasy, and horror.

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Wole Talabi | Preorder THE FIST OF MEMORY @wtalabi.com · 31/07/2026

Y'all! Locus has tagged me in for their inaugural Year's Best anthology! Support the project and your boy will make an appearance, brining some @sauutiverse.bsky.social flavor. Check it out and toss a coin if you can.

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Stephen Embleton @stephenembleton.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

Mirari Press did it again! 🔥👀 Mirari asked me to illustrate firstly the reissue of their first published author and title "The Tilted Pentagram" by Matthew MacDevette to coincide with the release of Book 2, "Archive of the Sixth" in what will be "The Last Reformation Series".

stephen.embleton.co.za

Book Cover Series Illustration & Design

The blog of writer, designer, illustrator and filmmaker Stephen Embleton

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Xan van Rooyen @xanwriter.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

FinnCon was awesome! Getting to be on a panel with Adrian Tchaikovsky was incredible. Thank you @saranorja.bsky.social for moderating our discussion! My presentation about @sauutiverse.bsky.social also went super well & I sold lots of books. Already looking forward to next year! 😍 #booksky

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Ruadán Books @ruadanbooks.bsky.social · 04/07/2026

What we hear is that this family is going to make their angst EVERYBODY’S problem; sounds like @stephenembleton.bsky.social agrees. Be the first to find out: pre-order @xanwriter.bsky.social's Born of Malice now, wherever books are sold. Order: links.ruadanbooks.com/BOM #BookSky #darkfantasy

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Stephen Embleton @stephenembleton.bsky.social · 04/07/2026

You’ll love to hate Xan’s cast of characters! 🔥📖

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Stephen Embleton @stephenembleton.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

I was asked to design & illustrate the cover for this amazing anthology of short stories & poetry by young African emigrants who have found themselves journeying to Australia. Something I understand, finding yourself in a strange land, trying to figure out where you fit in. 📖 ❤️💫 @genni.bsky.social

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Eugen Bacon @genni.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

✨ Coming Soon ✨ The Night The Stars Came Close, edited by moi and Dominique Hecq, cover art by @stephenembleton.bsky.social. The creative heart of a James Cook University project on #refugee youth resettlement in Australia. 📚 #RefugeeResettlement #CreativeWriting #AusLit #JCU

Refugee anthology by Eugen Bacon and Dominique Hecq (eds)

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The Sauúti Collective @sauutiverse.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

Sauúti means voice. Come hear what happens when voices build a world. Join us as we explore: 🔶 The architecture of co-creation 🔶 Voice and ownership in a shared world 🔶 Worldmaking as African self-determination 🔶 Sound, orality, and magic 🔶 The craft gains of collaboration 🔶 Growing the world

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The Sauúti Collective @sauutiverse.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

3 members of the Sauúti Collective: J. Umeh, Cheryl Ntumy, and Stephen Embleton will join ASFS to talk about co-creation, collaborative worldmaking, and working inside the first African shared science-fantasy universe. 🗓 Saturday 27 June 2026 www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-sauuti...

eventbrite.co.uk

The Sauútiverse: J. Umeh, Cheryl Ntumyand Stephen Embleton in Conversation

How do you build a world together and keep it alive? Join us as we explore Voices Building Worlds: Co-Creation and Collaboration

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The Sauúti Collective @sauutiverse.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

Congratulations to @wtalabi.com for his Sauútiverse novella, "Descent", published in @clarkesworldmagazine.com, being a finalist in the 2026 @theignyteawards.bsky.social! 🚀💫📚 Read the Full List of Finalists: ignyteawards.fiyahlitmag.com/current-fina...

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Wole Talabi | Preorder THE FIST OF MEMORY @wtalabi.com · 09/06/2026

Well then! My @sauutiverse.bsky.social novella DESCENT is a finalist for the best novella Ignyte Award! The Ignytes mean a lot to me because of what they represent. Community, care, consideration. 🙏🏾 I'm thrilled to share the spotlight with so many excellent authors (hi again @amalelmohtar.com!)

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Jay Roberts @jaycroberts.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

My current read! Read the first quarter in one day (which is a lot for me).

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The Sauúti Collective @sauutiverse.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

The Sauútiverse was represented by @genni.bsky.social and @wtalabi.com for the Sauúti Terrors launch at Swancon in Perth last weekend. 🚀💫📚 It was an amazing reception of the Sauutiverse down under with signings galore! Get your copies: sauuti.com/sauuti-terro...

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Guardbridge Books @guardbridgebooks.bsky.social · 30/05/2026

Happy Birthday to Stephen Embleton, author of SOUL SEARCHING, a science fiction thriller. Tense, exciting and thoughtful, it was a finalist for the African SF Society NOMMO Award for best sf novel from Africa. Read it now! www.guardbridgebooks.co.uk/books/SoulSe...

Cover of the novel SOUL SEARCHING and text reading, "Science has learned to understand the soul and can track souls through this life and beyond. A specialist unit in the South African police is using a Soul Tracker device in a harrowing search for a serial killer. But when one's soul can incriminate them before birth, can there ever be justice? A mix of Minority Report and Silence of the Lambs with unique ideas all its own."

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Eugen Bacon @genni.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

Swancon #booklaunch event next weekend, Sun 31 May! @wtalabi.com and I will be launching Sauúti Terrors in Perth. I'll also be presenting The Nga'phandileh Whisperer: A Sauútiverse Novella.💞 @flametree.bsky.social, @sauutiverse.bsky.social, @starsandsabers.bsky.social, www.swancon.com.au

Sauúti Terrors by Eugen Bacon, Cheryl S Ntumy, Stephen Embleton

The Nga'phandileh Whisperer by Eugen Bacon

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Stephen Embleton @stephenembleton.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

For a while, I have been developing a typeface, a headline font, which I took inspiration from many of the forms in the Vai syllabary (the Vai people from Liberia) and the Beria script (Chad/Sudan).

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Stephen Embleton @stephenembleton.bsky.social · 19/04/2026

It was a pleasure to have been included in this discussion yesterday, hosted by @britfantasysoc.bsky.social: Language in SFFH – Origins & Culture. 💫 Thanks to @justmarvewrites.bsky.social for the brilliant questions & gathering the perspectives of R.S.A Garcia, Shay Kauwe, Arkady Martine, and myself

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The Sauúti Collective @sauutiverse.bsky.social · 16/04/2026

REVIEW: Sauúti Terrors – @arleysorg.bsky.social @lightspeedmagazine.com 🔥⭐ "If you love quality short fiction told by an assemblage of skilled writers, and particularly if you love imaginative, boundary-pushing science fiction, you should get this book." www.lightspeedmagazine.com/nonfiction/b...

lightspeedmagazine.com

Book Review: Sauúti Terrors Eugen Bacon, Stephen Embleton, and Cheryl S. Ntumy, eds. - Lightspeed Magazine

Arley Sorg recommends the new Flame Tree Collections anthology Sauúti Terrors.

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E.D.E. Bell @edebell.com · 15/04/2026

I would say that Sauúti Terrors released. I am grateful and glad to see the @sauutiverse.bsky.social still going, because it's, I think, the best thing going in taking a visionary approach to literature, and it's mostly ignored also for Reasons.

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British Science Fiction Association @bsfa.bsky.social · 05/04/2026

The award for Best Short Non-fiction goes to: Eugen Bacon for Spec Fic and the Politics of Identity: Finding the Self in Other

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British Fantasy Society @britfantasysoc.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

Join moderator Marve Michael Anson and panellists Stephen Embleton, R.S.A. Garcia, Shay Kauwe, and Arkady Martine as they discuss the merging of culture and language on the page. Find out more about our panellists here: tinyurl.com/bfsori. #SFFH #AuthorTalk #WritingCommunity #Language #BookSky

tinyurl.com

BFS Online: Language in SFFH – Origins & Culture – The British Fantasy Society

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British Fantasy Society @britfantasysoc.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

Our language is a reflection of who we are – the history, beliefs and values we hold – and the culture we live in. The same is true for the worlds we write. But where do you draw inspiration? How do you construct a language that honours its origins while animating your story? #BritishFantasySociety

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Stephen Embleton @stephenembleton.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

I’m really looking forward to this discussion. In excellent company, and can’t wait to hear everyone’s perspectives. Join us. 🎤 Language in SSFH.

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Stephen Embleton @stephenembleton.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

So richly narrated! Sauúti Terrors out in audiobook 🎤🎵

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British Fantasy Society @britfantasysoc.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

The British Fantasy Society is excited to announce our next event day, taking place on Saturday 18th April 2026, 10am to 6pm (BST). BFS Online: Language in SFFH Language is vast and flexible, providing writers a broad platform on which to build their world. Ticket: tinyurl.com/sffhlang

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