Aural Delights #85 features Jeremiah Tolbert’s “The Culture Archivist”, narrated by yours truly. It’s a strange and thought-provoking far future piece that probes uncomfortably deep into themes of identity. Link here.
On the Stage & Behind the Mic
Yesterday was Day One and today Day Two of auditions for “Sweeney Todd” at the Bellevue Society for the Arts. Though the competition is fierce and impressive, I think I at least have a look at the lead– if not, perhaps a secondary character, and certainly a chorus role. Regardless of my personal outcome, let it be said right now: there will be some stunning talent on display in this show. Tickets go on sale July 10th.
A recent re-syndication, followed by an appearance on the fledgling Sofanauts podcast, have served as my introduction to Jeremiah Tolbert, who has invited me to read a story for Escape Pod. I’ll be taking a run at a clever tale by Samantha Henderson, and it should hit the EP feed some time this summer.
Speaking of podcasts and Mr. Tolbert, keep an ear on Starship Sofa for my reading of his far-future story “The Culture Archivist“. If I understand correctly, the story should air next week.
Sofanauts appearance
Tony Smith (from Starship Sofa) has a new roundtable podcast called The Sofanauts. The third episode is live, and I’m on the panel, alongside Campbell-nominated author Gord Sellar and Escape Pod managing editor Jeremiah Tolbert. (No, I’m really not worthy, thanks for asking.) Discussion topics for the episode include the Nebula and Locus awards, games as literature, the predicted Singularity, and the Heinlein/Spider Robinson novel Variable Star.
It’s a lively discussion; Tolbert in particular has a knack for answering counterintuitively and then backing his position convincingly.
What’s Great In Podcast Fiction
This blog has been littered with posts about narration gigs, and little else, for the past several months. Since I’m clearly locked on the topic of podcast fiction these days, I thought I’d take a moment to steer you towards the shining stars of the craft– shows in general, and episodes in particular, that I think are worth your time:
Drabblecast declares itself a purveyor of “strange stories by strange authors for strange listeners”… and yes, that’s about right. Seriously, some of their stuff is way out there, to the point that this show’s probably not for everybody. But the production is top-notch, the “Drabbles” (stories of exactly 100 words) and “Bardles” (songs written and produced for financial supporters) entertaining, and the stories range from thought-provoking to brilliant. Recent episodes of note: “Boiled Black Broth and Cornets” by Frank Key (very strange but compelling), “The Last Dog” by Mike Resnick (quite touching), and David D. Levine’s “Babel Probe” (brilliant all-around episode that should win buckets of awards).
Escape Pod was, as has been previously noted, among my first experiences with podcast fiction. Steve Ely has created an honest-to-goodness paying market for authors; his is among the first and best in the field. Recent episodes of note: Merrie Haskell’s “Reparations” (time travel to post-nuke Japan) and Sara Genge’s “Family Values” (sex and politics with wildly non-human aliens).
Seventh Son “The President of the United States is dead. He was murdered in the morning sunlight by a four-year-old boy…” J.C. Hutchins’ podcast novel trilogy has drawn tens of thousands of listeners over the past few years, and deservedly so: this techno-thriller can really grab and hold your attention. I picked up on it late and gobbled up the first two books over the span of a few months; I became quite distraught when I eventually caught up and had to wait a week between new episodes.
Starship Sofa is where I got my narration start. Tony Smith’s show has evolved into an ambitious audio magazine– very much like a podcast version of F&SF or Asmiov’s. In addition to flash and short fiction, Tony’s contributors provide fact articles, on topics from the history of speculative ficion to science and publishing news. Recent episodes of note: In addition to recent broadcasts of every Nebula-nominated short story, Ted Chiang’s award-winning “Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate” is one of the freshest takes on time travel I’ve heard in years.
American listeners: plow through a couple of episodes before you declare Tony’s accent incomprehensible.
Honorable mentions that didn’t make the above list, largely because of my personal tastes:
Scott Siegler was another pioneer in original podcast fiction and has a rabid fanbase.
Escape Pod’s sisters Pseudopod (horror) and Podcastle (fantasy) are excellent in their respective genres.
New narration up today
Starshipsofa.com has posted all seven 2009 Nebula nominees(!) in podcast form, for your listening pleasure:
http://www.starshipsofa.com/20090402/the-complete-nebula-best-short-storynominees-2008/
My contribution was Ruth Nestvold’s “Mars: A Traveller’s Guide”:
http://www.starshipsofa.com/20090402/aural-delights-no-73-nebula-nominee-ruth-nestvold/
I haven’t listened to the rest yet, but I’ve read some of the stories, and am familiar with the exceptional talents of the other narrators; expect good things here.
–Ray
StarShipSofa narration
A quick note to fans of audio sci-fi: I’ve made my debut over at starshipsofa.com, narrating Sebastien Cevey’s flash piece “Fork Bomb” for Aural Delights # 50. Tony Smith (captain of said podcast) was pleased with my maiden effort, enough so that he’s giving me a longer piece for a future episode. I’ll not go into much detail about this project at this time– partly because it’s not done yet, but mostly because it’s a very challenging piece that I may not be able to translate into quality audio. The author is frankly amazed that Tony and I are even attempting an audio rendition of this story, as it is (in his words) “crazy, really crazy”. I should wrap initial recording in the next day or two, and have a rough production in Mr. Smith’s hands by the middle of the week, so stay tuned.
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