PodCastle

PodCastle was the third show conceived by Escape Artists, Inc. founder, Serah Eley, which also produces Escape Pod, Pseudopod and Cast of Wonders. PodCastle launched on 1 April 2008 with Rachel Swirsky as founding editor and Ann Leckie as assistant editor.{{cite web|url=http://podcastle.org/2008/04/page/4/ |title=Monthly Archives: April 2008 | access-date=2014-06-19|publisher=Escape Artists, Inc}} Swirsky left in 2010 to focus on her own writing, and went on to win the 2013 Nebula Award for Best Short Story for her "If You Were A Dinosaur, My Love".{{cite web|url=http://www.locusmag.com/Perspectives/2011/06/spotlight-on-rachel-swirsky-writer/|title=Spotlight On: Rachel Swirsky, Writer|author=|work=Locus|date=2011-06-29|access-date=2014-06-19}}{{cite web |url=http://www.locusmag.com/News/2014/05/2013-nebula-award-winners/ |title=2013 Nebula Awards Winners |work=Locus |date=2014-05-17 |access-date=2014-05-17}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.thehugoawards.org/hugo-history/2014-hugo-awards/|title=2014 Hugo Awards|date=April 18, 2014}} While editor at PodCastle, Leckie's 2013 novel, Ancillary Justice, won multiple awards, including the 2014 Hugo Award for best novel.{{Cite web|url = http://www.thehugoawards.org/2014/08/2014-hugo-award-winners/|title = 2014 Hugo Awards|access-date = 17 August 2014|website = The Hugo Awards| date=17 August 2014 }}

Editors Anna Schwind and Dave Thompson stepped down at the end of March 2015 and were slated to be replaced by Kitty NicIaian and Dawn Phynix, with Leckie continuing to serve as associate editor.{{cite web|url=http://podcastle.org/guidelines/ |title=Submission Guidelines | access-date=2014-06-17|publisher=Escape Artists, Inc}}{{cite web|url=https://krylyr.wordpress.com/2015/01/06/pulling-the-future-toward-me/ |title=Pulling the Future Toward Me |date=6 January 2015 | access-date=2015-01-06}} However, the new editors were unable to take the helm, and Rachael K. Jones and Graeme Dunlop began sharing editing and hosting duties instead.{{cite web|url=http://podcastle.org/2015/04/07/podcastle-editorial-announcement-and-submissions-update/ |title=PodCastle Editorial Announcement And Submissions Update |access-date=2015-12-13 |date=2015-04-07 |publisher=Escape Artists, Inc}}

In 2017 the editorial reins were handed over to an international cohort headed by co-editors Khaalidah Muhammad Ali and Jen R. Albert, with Setsu Uzumé (later known as Summer Fletcher) hosting.{{cite web|url=http://podcastle.org/about-us/|title=About Us (Staff)|publisher=Escape Artists, Inc.}} Khaalidah stepped down to concentrate on her own writing in early 2019{{Cite news |date=2019-01-29 |title=PodCastle 559: Dying Lessons – PodCastle |language=en-US |work=PodCastle |url=https://podcastle.org/2019/01/29/podcastle-559-dying-lessons/ |access-date=2022-03-08}} and was replaced by C. L. Clark ("Cherae"); in mid-2021, Albert and Clark both departed to concentrate on their respective careers and were replaced by Shingai Njeri Kagunda and Eleanor R. Wood.{{Cite web |date=2021-06-01 |title=One Last Time |url=https://podcastle.org/2021/06/01/one-last-time/ |access-date=2022-03-08 |website=PodCastle |language=en-US}} Summer Fletcher stepped down from the assistant editor and host roles at the end of 2021{{Cite web |last=Studios |first=Clockpunk |date=2021-12-31 |title=PodCastle 715: TALES FROM THE VAULTS – Why I Bought Satan Two Cokes on the Day I Graduated High School |url=https://podcastle.org/2021/12/31/podcastle-715-tales-from-the-vaults-why-i-bought-satan-two-cokes-on-the-day-i-graduated-high-school/ |access-date=2022-03-08 |website=PodCastle |language=en-US}} and was replaced by Sofia Barker and Matt Dovey respectively.{{Cite web |last=Studios |first=Clockpunk |date=2022-01-04 |title=PodCastle 716: Tadpole Prophecy |url=https://podcastle.org/2022/01/04/podcastle-716-tadpole-prophecy/ |access-date=2022-03-08 |website=PodCastle |language=en-US}}

PodCastle has released hundreds of stories on a weekly basis with stories generally between 2,000 and 6,000 words long, written by authors such as Peter S. Beagle, Nancy Kress, Jeff VanderMeer, N. K. Jemisin, Kelly Link and Ken Liu. Although focused on short fiction, PodCastle has also run reviews and longer stories, both as hour-plus "Giant" episodes and as multi-part serials.

PodCastle is distributed under a Creative Commons license that allows non-commercial redistribution, requires attribution, and forbids derivatives. The fiction itself remains copyrighted by its respective authors. PodCastle contracts with authors for non-exclusive audio rights and pays semi-professional rates. In 2013 the site averaged 79,900 monthly downloads of the podcast.{{cite journal |author= |title=2013 Magazine Summary |journal=Locus |date=February 2014 }} Podcasts such as Podcastle, Pseudopod, and Escape Pod provide a means of accessing speculative fiction online.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0HKKC-RJJWMC&pg=PT16 |title=The Year's Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Eighth Annual Collection |last=Dozois |first=Gardner |year=2011| access-date=2014-06-19|publisher=St. Martin's Griffin|isbn=978-1-4299-8306-8}}

Eugie Foster, for The UK SF Book News Network, wrote that "short fiction audio podcast magazines like Escape Pod and its sister publications, Pseudopod and PodCastle, have caught the interest and imagination of fiction enthusiasts, and doing a wonderful job at reviving awareness in both new short fiction and classic works".{{cite web | author=Eugie Foster | title=The Fix – short fiction website launches today! | publisher=The UK SF Book News Network | url=http://www.uksfbooknews.net/2007/10/15/the-fix-short-fiction-website-launches-today/print/ | access-date=2007-11-13 | url-status=usurped |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071018024540/http://www.uksfbooknews.net/2007/10/15/the-fix-short-fiction-website-launches-today/print/ |archive-date = 2007-10-18}}

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Category:Audio podcasts

Category:Fantasy fiction magazines

Category:Magazines established in 2008

Category:2008 podcast debuts

Category:Weekly magazines published in the United States

Category:Fantasy podcasts

Category:American podcasts

Category:Monologue podcasts