I listen to a lot of podcasts, especially when doing tedious stuff like housework and commuting. I have a special fondness for speculative fiction podcasts, so today I’m giving a shoutout to the ones on my feed. Each has my heartiest endorsement.
Listen, for I have stories to tell you
Clarkesworld Magazine Podcast
Clarkesworld puts out up to five stories a month, including at least one translated Chinese story. I haven’t checked numbers, but Clarkesworld tends to lean more to science fiction than fantasy and horror stories (though both of those feature from time to time). The stories, almost always read by editor Kate Baker, are often on the longer side – they are usually somewhere around thirty minutes but can go up to novelette-length readings of over an hour. For sheer reliability of quality, you can’t do much better than CW; their stories show up on award shortlists and recommended reading lists all the time for good reason.
Beneath Ceaseless Skies Podcast
Beneath Ceaseless Skies is another online magazine, this time specialising in literary fantasy in a secondary-world. [1] That is, fantasy stories where the setting is not Earth (except sometimes they are). BCS stories tend to be suggestive of historical places and events, but strewn with magic, ghosts and monsters.
I adore them, but I admit when I’m listening it’s often to pick the stories apart to figure out how they work. Beneath Ceaseless Skies’ submission requirements are squarely at the centre of what I like to write, and making a sale to BCS is one of my big goals.
The Escape Artists Network
Escape Artists consists of three (no, wait, four now) partner podcasts – Podcastle, which specialises in short fantasy fiction; Pseudopod, which does horror (and is definitely not safe for work); and Escape Pod, for science fiction. They’ve recently added Cast of Wonders to the lineup, for YA fantasy fiction (though I haven’t listened to it yet).
The Escape Artists podcasts are well worth your time. Apart from the convenience of differentiating between genres to help you select what you’re in the mood for, they’re also not afraid to throw in a great classic story of yesteryear among the modern fare. (They’ve been gradually rolling out some old Clifford D. Simak stories over the last couple of years, which are always a delight)
Uncanny Magazine Podcast
Uncanny Magazine is another one on my story market wish list. Of all the podcasts I’ve listed, Uncanny is the one that aims hardest for beautiful stories – their stock in trade is elegant and charming fantasy, where the occasional poisonous barb is concealed behind smooth smiles. Each episode feature a story, a speculative poem and an interview (typically with one of the featured authors from the episode).
[1] Oi! Paging Doctor Clam.
