PodCastle 576: When Leopard’s-Bane Came to the Door of Third Heaven Author : Vajra Chandrasekera Narrator : Peter Behravesh Host : Setsu Uzume Audio Producer : Peter Behravesh Discuss on Forums Previously published by Liminal. Rated: PG-13, f… We stand at attention all day at the top of the green tower. L and I stand on either side of the door to the third nonsensual heaven. The rifle is heavy and I develop a lean as the day wears on, until L hisses at me from the far side of the door and…

PodCastle 577: Temptation Author : Karuna Riazi Narrator : Farah Naz Rishi Host : Khaalidah Muhammad-Ali Audio Producer : Peter Behravesh Discuss on Forums PodCastle 577: Temptation is a PodCastle original. Rated PG-13. A special episode in … When was the last time food glided over her tongue? It was funny how Kayla couldn’t even remember what it was she ate. via Pocket

PodCastle 578: The Bone Poet and God Author : Matt Dovey Narrator : Eliza Chan Host : Setsu Uzume Audio Producer : Peter Behravesh Discuss on Forums Originally published in Sword and Sonnet. Rated PG. The Bone Poet and God by Matt Dovey Ur… Ursula lifted her snout to look at the mountain. via Pocket

PodCastle 579: I Am Not I — Part 1 Author : G. V. Anderson Narrator : Tatiana Grey Host : Setsu Uzume Audio Producer : Peter Behravesh Discuss on Forums Previously published by The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. Rated R, for human p… I found the emporium on old Tanners Row. A prime location, to be sure — within pissing distance from a Saps’ slum. Its proprietor, Madame Qlym, boasted better pickings in her own back garden than any other acristologist in the city. via Pocket

PodCastle 587: Strange Waters Author : Samantha Mills Narrator : C. L. Clark Host : Setsu Uzume Audio Producer : Peter Behravesh Discuss on Forums Originally published in Strange Horizons. Rated: PG, for a parent guiding herself home. Strang… Fisherwoman Mika Sandrigal was lost at sea. She knew where she was in relation to the Candorrean coastline and how to navigate back to her home city, Maelstrom. She knew the time of day. She knew the season. She knew the phase of the moon and the pa…

PodCastle 588: Willing Author : Premee Mohamed Narrator : Peter Behravesh Host : Setsu Uzume Audio Producer : Peter Behravesh Discuss on Forums First published in Principia Ponderosa anthology by Third Flatiron Press, March 2017. Rated: PG-13… Bought bred, the new cow had cost three thousand dollars, and so as night fell with no sign of the calf, it was Arnold himself who trudged back and forth between the house and the barn, waving away the hired hands. via Pocket

PodCastle 564, ARTEMIS RISING: One More Song Author : Eliza Chan Narrator : Sofia Quintero Host : Elora Gatts Audio Producer : Peter Behravesh Artist : Yuumei Discuss on Forums Previously published by World Weaver Press in their Sirens anthol… After Mira closed the door the selkie shed her skin, leaving the mottled grey fur in a heap like stepped-out-of work clothes. Mira handed her one of the many robes hanging on the hat stand and kept her eyes on her blue and green rug, only catching g… via FREE Fiction / Raindrop.io https://raindrop.io PodCastle 564, ARTEMIS RISING One More Song - PodCastle via Instapaper https://ift.tt/2SPd5vt

PodCastle 565, ARTEMIS RISING: I Am Fire; I Am Tears Author : Wendy Nikel Narrator : Veronica Giguere Host : Ace Ratcliff Audio Producer : Peter Behravesh Artist : Yuumei Discuss on Forums PodCastle 565, ARTEMIS RISING: I Am Fire; I Am Tears … Ulykke crouched in the darkness, just beyond the sunray’s reach. Before her, along the forest path, an entourage of huntresses passed on horseback, armed with arrows and blades of finest silver and armor too strong for even Ulykke’s teeth to pierce.… via FREE Fiction / Raindrop.io https://raindrop.io PodCastle 565, ARTEMIS RISING I Am Fire; I Am Tears - PodCastle via Instapaper https://ift.tt/2u4wyOH

PodCastle 566, ARTEMIS RISING DOUBLE FEATURE: Starr Striker Should Remain Capitol City’s Resident Superhero, by Keisha Cole, 10th Grade Student; All the Fishes Singing Authors : Amanda Helms and Hester J. Rook Narrators : Maxine L. Moore and Nadia… Despite the call to ban Starr Striker from Capitol City for “attacking” Captain Thunder, she should remain our resident superhero. She tweets cute baby octopus pictures every Thursday. via Pocket

PodCastle 567, ARTEMIS RISING: The Weaver Retires Author : Kai Hudson Narrator : Jen R. Albert Host : Setsu Uzume Audio Producer : Peter Behravesh Artist : Yuumei Discuss on Forums PodCastle 567, ARTEMIS RISING: The Weaver Retires is a PodCas… They come from all over: exotic, far-off places with names Weisa can barely pronounce. Australia. Japan. Venezuela. Last week, some alien-sounding place called Pen-sil-vay-ni-yah. Her grandson Ashti says they come because she’s famous. via Pocket

PodCastle 568: The Pull of the Herd Author : Suzan Palumbo Narrator : S.B. Divya Host : Setsu Uzume Audio Producer : Peter Behravesh Discuss on Forums Originally published at Anathema. Content warning for violence against women. Rated: PG-13… My doeskin calls to me from under the woollen blankets in the cedar chest at the foot of our bed. Diya murmurs beside me, eases back to sleep. I cling to her, try to calm the panic welling in my chest by inhaling her cardamom scent. via Pocket

PodCastle 580: I Am Not I — Part 2 Author : G. V. Anderson Narrator : Tatiana Grey Host : Setsu Uzume Audio Producer : Peter Behravesh Discuss on Forums Previously published by The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. Rated: R, for human … I shook the bees from my jacket; they’d got cosy in my pockets and inside the lining. “I’m quite well, I assure you,” I said. I didn’t feel well. The walls and furniture around me seemed to move although I stood still, and small noises crashed in my…

Flash Fiction Contest V Opens Today! The Escape Artists Flash Fiction Contest opens today! The contest will be taking submissions from today, April 15, 2019, and ending on April 30, 2019, at 11:59 p.m. EST. Remember, each author may submit one ori… The Escape Artists Flash Fiction Contest opens today! The contest will be taking submissions from today, April 15, 2019, and ending on April 30, 2019, at 11:59 p.m. EST. Remember, each author may submit one original fantasy story of 500 words or les…

via FREE Fiction / Raindrop.io https://raindrop.io In the grayest hour of the evening of April 16th, 1699, when the sun had just vanished behind the great château that embraced the city of Caen but before her lantern-bearers had taken up the hooks of their trade, a gargantuan woman stooped to fit th… PodCastle 431 La Héron - PodCastle via Instapaper http://bit.ly/2cCkuhH

PodCastle 569: TALES FROM THE VAULTS — The Yew’s Embrace Author : Francesca Forrest Narrator : Stephanie Malia Morris Host : Matt Dovey Audio Producers : Peter Behravesh and Peter Wood Discuss on Forums Originally published in Strange Horizons… We could still see the old king’s blood in the cracks in the flagstones beneath the new king’s feet when he announced to us all that this was a unification, not a conquest, and that we had nothing to fear from the soldiers that fenced us round. via …

PodCastle 570: Elegy for a Slaughtered Swine Author : Rafaela Ferraz Narrator : Carlo Matos Host : Setsu Uzume Audio Producer : Peter Behravesh Discuss on Forums PodCastle 570: Elegy for a Slaughtered Swine is a PodCastle original. Rated PG-1… Men do not often cook, out behind these hills. It’s women’s domain, the kitchen, but they’ve shown me the ways of all that is theirs to rule. I could cook up a soup or a curse without leaving this room. The former is simple. Cabbage and potato and s…

PodCastle 571: The Guitar Hero Author : Maria Haskins Narrator : Setsu Uzume Host : Hamilton Perez Audio Producer : Peter Behravesh Discuss on Forums Previously published by Kaleidotrope. Rated PG-13. The first time Bella, Alice, and I exorc… The first time Bella, Alice, and I exorcised a demon it was an accident: a pentagram doodled backstage, some quotes from The Exorcist, and suddenly that vocalist from the band we were opening for wasn’t quite himself anymore. Who knew hellfire was s…

PodCastle 572: Into the Wind Author : Marie Brennan Narrator : Karen Bovenmyer Host : Setsu Uzume Audio Producer : Peter Behravesh Discuss on Forums Children of a Different Sky, edited by Alma Alexander. Rated PG. Into the Wind by Marie Bre… The tenements presented a blank face to the border: an unbroken expanse of wall, windowless, gapless, resolutely blind to the place that used to be Oneua. via Pocket

PodCastle 573: The Court Magician Author : Sarah Pinsker Narrator : Dave Robison Host : Setsu Uzume Audio Producer : Peter Behravesh Discuss on Forums Originally published by Lightspeed and a 2019 Hugo Finalist for Best Short Story. Rated PG-… The boy who will become court magician this time is not a cruel child. Not like the last one, or the one before her. He never stole money from Blind Carel’s cup, or thrashed a smaller child for sweets, or kicked a dog. via Pocket

PodCastle 575: A Toy Princess Author : Mary de Morgan Narrator : Eleanor Wood Host : Setsu Uzume Audio Producer : Peter Behravesh This story is in the public domain. Rated G. A Toy Princess By Mary de Morgan (1850–1907) More than a thousand… More than a thousand years ago, in a country quite on the other side of the world, it fell out that the people all grew so very polite that they hardly ever spoke to each other. via Pocket PodCastle 575 A Toy Princess - PodCastle via Instapaper http://bit.ly/2WjBtuZ

Escape Artists Flash Fiction Contest V The Escape Artists Flash Fiction Contest is back for a fifth time, and it’s PodCastle’s turn! The contest will be taking submissions beginning April 15, 2019, and ending on April 30, 2019, at 11:59 p.m. EST. E… The Escape Artists Flash Fiction Contest is back for a fifth time, and it’s PodCastle’s turn! The contest will be taking submissions beginning April 15, 2019, and ending on April 30, 2019, at 11:59 p.m. EST. Each author may submit one original fanta…

PodCastle Has Been Nominated for a Parsec Award! The finalists for the Parsec Award have been announced and PodCastle is twice-nominated! Both “A Non-Hero’s Guide to the Road of Monsters” by A. T. Greenblatt, narrated by Mike Flinchum, and “Six Job… The finalists for the Parsec Award have been announced and PodCastle is twice-nominated! Both “A Non-Hero’s Guide to the Road of Monsters” by A. T. via Pocket PodCastle Has Been Nominated for a Parsec Award! - PodCastle via Instapaper https://ift.tt/2NBT8ph

PodCastle has won, and is declining, the Parsec Award PodCastle has had an extraordinary year. We’ve published some amazing stories. We ran our fourth Artemis Rising. We were nominated for a World Fantasy Award. And just this week, we learned that … PodCastle has won, and is declining, the Parsec Award - PodCastle via Instapaper http://bit.ly/2BA5FWa PodCastle has had an extraordinary year. We’ve published some amazing stories. We ran our fourth Artemis Rising. We were nominated for a World Fantasy Award. via Pocket

ARTEMIS RISING 5: Call for Submissions In March 2019, Escape Artists will bring you ARTEMIS RISING for a fifth year. This special month-long event across all four Escape Artists podcasts is a celebration of stories written by women, in the broadest… In March 2019, Escape Artists will bring you ARTEMIS RISING for a fifth year. This special month-long event across all four Escape Artists podcasts is a celebration of stories written by women, in the broadest definition of the word. via Pocket

PodCastle 656: What My Flies Keep for Me Author : Shaoni C. White Narrator : Abra Staffin-Wiebe Host : Setsu Uzume Audio Producer : Peter Behravesh Discuss on Forums PodCastle 656: What My Flies Keep for Me is a PodCastle original. Content Wa… What My Flies Keep For Me By Shaoni C. White There’s a dead body on the floor. This is a bad thing. I’m having trouble recalling why that’s the case, but I’m sure it’ll come back to me soon. via Pocket

Just Like The Speeding Heart by Osahon Ize-Iyamu It’s seven A.M. and you’re making akara and tea, just for yourself and not for the two of us. You ask if it’s time, and it is, but I won’t tell you that. Let you be silent and make your tea and not speak. Let you be […]

Seven Kinds of Baked Goods by Maria Haskins.  Narrated by J.S. Arquin.  #Fantasy #Fiction #Podcast #Poison #Assassins #Dwarves #Blades   "The smell of mold and winter-stored potatoes chokes me as I dangle across the high-cantled saddle; the coarse fabric of the sack chafing my face and hands, the rag stuffed in my mouth ensuring I can't even complain about the bumping and bruising.      Yet even now, even here, I wouldn't change a thing about the life I've lived, if the chance were given.  After all, it has to count for something that I'm the only Dwarven crafter ever to cause more deaths with flaky pastry than a well-honed blade."   Maria Haskins is a Swedish-Canadian writer and translator.  She writes speculative fiction and poetry, and lives just outside Vancouver with a husband, two kids, and a very large black dog.  Her work has appeared in Flash Fiction Online, Shimmer, Cast of Wonders, and elsewhere.  Find her online at .   Please help support The Overcast.  Subscribe on or so you never miss an episode.  Don't forget to leave a review while you're there!    

Straw Spun by Leah Cypess ‭Alina unfolded the letter slowly and with great care:‭ ‬it was very old,‭ ‬and‭ ‬felt thin and fragile under her steady fingertips.‭ ‬Her heart was pounding in a way unfamiliar to her,‭ ‬and not just because of the whispers she had heard on the way to the throne room:‭ ‬gold […]