The cover for the first installment of Sauúti Terrors: Short Stories from the Unique Universe Created by Contemporary African Writers anthology has been revealed.

The anthology will feature in Flame Tree’s Beyond and Within story collection series. The collection is scheduled for release in January 2026 through Flame Tree Publishing, with distribution handled by Simon & Schuster in the US and Hachette in the UK, Europe, and Asia.

Sauúti Terrors promises to unravel the darkest stories hidden in the deepest parts of the Sauúti five-planet system orbiting a binary star, returning readers to the groundbreaking Sauútiverse, an African-centered glimpse of possible far-flung futures that eerily mirror our own present and past.

The anthology has already garnered impressive praise from leading voices in speculative fiction:

Suyi Davies Okungbowa, award-winning author of Lost Ark Dreaming, Warrior of the Wind, and Son of the Storm, describes the collection as bursting “at the seams with nightmares and endless possibilities. One who ventures into these tales does so at the risk of continuous delight in a unique assortment of Afrocentric worldbuilding, voices and storytelling craft.”

Makena Onjerika, Winner of the 2018 Caine Prize for African Writing, offers enthusiastic praise: “Fascinating. Impressive. My goodness. This is creation. Reading these stories is actively participating in creation. Each story propelled me to read the next. I want to read everything written about these worlds. I can’t get enough of this. How does anyone write like this? The terror here is definitely the skin crawling type.”

P. Djèli Clark, award-winning author of Ring Shout and A Master of Djinn, notes that “Once again, the Sauúti Collective—in co-editors Eugen Bacon, Cheryl S. Ntumy, Stephen Embleton—has gathered a commendable and talented set of writers who deliver fantastically imaginative stories that remind us why we fear the dark, and the unknown.”

Under the editorial guidance of the Sauúti Collective, comprising co-editors Eugen Bacon, Cheryl S. Ntumy, and Stephen Embleton, Sauúti Terrors continues the innovative tradition of African-centered speculative fiction that challenges conventional boundaries while delivering compelling narratives rooted in diverse cultural perspectives.

The anthology represents another significant milestone in the expansion of African voices in speculative fiction, offering readers a unique blend of horror, science fiction, and cultural storytelling that spans across the imaginative landscape of the Sauúti star system.

Sauúti Terrors is set for release in January 2026 as part of Flame Tree’s Beyond and Within series. For more information about the Sauúti universe, visit https://sauuti.com, and learn more about the complete Beyond and Within book series here.