This is the first short story anthology set in a shared fictional world based on a blend of African cultures. Edited by Wole Talabi with authors from around the African continent and diaspora, the Sauútiverse is filled with wonder, mystery, and magic.
The Sauútiverse is the first in an exciting new Shared World series guaranteed to entertain readers and introduce them to a new world of science fiction and fantasy by talented African writers. Featuring stories set in Sauúti—an Africa-inspired science-fantasy secondary world created by Africans, for the world—this world is like Black Panther meets Wild Cards with all the rich spacefaring worldbuilding of Dune.
The name Sauúti is taken from the word “Sauti” which means “voice” in Swahili. Sauúti, a five-planet system orbiting a binary star, is rooted deeply in a variety of African mythology, language, and culture. The Sauútiverse weaves in an intricate magic system based on the sounds of oral traditions and music, and includes science-fiction elements of artificial intelligence and space flight, including both humanoid and non-humanoid creatures.
There exists in the Sauútiverse parallel planes of existence where other spirit beings and structures (such as the spirit moon of Wimb-ó) exist, and where alternate realities take place. These parallel universes can be interacted with from Sauúti through the right sound manipulation. These alternate planes are superimposed on top of Sauuti and occupy the space where dark matter and energy exist. ~paraphrased from The Sauúti World Building Story Bible
Sauúti is filled with wonder, mystery, and magic. Sauúti awaits you.
Mothersound: The Sauútiverse Anthology is first large scale production to come out of this shared world. The anthology contains short stories and novellas set in this fictional civilization based on a blend of African cultural worldviews. Edited by Wole Talabi, and with a Foreword by Fabrice Guerrier, Founder of Syllble Studios the anthology contains:
🪐120,000 words
🪐14 short stories and novellas
🪐Dozens of works of art
Contributing authors and artists include:
Nebula Award finalist 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. Art by Stephen Embleton and Akintoba Kalejaye.
Let's get into the pledge levels and rewards we've put together for this campaign! But before we do that, we want to acknowledge how expensive the cost of living has become around the world, and for many of us its a continual struggle just to get by. So we want to thank you for choosing to support The Sauúti Collective of amazing authors and artists, this book, and Android Press. We truly appreciate it!
Note: For any perk tier that only comes with an EPUB copy of the anthology, you'll have the option of adding a paperback copy in the Add-Ons section of your pledge.
$5 Chip In
Sometimes people just want to support a campaign even if they aren't personally interested in the perks. If that's you, you can pick this tier and chip in $5 plus any additional bonus pledge you'd like to make to help make this book successful.
$15 — eBook+
All backers at $15 and up get an early, pre-release eBook copy of Mothersound: The Sauútiverse Anthology. All backers at this pledge level also get high resolution cover art wallpaper formatted for your phone, tablet, laptop, and desktop computer.
EPUB copy of the anthology
Cover art digital wallpaper
$30 — Paperback
Get a paperback copy of Mothersound: The Sauútiverse Anthology. All backers at this pledge level also get all the rewards from the $15 level.
Paperback copy of the anthology
EPUB copy of the anthology
Cover art digital wallpaper
$40 — eBook Bundles
Get an EPUB copy of Mothersound: The Sauútiverse Anthology Plus pick an eBook bundle (2-4 books) by one of the following anthology authors:
Cheryl S. Ntumy - They Made us Blood and Fury; They Gave Us Stealth and Cunning (5 bundles available)
Xan van Rooyen - By the Blood of Rowans; Obscura Burning; The Other Me; I Heart Robot (3 bundles available)
Stephen Embleton - Soul Searching; Bones and Ruins (5 bundles available)
Akintoba Kalejaye — signed PDF copies of Visionary, Metalla or Beatz, an African comic book
$50 — Limited Edition Paul Lewin Cover Art
Get a paperback copy of Mothersound: The Sauútiverse Anthology with limited edition alternative cover art by Paul Lewin. Paul Lewin is a Jamaican-born artist living in Miami, Florida, who art is inspired by Afro Caribbean/ African folklore, nature, sci-fi, and Afrofuturism. Lewin's art has graced the cover of books by Octavia Butler, N.K. Jemisin, as well recent Android Press publication, Voodoonauts Presents: (Re)Living Mythology. Copies of the book with this alt-cover art will only be available during this campaign. If you want to pledge at different level, you can still get a copy of the book with the limited edition alt-cover as an add on.
Paperback copy of the anthology with limited edition Paul Lewin alternative cover art.
EPUB copy of the anthology with regular or alternative cover (backer's choice)
Regular cover art digital wallpaper
$50 — Zoom Call with Members of The Sauúti Collective
Get an EPUB copy of the anthology and the cover art digital wallpaper. Plus join a group video call with members of the The Sauúti collective including Wole Talabi, Eugen Bacon, Stephen Empleton, Akintoba Kalejaye, Xan van Rooyen, J. Umeh, Cheryl S. Ntumy, Eye Kay Nwaogu, and Adelehin Ijasan.
$60 — Signed Books Bundle
Limited to only 19 backers Get a paperback copy of Mothersound: The Sauútiverse Anthology Plus pick an additional copy of a signed book by one of the following anthology authors:
Wole Talabi — Shigidi (3 copies, ships to US and EU. Can be converted to digital copies for anyone living outside the US and EU.)
Eugen Bacon — Claiming T-Mo (7 available)
Xan van Rooyen — My Name is Magic (3 copies, shipped within EU only. Can be converted to digital copies for anyone living outside the EU.)
J. Umeh — What happened to Nwaligah (5 copies, hardcover children's book)
Akintoba Kalejaye — Visionary, Metalla or Beatz, an African comic book (1 copy, with 1 sentence message)
$60 — Signed Sauútiverse Art Bundles
Limited to only 10 backers per artist Get a paperback copy of Mothersound: The Sauútiverse Anthology Also get an ebook copy of the anthology. Plus a piece of custom digital Sauútiverse art, signed with a personal message by one of the following anthology artists:
Akintoba Kalejaye
Stephen Embleton
$75 — Tuckerization Bundles: Become Immortal
Limited to only 17 backers Get a paperback copy of Mothersound: The Sauútiverse Anthology Also get an ebook copy of the anthology. Plus become immortalized in scifi/fantasy with your name in a story by one of the following anthology authors:
Wole Talabi
Cheryl S. Ntumy
Stephen Embleton
J. Umeh
Akintoba Kalejaye
Eye Kay Nwaogu
Adelehin Ijasan
Dare Segun Falowo
$100 — Eugen Bacon Book Bundles
Limited to only 2 Backers Get a paperback copy of Mothersound: The Sauútiverse Anthology Also get an ebook copy of the anthology. Plus get one of the following signed book bundles:
Bundle 1: Assorted bundle of 7 paperbacks signed by Eugen Bacon
Bundle 2: Signed copies of Eugen Bacon's five 2023 releases
$120 — Short Story/Comic Edit Bundle
Limited to only 8 backers Get a paperback copy of Mothersound: The Sauútiverse Anthology Also get an ebook copy of the anthology. Plus short story development and line edits (up to 5k words) by one of the following anthology authors: Short Stories
Eugen Bacon (only 1 available)
Xan van Rooyen (only 2 available)
Comic book manuscripts
Akintoba Kalejaye (only 5 available)
$200 — Novella Edit Bundle
Limited to only 3 backers Get a paperback copy of Mothersound: The Sauútiverse Anthology Also get an ebook copy of the anthology. Plus novella development and line edits (up to 50k words) by Eye Kay Nwaogu.
All of our stretch goals provide added value to all campaign backers regardless of pledge level. That means the more you share the campaign, help us reach new people, and bring in new pledgers, the more added benefits accrue for the entire community!
$7,500
All backers get a free eBook copy of BIOLUMINESCENT: A LUNARPUNK ANTHOLOGY.
$10,000
All backers get a free copy of the FIGHTING FOR THE FUTURE RPG game book.
$13,000
Additional art will be unlocked and added to the book for all backers
$15,000
We'll commission an art print of a major Sauúti city map as a gift for all backers.
In the so-called "post-pandemic" period, shipping rates and times remain hard to predict, and generally speaking the cost of individual shipping varies great from region to region and country to country. In order to avoid overcharging people through attempting standardized shipping and charging those rates early on, we'll be charging shipping after the campaign, once we've collected shipping addressesand are ready to start shipping. We understand this causes an inconvenience having to make two separate payments. But we're confident it will save you money in the end since we'll be able to accurately calculate each backers shipping cost based on real-time rates at the time of shipping.
Finally, we want to elaborate that in our experience at Android Press, shipping books globally from the U.S. west coast can take a long time and is quite expensive, particularly since the start of the pandemic. Past books have taken months to arrive to backers in places such as Africa and South America. Unfortunately there's nothing we can about that short of charging hundreds of dollars for shipping, which is ridiculous. We just want to make sure backers outside of North America are aware that physical perks can take anywhere from a week or two up to months to arrive once we've shipped the items. And there doesn't seem to be much consistency. If you want to be sure to have the book as early as possible, and by publication date, backers from the outside North America are advised to consider pledge options that include an eBook.
If you have any questions, feel free to email us at [email protected].
