The Best of Pseudopod 2018

written by David Steffen

Pseudopod is the weekly horror podcast edited by Shawn Garrett and Alex Hofelich.

In February Pseudopod once again participated in the Artemis Rising theme across the Escape Artists podcasts, publishing horror stories by women (including some originals picked out from a special slushpile just for this purpose).

Pseudopod publishes episodes weekly, with occasional Flash on the Borderlands episodes that collect 3 similar-themed flash stories for a single episode, for a total of 63 stories published in 2018, by my count.

Stories that are eligible for this year’s Hugo and Nebula Awards are marked with an asterisk (*), all of which would be credited to Pseudopod as the original publisher.

The List

1. “Emperor All” by Evan Marcroft*
What would you do if you realized you could control everything with your mind?

2. “The Good Mothers’ Home For Wayward Girls” by Izzy Wasserstein*
You don’t want to be the new girl.

3. “Fool’s Fire” by Tim Pratt
Modern day will o’ wisp tales.

4. “Beyond the Dead Reef” by James Tiptree Jr.
Classic horror from one of the masters.

5. “The Challenge From Beyond” by H.P. Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, C.L. Moore, A. Merritt, and Frank Belknap Long
An epic story written round-robin style by some of the most famous writers of their time.

6. “Free Balloons For All Good Children” by Dirck de Lint*
There’s no so thing as a free lunch.

Honorable Mentions

“The Town Manager” by Thomas Ligotti

“Mofongo Knows” by Grady Hendrix

“A Visit to the Catacombs of Via Altamonvecchi” by Joe Weintraub

The Best of Beneath Ceaseless Skies Podcast 2017-2018

written by David Steffen

Beneath Ceaseless Skies published has been publishing other-world fantasy since 2008, and has been edited by Scott H. Andrews since its launch. They publish about half of their stories in audio, so if you like what you read here there is more stories that weren’t even considered on the BCS website. This post covers two years of Beneath Ceaseless Skies–they didn’t publish quite enough stories in audio in 2017 for a full list. Over that two year period, BCS published 42 stories on their podcast.

The stories that are eligible for this year’s science fiction awards (like the Hugo and Nebula) are marked with an asterisk if they are short stories(*). BCS publishes all original fiction, but only that was first published in the 2018 calendar year is eligible.

The List

1. “Carnival Nine” by Caroline M. Yoachim
An incredible heart-wrenching story about what family and what you will do for the ones you love, focused on a family of clockwork people.

2. “That Lingering Sweetness” by Tony Pi
Another excellent entry in this series of a confectioner magician who bargains with zodiac spirits.

3. “On the Road to the Hell of Hungry Ghosts” by Richard Parks
Another in a series of great stories about a father-daughter monster hunting team.

4. “Penitents” by Rich Larson*
A post-apocalyptic science fantasy story about who and what are left behind, bizarre and interesting.

5. “In Memory of Jianhong, Snake-Devil” by Richard Parks
The same series as #3, be sure to read them in order.

Honorable Mentions

“An Account of the Madness of the Magistrate, Chengdu Village” by Richard Parks*
Yet another in that series, obviously I quite liked the series.

The Best of Uncanny Magazine Podcast

written by David Steffen

Uncanny Magazine is an online Science Fiction and Fantasy magazine with a commitment to diversity. Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damien Thomas are the co-publishers and co-editors-in-chief, and Michi Trota is the managing editor. The first issue of Uncanny Magazine was published in November 2014. Uncanny Magazine has already been nominated for and won multiple SF/F awards, including winning the Hugo Award for Best Semiprozine, and multiples stories first published there nominated in the Hugo story categories, winning a Parsec award, as well as being a finalist for World Fantasy Award and Locus Award.

They release monthly issues, in ebook format, online, and two of the stories every month in the podcast. Every episode of the podcast features an update on what the Thomases are up to which varies in length between about two minutes and twenty, which includes any publishing changes, convention travel, mention of current events (usually regarding publishing or politics). Then, the story (sometimes two), the poem, and an interview (often of the author of the story, but that may not always be true).

This list is based on the list of all of the stories published on the podcast only since the beginning of the podcast, which comes to about 50 stories. This list is not based on stories that Uncanny Magazine published in ebook/online formats that weren’t on the podcast, so if you like what you read here, you should certainly go read more of their fiction that wasn’t considered for this list. This list also doesn’t include poetry because I am a terrible judge of poetry.

The List

1. “Big Thrull and the Askin’ Man” by Max Gladstone
The dialect of the narrative voice of this one took a little bit getting used to, but the incredible reading by Heath Miller helped sell this a lot, he pulled the dialect off splendidly. The story follows Big Thrull, who is a legendarily tough member of a legendarily tough race that is heavily based on customs and values toughness and straightforwardness, who invites the “Askin’ Man” into her home as a guest who is of a culture and toughness that we would call more ordinary who knows how to ask the right questions to get what he wants. Big Thrull has to quickly become acquainted the slippery slope of giving small favors.

2. “When the Circus Lights Down” by Sarah Pinsker
The circus is a living thing, and the big top tent lights down from the sky and attracts the nearby residents to come and visit before lighting off again sometime in the near future.

3. “Auspicium Melioris Aevi” by JY Yang
Harry Lee Kuan Yew is being rigorously tested. Not just this Harry Lee, but the dozens of other Harry Lees before him, tested against various battle simulations the original Harry Lee had faced up against, and scored and ranked to determine their future fates.

4. “The Tale of the Three Beautiful Raptor Sisters and the Prince Who Was Made of Meat” by Brooke Bolander
Three velociraptor sisters live together in the wilderness. One day, a vapid and arrogant prince discovers them there, and after they eat his horse he seems so helpless one of the sisters helps him find his way home. Hilarious and fun, and with Bolander’s distinctive voice.

5. “Wooden Feathers” by Ursula Vernon
A woman carves wooden ducks to sell at local fairs. Every single day an old man buys the cheapest one she has on display with barely a word. What is he doing with all of those ducks? This story has one of the best and most surprising moments, where the story suddenly shifts from a curious mystery to something much different. (full disclosure: I reprinted this story in The Long List Anthology Volume 2: More Stories From the Hugo Award Nomination List)

Honorable Mentions

“Pipecleaner Sculptures and Other Necessary Work” by Tina Connolly

“Pockets” by Amal El-Mohtar
(full disclosure: I reprinted this story in The Long List Anthology Volume 2: More Stories From the Hugo Award Nomination List)

“Down and Out in R’lyeh” by Catherynne M. Valente
Another story read by Heath Miller who did an incredible job selling the voice on a story that might’ve been difficult to read. The story uses “squamous” to mean very drunk, and especially with Miller’s reading voice, it really works.

The Best of Toasted Cake 2015-2017

written by David Steffen

Toasted Cake is back! After the last Best of Toasted Cake list for the year 2014, Tina Connolly decided to put her idiosyncratic podcast on hiatus. With a young child in the house and books on deadline, Tina needed to find more time. But she has missed it enough, and she has decided to run Toasted Cake for a school year run, and revived the podcast in September for that reason. So, this list covers the last few months before hiatus in 2015, the one story Toasted Cake slipped quietly into the feed in 2016, and the fall portion of the school year run of the revival, for a total of 35 stories considered for this list.

Toasted Cake has already raised author pay rates, so now pays at least 1 cent/word, which is also exciting. It sounds like Tina might want to run the podcast longer term if there’s some Patreon support, so if you love some weird flash fiction you might want to consider tossing in a couple bucks a month.

Toasted Cake did publish one of my own stories, my only original story published in 2017, “Cake, and Its Implications” published just before the end of the year, a funny flash story about an android who loves cake. But of course I don’t consider my own fiction for these lists.

Note that I did end up including a story that Toasted Cake reprinted that I originally published (#2 on the list). I decided to make the list one item longer than it would usually be to accomodate for this, so that a story I published wouldn’t bump another off the list.

Every short story that is eligible for Hugo nominations this year which were first published by Toasted Cake are marked with an asterisk (*).

Welcome back, Tina, and long live Toasted Cake!

The List

1. “Un Opera nello Spazio (A Space Opera)” by Oliver Buckram
A space opera that’s an actual opera.

2. “St. Roomba’s Gospel” by Rachael K. Jones
A sentient Roomba lives in a church and tries to help preach the gospel to the congregation.

3. “Copy Machine” by Shane Halbach
What would you do if you could copy yourself?

4. “Carla at the Off-Planet Tax Return Helpline” by Caroline M. Yoachim
The story is exactly what the title sounds like. 🙂

5. “Beholder” by Sarah Grey
In a world where everything is defined by social media popularity, how do those of us who are less savvy get along?

6. “So You Have Been Claimed By a Magical Cat” by Beth Cato*
Also exactly what the title sounds like. 🙂

Honorable Mentions

“Gunfight Over an 8-bit Rhythm Two-Step Skank at the O.K. Corral” by Ken Brady

The Best of Cast of Wonders 2017

written by David Steffen

Cast of Wonders is the YA branch of the Escape Artists podcasts, edited by Marguerite Kenner, covering all speculative genres and aiming to appeal to YA audiences. I think their definition of YA is significantly broader than most, which I see as a positive thing–I had very broad tastes when I was a young adult, so it makes sense to me anyway.

After Cast of Wonders joined Escape Artists in 2016, they increased their pay rates which helped them become qualified as a SFWA-qualifying market, which is a great sign of progress.

In 2017 they produced weekly episodes very regularly, and during their Banned Books week they published a story a day for an extra stretch of bonus content, for a total of about 63 stories

Cast of Wonders reprinted one of my own stories in 2017, titled “Always There”, about a grandmother who has maybe died but not yet admitted it (it is an episode on the subject of grief).

Every short story that is eligible for Hugo and Nebula nominations this year which were first published by Podcastle are marked with an asterisk (*)

The List

1. “Lost In Translation” by Afalstein Kloosterman*
The ancient texts prophecying the chosen one are… hard to translate. This has caused some problems seeking the fulfillment of those prophecies.

2. “Random Play All and the League of Awesome” by Shane Halbach
Teenagers with debatable superpowers form a semi-superhero team.

3. “More Than Machines Will Fall to Rust” by Rachael K. Jones*
A pair of friends become superhero and archenemy, can they rekindle their friendship?

4. “The Scent that Treason Brings” by Holly Schofield*
A bookbinder in a hive society decides to rebel against the oppressive leadership.

5. “Cross the Street” by Marie Vibbert*
When city design makes it harder and harder for poor people to survive, it can become an obstacle to even get from place to place.

6. “Single Parent” by Sarah Gailey*
Great story about a widowed father trying his best who is called into his kid’s room and finds a real monster there.

Honorable Mentions

“Contractual Obligations” by Jaime O. Mayer*

“Brothers in Stitches” by Dantzel Cherry*

“Strong as Stone” by Effie Seiberg

The Best of Lightspeed Magazine Podcast 2017

written by David Steffen

Lightspeed Magazine is the award-nominated science fiction magazine edited by John Joseph Adams, and their podcast is produced by the excellent Skyboat Media. They publish about half of the stories they publish in text. They published about 47 stories in 2017.

The stories eligible for the upcoming Hugo award season are marked with an asterisk (*), with novelettes eligible for the season marked with a double asterisk (**), and novellas with a triple asterisk (***).

The List

1. “The Greatest One-Star Restaurant in the Whole Quadrant” by Rachael K. Jones*
Hilarious (in a very dark way) story of a ship of cyborgs trying to pass as a human restaurant ship in a remote part of the galaxy. Soon it becomes very clear that the priorities of the individual cyborgs are not aligned.

2. “Infinite Love Engine” by Joseph Allen Hill*
Fun and hilarious over-the-top space opera.

3. “The Dragon of Dread Peak” (and part 2) by Jeremiah Tolbert***
Sequel to Cavern of the Screaming Eye (should probably read that one first), this continues the adventures of a band of teenagers questing in the pockets of dungeon-space that open randomly.

4. “Cake Baby (a Kango and Sharon Adventure)” by Charlie Jane Anders*
Strapped for cash space crew for hire takes a job to get DNA from radiation-proof babies born into a religious group that denies modern technology. Very fun story.

5. “Probably Still the Chosen One” by Kelly Barnhill*
“You must wait here,” the Highest of the High Priests told her, before returning back through the magical doorway in her childhood home. But time works differently on different sides of a magical portal. How long would she have to wait?

Honorable Mentions

“Remote Presence” by Susan Palwick**

“The Heart’s Filthy Lesson” by Elizabeth Bear

The Best of Clarkesworld 2017

written by David Steffen

Another great year for Clarkesworld, lots of great stories by authors both familiar and new. Clarkesworld remains the most prolific of the podcasts I listen to, clocking in at 82 stories for the year of 2017, and with a much higher wordcount limit than most of the others, that comes to significantly more words. Neil Clarke continues as editor, and Kate Baker continues to produce, host, and narrate most of the episodes of the podcast.

They continue to publish monthly stories published from Chinese through a relationship with StoryCom, which have been among many of my favorites.

Every short story that is eligible for Hugo nominations this year which were first published by Clarkesworld are marked with an asterisk (*), novelettes are marked with a double-asterisk (**).

The List

1. “The Secret Life of Bots” by Suzanne Palmer**
A maintenance bot is given the major task of dealing with a major invading bioform on a ship, and is forced to consider the utility of improvisation.

2. “Who Won the Battle of Arsia Mons?” by Sue Burke **
Battlebots on Mars become a major reality program.

3. “A Series of Steaks” by Vina Jie-Min Prasad**
A 3-D printer forger is coerced under dire threat into forging a banquet of fine steaks for a major wedding.

4. “Some Remarks on the Reproductive Strategy of the Common Octopus” by Bogi Takács*
Octopus hive minds overcome the obstacles to octopus higher learning.

5. “Second Person, Present Tense” by Daryl Gregory
Science has shown that our lower brain functions “decide” what we’re going to do a fraction of a second before we have made the “conscious” decision. A new drug lengthens that delay indefinitely, making us question our definition of consciousness.

6. “The Bridgegroom” by Bo Balder**
A new caretaker of an intelligent bridge is tempted by its seductive words to betray those who employed him for that purpose.

7. “The Blood of a Martian” by Allen M. Steele
A hired guide on Mars takes a researcher to take DNA samples of the native Martians to determine how closely related they are to humans.

8. “The Waiting Stars” by Aliette de Bodard
Heartfelt explorations of the effects of imposing someone’s culture onto a person from another culture. This is one from de Bodard’s Xuya universe.

Honorable Mentions

“Shiomah’s Land” by Nisi Shawl

“Bonding With Morry” by Tom Purdom

“The Psychology Game” by Xia Jia, translated by Emily Jin and Ken Liu*

The Best of Escape Pod 2017

written by David Steffen

Escape Pod is the weekly science fiction podcast. At the beginning of 2017 it was edited by Norm Sherman, but when he stepped down from the role two co-editors have filled the positions: S.B. Divya and Mur Lafferty.

Escape Pod was already a qualifying market for writers to become members of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, but in 2017, its three sister podcasts joined the list as well, making all of Escape Artists’ ongoing publications qualifying markets!

In February Escape Pod once again participated in the Artemis Rising event across the Escape Artists podcasts, publishing fantasy stories written by women and nonbinary authors.

Escape Pod published a total of 52 stories in 2017.

Every short story that is eligible for Hugo nominations this year which were first published by Escape Pod are marked with an asterisk (*). If the original publisher was someone besides Escape Pod, the original publisher is noted in parentheses for award-eligible fiction.

The List

1. “Unit Two Does Her Makeup” by Laura Duerr*
I love a well-thought-out AI story, and this one is great, exploring the interaction between two AIs who have different roles in a company and how that affects nuances of their behavior and many minor choices affected by these values.

2. “Planetbound” by Nancy Fulda* (from the anthology Chasing Shadows)
Those living off-Earth have joined into a state of ongoing connectedness with their fellow human beings, and have become largely separate from those on the planet. One of those people come back to Earth so that everyone off-Earth can experience what it’s like.

3. “Red in Tooth and Cog” by Cat Rambo
A woman discovers an ecology of feral smart devices in the city park.

4. “Texts From the Ghost War” by Alex Yuschik*
Story told as wartime text messages with a mechwarrior.

5. “Trash Talk” by Holly Schofield
A story exploring how the economic disparity of the uses of advanced technology.

Honorable Mentions

“That Game We Played During the War” by Carrie Vaughn

“Vegetablemen in Peanut Town” by August Marion*

“A House of Her Own” by Bo Balder

The Best of Podcastle 2017

written by David Steffen

Podcastle is the weekly fantasy podcast published by Escape Artists. At the beginning of the year it was co-edited by Graeme Dunlop and Jen Albert. Partway through the year Graeme retired from the position and his co-editor seat was filled by Khaalidah Muhammad-Ali. As well as weekly full-length feature episodes, they also publish occasional standalone flash stories as bonus episodes, as well as triple flash stories for the occasional feature episode collection.

Because of an author pay-rate change in 2016, they qualified within 2017 as a qualifying market for the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, which means they have to meet certain criteria.

In February Podcastle once again participated in the Artemis Rising event across the Escape Artists podcasts, publishing fantasy stories written by women and nonbinary authors.

Podcastle has had a solid year; it was super hard to winnow the full list of 75 stories down to the necessary count.

Every short story that is eligible for Hugo nominations this year which were first published by Podcastle are marked with an asterisk (*), novelettes are marked with a double-asterisk. If the original publisher was someone besides Podcastle, the original publisher is noted in parentheses for award-eligible fiction.

The List

1. “How I Became Coruscating Queen of All the Realms, Pierced the Obsidian Night, Destroyed a Legendary Sword, and Saved My Heart’s True Love” by Baker & Dovey* (first published in No Shit There I Was)
Included in an anthology of bar-style exaggerated story, an over-the-top fun exaggerated epic fantasy.

2. “The Chaos Village” (and part 2) by M.K. Hutchins**
Neuro-atypical man ventures into the chaotic ever-shifting area feared by most to explore. Sequel to Golden Chaos.

3. “Home is a House That Loves You” by Rachael K. Jones*
Everyone turns into structures of their choice when they get older. You can live on to support your family long after your fleshy body passes away.

4. “All of the Cuddles With None of the Pain” by J.J. Roth*
Artificial companions mimic human babies that won’t grow up and leave you behind. But sometimes they become human…

5. “Winter Witch” by Matt Dovey*
The witch can’t fix everything, but sometimes she can make a difference.

6. “Zilal and the Many-Folded Puzzle Ship” by Charlotte Ashley*
An intricately built boat can be reconfigured in many different ways.

7. “Six Jobs” by Tim Pratt
Recruited for magical work at a young age, moving from job to job.

8. “Shadow Man, Sack Man, Half Dark, Half Light” by Malon Edwards* (first published in Shimmer)
A compelling dark story with less common monsters.

Honorable Mentions

“Blackbird Pastry” by Megan Branning*

“The Names of the Sky” by Matthew Claxton*

“A Whisper in the Weld” by Alix E. Harrow

“Maiden, Mother, Crone” by Ann Leckie and Rachel Swirsky

The Best of Pseudopod 2017

written by David Steffen

Pseudopod is the weekly horror podcast edited by Shawn Garrett and Alex Hofelich. 2016 marked some major moments in the podcast’s history. 2017 marked a major landmark for them when they were added to the SFWA list of professional short fiction publications, after raising their flash fiction pay rates to be in line with their pay rates for longer fiction, which means that all four of the Escape Artists podcasts are on the list–Escape Pod, Podcastle, Pseudopod, and Cast of Wonders.

After running a successful Kickstarter campaign in 2016 for their 10th anniversary to fun an anthology, that anthology went live in 2017, Of Mortal Things Unsung which included many Pseudopod favorites as well as some brand new original fiction. (My story “What Makes You Tick” that had previously appeared on Pseudopod was reprinted in the anthology.)

Pseudopod publishes episodes weekly, with occasional Flash on the Borderlands episodes that collect 3 similar-themed flash stories for a single episode, for a total of 66 stories published in 2017, by my count.

Stories that are eligible for this year’s Hugo and Nebula Awards are marked with an asterisk (*), all of which would be credited to Pseudopod as the original publisher.

The List

1. “Under the Rubble” by John Wiswell*
This story as told by survivors in a collapsed grocery store, which collapsed for reasons unknown.

2. “The Hole at the Top of the World” by Benjamin Blattberg*
What is at the top of Mount Everest? What will happen when the summit is reached?

3. “Granite Requires” by T.J. Berry*
Each kind of stone requires its own sacrifices, some much more extreme than others, to everyone who lives in this small town. Granite is among the most demanding.

4. “The Corpse Child” by Chris Kuriata*
It is believed that there is a cure of a sick child that involves placing the corpse of a child underneath their bed for the night. Does it really work?

5. “Passover” by Caspian Gray*
In a concentration camp, a worker finds a body that won’t burn.

6. “An Unsent Letter From an Unnamed Student” by Aaron Fox-Lerner*
Who decided who is the monster? What if both sides think that they’re haunted?

7. “Indiscretions” by Hillary Dodge*
All the little details in Mary’s day tell her something is wrong. But what is it?

Honorable Mentions

“Four Hours of a Revolution” by Premee Mohamed*

“A Howling Dog” by Nick Mamatas*

“When First He Laid Eyes” by Rachael K. Jones