Stephen Embleton

Stephen was born in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and is now a resident in Oxford, United Kingdom, as the 2022 James Currey Fellow at the African Studies Centre, Oxford University. His background is Graphic Design, Creative Direction and Film. His first short story was published in 2015 in the Imagine Africa 500 speculative fiction anthology. More short fiction followed in the “Beneath This Skin” 2016 Edition of Aké Review, “The Short Story is Dead, Long Live the Short Story! Vol.2”, the debut edition of Enkare Review 2017, The Bloody Parchment, AfroSFv3, and The Kalahari Review. He is a charter member of the African Speculative Fiction Society and its Nommo Awards initiative. He was featured in Part 11 of the 100 African Writers of SFF on Strange Horizons. His debut speculative fiction novel, Soul Searching, was published in the UK and US in August/September 2020 – and was shortlisted for the Nommo Awards by the African Speculative Fiction Society, in May 2021. His unpublished YA fantasy novel, Bones & Runes, was a top 5 finalist in the 2021 inaugural James Currey Prize for African Literature, and was published in the UK in February 2022.

Awarded the James Currey Fellowship at African Studies Centre, Oxford University 2022.