It’s a huge week at Escape Artists this week, so let’s jump straight in. With a new section!

Teaser image! We’ve commissioned a special piece of art for the upcoming Artemis Rising 2 season. It’s stunning work from a Hugo-nominated artist. We’ll be offering prints for a limited time. Much more on this soon…

Episode 516: Married by Helena Bell and read by Khaalidah Muhammad-Ali

This is one of those precision pieces of fiction that haunts you long after it’s done. Helena has captured the feeling of a soft singularity; a gradual evolution that’s no less comfortable for that. Subtle, haunting and beautifully read by Podcastle’s magnificent Khaalidah.

Also the new Escape Pod flash fiction contest is go! Everything you need to know to enter is right here.

Episode 473: Sack Race to the River by Chris Kuriata and read by Spencer Disparti

Speaking of haunting… Chris’ story is one you never see coming. It’s a calm, measured descent into Hell wrapped around the everyday love of family and what we’ll do to protect the people that matter to us. Effortlessly nasty, this is an early front runner for my Top Ten stories of the year.

Episode 397: In The Woods Behind My House by Nicolette Barischoff and read by Steve Anderson

One of the first authors I latched onto growing up was Ed McBain. McBain had an incredible talent for opening lines that grabbed you by the lapels and refused to let you go. I have a stack of delightfully tatty 87th Precinct novels somewhere that testify to his skill.

Nicolette Barischoff has the same ability. But where McBain went for the pulpy face punch of an opening line, she draws you in with the combination of real life and the fantastic. I’ve rarely been more hooked by a story in two paragraphs. Amazing work and brilliantly read by Steve Anderson.

Episode 398: Flower of Flowers, Bird of Birds by Alicia Cole and read by Rajan Khanna

Food is a door into culture. Learn about the food people eat and you learn about the people. It’s a vibrant, delicious approach that not enough authors focus on. Alicia Cole uses the ritual practices surrounding the harvesting of eggs as a springboard into a world that’s richly detailed, realized and involving. All of which is delivered by Rajan’s perfect vocals.

Issue 2 cover reveal! Go! Click! Marvel! Order!

January is Staff Picks month at Cast of Wonders and they’ve pulled some amazing stories from 2015 this year. Each episode is guest hosted by a member of the team too so if you want to get to know not just what Cast of Wonders does but who does it, then listen to these.

(Also two of these are narrated by me and I’m really pleased because they were BIG fun to do).

Episode 186: A School Story by M.R. James, read by Alasdair Stuart and picked by Barry J. Northern

A classic ghost story from the king of classic ghost stories. James excelled at the polite refusal to acknowledge horror until you had no choice but to. I love this story and it was a pleasure to read.

Episode 187: The Haunted Jalopy Races by M. Bennardo, read by Alasdair Stuart and picked by Graeme Dunlop

With a title like that you’re already on a winner. But what M. Bennardo does here is subtler and far nastier than you might think. I read a lot of horror but this is one of the stories I can still remember point for point, months later.

Episode 188: Above Decks by Terry Ibele, read by Phil Lunt and picked by Dani Daly

Terry Ibele excels at finding fun, and nasty, corners of steampunk to explore and this story is one of my favorites from last year. The mighty Phil Lunt does great work on narration too, chewing on the villains’ lines with glorious relish.

Episode 189: Amicae Aethernum by Ellen Klages,  read by  Rikki LaCoste, Isis LaCoste and Fiona “Princess Scientist” Van Verth and picked by Rikki LaCoste

One of the single best written, narrated and produced episodes of any audio fiction I’ve ever heard. Ellen Klages’ story is needlepoint delicate, suspended in the last moments of a last summer and using that to tell a very familiar story in a unique way. The text is perfect, the narration is stunning and the audio production is a showcase of what podcasting can do.

Episode 190: Home Isn’t by Kelly Sandoval, read and picked by Katherine Inskip

Short stories at their best are transcendent. Crystal clear text that explores complex ideas with economy, intelligence and compassion. This piece, again, is an extraordinarily clever examination of a familiar trope. Clever, melancholy and wonderful.

 

And that’s the (huge!) EA week. As ever you can find our back catalogues online through the links. Dive in and, if you can, please subscribe, donate and maybe throw us a review at iTunes. It all helps to keep us doing what we love. See you next week.

 

 

 

 

And that’s the EA week. As ever you can find our back catalogues on line through the links so do dive in and, if you can, please subscribe, donate and maybe throw us a review at itunes. It all helps to keep us doing what we love and as you can see, we really, really love what we do.