Mothersound Anthology

Mothersound: The Sauútiverse Anthology

The culmination of nearly two years of world building, and after a successful crowdfunding campaign, Mothersound: The Sauútiverse Anthology was published in November 2023 by Android Press.

MOTHERSOUND transports readers to a unique realm of science and fantasy, weaving together the creative brilliance of diverse African minds. The anthology showcases a rich tapestry of stories that explore the vast and imaginative landscapes of the Sauútiverse, inviting readers to embark on an epic adventure like never before.

Starred Review from Publishers Weekly

Given this vast scope, there’s plenty of room for J. Umeh’s joyous “Kalabashing,” chronicling an interplanetary battle of the bands, to sit next to T.L. Huchu’s horror story “The Hollowed People,” in which a planet’s fragmented reality leaves its inhabitants both dead and alive at once. Eugen Bacon’s poetic neurodivergent dragonslayer tale “Sina, the Child with No Echo” fits in every bit as well as Xan van Rooyen’s futuristic story of a magical Deaf DJ in “Lost in the Echoes.” Released with a story bible and under copyright arrangements that will soon allow any African writer to add their voice to the collective, this feels like the start of something monumental.

Read the full Publishers Weekly review here.

Love for the Mothersound anthology

"Mothersound: The Sauútiverse Anthology, is a rare and distinct Afrocentric treat that hums in the unity of a collective enriched with universal storytelling and the many languages of Mother Africa.”

Nuzo Onoh

Queen of African Horror, and recipient of the 2022 Bram Stoker Lifetime Achievement Award

“The Sauútiverse is a mind-blowing, highly imaginative and deeply compelling sandbox. The wide range and excellent quality of these stories are a testament to that, offering yet another formidable trove of authors of African descent. In 𝙈𝙊𝙏𝙃𝙀𝙍𝙎𝙊𝙐𝙉𝘿, Talabi and company have offered us something seminal. This book will continue to influence the canon of Afrocentric futurisms for years to come.”

Suyi Davies Okungbowa

award-winning Nigerian author of David Mogo, Godhunter and The Nameless Republic trilogy

Contributors include: Nebula Award winner Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki, World Fantasy Award nominee Eugen Bacon, NYT bestselling author Tobias S. Buckell, Caine Prize nominee T.L. Huchu, Adelehin Ijasan, Stephen Embleton, Akintoba Kalejaye, Cheryl S. Ntumy, Xan Van Rooyen, Dare Segun Falowo, Eye Kay Nwaogu, J. Umeh, Somto Ihezue.

And artwork by Akintoba Kalejaye and Stephen Embleton.

"Fantastika at its best. The Sauútiverse invites a reader to drown in a poetic world, built with a Tolkenian attention to gripping detail, and full of creatures who excite the imagination in a dream-like rollercoaster. The illustrations are works of art in themselves, adding spice to the stories, and I found myself wishing there were more paintings, more stories, and more pages to keep me up in the wee hours."

Dilman Dila

internationally acclaimed and award-winning social activist, filmmaker and author of Yat Madit stories

“The Sauútiverse is a powerful original collective concept, and this debut anthology clearly shows collaboration can create more than the sum of its parts while remaining firmly true to its African heritage and taking that boldly into the future.”

Ivor W. Hartmann

writer and editor of AfroSF

Mothersound Anthology Reviews

★★★★★

"Mothersound is the birth of a new fandom, a new passion, a new experience made of spirit, collaboration, and absolute awesomeness, through one book of stories. An infant of infinite potential, if the sounds of its deep, healing cries are heard by a rattling world. ...Yes, these are stories, worthy in their own right, but they are so much more - they offer the promise of infinite stories to tell, and infinite ways to tell them."

E.D.E. Bell

9 Jan 2024

Read the full E.D.E. Bell review here.

★★★★★

“It’s this variety that makes it unique in the shared world anthologies I have read, and yet, there is a gossamer thread running through them all, the smallest of connections that while not creating a true story, make it feel a little like a world history told by a historian with indulgent favourites. As if a book on the history of humanity decided to devote a chapter to Mary Shelley or Archimedes. ”

Doomscribe

1 Feb 2024

Read the full Doomscribe review here.

Foreword: “I Dream Of Sauúti” by Fabrice Guerrier

Introduction: “Why We Created The First Collaborative African Sci-Fi/Fantasy Universe” by Wole Talabi

Welcome To The Sauútiverse

“Our Mother, Creator” (Creation Myth 1) by Stephen Embleton and Wole Talabi

“What Has No Mouth?” by Dare Segun Falowo

“The Way Of Baa’gh” by Cheryl S. Ntumy

“The Grove’s Lament” by Tobias S. Buckell

“Xhova” by Adelehin Ijasan

“A City, A Desert And All Their Dirges” by Somto Ihezue and Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki

“Sina, The Child With No Echo” by Eugen Bacon

“The Rakwa Wa-Ya’yn, Or, The Song of Our Mother’s Children” (Creation Myth 2) by Stephen Embleton and Wole Talabi

“Undulation” by Stephen Embleton

“The Hollowed People” by T.L. Huchu

“Muting Echoes, Breaking Tradition” by Eye Kay Nwaogu

“Kalabashing” by J. Umeh

“Lost In The Echoes” by Xan van Rooyen

“Hologhiri” by Akintoba Kalejaye

Closing Notes

Author Biographies

Glossary