Michael Salu, British-born of

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was derived from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jo ...

heritage, is a creative director, art and photography editor, designer, brand strategist, writer and illustrator.

Education and career

Born in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England, to parents from

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

, Michael Salu lived in both countries during his childhood. He earned a BA (Hons) degree in Graphic Communication from the

University of Wolverhampton The University of Wolverhampton is a public university in Wolverhampton, Wolverhampton, England, located on four campuses across the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, Shropshire and Staffordshire. Originally founded in 1827 as the Wolverham ...

Artistic direction, editing and art publishing

In his role as Artistic Director of

Granta ''Granta'' is a literary magazine and publisher in the United Kingdom whose mission centres on its "belief in the power and urgency of the story, both in fiction and non-fiction, and the story's supreme ability to describe, illuminate and make ...

Publications (2010–13), Salu was responsible for the creative concepts behind ''

'' magazine, Granta Books and Portobello Books, commissioning and creating work for print, covers and digital. During this period, he was also the art editor for ''Granta'' magazine, publishing new and established artists’ and photographers' work. Highlights of his works include curating a showcase of art to respond to the question "What is British Identity?" for ''Granta'' 119 and a photographic collaboration with Nadav Kander for ''Granta''’s Best of Young British Novelists 4, which also appeared in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''. At ''Granta'' magazine, Salu was also responsible for art editing and commissioning on projects including Contacts and the Pakistan issue. Prior to ''Granta'', Salu worked for

Random House Random House is an imprint and publishing group of Penguin Random House. Founded in 1927 by businessmen Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer as an imprint of Modern Library, it quickly overtook Modern Library as the parent imprint. Over the foll ...

, where he designed and art directed covers for authors such as

Kurt Vonnegut Kurt Vonnegut ( ; November 11, 1922 – April 11, 2007) was an American author known for his Satire, satirical and darkly humorous novels. His published work includes fourteen novels, three short-story collections, five plays, and five nonfict ...

and

Fyodor Dostoevsky Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky. () was a Russian novelist, short story writer, essayist and journalist. He is regarded as one of the greatest novelists in both Russian and world literature, and many of his works are considered highly influent ...

, as well as for more contemporary fiction including Xiaolu Guo and

Chuck Palahniuk Charles Michael Palahniuk (;, , born February 21, 1962) is an American novelist of Ukrainian and French ancestry who describes his work as transgressional fiction. He has published 19 novels, three nonfiction books, two graphic novels, and two ad ...

Brand strategy

Salu was involved with shaping a new brand identity for Soda Pictures, launched in 2014, and was creative director for the Art Dubai Abraaj Art Prize 2014.

Other work

Salu has done mentoring with The Photographers' Gallery, has lectured at various educational institutions such as The Royal College of Art, as well as being involved in a wide range of creative projects, including with Curzon Cinemas and musician Ticky.Michael Salu
"The Swarm: Language as Fiction"
– biographical note, ''

Entropy Entropy is a scientific concept, most commonly associated with states of disorder, randomness, or uncertainty. The term and the concept are used in diverse fields, from classical thermodynamics, where it was first recognized, to the micros ...

'', 17 September 2018. Salu has written fiction and essays for publications such as ''Varoom'', ''

Eye Magazine ''Eye'' magazine is a quarterly print magazine on graphic design and visual culture. History First published in London in 1990, ''Eye'' was founded by Rick Poynor, a prolific writer on graphic design and visual communication. Poynor edited t ...

'', ''Under The Influence'' magazine, ''Freeman's Journal'', ''Catapult'' and ''

''. He also contributes original art to ''Grey Magazine''. He has conceived a variety of digital projects for ''Granta'' and other brands. For ''Granta'' 110: "Sex", he conceived and commissioned a viral website featuring several films to promote the issue. He was Creative Director on the ''Granta'' documentary on A. M. Homes, ''May We Be Forgiven'', in conjunction with her novel of the same title, in 2012. His essay "Mixed Media, Dimensions Variable" is in ''Tales of Two Cities'' (2014), an anthology on the socio-economic imbalances of New York, edited by John Freeman and published by OR Books, also including work by

Zadie Smith Zadie Smith (born Sadie; 25 October 1975) is an English novelist, essayist, and short-story writer. Her debut novel, ''White Teeth'' (2000), immediately became a best-seller and won a number of awards. She became a tenured professor in the ...

Jonathan Safran Foer Jonathan Safran Foer (; born February 21, 1977) is an American novelist. He is known for his novels '' Everything Is Illuminated'' (2002), '' Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close'' (2005), '' Here I Am'' (2016), and for his non-fiction works '' Eat ...

, Taiye Selasi, Mark Doty and other writers. Salu runs the multi-disciplinary creative consultancy SALU.io.

Awards and recognition

Salu's many awards include "Best Cover of the Year" in the British Book Design Awards 2011 for ''Granta'' 110: "Sex", and the Images 36 Gold Award (art direction) in October 2012 from the Association of Illustrators.Michael Salu – Honors & Awards
LinkedIn.

References

External links

Michael Salu
website

Caustic Cover Critic, 14 February 2010. * Jason Boog
"Granta’s Artistic Director on Sex-Themed Videos and Book Trailer Tips"
GalleyCat, 9 April 2010. * Bobby Solomon
"Michael Salu of Granta Publications"
The Fox Is Black, 8 July 2011.
"Publisher Profile - Granta, Michael Salu - London"
Crane.tv video.
Michael Salu. Writing, Art & Photography.

"An Interview with Michael Salu"
Wildness, April 2016. {{DEFAULTSORT:Salu, Michael 21st-century short story writers Alumni of the University of Wolverhampton Black British artists Black British writers Book designers British graphic designers Designers from London English people of Nigerian descent Living people Year of birth missing (living people)