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Today's show is brought to you by Hogan's Alley, the fantastic magazine devoted to comics history, cartoonists, and the art form we love. Visit HoganMag.com and use the discount code COMICLAB10 for 10% off. Dave Kellett is back from San Diego Comic-Con 2026, and he brought receipts! After 27 years of exhibiting at the show, Dave just had his best Comic-Con ever — including an absolutely bonkers $6,000 Sunday. But a big gross number doesn't necessarily mean a big payday. Brad and Dave dig into the actual economics of exhibiting at one of the world's biggest conventions: booth fees, sales tax, travel, merchandise, lost studio time, and the advantages Dave has because he lives within driving distance of San Diego. After roughly $19,600 in gross sales, Dave estimates his actual profit at about $11,000. Then, they get into the stuff you can actually use at your next convention: Track your sales throughout the day When sales slow down, get active Use drawing as theater Pay attention to your product mix Think about revenue per square inch Let the market prune your merchandise Your merchandise should say something about the buyer — not about you SPONSORED BY HOGAN'S ALLEY This week's episode is sponsored by Hogan's Alley, the fantastic magazine devoted to comics history, cartoonists, and the art form we love. Visit HoganMag.com and use the discount code COMICLAB10 for 10% off. MORE COMIC-CON ADVICE ON PRO TIPS Dave had another 15–20 Comic-Con topics he wanted to cover, so we're continuing the conversation on ComicLab Pro Tips with a deeper dive into conventions, exhibiting, merchandising, and Dave's approach to making a convention financially worthwhile. To hear those episodes, join us at Patreon.com/ComicLab. You get great rewards when you join the ComicLab Community on Patreon$2 — Early access to episodes$5 — Submit a question for possible use on the show AND get the exclusive ProTips podcast. Plus $2-tier rewards.If you'd like a one-on-one consultation about your comic, book it now!Brad Guigar is the creator of Evil Inc and the author of The Webcomics Handbook. He is available for personal consultations. Dave Kellett is the creator of Sheldon and Drive. He is the co-director of the comics documentary, Stripped.
Thanks to our sponsor, LearnClash! Practice smarter for quiz night with LearnClash, 1v1 trivia duels on any topic. Free to play: https://learnclash.com/partners/quizbang?utm_source=quiz_quiz_bang_bang&utm_medium=show_notes&utm_campaign=creator_2026q3&utm_content=r1_2026-08-05A new week means new questions! Hope you have fun with these!What comedienne ended her weekly shows by tugging on her left earlobe?Which Wisconsin peninsula is nicknamed the "Cape Cod of the Midwest." It has 300 miles of shoreline and more lighthouses than any other county in the U.S.?William the Conqueror is most famous for conquering what?Also known for his role on MASH, who played Charlie Brown in a 1967 Off-Broadway musical "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown"?What is it called when fish fertilize externally?The 1973 movie, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid starred what two music idols?The Ana and Din or Shadow of the Leviathan series which include "A Trade of Blood", "A Drop of Corruption", and the Hugo Award winning "The Tainted Cup" are all by what author?Iten has been described as the Mecca of Long Distance Running and is located in what country?Who is considered the father of modern chemistry?Along with a cash prize, what do contestants win in the Nathan's Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest?Mare Imbrium, or the Sea of Showers or Sea of Rains, is a lava plain within the Imbrium Basin located where?What flavor was the original creme filling of Twinkies?Which composer has won the most Tony Awards?Which board game that won the Spiel des Jahres in 2014 has you collect precious jewels and gems like Emeralds, sapphires, rubies and diamonds?Ahura Mazda is the main deity of which religion?Which Greek goddess of love and beauty was said to be born from seafoam?MusicHot Swing, Fast Talkin, Bass Walker, Dances and Dames, Ambush by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/Don't forget to follow us on social media:Patreon – patreon.com/quizbang – Please consider supporting us on Patreon. Check out our fun extras for patrons and help us keep this podcast going. We appreciate any level of support!Website – quizbangpod.com Check out our website, it will have all the links for social media that you need and while you're there, why not go to the contact us page and submit a question!Facebook – @quizbangpodcast – we post episode links and silly lego pictures to go with our trivia questions. Enjoy the silly picture and give your best guess, we will respond to your answer the next day to give everyone a chance to guess.Instagram – Quiz Quiz Bang Bang (quizquizbangbang), we post silly lego pictures to go with our trivia questions. Enjoy the silly picture and give your best guess, we will respond to your answer the next day to give everyone a chance to guess.Twitter – @quizbangpod We want to start a fun community for our fellow trivia lovers. If you hear/think of a fun or challenging trivia question, post it to our twitter feed and we will repost it so everyone can take a stab it. Come for the trivia – stay for the trivia.Ko-Fi – ko-fi.com/quizbangpod – Keep that sweet caffeine running through our body with a Ko-Fi, power us through a late night of fact checking and editing!
We rank all the Hugo nominees, plus tell you about seven more amazing books that deserve to be in contention for the best speculative fiction novels of the year. No spoilers at all in this episode. Join the Hugonauts book club on discord Or you can watch our episodes on YouTube if you prefer video If you want to jump around, here are the timestamps for the episode: 00:00 Intro 01:03 6 The Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor 02:37 5 The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson 05:20 4 The Incandescent by Emily Tesh 07:30 3 Shroud by Adrian Tchaikovsky 14:40 2 A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett 16:56 1 The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow 19:05 Thank you for 100 episodes! 20:11 The Devils by Joe Abercrombie 23:05 The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones 24:37 Sour Cherry by Natalia Theodoridou 25:21 Slow Gods by Claire North 29:02 The Goodreads miss list 30:44 The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami 33:32 There is No Antimemetics Division by QNTM
Three finalists for the 2026 Nebula Awards—Amy Chu, Somto Ihezue, and Annalee Newitz—discuss their craft, why they write, and the state of speculative fiction today. Moderated by Tananarive Due, Toastmaster of the 2026 Nebula Awards, which are given annually by the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Association. Featured writers and their 2026 Nebula Award nominations include: Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz (Nebula Award for Best Novella) Carmilla Volume 3: The Eternal by Amy Chu (Nebula Award for Best Comic) "We Begin Where Infinity Ends" by Somto Ihezue (Nebula Award for Best Novelette) This program was part of the 2026 American Writers Festival. Co-hosted by the American Writers Museum and Chicago Public Library, the American Writers Festival is a free literary event featuring in-depth conversations with diverse writers from across genres and backgrounds. This conversation took place June 7, 2026 and was recorded live at the Harold Washington Library Center. AWM PODCAST NETWORK HUB About the writers: AMY CHU is a multi-genre writer for graphic novels and animation. Her most recent book is the Nebula Award nominated Carmilla: The Eternal (Dark Horse / Berger Books) the final chapter in the award-winning Carmilla the First Vampire trilogy. She teaches at the Kubert School and the School of Visual Arts, and is a board member of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. A frequent convention speaker, she has also judged the Harvey, Ringo and MoCCA awards. Amy holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a double bachelor's degree in Architectural Design from MIT and East Asian Studies from Wellesley College. TANANARIVE DUE is an award-winning author who teaches Black Horror and Afrofuturism at UCLA. A leading voice in Black speculative fiction for more than 20 years, Due has won an American Book Award, an NAACP Image Award, and a British Fantasy Award, and her writing has been included in best-of-the-year anthologies. Her books include The Reformatory (winner of a Los Angeles Times Book Prize, Chautauqua Prize, Bram Stoker Award, Shirley Jackson Award, World Fantasy Award, and a New York Times Notable Book), The Wishing Pool and Other Stories, Ghost Summer: Stories, My Soul to Keep, and The Good House. She and her late mother, civil rights activist Patricia Stephens Due, co-authored Freedom in the Family: A Mother-Daughter Memoir of the Fight for Civil Rights. SOMTO IHEZUE is a writer and filmmaker. He is an MFA fellow in Creative Writing at the University of Maryland. His writes about boyhood, land, disruption, and joy in Igbo communities. His work has been a finalist for the Nebula Award, the Locus Award, the British Fantasy Award, the ALCS Tom-Gallon Trust Award, and has appeared in Clarkesworld, POETRY, Uncanny, Strange Horizons, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Sauúti, and others. He has received residencies and fellowships from the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts, Tin House, Clarion West, Sundress Academy for the Arts, Rabbit Island, and more. He was assistant editor of the Publishing Taught Me Anthology (SFWA & NEA) and co-editor of Will This Be a Problem? The Anthology. ANNALEE NEWITZ writes science fiction and nonfiction. They are the author of four novels: Automatic Noodle, The Terraformers, The Future of Another Timeline, and Autonomous, which won the Lambda Literary Award. As a science journalist, they are the author of Stories Are Weapons: Psychological Warfare and the American Mind, Four Lost Cities: A Secret History of the Urban Age and Scatter, Adapt and Remember: How Humans Will Survive a Mass Extinction, which was a finalist for the LA Times Book Prize in science. They are a writer for the New York Times and elsewhere, and have a monthly column in New Scientist. They have published in The Washington Post, Slate, Scientific American, Ars Technica, The New Yorker, and Technology Review, among others. They were the co-host of the Hugo Award-winning podcast Our Opinions Are Correct, and have contributed to the public radio shows Science Friday, On the Media, KQED Forum, and Here and Now. Previously, they were the founder of io9, and served as the editor-in-chief of Gizmodo.
It’s the Hugo shortlist time of year! I’m doing my part (a very small part) by hosting some of my Internet Friends to discuss the 2026 finalists for the Hugo Award for Best Short Story! This was a super quick edit, so it’s perhaps not quite a tight or clean as a typical episode. But … Continue reading "2026 Hugo Award for Best Short Story nominees panel!"
This month we watched the 1972 film Sleuth, starring Michael Caine and Laurence Olivier. Sleuth was selected by listener Andy, who contributed to our most recent fundraiser. This movie was lots of fun - thanks, Andy! Voting in the Hugo Awards closes on August 8th at 12:00pm (noon) PDT. If you haven't voted yet, don't forget! DM: Amy Music by Pets of Belonging Join us on Discord! If you can't get in, please send us an email at hugogirlpodcast at gmail dot com.
“The Dragon in Winter” is an episode that shows how power alters people. Whether that power comes gradually like Mysaria's rise, surprisingly like Helaena's powers as a tool for Rhaenyra, or instantly like Sunfyre's return to Aegon… Whether it is unwanted like Daeron's crown or the ultimate temptation as presented to Ulf… it comes in many forms, and tends to burn all around it. Uncontrollable laughter is optional. Uncontrollable dragons are mandatory.Vote for Us in the Hugo Awards for Best Related Work - lacon.org/register/Shirts - historyofwesteros.threadless.comHoW Audience Survey - bit.ly/howsurveyBonus Eps & More - patreon.com/historyofwesteroswww.historyofwesteros.comIntro/Maps - klaradox.deFacebook Group - bit.ly/howfbDiscord - bit.ly/howdiscord
With two episodes remaining in s3, the trailers are kept intentionally vague. Given a wide range of possible outcomes across a large number of plotlines, we turn evermore to Fire and Blood! Which plotlines will link up to the book… and of the ones that do not, what comes next? Vote for Us in the Hugo Awards for Best Related Work - lacon.org/register/Shirts - historyofwesteros.threadless.comHoW Audience Survey - bit.ly/howsurveyBonus Eps & More - patreon.com/historyofwesteroswww.historyofwesteros.comIntro/Maps - klaradox.deFacebook Group - bit.ly/howfbDiscord - bit.ly/howdiscord
This one is called “Faceless Men” because so many people pretend to be who they are not… including the dead themselves. There is much to say about purpose, duty, a reason to fight on, or not. An episode rich in parallels, history, mysticism and conflict. Some ends… and some beginnings. Vote for Us in the Hugo Awards for Best Related Work - lacon.org/register/Shirts - historyofwesteros.threadless.comHoW Audience Survey - bit.ly/howsurveyBonus Eps & More - patreon.com/historyofwesteroswww.historyofwesteros.comIntro/Maps - klaradox.deFacebook Group - bit.ly/howfbDiscord - bit.ly/howdiscord
As a number of intrigues play out, battle at Tumbleton seems to be looming, but conflict in the Riverlands must play out first. Daemon seeks killers operating in the shadows while Criston Cole seeks death in broad daylight. What's next for Aemond now that he's healthier, and how does Alys fit in? A Baratheon delegation appears to have emerged at last, and Hugh looks like he's up to something. We break it all down and make predictions!Vote for Us in the Hugo Awards for Best Related Work - lacon.org/register/Shirts - historyofwesteros.threadless.comHoW Audience Survey - bit.ly/howsurveyBonus Eps & More - patreon.com/historyofwesteroswww.historyofwesteros.comIntro/Maps - klaradox.deFacebook Group - bit.ly/howfbDiscord - bit.ly/howdiscord
Episode 5 of House of the Dragon season 3 covers more plotlines and pairings than ever before...and most importantly, at last introduces the Red Keep cats!Vote for Us in the Hugo Awards for Best Related Work - lacon.org/register/Shirts - historyofwesteros.threadless.comHoW Audience Survey - bit.ly/howsurveyBonus Eps & More - patreon.com/historyofwesteroswww.historyofwesteros.comIntro/Maps - klaradox.deFacebook Group - bit.ly/howfbDiscord - bit.ly/howdiscord
There is no trailer for episode 5, but instead another “in the weeks ahead” trailer. So we will focus on what's to come in the 2nd half of the season! We have lots of ideas for Aemond and Alys, Alicent and Helaena and Maelor(?), Rhaena and Sheepstealer, and more!Vote for Us in the Hugo Awards for Best Related Work - lacon.org/register/Shirts - historyofwesteros.threadless.comHoW Audience Survey - bit.ly/howsurveyBonus Eps & More - patreon.com/historyofwesteroswww.historyofwesteros.comIntro/Maps - klaradox.deFacebook Group - bit.ly/howfbDiscord - bit.ly/howdiscord
It's a coming out party for Prince Daeron, because a Blue Queen needs a Green King. Rhaenyra channels Sun Tzu, trying to know her enemy, Lord Ormund. Daemon can't seem to go to the Vale without murdering someone, spars with the new master of coin, and continues to do so with Mysaria. Aegon finds Sunfyre whom he believes must be alive, and Meleys, who definitely is not. Helaena bumps into a quickly growing situation.Vote for Us in the Hugo Awards for Best Related Work - lacon.org/register/Shirts - historyofwesteros.threadless.comHoW Audience Survey - bit.ly/howsurveyBonus Eps & More - patreon.com/historyofwesteroswww.historyofwesteros.comIntro/Maps - klaradox.deFacebook Group - bit.ly/howfbDiscord - bit.ly/howdiscord
This week on the podcast, Patrick and Tracy welcome back Michael Damian Thomas, to talk about Uncanny Magazine Year 13: The Space Unicorn Believes in YOU! About Uncanny Magazine Year 13: The Space Unicorn Believes in YOU!: We have something special planned this year, Space Unicorns. Along with it being Year 13, this year will feature our DIAMOND Issue 75! In celebration of this milestone, all of the solicited fiction contributors and two of the solicited essayists for Issue 75 have previously won an award for their Uncanny story or essay. HOW AWESOME IS THAT?!? Welcome back, Space Unicorns! Editor-in-Chief/Publisher Michael Damian Thomas and Team Uncanny Magazine have run successful Kickstarters for the eight-time Hugo Award-winning, World Fantasy Award-winning, and Locus Award-winning Uncanny Magazine Years One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven, and Twelve. We promised to bring you stunning cover art, passionate science fiction and fantasy fiction and poetry, gorgeous prose, and provocative essays by writers from every conceivable background–not to mention a fantastic award-winning podcast featuring exclusive content. Through the hard work of our exceptional staff and contributors, Uncanny Magazine delivered on that promise every single year. Stories from Uncanny Magazine have been finalists for or winners of Hugo, Nebula, Locus, Sturgeon, Ignyte, and World Fantasy Awards! The Space Unicorn Ranger Corps, our name for the Uncanny Magazine community, made it possible for our remarkable staff and contributors to create this wonderful art for all of our readers via the web or as eBooks. THANK YOU, SPACE UNICORNS FOR YOUR SUPPORT! If you've been looking for an opportunity to join or re-up with the Space Unicorn Ranger Corps, now's your chance! We need your help to continue this mission for another year. This is your magazine, Space Unicorns! Let's make Year 13 happen! Though Uncanny continues to have multiple ways to support us, we still need the help of the Space Unicorn Kickstarter community to keep bringing you this amazing content. Unfortunately, there is a less-than-celebratory side to this Kickstarter. Recently, a very large online eBook retailor changed its terms again, and we lost all of our subscription earnings. YOUR support, specifically, makes it possible for us to make our magazine freely available on our website and to pay our contributors and staff. We need your help more than ever, Space Unicorns! About Michael Damian Thomas: Michael Damian Thomas is the eight-time Hugo, British Fantasy, World Fantasy, and Parsec Award-winning co-publisher (with Lynne M. Thomas) and editor-in-chief of the Locus Award-winning Uncanny Magazine. Michael was a Hugo Award finalist as the former Managing Editor of Apex Magazine (2012-2013), co-edited the Hugo Award finalist essay anthology Queers Dig Time Lords (Mad Norwegian Press, 2013) with Sigrid Ellis, and co-edited the anthology Glitter & Mayhem (Apex Publications, 2013) with John Klima and Lynne M. Thomas. Michael was additionally a contributor to the SF Squeecast podcast (with Elizabeth Bear, Paul Cornell, Seanan McGuire, Lynne M. Thomas, and Catherynne M. Valente), a contributor to the Down and Safe- Blake's 7 podcast (with Amal El-Mohtar, Scott Lynch, and L.M. Myles), and is currently the Content Editor (with Lynne M. Thomas) of the It's Storytime with Wil Wheaton podcast. Michael was formerly the full-time caregiver of his late daughter, Caitlin. Caitlin had a rare congenital disorder called Aicardi syndrome. This week's picks: Michael #1: AEW Wrestling Michael #2: Scotland History Tours (YouTube) Michael: Ruth Aisling: Discovering Scotland (YouTube) Tracy: The Chameleon (Big Potato Games) Patrick: Platform Decay: The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells Links: Uncanny Magazine Year 13 on Kickstarter Tracy Townsend on BluSky Patrick Hester on Instagram The Functional Nerds Patreon Page © 2026 Patrick Hester The post Episode 710-With Uncanny Magazine's Michael Damian Thomas appeared first on The Functional Nerds.
After an episode focused on Rhaenyra, we're sure to catch up with a lot of other characters and plotlines like Daemon, Criston & Gwayne, Alys & Aemond, Alicent & Helaena and of course Tumbleton. It's time for a number of newer storylines to get moving, and we have a bunch of predictions, some based on what's next in Fire & Blood!Vote for Us in the Hugo Awards for Best Related Work - lacon.org/register/Shirts - historyofwesteros.threadless.comHoW Audience Survey - bit.ly/howsurveyBonus Eps & More - patreon.com/historyofwesteroswww.historyofwesteros.comIntro/Maps - klaradox.deFacebook Group - bit.ly/howfbDiscord - bit.ly/howdiscord
Hugo Awards coverage Germany bid wor Worldcon drops out. Marcia Lucas passes away. Patrick Tomlinson gets a big payday. Tea Krulos sees a documentary based on his book win a major award at the L.A. Film Festival. Upcoming events. Ask Hildy.
No Fire and Blood character had a POV chapter, but HBO's Rhaenyra just did. Though she proclaims victory and aims for a brighter future, Rhaenyra is overwhelmed by problems of the moment and haunted by ghosts of the past. There's an ominous soundtrack and a familiar theme presented as a double edged sword… Like Maester Aemon told Jon Snow and his brother Egg, to become a man you must kill the boy. It's a metaphor for growing into a ruler, but for Rhaenyra it is also quite literal… and the boy is Alicent's child. Until she discovers simultaneously that he's not Daeron, and the war is not over. Vote for Us in the Hugo Awards for Best Related Work - lacon.org/register/Shirts - historyofwesteros.threadless.comHoW Audience Survey - bit.ly/howsurveyBonus Eps & More - patreon.com/historyofwesteroswww.historyofwesteros.comIntro/Maps - klaradox.deFacebook Group - bit.ly/howfbDiscord - bit.ly/howdiscord
Scott Edelman has published 135+ short stories, many of which have been collected in These Words Are Haunted, What Will Come After, Tell Me Like You Done Before, Things That Never Happened, and 101 Things to Do Before You're Downloaded. He has been a Stoker Award finalist eight times. Additionally, he has hosted the 2026 Hugo Awards finalist Eating the Fantastic interview podcast since February 2016.This story is original to StarShipSofa.Narration by: Brian RollinsBrian Rollins is a voice actor living in Colorado with his wife. He's the prolific narrator behind the Glen & Tyler series as well as the Uncommon Bonds fantasy adventure series. In addition to audiobooks, he's the host and creator of the Dorky Geeky Nerdy Trivia Podcast. You can find Brian at TheVoicesInMyHead.com. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/starshipsofa. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Chuck Tingle is one of the most inspiring people I have ever had the chance to talk to. Our first interview changed how I approached interviews entirely. He taught me to come at things from my place with my heart on my sleeve. I owe so much to Chuck Tingle's influence on me, so getting the chance to chat again was a blessing. This time around, we are diving into his new book, Beautiful Bodies. We dive deep into the role of influencers and how what they do is art, through a Warhol lens. We also took some time to talk about Busta Rhymes' brilliance. The interview spans the board, offering a deep conversation about art, humanity, horror, and all the things that make life worth living. LOVE IS REAL! About Beautiful Bodies Poppy Stringer was born to be a star. An aspiring fashion influencer by day, Poppy moonlights as a grave robber to make ends meet, wheeling and dealing dead bodies across Palm Springs. When her hero, the flamboyant, piano-slamming rockstar Eddie Michaels, unexpectedly dies, Poppy gets a call to retrieve his body from the medical examiner's office for a lucrative sum. It could be the last job she'll ever need—if everything goes to plan. But the night's delivery quickly veers off course when Eddie wakes up. Now Poppy must fight for her life if she hopes to survive this blood-soaked joyride of carnage and extravagant entertainment. About Chuck Tingle Chuck Tingle is a USA Today bestselling author, as well as a two-time Hugo Award finalist, Bram Stoker Award nominee, Goodreads Award nominee, Golden Poppy Award finalist, Locus Award winner, Dragon Award winner, Audie Award winner, and the recipient of the 2025 Loud Hands Award for Autistic Storytellers. He is a mysterious force of energy behind sunglasses and a pink mask. He is also an anonymous author of romance, horror, and fantasy. Chuck was born in Home of Truth, Utah, and now lives in Los Angeles, California. Chuck writes to prove love is real, because love is the most important tool we have when resisting the endless cosmic void. Not everything people say about Chuck is true, but the important parts are. Chuck self-publishes erotica and romance, and releases horror novels through Tor Nightfire.
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover. To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button. You can find Alix E. Harrow at www.alixeharrow.wixsite.com or on IG at @alix.e.harrow Carrie and I are still reading and resting on our summer hiatus but we are continuing our summer replay series of award winners! This week we are going way back in the archives to the fall of 2019, the first season of our podcast. We took a roadtrip from Louisville to Berea, KY to meet up with Alix E. Harrow, a Hugo and British Fantasy award winner and a finalist for the Nebula, Locus, and Goodreads Choice Awards. And she is a New York Times best-selling author. At the time of our interview, her debut novel The Ten Thousand Doors of January had been released and one of her short stories had just won the Hugo. Currently her most recent novel The Everlasting is a finalist for the Hugo Award for Best Novel. The Hugo is science fiction and fantasy's most prestigious annual award. Because this interview was recorded in a library with tall ceilings, not in a studio, and because we were definitely newbies at podcasting with a different format, this episode will sound a lot different than those today. But we hope you'll enjoy hearing Alix talk about her influences and her view of sci-fi fantasy early on in her writing career. We will be back July 22 with an all new episode. Happy Reading!
After two huge first episodes, it looks like the focus will shift somewhat to the Red Keep, as most of the trailer seems to focus there as Queen Rhaenyra's rule begins. It was a difficult time in the books and appears to be the case here. But there's also an apparent parlay between Daemon and Lord Ormund! We predict a lot of plotlines will be established while others continue full steam ahead. Books, interviews, trailers and guesswork… no leaks!Vote for Us in the Hugo Awards for Best Related Work - lacon.org/register/Shirts - historyofwesteros.threadless.comHoW Audience Survey - bit.ly/howsurveyBonus Eps & More - patreon.com/historyofwesteroswww.historyofwesteros.comIntro/Maps - klaradox.deFacebook Group - bit.ly/howfbDiscord - bit.ly/howdiscord
JAMES ROSONE Author – Biography James Rosone began his writing career as a form of PTSD therapy after some of his experiences as an interrogator in Iraq. After exiting the military, he served overseas as a contractor in the sand box, and then transitioned to working in the field of biometrics supporting U.S. European Command. After releasing a number of books, writing changed from a hobby to a career. Now James is working with other veterans to help them find new a purpose as authors. He holds several degrees, including a Master of Science degree from the University of Oxford. His website is www.FrontlinePublishingInc.com. TONI WEISSKOPF Editor & Publisher – Biography Toni Weisskopf is an American science fiction editor and the publisher of Baen Books. She has been nominated four times for a Hugo Award. She has won the Phoenix Award, the Rebel Award, and the Neffy Award for best editor. She uses the nom de plume T. K. F. Weisskopf as an anthology editor. Weisskopf was born in Waltham, Massachusetts with her family moving to Brooklyn when she was three years old, and then to Huntsville, Alabama, when she was twelve. She graduated from Oberlin College in 1987 with a degree in anthropology and started working at Baen shortly thereafter. Find out more about Baen here www.baen.com. United Public Radio & UFO Paranormal Radio www.uprntalkradio.com
“Queen's Landing” was meant to be the finale of season 2 and it really felt like it! We have a lot to say about the many parallels, the off-screen events and how Rhaenyra's arc will shift massively, creating a cascade of new plots and conflicts. Aemond's move might be just as huge, as he's met one of the most interesting characters in the show just as he's lost the throne. Rhaena and Aegon are on the run from their own kin, the Velaryons are scattered, but new armies are forming as fast as new ambitions. Vote for Us in the Hugo Awards for Best Related Work - lacon.org/register/Shirts - historyofwesteros.threadless.comHoW Audience Survey - bit.ly/howsurveyBonus Eps & More - patreon.com/historyofwesteroswww.historyofwesteros.comIntro/Maps - klaradox.deFacebook Group - bit.ly/howfbDiscord - bit.ly/howdiscord
It appears that King's Landing is soon to be contested, but the aftermath of the Gullet is pressing as well. Aemond heads to Harrenhal while Aegon and Larys find themselves prisoners. Thanks to “The Weeks Ahead” trailer and those from before the season began, we have predictions for episode 2 and beyond. Vote for Us in the Hugo Awards for Best Related Work - lacon.org/register/Shirts - historyofwesteros.threadless.comHoW Audience Survey - bit.ly/howsurveyBonus Eps & More - patreon.com/historyofwesteroswww.historyofwesteros.comIntro/Maps - klaradox.deFacebook Group - bit.ly/howfbDiscord - bit.ly/howdiscord
The Battle of the Gullet gets a full breakdown! So do a king's ransom in other plots, old and new, as events begin in a hurry. Sean is back and we're ready for a fun season!Vote for Us in the Hugo Awards for Best Related Work - lacon.org/register/Shirts - historyofwesteros.threadless.comHoW Audience Survey - bit.ly/howsurveyBonus Eps & More - patreon.com/historyofwesteroswww.historyofwesteros.comIntro/Maps - klaradox.deFacebook Group - bit.ly/howfbDiscord - bit.ly/howdiscord
In this episode of The Archive Project, we feature a discussion on late writer Ursula K. Le Guin's legacy of pacifism and environmentalism. Our moderator is Theo Downes-Le Guin, Ursula's son and literary executor. Theo is in conversation with Oregon-based writers Juhea Kim, author of the novel Beasts of a Little Land, a finalist for the 2022 Dayton Literary Peace Prize, and Michelle Ruiz Keil, author most recently of the young adult novel Summer in the City of Roses, which was a finalist for the inaugural Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction. In her speech at the 2014 National Book Awards, accepting the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, Ursula said: “Hard times are coming, when we’ll be wanting the voices of writers who can see alternatives to how we live now and can see through our fear-stricken society and its obsessive technologies to other ways of being, and even imagine some real grounds for hope.” Juhea Kim and Michelle Ruiz Keil are two of those voices that we need now. In this conversation, Juhea and Michelle discuss how they came—and returned—to Le Guin's work, her influence on their writing, and how they are carrying her legacy forward, including the responsibility of the artist as a humanitarian. This conversation was recorded in front of a live audience at Literary Arts on July 15, 2022. “It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.” ― Ursula K. Le Guin Ursula K. Le Guin (1929-2018) was a celebrated author whose body of work includes 23 novels, 12 volumes of short stories, 11 volumes of poetry, 13 children's books, five essay collections, and four works of translation. The breadth and imagination of her work earned her six Nebula Awards, seven Hugo Awards, and SFWA's Grand Master, along with the PEN/Malamud and many other awards. In 2014 she was awarded the National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, and in 2016 joined the short list of authors to be published in their lifetimes by the Library of America. Michelle Ruiz Keil is an author, playwright, and tarot reader with an eye for the enchanted and way with animals. She is the author of the critically acclaimed young adult novels All of Us With Wings and Summer In The City of Roses. Her writing for adults can be found most recently in Bitch, Cosmonauts Avenue, and the anthology Dispatches From Anarres: Tales in Tribute to Ursula K. Le Guin. She is a 2021 Tin House Scholar and the recipient of residencies from Hedgebrook, The Sitka Center for Art and Ecology, and the Bloedel Reserve. Born in San Francisco, Michelle has lived in Portland, Oregon for many years where she curates the fairytale reading series All Kinds of Fur and lives with her family in a cottage where the forest meets the city. Juhea Kim is a writer, artist, and advocate based in Portland, Oregon. Her bestselling debut novel Beasts of a Little Land was named a finalist for the 2022 Dayton Literary Peace Prize and a Best Book of 2021 by Harper’s Bazaar, Real Simple, Ms., and Portland Monthly. Her writing has been published in Granta, Slice, The Massachusetts Review, Zyzzyva, Guernica, Catapult, Times Literary Supplement, The Independent, Sierra Magazine, and elsewhere. She is the founder and editor ofPeaceful Dumpling, an online magazine at the intersection of sustainable lifestyle and ecological literature. She has received fellowship support from the Bread Loaf Environmental Writers' Conference, the Regional Arts & Culture Council, and Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing at Arizona State University. She earned her BA in Art and Archaeology from Princeton University.
Dragons are coming, and many will fall! We dive deep into the final trailer and what's to come in season 3. There are more locations and characters than ever, with expanded roles for surprising characters. Some of the most spectacular moments ever written by GRRM will jump to the screen this year!Vote for Us in the Hugo Awards for Best Related Work - lacon.org/register/Shirts - historyofwesteros.threadless.comHoW Audience Survey - bit.ly/howsurveyBonus Eps & More - patreon.com/historyofwesteroswww.historyofwesteros.comIntro/Maps - klaradox.deFacebook Group - bit.ly/howfbDiscord - bit.ly/howdiscord
As the stakes rise, the game of thrones in Greece continues to get bloodier. Epaminondas aims to strike directly at Spartan power and Agesilaus, but faces political enemies back at home, while Pelopidas heads north to deal with chaos of the two Alexanders of Macedon and Pherae. Athens takes the opportunity to return to their old tricks. This one includes the Spartan assassin society, new cities, an escalation of the Persian Great Satraps Revolt for Artaxerxes to deal with, and the education of the most famous Philip of the ancient world.Primer: Characters in the Game of Thrones at the End of Ancient Greece - History of WesterosVote for Us in the Hugo Awards for Best Related Work - lacon.org/register/Shirts - historyofwesteros.threadless.comHoW Audience Survey - bit.ly/howsurveyBonus Eps & More - patreon.com/historyofwesteroswww.historyofwesteros.comIntro/Maps - klaradox.deFacebook Group - bit.ly/howfbDiscord - bit.ly/howdiscord
Stories featured in this episode:The Waitlist, or Today is a Good Day to Die by Ai Jiang - https://aijiangauthor.wordpress.com/ -music by Oneirothopter -read by Jean-Paul Garnier -The Twain Shall Meet by Brent A. Harris - https://brentaharris.com/ -music by Phog Masheeen - https://phogmasheeen.com/ -read by Jenna Hanchey -theme music by Dain Luscombe -Simultaneous Times science fiction podcast began in March of 2018 and has since produced 100 episodes featuring 196 stories and 10 poems by 108 authors from over 20 countries. In this time, we have produced collaboration episodes with Apex Magazine, Radon Journal, Hexagon, Sci-Fi Lampoon, Shacklebound Books, Worlds of IF, and Utopia SF Magazine. We also produced three paperback anthologies, and one ebook anthology, of stories and authors from the podcast. -During the nine year run of Simultaneous Times we have won the Laureate Award, been a finalist for the Fiyah, BSFA, and British Fantasy Awards, and been long-listed for the Hugo Award three times. As of episode 100 we will no longer be producing episodes on a monthly basis but will rather move to a “when we feel like it” schedule, most likely creating two to four episodes a year. We will be redirecting our efforts (and finances) to publishing more books and our new magazine Electronic Brain. -A huge thank you to all of our authors, composers, narrators, and to our listeners! -Find all of our evergreen episodes at https://spacecowboybooks.bandcamp.com/ -Simultaneous Times is a monthly science fiction podcast produced by Space Cowboy Books in Joshua Tree, CA. https://www.spacecowboybooks.com https://ko-fi.com/spacecowboybooks7054
Josie Moore grew up in the valley town of Westfield, Massachusetts with a voice that wouldn't work and a brain filled to bursting. Paranoid by the world and abandoned by those around her, she turned to art in her time of hiding. When she was scared, she wrote about it. When she cried, she drew comforting pictures. With the inability to pinpoint and process her own emotions, she used art and storytelling as her communication, turning her fear into something beautiful. Nowadays, she can finally leave her bedroom, but never without a sketchbook by her side. She attends the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth in hopes of getting her BFA in Illustration. She spends her days doodling elves, bears, and silly little faeries and nights writing, planning, and…hopefully writing some more. Finally having an outlet to put all her obsessive, creative energy, she dreams of one day showing even the deepest crevices of her mind with her odd love stories and twisted mysteries. The Writers and Illustrators of the Future Contests are the most prestigious writing and illustrating competitions in the world with the Writers of the Future being in its 43rd year, the Illustrators of the Future in its 38th year and they are judged by the premier names in speculative fiction. The Illustrators of the Future Contest judges include, Bob Eggleton (11 Chesley Awards and 9 Hugo Awards), Larry Elmore (Dungeons & Dragons book covers), Echo Chernik (graphic designs for major corporations including Celestial Seasonings tea packaging), Rob Prior (art for Spawn, Heavy Metal comics and Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Ciruelo (Eragon Coloring Book). Joseph Sidari lives in the Boston suburbs with his wife and a delightfully spoiled labradoodle named Chloe, who takes him for walks twice a day. As a practicing physician, he works hard caring for his patients while trying to kill off his protagonists. He is a current member of the Grub Street Writers Group of Boston and a former member of the Spacecraft Writers' Group. He's been a lifelong fan of reading speculative fiction, but only started writing it after flipping his bicycle during triathlon training. Typing at his computer felt like a less risky hobby, so that summer, with his wrist on the mend, he wrote a novel. Then another. On his third attempt, he found an agent who suggested that writing short stories could help build his reputation while the book was being shopped around. The manuscript never sold, but he realized short stories were fun, too. Since then, he has earned multiple honorable mentions in the Writers of the Future contest and two Silvers, while publishing several short stories—though not enough to “pro out." This story was one of those honorable mentions. You know the email Joni Labaqui [contest director] sends? The one that suggests to “revise and resubmit an old story if you don't have anything new.” It resonated. “I liked the idea of the epistolary tale I'd entered to the Contest about a woman trying to free the last dragon in America. But I needed to double down on the premise. Write more than just blog posts. So, I rewrote it from top to bottom.” And here is the new and improved story. United Public Radio & UFO Paranormal Radio www.uprntalkradio.com The Writers of the Future Contest judges include, Tim Powers (author of On Stranger Tides), Kevin J. Anderson and Brian Herbert (Dune prequel series), Robert J. Sawyer (The Oppenheimer Alternative), Brandon Sanderson (Mistborn series, The Stormlight Archive), Larry Niven (Ringworld), Orson Scott Card (Ender's Game), Nnedi Okorafor (Who Fears Death), Hugh Howey (Wool), and Katherine Kurtz (Deryni series) to name a few.
Not only the most unique and horrifyingly clever campaign of terror and slaughter in the Dance of the Dragons, one of the most unusual in all of Westeros history. The dead came to dine, and not everyone in attendance wanted to be there. Featuring Criston Cole, the Winter Wolves, Red Robb Rivers, Black Trombo and more.Vote for Us in the Hugo Awards for Best Related Work - https://nomnom.lacon.org/Shirts - historyofwesteros.threadless.comHoW Audience Survey - bit.ly/howsurveyBonus Eps & More - patreon.com/historyofwesteroswww.historyofwesteros.comIntro/Maps - klaradox.deFacebook Group - bit.ly/howfbDiscord - bit.ly/howdiscord
Should cartoonists hire a social-media manager? Brad and Dave discuss the pros and cons of outsourcing social media and ultimately argue that most creators should handle it themselves. They explain why social media is an extension of a creator's voice, how direct engagement provides invaluable feedback about audience-building and marketing, and why improving your promotional skills makes you a better cartoonist overall. Along the way, they discuss shyness, self-promotion, audience growth, and the dangers of trying to be everywhere at once online. Topics Covered • The ComicLab newsletter and the “Five to Grow On” feature • Whether cartoonists should hire a social-media manager • Why social media is part of a creator's artistic voice • The value of learning promotion instead of outsourcing it • Why creative people often resist marketing and business skills • How marketing skills can improve artistic skills • The dangers of trying to maintain every social-media platform at once • Brad's “2-2-1” approach to social media • Platform-specific posting strategies and why one-size-fits-all promotion fails • Social-media feedback as a tool for improving your work • Shyness and discomfort with self-promotion • The “lipstick on a pig” problem: when promotion can't compensate for weak work • Why making a great comic remains the most important marketing strategy • Dave's upcoming Reddit AMA and his Hugo Award nomination • Using award nominations as promotional opportunities • Hugo Awards promotional support versus other industry awards • BlueSky starter packs and audience growth • Why cartoonists should do more cross-promotion • Whether creators should put award nominations on book covers • How long to keep promoting a completed comic project • Managing inventory and promoting older books • Long-tail sales and evergreen products • Using older books as bonuses, stretch goals, and loss leaders • When it makes sense to retire promotional efforts • Whether different creative projects need separate Patreons, newsletters, Substacks, and social-media accounts • The benefits and drawbacks of splitting projects into separate brands • Cognitive load, burnout, and managing multiple audiences • Using separate platforms to measure the success of different projects • When creators should keep projects under one roof and when they should branch out You get great rewards when you join the ComicLab Community on Patreon$2 — Early access to episodes$5 — Submit a question for possible use on the show AND get the exclusive ProTips podcast. Plus $2-tier rewards.If you'd like a one-on-one consultation about your comic, book it now!Brad Guigar is the creator of Evil Inc and the author of The Webcomics Handbook. He is available for personal consultations. Dave Kellett is the creator of Sheldon and Drive. He is the co-director of the comics documentary, Stripped.
With both Brad and Dave nominated for awards this year, the guys spiral into a surprisingly deep conversation about awards, marketing, ego, and whether creators should plaster “award nominee” stickers all over their books. Later, they tackle a listener question about using 3D models, digital sets, and reference material in comics production — leading to a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at how both creators actually build comics pages in tools like Clip Studio Paint and Photoshop. Along the way, they discuss why imperfections matter in cartooning, how typography affects visual storytelling, and why “cheating” is often just another word for “working smarter.” Today's Show Should you put an award nomination on a book cover? UPDATE: Hugo Award voter packet "WSFS Membership" Using sets and other pre-made background materials UPDATE: Patreon Quips is now available on desktop You get great rewards when you join the ComicLab Community on Patreon$2 — Early access to episodes$5 — Submit a question for possible use on the show AND get the exclusive ProTips podcast. Plus $2-tier rewards.If you'd like a one-on-one consultation about your comic, book it now!Brad Guigar is the creator of Evil Inc and the author of The Webcomics Handbook. He is available for personal consultations. Dave Kellett is the creator of Sheldon and Drive. He is the co-director of the comics documentary, Stripped.
The newspaper comic strip didn't go extinct — it evolved. But if your work doesn't keep up, your career may be fossilized! From Reddit-ready square comics to vertical-scroll storytelling, they explore how creators are adapting to phones, social media, and changing reading habits while keeping the heart of the comic strip alive. Topics covered The evolution of newspaper comic strips Why horizontal strips existed in the first place How phones changed comics formatting Square-format comics on Reddit and social media Vertical-scroll storytelling Why readers won't rotate their phones Charles Schulz and the flexible-format origins of Peanuts Newspaper syndication vs. modern web distribution YA graphic novels as the next evolution for newspaper strips Lincoln Peirce and the success of Big Nate books Why comic strips are still thriving online Modular comic formatting for webcomics The launch of The Comic Scout Dave Kellett's Hugo Award nomination anticipation Tips for maintaining visual consistency in comics Workflow advice for newer cartoonists You get great rewards when you join the ComicLab Community on Patreon$2 — Early access to episodes$5 — Submit a question for possible use on the show AND get the exclusive ProTips podcast. Plus $2-tier rewards.If you'd like a one-on-one consultation about your comic, book it now!Brad Guigar is the creator of Evil Inc and the author of The Webcomics Handbook. He is available for personal consultations. Dave Kellett is the creator of Sheldon and Drive. He is the co-director of the comics documentary, Stripped.
This week on the podcast, Patrick and Tracy welcome Naomi Kritzer, author of Obstetrix. About Obstetrix: Doctor Liz has just been acquitted for performing the last abortion in North Dakota when she’s kidnapped. They’re not just any kidnappers, but a fundamentalist cult, deep in the rural west, without respect for law or decency, and in desperate need of an OB/GYN. Guarded, isolated, without access to the outside world, Liz nevertheless is treated with respect as the only doctor on the compound, but she is very aware of what happened to the last obstetrician they kidnapped. She must escape, and bring help to the girls trapped at the compound, if it’s the last thing she does. About Naomi Kritzer: NAOMI KRITZER has been re-reading favorite books since childhood, and probably still has passages from A Wrinkle in Time memorized. She writes for both adults and teens, including Catfishing on CatNet and Chaos on CatNet from Tor Teen and Liberty’s Daughter from Fairwood Press. Her writing has won the Hugo Award, the Nebula Award, the Edgar Award, the Locus Award, and the Minnesota Book Award. Naomi lives in St. Paul, Minnesota, with her family and three cats. The number of cats is subject to change without notice. This week's picks: Naomi #1: Schmigadoon! (AppleTV) Naomi #2: A Dubious Clamor by Marissa Lingen Naomi #3: The Mirror Realm Cycle Series by Ariel Kaplan Tracy: Invincible (comics) Patrick: The Apothecary Diaries (Crunchyroll) Links: Naomi Kritzer on BluSky Tracy Townsend on BluSky Patrick Hester on Instagram The Functional Nerds Patreon Page © 2026 Patrick Hester The post Episode 703-With Naomi Kritzer appeared first on The Functional Nerds.
“We've come to die for the dragon queen,” said Roddy the Ruin of the Winter Wolves, a group of fearless greybeards from the North sent in advance of Lord Cregan Stark's greater forces, and the only army in the Dance of the Dragons that didn't want to survive, let alone return home. We explore their glorious deeds and battles alongside the cultural history that drove them to fight as ferociously as they did.Vote for Us in the Hugo Awards for Best Related Work - https://nomnom.lacon.org/Filippo Loretti Stark Watches - https://filippoloretiwatches.com/collections/house-of-starkShirts - historyofwesteros.threadless.comHoW Audience Survey - bit.ly/howsurveyBonus Eps & More - patreon.com/historyofwesteroswww.historyofwesteros.comIntro/Maps - klaradox.deFacebook Group - bit.ly/howfbDiscord - bit.ly/howdiscord
Fan awards, books, and delicious finalists, oh my! Shaun Duke and Trish Matson host an impromptu discussion about the 2026 Hugo Awards. Together, they share and talk about the finalists, talk about the exhaustion of fandom drama, explore ballot dynamics, and more! Thanks for listening. We hope you enjoy the episode! Show Notes: The 2026 Hugo Award Finalists (LAcon V) Video versions of our episodes appear on our handy YouTube channel! Sub and watch! Don’t forget to catch our live format every Friday at 7 PM Central on Twitch at AlphabetStreams! If you have a question you'd like us to answer, feel free to shoot us a message on our contact page. Our new intro and outro music comes from Holy Mole. You can support his work at patreon.com/holymole. See you later, navigator!
This week on the podcast, Patrick and Tracy welcome Amal El-Mohtar, author of Seasons of Glass and Iron. About Seasons of Glass and Iron: Full of glimpses into gleaming worlds and fairy tales with teeth, Seasons of Glass and Iron: Stories is a collection of acclaimed and awarded work from Amal El-Mohtar. With confidence and style, El-Mohtar guides us through exquisitely told and sharply observed tales about life as it is, was, and could be. Like miscellany from other worlds, these stories are told in letters, diary entries, reference materials, folktales, and lyrical prose. Full of Nebula, Locus, World Fantasy, and Hugo Award-winning and nominated stories, Seasons of Glass and Iron: Stories includes “Seasons of Glass and Iron,” “The Green Book,” “Madeleine,” “The Lonely Sea in the Sky,” “And Their Lips Rang with the Sun,” “The Truth About Owls,” “A Hollow Play,” “Anabasis,” “To Follow the Waves,” “John Hollowback and the Witch,” “Florilegia, or, Some Lies About Flowers,” “Pockets,” and more. About Amal El-Mohtar: Amal El-Mohtar is an award-winning writer of fiction, poetry, and criticism. Her stories and poems have appeared in magazines including Tor.com, Fireside Fiction, Lightspeed, Uncanny, Strange Horizons, Apex, Stone Telling, and Mythic Delirium; anthologies including The Djinn Falls in Love and Other Stories (2017), The Starlit Wood: New Fairy Tales (2016), Kaleidoscope: Diverse YA Science Fiction and Fantasy Stories (2014), and The Thackery T. Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities (2011); and in her own collection, The Honey Month (2010). She is co-author, with Max Gladstone, of the multiple award-winning This is How You Lose the Time War. Her articles and reviews have appeared in the New York Times, NPR Books and on Tor.com. She has been the New York Times’s science fiction and fantasy columnist since February 2018, and she is represented by DongWon Song of HMLA. This week's picks: Amal #1: Clues by Sam – Puzzles Amal #2: Heated Rivalry (HBO) Amal #3: Goin for a Walk Amal #4: Time of Iron book series by Sarah Rees Brennan Tracy: A Short History of Stupid by Bernard Keane & Helen Razer Patrick: Marty, Life Is Short (Netflix) Links: Amal El-Mohtar’s Newsletter Tracy Townsend on BluSky Patrick Hester on Instagram The Functional Nerds Patreon Page © 2026 Patrick Hester The post Episode 702-With Amal El-Mohtar appeared first on The Functional Nerds.
"Mark Phillips" is, or are, two writers: Randall Garrett and Laurence M. Janifer. Their joint pen-name, derived from their middle names (Philip and Mark), was coined soon after their original meeting, at a science-fiction convention. Both men were drunk at the time, which explains a good deal, and only one has ever sobered up. A matter for constant contention between the collaborators is which one.Originally published as That Sweet Little Old Lady, Brain Twister follows the adventures of FBI agent Kenneth J. Malone as he attempts to unravel the machinations of a telepathic spy. His first problem: how do you find a telepath to catch the first telepath?The novella was nominated for the Hugo Award in 1960. (Summary from the text and Catharine Eastman)Genre(s): Humorous Fiction, Science Fiction, Suspense, Espionage, Political & ThrillersLanguage: EnglishKeyword(s): humor (654), science fiction (442), spy (25)
In previous episodes, we've discussed how some genres are more aesthetic-driven (like sci fi & fantasy) and others are more structure-driven (like romance and mystery). So how do subgenres within SFF play with elements of both? How can we blend tropes and reader expectations to put fresh spins on familiar subgenres? Four-time guest and friend of the podcast Fonda Lee joins us to explore the possibilities and potential pitfalls. A lot of "genre" is really about marketing and packaging, so we also discuss the effects of knowing that end result on the process itself. How is it different if we start out with an idea of "I am going to write This Subgenre Thing" versus starting out with less of that marketing-minded specificity? How much do we play into or subvert a reader's expectations? Navigating that can be a high-wire act, trying to present new things that will delight and surprise a reader without knocking them out of the story. And what do we do if the packaging, which authors often have no control over, doesn't quite paint the right picture of the actual book? We also talk about some recent trends and shifts within SFF subgenres. [Transcript TK] Our Guest: Fonda Lee is the award-winning, New York Times bestselling author of the Green Bone Saga, consisting of the novels Jade City, Jade War, and Jade Legacy, along with a prequel novella The Jade Setter of Janloon and a short story collection, Jade Shards. Her newest book is the science fiction novel The Last Contract of Isako. She is also the author of the fantasy novella, Untethered Sky and several young adult novels: Zeroboxer, the Exo duology, and the Breathmarked duology, co-written with Shannon Lee. Fonda is a winner of the World Fantasy Award, the Locus Award, and a six-time winner of the Aurora Award (Canada's national science fiction and fantasy award), as well as a multiple finalist for the Hugo Award and the Nebula Award. Her novels have garnered multiple starred reviews and appeared on Best of Year lists from NPR, Barnes & Noble, Syfy Wire, and others. Jade City has been translated into fifteen languages, named to TIME Magazine's Top 100 Fantasy Books of All Time, and optioned for television development. She has also written acclaimed short fiction and been an instructor at writing workshops including Clarion West, Viable Paradise, and Aspen Words. Fonda is a former corporate strategist and black belt martial artist who loves action movies and Eggs Benedict. Hailing from Canada and the Pacific Northwest, she now resides in the Boston area.
The mind sure is a funny thing—one second, you can find yourself tripping over the gradually increasing existential crisis of modern-day living in 2026, and the next, you’ll find yourself thinking about dumb ways to make peeing for a dog way more fun than it should have any right to be! On this week’s episode of Press Pause Radio, we tackle some of the news bits in gaming and our current gaming shelves in another “What’s in your console” edition of the show. Andrew and George are joined by Hugo Award-winning writer and all-around gaming journalist sweetheart, Aidan Moher, who is also ½ of one of the coolest new video game podcasts to hit the web, Fun Factor: a show that takes a retrospective look at retro game magazines that inspired them to be games writers themselves! In this episode, the cast will go over the news of the leaked internal Xbox memo that would rapidly become the “We Are Xbox” state of the union from Microsoft, and the details of the new Steam controller from a leaked review of the device, including its $99 price tag! On the games side of things, we get real weird with it as we discuss OPUS: Prism Peak, Life is Strange, Division 2, Froggy Hates Snow, Returnal, Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream, Under the Island, Cobra, ZX Spectrum Next, Saros, Pragmata, Mouse: P.I. for Hire, Invincible VS, Quest: Brian's Journey, and so much more! We hope you enjoy our busy bodies of work as we have a whole lot more to cover with y’all in the coming weeks here at Press Pause Radio, oh, and be sure to subscribe to Fun Factor, and buy Aidan’s cool ass book, Fight, Magic, Items: The History of Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, and the Rise of Japanese...Mail us at our new email Mailbag@presspauseradio.com, leave a voicemail at 42-GAMEZAP-4 (424-263-9274), and be sure to stop by at our Forums if you haven’t already registered and post your thoughts about the show. Finally, make sure to rate and subscribe to us on iTunes and YouTube, follow us on our Twitch page and BlueSky, and finally take part in our Facebook and Steam group! This episode has been brought to you by our new friends at the SuperPod Network, be sure to check out all the other rad podcasts they host for Video Games and more! Finally, this episode was also brought to you by our new sponser, Dubby, a new, jitterless, friendlier energy drink made from a formula that contains a slew of vitamins, amino acids and nootropics including their patented NeuroFactor®. Click on the link listed or enter "PRESSPAUSERADIO" and get 10% off of your order right meow!
Ideally, books offer something for kids and adults alike. Chances are if you and your child are independently enjoying a book, you probably will enjoy reading that book together. Hugo Award–winning, Eisner Award–nominated author Zach Weinersmith joins us to talk about writing for kids and adults, adapting Beowulf (yes, Beowulf!) for children, and his new novel Sawyer Lee and the Quest to Just Stay Home.
Jim Lee has revealed the health struggles that led to Batman delays. Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips have another new graphic novel, Unfinished Tales. Absolute Wonder Woman and The Power Fantasy nominated in Hugo Awards.SUBSCRIBE ON RSS, APPLE, SPOTIFY, OR THE APP OF YOUR CHOICE. FOLLOW US ON BLUESKY, INSTAGRAM, TIKTOK, AND FACEBOOK. SUPPORT OUR SHOWS ON PATREON.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
Vanessa Diaz sits in for Rebecca to talk with Jeff about The Women's Prize shortlist, Practical Magic 2, the most banned books of 2025, how human it is for people to know that reading is good for them and still not do it, recent reading, and more. Follow the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. Join The Book Riot Podcast Patreon for bonus content and ad-free listening. Subscribe to The Book Riot Newsletter for regular updates to get the most out of your reading life. The Book Riot Podcast is a proud member of the Airwave Podcast Network. Discussed in this episode: Women's Prize Shortlist World Book Day Study aka nothing means anything 2026 Hugo Awards finalists top 11 banned books of 2025 (ALA) The Crystal Light collab, because sure, why not (wider trend of ‘interesting' collabs - Hellmans' Mayo, Yankee Candle, Prego - see block in flagship ) Practical Magic 2 trailer (vanessa hyperventilating) The Pitt's Dr Abbott (Shawn Hatosy) voicing audio erotica on Quinn app This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. Use code THEBOOKS for 20% off at Cozy Earth. Go to quince.com/bookriot for free shipping and 365-day returns. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
More exciting coverage of missing episodes….but this time not Doctor Who! Yes, a cutting copy of a 1968 episode of Morecambe & Wise has been discovered. But while a missing episode has been born anew, the past must fall as the Ianto shrine is finally disassembled with many a Ianto-ist in attendance along with Ianto himself, Gareth David Lloyd. Plus the usual Big Finish Zapruder-ing, Peter Capaldi and Cush Jumbo on Canadian TV, and our feature interview with Blake's 7 Production Diary Series C with creators Jonathan Helm and Grahame Robertson! Maximum Power! Links: Support Radio Free Skaro on Patreon Film is Fabulous uncovers missing episode of Morecambe and Wise Torchwood fans mark the end of Ianto Jones shrine in Cardiff Bay – but a twist for the future is teased Documentary being made about the dismantling of the Ianto Shrine Artist Nathen Wyburn will be making an art piece from the Ianto Shrine Doctor Who Magazine Special 73: 30 Years of the Eighth Doctor released The Black Archive: The Daleks released The Celestial Toymaker ep 4 debuted on the Classic Doctor Who YouTube Channel (US Only) Peter Capaldi and Cush Jumbo on The Social (CTV) Big Finish: Doctor Who – The Sixth Doctor Adventures: Expulsion available now Big Finish: The Worlds of Doctor Who – Zygon Century: Transformation available now Big Finish: The Worlds of Doctor Who – Gallifrey: War Room: Loyalties due Jun 2026 Big Finish: The Worlds of Doctor Who – Planet Krynoid: Survivors due Jun 2026 Jess Jurkovic's A Guide to Tristram Cary's Daleks' Master Plan OST Eps 1-4 2026 Hugo Awards shortlist Interview: Blake's 7 Production Diary – Series C Jon Helm Grahame Robertson
A seasoned trapper finds a doorway to a richer land—but something on the other side is already feeding and watching. When the hunting turns both ways, he must decide whether to claim the new world or survive it. Cat and Mouse by Ralph Williams. That's next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast.Lost Sci-Fi Premium members can listen to Cat and Mouse and the other 520 episodes of the podcast without commercials. Bonus episodes for premium members too. It's less than 20 cents a day to be a Lost Sci-Fi Premium subscriber.Go to https://lostscifi.com/premium or click on the link in the description and enjoy a 7 day free trial.
Is Project Hail Mary the Sci-Fi Event of the Year?
An old spaceman lies dying while a rocket prepares for launch nearby. As the final countdown approaches, he fights for one last moment that proves his life in space meant something. Death of a Spaceman by Walter M. Miller Jr. That's next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast.Someone bought us 5 coffees, “What a delight to find your podcast recently! I love these vintage stories that you have resurrected. You do a fine job with narration - each of the different characters sounds distinctive. It's become my habit to check for your latest story almost daily - and I also have hundreds of unheard stories in your podcast to enjoy.More coffees will be bought for you in the future!”Thank you Someone! Happy to hear you enjoy the narration and we will keep the vintage sci-fi coming. If you would like to buy us a coffee there is a link in the description.Walter M. Miller Jr. is best known for A Canticle for Leibowitz, his only novel published during his lifetime, which won the 1961 Hugo Award for Best Novel. Today's story was published a few years earlier during the period when Miller was producing some of his most powerful short fiction for pulp magazines.From the March 1954 issue of Amazing Stories, turn to page 6 for Death of a Spaceman by Walter M. Miller Jr. …Next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, A brilliant alien intelligence has quietly crossed impossible distances, and Earth has no idea it has already been chosen. When one man uncovers the truth, stopping what's coming may require more than courage—it may demand everything. The Gate to Xoran by Hal K. Wells.☕ Buy Me a Coffee - https://lostscifi.com/coffee===========================
This month we read Green Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson, which won the Hugo for best novel in 1994 and definitely meets the technical definition of "a novel." DM: Lori Don't forget we're still running a fundraiser! Naomi Kritzer shared a roundup of options for folks from outside Minnesota. You could also support the ACLU or another organization or fundraiser that's meaningful to you. Hugo Award nominations close Saturday, March 28, 2026 at 9:00am Pacific Time / 12:00pm Eastern Time / 4:00pm GMT. More info here. The next 4 episodes will be - April - Battleship (the 2012 movie starring Rihanna) May - Paladin of Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold June - Downbelow Station by CJ Cherryh July - Rainbows End by Vernor Vinge Music by Pets of Belonging Transcript library Join us on Discord! If you can't get in, please send us an email at hugogirlpodcast at gmail dot com.
He was sent into orbit to assemble the machine that would save what was left of civilization—but finishing the job may mean never coming home. With his oxygen running thin and the world turning silently below him, one decision will decide who controls humanity's future. A Long Way Back by Ben Bova. That's next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast.Before he became one of the most respected names in modern hard science fiction, Ben Bova was a kid growing up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, born November 8, 1932, discovering the future one pulp magazine at a time.Like many writers of his generation, Bova fell in love with science fiction as a reader first. That early fascination stayed with him. He studied journalism at Temple University, served in the U.S. Army, and eventually stepped into publishing — not just as a writer, but as an editor who would help shape the direction of the field itself.Ben Bova wrote more than 100 short stories and more than 20 novels. He didn't write about magical futures. He wrote about futures we could build.But before his reputation as a novelist took off, he became one of the most influential editors in science fiction history.In 1972, he succeeded John W. Campbell as editor of Analog Science Fiction and Fact — a monumental moment in the genre. Under Bova's leadership, Analog continued its tradition of serious, science-based storytelling. For his editorial work, he won the Hugo Award for Best Professional Editor six consecutive times, from 1973 through 1978.Bova also served as President of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.Today's story was his very first science fiction short story — the beginning of a career that would span decades and help define modern hard science fiction.From Amazing Science Fiction Stories in February 1960 our story begins on page 6, A Long Way Back by Ben Bova…Next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, An automated giant is crippled in space, and the only man who can save it swore he would never touch a liner again. To keep hundreds alive, Pop Gillette must prove that instinct still outruns machinery. Patch by William Shedenhelm.===========================☕ Buy Me a Coffee - https://lostscifi.com/coffee