Words Never Lost by DaVaun Sanders Imala spat on the schoolhouse’s brittle timbers as she passed, slipping behind the Tyre Orphan School’s woeful outbuildings and through the fence. A lashing awaited anyone caught here, but she had broken her promise to meet Vachaspah one too many times. The soft crack of fledgling bone pulled her …

Burning Season By C. L. Clark It was burning season in Rashid. Again. Even in the shop, I could smell the smoke. Can you believe I used to like the smell of burning paper? With my eyes closed, I can still see pages glow red before they burst into flame and curl into ash until …

One Day, My Dear, I’ll Shower You With Rubies by Langley Hyde “Elusia Cooper,” she said. “I’m the only child of the accused, Verus Bloodrain.” Her father, clean-shaven and dark-haired, sat at the defendant’s bench. He looked exactly as he had when Fort Beatitude had fallen, about thirty years old, but then magic would do …

When Shadow Confronts Sun By Farah Naz Rishi [Allah] will say, “Enter among nations which had passed on before you of jinn and mankind into the Fire.” Every time a nation enters, it will curse its sister until, when they have all overtaken one another therein, the last of them will say about the first …

PodCastle 558: A Place to Grow

PodCastle 557: The Griffin and the Minor Canon

PodCastle 556: Shadow Boy

The Half Dark Promise by Malon Edwards The first thing Bobby Brightsmith told me when I moved to the South Side of Chicago from La Petite Haïti with Manmi was to run like a scalded dog if I ever saw zonbi la in the half dark on the way home from school. See, when Bobby …

PodCastle 555: Candied Sweets, Cornbread, and Black-Eyed Peas

For Your Consideration: PodCastle Award Eligibility 2018

PodCastle 554: Hosting the Solstice

PodCastle 553: Grounded Women Never Fly

PodCastle 552: The Watchers

Every House, a Home By Evan Dicken “I guess nobody wants haunted houses, anymore.” Derek checked his reflection in one of the Cape Cod’s filmy windows, teasing his hair back to mussy perfection. He glanced back at me. “That was a joke, Natalie.” I gave him my best approximation of a smile. He blew out …

The Blue Widow By J. P. Sullivan It was good tea, all things considered, and I really did admire his efforts at being a good host — but the fact was, I was there to kill him. This was, unfortunately, something of a trend in the profession. He spoke with the confidence of his kind. “You’ve …

The Last Exorcist by Danny Lore Author’s Note: This piece was commissioned and then declined by a prominent magazine. The only information that has been altered/omitted are locations, as those have been deemed a national security risk. Re-post and share at will. Naheem is our last great exorcist. When you point this fact out to …

The Original Science Fiction Podcast

PodCastle 549: Fixer, Worker, Singer

Ellie watches her husband from the front porch. He makes a lean shadow against the twilight, his arms outstretched, his heels lifting from the ground and dropping again. The wind rustles the branches of the trees overhead, their limbs picked clean o…

PodCastle 546: For the Removal of Unwanted Guests

PodCastle 545: The Aunties Return the Ocean

PodCastle 544: Waters of Versailles — Part 3

PodCastle 543: Waters of Versailles — Part 2

PodCastle 542: Waters of Versailles — Part 1

PodCastle 541: Andromache and the Dragon

PodCastle 540: Flash Fiction Extravaganza! The Three Phases of Equinox

PodCastle 539: Godfall

It has come to our attention, through multiple channels, that the current incarnation of Artemis Rising 5 has caused harm to members of our community. Thanks to Bogi Takács’s eloquent explanation of how to bring more voices to the table, we are examining the best way to repair the trust we’ve broken. We appreciate the […]

PodCastle 538: Itself at the Heart of Things