Moustapha Mbacké Diop

A screenshot from The Continent. Partial text: The Continent 28 FEBRUARY 2026 | ISSUE 230 TC BOOK REVIEW BY JACQUELINE NYATHI How safe is sound? If you haven't explored the Sautiverse yet, you're missing out on a fascinating project from an African collective. THE SAUÚTIVERSE is Afrocentric fantasy centred on sound. This universe is held together by the mysterious Mothersound, its magic mediated through song, instruments, and words. Sauúti Terrors, the second short-story collection (after Mothersound) expands the Sauútiverse in dark directions. It brings welcome depth. The editors of the latest anthology - Cheryl Ntumy, Eugen Bacon, and Stephen Embleton - wanted to bring realism to this imaginary African future by showing readers that "everything is not perfect in the federation of planets". In Sauúti Terrors, sound magic is perverted through human failing, through its sheer power, or because good, life-giving sound must have its antithesis in destructive anti-sound (or silence). The collection's authors - including Shingai Njeri Kagunda, Wole Talabi, T.L. Huchu, Moustapha Mbacké Diop, J. Umeh, and more - show us what could go wrong. In Umeh's excellent The Sounding, a healer learns of ancient, evil beings when she becomes inhabited by one. A similarly chilling exploration occurs in Kofi Nyameye's The Unspoken, which unpacks clandestine government experiments at secret military bases. Ntumy's Where Daylight Bows to Darkness gives us an alternate view of 2024's Song for the Shadows in which we meet the mysterious Shad-Dari for the second time. A spacecraft in Wole Talabi's The Final Flight of the Ungu-ugnu is powered by humans singing in chorus. Xan van Rooyen's unsettling Kyi'yaji features anti-music recorded in scars - which can be played back.

Some of my thoughts on this excellent collection in this week's @thecontinent.org, which you can download here: www.thecontinent.org/_files/ugd/2...

Sauuti Terrors short story collection

SAUUTI TERRORS, the latest anthology from @sauutiverse.bsky.social has stories that dug deep and rooted inside of me.
My review of this fine collection of African-inspired sci-fi horror stories:
fanfiaddict.com/review-sauut...
@fanfiaddict.bsky.social
#Booksky

What an Amazing Book Launch in London, UK! 🚀💫

Even with the cold and rain, London did not disappoint with all the love & support for Sauúti Terrors. Editors @genni.bsky.social Cheryl S. Ntumy,
& @stephenembleton.bsky.social were joined by fellow Sauúti Jude Umeh reading excerpts and great Q&A.

Wanna Judge? - The Ignyte Awards For the 2026 cycle, we are opening up our longlist judging cohort to folks who may be a good fit (interested, available, organically well-read in a diverse and inclusive titles in sffh whether profess...

Organically inclusive reader? Fan of speculative fiction? Want to judge the 2026 Ignyte Awards? Judges compose our longlist before we open up to public voting. Applications are currently open thru 2/14.
ignyteawards.fiyahlitmag.com/wanna-judge/

Inventing a Shared-World African Speculative Universe: Interview with Sauúti Terrors Editors We had the incredible opportunity to talk to the editors of the Sauúti Collective, Eugen Bacon, Cheryl S. Ntumy, and Stephen Embleton, about their forthcoming anthology, Sauúti Terrors. They shared wi...

Thanks to @brittlepaper.bsky.social for this Sauúti Terrors feature: 🔥💫🙏

We cover building a shared African sci-fi/fantasy world from scratch, the five planets, two suns, sound magic, and our Story Bible that lets writers step in and create. ✨

brittlepaper.com/2026/01/weve...

Inventing a Shared-World African Speculative Universe: Interview with Sauúti Terrors Editors We had the incredible opportunity to talk to the editors of the Sauúti Collective, Eugen Bacon, Cheryl S. Ntumy, and Stephen Embleton, about their forthcoming anthology, Sauúti Terrors. They shared wi...

Thanks to Ainehi Edoro and @brittlepaper.bsky.social (from the start of this Sauúti journey) for this Sauúti Terrors feature and the opportunity to go into @sauutiverse.bsky.social more deeply.
🙏🏼🔥💫

brittlepaper.com/2026/01/weve...

01/25/2026 Recent Reads & Reviews: SAUUTI TERRORS SAUUTI TERRORS Short Stories from the Unique Universe created by Contemporary African Writers. Edited by Eugen Bacon, Cheryl Ntumy, and Stephen Embleton.SAUUTI TERRORS, by its own description, is an a...

New review! Thanks to Flame Tree Press for the beautiful copy!
www.candacenolaauthor.com/post/01-25-2...

So excited and honoured to be in this anthology with SUCH great authors!! Thank you so much to @shereereneethomas.bsky.social for this opportunity ❤️
And to @fiyahlitmag.bsky.social for the initial publication of this story!

So honored and ecstatic to see “Apostasy in Fruit” mentioned 🥹✨

Must Read Short Speculative Fiction: May 2025 - Reactor May's standout short fiction includes mermaids, vampires, 'droids, dukes, gods, devils, and more...

Need something new to read? Here are my ten favorite short speculative fiction stories from May. reactormag.com/must-read-sh...

Who shall become Mother of Beasts, ruler of all beings of the Ndayaan Sea? 2 witches, step sisters Coumba Siré and Coumba Fari fight for power in a djalla forest, a palace of death.

Electrifying, surreal. "The Ndayaan Sea" by @mdmoustaf.bsky.social

www.fandsf.com/toc2401.htm

Awa's sister, Kana, disappears without a trace. To rescue Kana, Awa travels into the underworld and meets Her, a being with hooves and worm-hair. She agrees to free Kana but at a steep price...

Slimy gross horror 🪱 🐛 🩸 by @mdmoustaf.bsky.social

www.thedarkmagazine.com/apostasy-in-...

Contract signed, so I’m excited to announce that my flash story, Everything We Lost in the Apocalypse, will be published by Strange Horizons! You’ll be able to read it there in the next week or two.

Thank you @strangehorizons for accepting this story!

Thank you so much, Eva 🤗✨

Cover of Issue 120 of The Dark magazine featuring a woman standing in a forest with a raven in flight in a corner.

The story’s title “Apostasy in Fruit” written above the picture of the inside of a fig.

Super excited to share that I have a new story in Issue 120 of The Dark 🖤

It's a bizarre little thing with supernatural kidnappings and nameless horrors. You can read it here:

www.thedarkmagazine.com/apostasy-in-...

#africansff

502: Night Rites by Moustapha Mbacké Diop NIGHTLIGHT: A Horror Fiction Podcast · Episode

Full of doubts, Tumaani joins the initiation ceremony for the boys in his village to share what it means to be a man. An attack from a sutamo shows him his worth.

Action-packed #africanjujuism story by @mdmoustaf.bsky.social in @nightlightpod.bsky.social

open.spotify.com/episode/3UtL...

The Bush Took Them All — IfTheresAnyone By Moustapha Mbacké Diop Puffs of smoke numbed my senses as I delivered myself to the Bush. They said this place was worse than death, and they weren’t wrong.

A woman ventures into the Bush of the Dead to bring back her dead daughter, 5-year-old Ramatou.

Soul-crushing flash fic by @mdmoustaf.bsky.social in @iftheresanyoneleft.bsky.social

www.iftheresanyoneleft.com/stories/mous...

Donate to Peace's Journey: Overcoming Job and Marriage Loss, organized by Peace Zodanou [looking at the picture above reminds me of when I thought I could hol… Peace Zodanou needs your support for Peace's Journey: Overcoming Job and Marriage Loss

I need help surviving this year.

If you're not in a position to donate, I understand.

Please help by reposting. Please share with your circles. Every little donation helps. Thank you.

gofund.me/19bc02b6

Blurb for A PALACE NEAR THE WIND from P. Djèlí Clark graphic with the book cover

we are officially one week out from the release of A PALACE NEAR THE WIND! Today’s blurb is from the awe-inspiring @pdjeliclark.bsky.social 😭🙇🏻‍♀️🙏🏼

forthcoming April 15 — @titanbooks.bsky.social 🏰🌬️🍃

A painting of a queen with pale skin and long, dark brown hair. Her crown and long-sleeved gown are black, and a thin white halo is visible behind her head. Sitting beside her is a black wolf, only visible through the shadows by its pointed ears and glowing white eyes. The two figures stand in a field of tall golden grasses beneath an overcast sky. The text on the cover reads: "ORIGINAL FICTION BY: Ai Jiang, Beth Goder, Francis Bass, E. Thade, Rich Larson, Rukman Ragas, Daniel Roop. NONFICTION BY: Eugen Bacon, Semaj Saint Garbutt. CLASSIC FICTION BY: Michael Boatman, L. Marie Wood. Plus our "End of Days" Drabble contest winners!"

APEX MAGAZINE ISSUE 149 COVER REVEAL 👑🐺🌾

Starring the haunting, darkly fantastical "Queen in the Fields at Dusk, with Wolf" by @cotronis.bsky.social!

For more information on our upcoming issue, read "Apex in April 2025" here: www.patreon.com/posts/apex-i...

A graphic featuring a pull quote from Rob Cameron's essay "The City is Breathing: Solarpunk Noir. Please Don't Call it Cyberpunk" which reads: "I look at solarpunk noir not as what comes next, but the alternate future tied to the same founding genre."

Systemic hope. Radical change. Surviving and thriving in any conditions. Is the world ready for solarpunk noir? 🌃

Don't miss @brklyndragon.bsky.social's essay, "The City is Breathing: Solarpunk Noir. Please Don't Call it Cyberpunk," out now!

Read it here: www.apexbookcompany.com/a/blog/apex-...

A monster's face with fire for eyes and sharp white teeth.

After 10 years of being married to Ismaïla, Magar finally gives birth to a baby boy. But due to an old grudge, the baby is kidnapped by a djinné...

@mdmoustaf.bsky.social serving badass old woman fantasy action! 💪🏾💥👵🏾 10/10 #africansff 🪐📚💙

mythaxis.co.uk/issue-23/cur...

Flame Tree to Publish Two Books of Sauúti Terrors: The Dark Side - JAY Lit Members of the Sauúti collective and co-editors of a new anthology, Eugen Bacon, Stephen Embleton and Cheryl S. Ntumy, are thrilled to announce that Bieke van Aggelen of the African Literary Agency ha...

The Terror is coming!

We're proud to announce the upcoming publication of our 2-book anthology "Sauúti Terrors: The Dark Side" w/ Flame Tree Publishing facilitated by African Literary Agency
😱💀👻

Editors: Cheryl S. Ntumy @genni.bsky.social & @stephenembleton.bsky.social

jaylit.com/flame-tree-t...

We’re super excited to share with you the authors and poets in the first anthology, Sauúti Terrors: The Dark Side by Flame Tree Publishing, distributed by Simon and Schuster.

sauuti.com/sauuti-terro...

@genni.bsky.social @xanwriter.bsky.social @wtalabi.bsky.social @stephenembleton.bsky.social

Haven Spec Magazine, 2025 A digital science fiction and fantasy magazine publishing five issues in 2025 and featuring fiction and poetry for the 21st century!

The @havenspec.bsky.social kickstarter has only 4 days to go and is $806 away from funding. Can we give em a share? Maybe help them get there?

#IndieAuthor #Scifi #Fantasy #IndiePub

Thank you so much for the sweet words! I appreciate it so much and I’m really glad you enjoyed the story 🙌🏿

Wanted to praise @mdmoustaf.bsky.social Moustapha Mbacke Diop's "The Nydayaan Sea" in the Winter 2024 edition of Fantasy and Science Fiction. A wonderful story about a magical island stolen from one sister by another, based on a Senegalese folktale. Truly numinous.

#africansff #darkfantasy