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

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 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 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

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

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 605: Blood, Bone, Seed, Spark Author : Aimee Ogden Narrator : Dani Daly Host : C. L. Clark Audio Producer : Peter Behravesh Discuss on Forums Previously published by Beneath Ceaseless Skies. Violence, sex, and graphic content relate… Upstairs, in the little rowhouse on the thirty-sixth meridian of the city of Leth Marno, the scuffling grows louder. Heels ring out against the floorboards, and shouts are muffled; by the rugs, perhaps, or a hand that grasps to cover a mouth. via Po…

Ten Things I Didn’t Do By Maria Haskins I didn’t die. I promised you I wouldn’t, so I didn’t. I know you said the words in jest when you dropped me off at school, “Don’t die, honey!”, with that hoarse laugh and sideways wink you do, but I rolled my eyes and said “OK, mom, […]

En Plein Air by J. T. Glover A gust of wind boiled off the James without warning, flattening cattails and clumps of spikerush as it swirled around the inlet where I was painting, and of course it caught my canvas. The morning’s work rushed away from me like a sailboat before a storm, taking my […]

Greener Pastures by Michael Wehunt “You ever can’t sleep?” the trucker said. Forsyth glanced up out of his thoughts. The man standing at his table was big and worn out, his eyes raw and heavy even in the shadow of his cap’s bill. He had a young face with an old beard matted on the […]

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 […]