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Steve Rasnic Tem is a past winner of the Bram Stoker, World Fantasy, and British Fantasy Awards. His novel Ubo (Solaris Books), a finalist for the Bram Stoker Award, is a dark science fictional tale about violence and its origins, featuring such historical viewpoint characters as Jack the Ripper, Stalin, and Heinrich Himmler. He has published over 500 short stories in his 40+ year career. Some of his best are collected in Thanatrauma and Figures Unseen from Valancourt Books, and in The Night Doctor & Other Tales from Macabre Ink. This story originally appeared in Asimov's Science Fiction, January 2010. Narrated by: Will Stagl and Lee Datura Will Stagl is proud to be a member of the StarShipSofa team, recruiting narrators for the podcast’s stellar stories. Will works as a creative professional and occasional musician from his adopted home of Tucson, Arizona. Lee Datura is an otherworldly creature that resides on the Olympic peninsula. She is a practitioner of somatic psychology with a focus on community liberation & a retired blueberry farmer. Fact: Looking Back At Genre History by Amy H Sturgis Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/starshipsofa. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Molly Tanzer is the award-winning author of five novels, two collections, and many works of short fiction. She lives outside of Boulder, CO with her notorious cat, the Toad. Follow her on Instagram @molly_tanzer. This story originally appeared in Phase Change: Imagining Energy Futures, 2012. Narrated by: Mary Murphy Mary is a New York based actor/voice-over artist. She loves the world of audio drama and is delighted to be back on board the StarShipSofa. She has performed in theatre, film, TV, animation, radio, and video games. A few of her recent credits include the one-woman play An Evening With Lola Montez, It’s A Wonderful Life, a streamed performance of the piece Near Nellie Bly, Divination of The Three for Asheville Fringe, and the audio dramas Frontier Gentleman, Chinook, and Newfield. She can be heard voicing various characters for Disney, GoKidGo, LeapFrog, the Center For New American Media, Audible, and Audimance. She has also been a regular performer on the audio drama series Fireside Mystery Theatre, The NoSleep Podcast, The Wicked Library, To the Manor Borne By Robots, and Campfire Radio Theater. marymurphyonline.com Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/starshipsofa. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Main Fiction: "Mines" by Eleanor Arnason Eleanor Arnason published her first story in 1973. She is one of the flood of women writers who came into SF during the Second Wave of Feminism; and her work reflects the Second Wave, as well as the aspirations and conflicts of the 1960s. She has published five or six novels, depending on how you count, 50+ short stories and some poetry. It's been a tough forty years, but she still lives in hope of Freedom and Justice. Narrated by: Will Stagl Will Stagl is proud to be a member of the StarShipSofa team, recruiting narrators for the podcast’s stellar stories. Will works as a creative professional and occasional musician from his adopted home of Tucson, Arizona. Fact: Looking Back At Genre History by Amy H Sturgis Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/starshipsofa. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Main fiction: "Planet of Sarah" by David McGillveray David McGillveray was born in Edinburgh, Scotland but now lives and works in London. His fiction has previously appeared or is forthcoming in Interzone Digital, Shoreline of Infinity, Kaleidotrope, Space & Time and others. This story is original to StarShipSofa. Narrated by: Anthony Babbington Anthony Babington is a voice actor who looks just slightly off from how he sounds. From his secret volcano lair in Minnesota he narrates podcasts, and leases his soul to corporate America. He can also be heard on the Tales to Terrify podcast, and has recorded for both the Far Fetched Fables and The Cursed Inn podcasts Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/starshipsofa. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Main Fiction: "Rockhoppers" by Ramez Yoakeim A one-time engineer and educator, Ramez Yoakeim’s work favors the darker side of speculative fiction but mostly he writes about hope, including "More Than Trinkets," named one of Tor.com’s Must-Read Speculative Short Fiction. You’ll find more of his stories in Hidden Realms from Flame Tree Press, Sci Phi Journal, Translunar Travelers Lounge, Andromeda Spaceways, and many others. Discover more on his website, yoakeim.com, and Twitter @RamezYoakeim. This story is original to StarShipSofa. Narrated by: Christina M. Rau Christina M. Rau is the author of the 2021 poetry collection What We Do To Make Us Whole (Alien Buddha Press), the Elgin Award winning sci-fi fem poetry collection Liberating The Astronauts (Aqueduct Press) and the chapbooks WakeBreatheMove (Finishing Line Press) and For The Girls, I (dancing girl press). She is currently serving as Poet In Residence for Cedaremere, Poet In Residence for Oceanside Library and was named Long Island Poet of the Year 2020 by Walt Whitman Birthplace Association . She is also the founder of Poets In Nassau, a reading circuit on Long Island, NY. She teaches English at Nassau Community College where she also serves as Editor for The Nassau Review. She earned her MFA in Creative Writing at LIU Southampton, her MA in English and Creative Writing at Hofstra, and her BS in English at SUNY Oneonta. Fact: Looking Back At Genre History by Amy H Sturgis Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/starshipsofa. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This story originally appeared in Uncanny Magazine, #40. José Pablo Iriarte is a Cuban-American writer, high school math teacher, and parent of two. Their fiction has been finalist for the Nebula, Hugo, Locus and Sturgeon Awards, longlisted for the Otherwise Award, and reprinted in various Year's Best compilations. Their debut novel is slated for publication in spring of 2024 from Knopf Books for Young Readers. José currently serves as Director-at-Large for SFWA. Learn more (but frankly not much more) at www.labyrinthrat.com, or look for José on twitter @labyrinthrat. Narrated by: Bob Hole Bob Hole is a bon-vivant (hermit), author, podcaster, blogger, and social media addict. He loves science fiction, fantasy, mysteries, stamp collecting, cactus, and most of the sciences (geek AND nerd). He lives in the Sonoran Desert with his partner. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/starshipsofa. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What Is Happening To StarShipSofa in 2023 Hey up, Just wanted to wish you all have MASSIVE and amazing Happy New Year for 2023. It truly means a lot to know you are still out there and still listening to my little podcast that I started nearly 17 years ago. That makes me so proud just to type those words. And... the big thing... we are still going after all these years thanks to you. So... not just a massive thank you but a Ultra Massive thank you. But... I'm hellish selfish and I want StarShipSofa to keep going well into the future but I simply can't do it without your help. This show has lasted all those years because you have all supported me and StarShipSofa... ... please please... help us with a donation to keep StarShipSofa's engines running. At one time hit 500 Patreon supporters. We have dropped now to 305 There's two ways to support: One off donation... go here. And... Monthly via Patreon... go here. With the excellent Nick Mamatas as editor picking the stories and Will Stagl choosing the narrators StarShipSofa has a formidable team pushing out some truly amazing science Fiction. Long may it last... and it will with your help! As ever, Tony C Smith Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/starshipsofa. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Main Fiction: "An Elegy for the Bucephalus" by Rhiannon Rasmussen This story originally appeared in Unlikely Wonders (Robot Dinosaur Press, 2022). Illustrator and writer Rhiannon Rasmussen creates dark fantasy, horror, and science-fiction that juxtaposes humanity and queerness with elements of monstrosity, phantasm, and the weird. Rhiannon’s work has appeared in galleries & magazines including Lightspeed Magazine, HEARTWOOD, and Magic: the Gathering. Find more work on http://www.rhiannonrs.com/ and @charibdys on Twitter. Narrated by: Alethea Kontis Alethea Kontis is a princess, storm chaser, and bestselling author of over twenty books and fifty short stories. Alethea has received the Jane Yolen Mid-List Author Grant, the Scribe Award, and is a two-time winner of the Gelett Burgess Children’s Book Award. She was nominated twice for both the Dragon Award and the Andre Norton Nebula. In her spare time, Alethea narrates stories for a myriad of award-winning online magazines. Born in Vermont, currently resides on the Space Coast of Florida with her teddy bear, Charlie. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/starshipsofa. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Main Fiction: "The Hunt" by Gerri Leen Gerri Leen lives in Northern Virginia and originally hails from Seattle. In addition to being an avid reader, she's passionate about horse racing, tea, and collecting encaustic art and raku pottery. She has work in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Nature, Strange Horizons, Galaxy's Edge, Dark Matter, and others. She's edited several anthologies for independent presses, is finishing some longer projects, and is a member of SFWA and HWA. See more at gerrileen.com. This story originally appeared in Footprints (Hadley Rille Books, 2009). Narrated by: Bob Hole Bob Hole is a bon-vivant (hermit), author, podcaster, blogger, and social media addict. He loves science fiction, fantasy, mysteries, stamp collecting, cactus, and most of the sciences (geek AND nerd). He lives in the Sonoran Desert with his partner. Fact: Looking Back At Genre History by Amy H Sturgis Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/starshipsofa. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Main Fiction: "That Feeling You're Feeling" by Matthew Sanborn Smith Matthew Sanborn Smith was born and raised in New England and has spent so many years in Florida, even his Florida-born children are well into adulthood. His fiction has appeared here at StarShipSofa, Tor.com, Nature, Apex Magazine, and the Drabblecast, among others. He is the keeper of the Beware the Hairy Mango podcast and its progeny. You can support his future works by way of patreon.com/matthewsanbornsmith. This story is original to StarShipSofa. Narrated by: Anthony Babington Anthony Babington is a voice actor who looks just slightly off from how he sounds. From his secret volcano lair in Minnesota he narrates podcasts, and leases his soul to corporate America. he can also be heard on the Tales to Terrify podcast, and has recorded for both the Far-Fetched Fables and The Cursed Inn podcasts. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/starshipsofa. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Main Fiction: "The Moon and Mahasti" by Peter Adrian Behravesh Peter Adrian Behravesh is an Iranian-American musician, writer, editor, audio producer, and narrator. For these endeavors, he has won the Miller and British Fantasy Awards, and has been nominated for the Hugo, Ignyte, Stabby, and Aurora Awards. His interactive novel Heavens' Revolution: A Lion Among the Cypress, is forthcoming from Choice of Games, and his essay “Pearls from a Dark Cloud: Monsters in Persian Myth,” is forthcoming in The Oxford University Press Handbook of Monsters in Classical Myth. When he isn’t crafting, crooning, or consuming stories, Peter can usually be found hurtling down a mountain, sipping English Breakfast, and sharpening his Farsi. This story originally appeared, in slightly different form, in Holy C.O.W: SF Stories from the Center of the World (Holy C.O.W Publishing, 2019). Narrated by: Tahereh Safavi  Tahereh Safavi is grateful to be part of the Iranian diaspora, and for the opportunity that affords her to share art with the world. When she's not teaching wine-tasting, bellydance, or flying trapeze, she writes about medieval history with brown people–more at twodrunkhistorynerds.com. She's thrilled to help get this story out into the world at a time when Iranian women urgently need people to remember they exist, and are full human beings, too. Zan, zendegi, azadi. Women, life, freedom. Fact: Looking Back At Genre History by Amy H. Sturgis Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/starshipsofa. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Main Fiction: "Whale Meat" by Ekaterina Sedia Ekaterina Sedia resides in the Pinelands of New Jersey. Her critically-acclaimed and award-nominated novels, The Secret History of Moscow, The Alchemy of Stone, The House of Discarded Dreams, and Heart of Iron, were published by Prime Books. Her short stories appeared in Analog, Baen's Universe, Subterranean, and Clarkesworld, as well as numerous anthologies, including Haunted Legends and Magic in the Mirrorstone. She is the editor of the anthologies Paper Cities (World Fantasy Award winner), Running with the Pack, Bewere the Night, and Bloody Fabulous as well as The Mammoth Book of Gaslit Romance and Wilful Impropriety. Her short-story collection, Moscow But Dreaming, was released by Prime Books in December 2012. She also co-wrote a script for Yamasong: March of the Hollows, a fantasy feature-length puppet film voiced by Nathan Fillion, George Takei, Abigail Breslin, and Whoopi Goldberg (Dark Dunes Productions). This story originally appeared in The Future Is Japanese (Haikasoru, 2012). Narrated by: Ibba Armancas Ibba Armancas is a writer/director living in Los Angeles known for her PBS kids show Pandemic Playhouse–while she occasionally appears on screen or in voice acting roles, she is quick to assure everyone she is not, in fact, an actor but instead, an incurable ham. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/starshipsofa. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Main Fiction: "The Leader Principle" by Naomi Kanakia Naomi Kanakia is the author of YA novels (HarperTeen and Little, Brown), literary short stories (West Branch, Gulf Coast), science fiction stories (Analog, Asimov's, F&SF), poetry (Cherry Tree, Vallum), essays (LitHub and the Los Angeles Review of Books) and a self-published cynical guide to the publishing industry. She lives in San Francisco with her wife and daughter. This story originally appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Jan/Feb 2020. Narrated by: Mark Nelson Mark Nelson began audiobook narration in 2006, and now has over 180 titles at LibriVox, and recording as “Harry Shaw,” more than 100 for Audible. While Mark mainly records sci-fi, fantasy, and horror titles, he has also ventured into the classics, including Hugo and Dostoyevsky. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/starshipsofa. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Main Fiction: "The Singing Bowl" by Genevieve Williams Genevieve Williams is a writer, librarian, and musician living in Seattle. Her short fiction has appeared in Strange Horizons, Analog, and other publications including Asimov's Science Fiction, which is where "The Singing Bowl" story first appeared. This story originally appeared in Asimov's Science Fiction, January 2016. Narrated by: Donna Schmidt Donna Schmidt is a business/IT consultant in Seattle, WA who was happy to use the new recording equipment she bought for an online music production class that she took during the pandemic. She did the recording in the new music studio that was her husband’s pandemic project — converting a wretched tiny room into a beautiful sound proof marvel. This was her first time using it for a story recording. Usually she is practicing and recording her passion — jazz violin.   Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/starshipsofa. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Main Fiction: "Walk in Darkness" by Emily Taylor Emily Taylor’s short fiction has appeared in such venues as Asimov's, Ecotone, and Terrain. Originally from New York where she received an MFA from The New School, she now lives in Columbus, Ohio and works in scholarly publishing. Please visit emilytaylor.org for more information. This story is original to StarShipSofa. Narrated by: Jen Albert Jen Albert is an editor, writer, narrator, and former entomologist. She is an acquiring editor at ECW Press in Toronto, where she specializes in science fiction, fantasy, horror, and speculative fiction. Jen was co-editor of PodCastle, a fantasy-fiction podcast and magazine, for five years and has been nominated for the Hugo Award, the Ignyte Award, the Aurora Award, the World Fantasy Award, and has won the British Fantasy Award for her editorial work.  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/starshipsofa. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Main Fiction: "Gubbinal" by Lavie Tidhar Lavie Tidhar is author of Osama, The Violent Century, A Man Lies Dreaming, Central Station, Unholy Land, By Force Alone, The Hood and The Escapement. His latest novels are Maror and Neom. His work encompasses children’s books (The Candy Mafia), comics (Adler), anthologies (The Best of World SF) and numerous short stories. His awards include the World Fantasy Award, the British Fantasy Award, the John W. Campbell Award, the Neukom Prize and the Jerwood Fiction Uncovered Prize, and he has been shortlisted for the Clarke Award and the Philip K. Dick Award amongst many others. This story originally appeared in Clarkesworld, no. 142, July, 2018. Narrated by: Rikki and Isis LaCoste Rikki LaCoste is a veteran Canadian narrator from Toronto, of various short story audio magazines such as Tales To Terrify, the No Sleep Podcast, Cast of Wonders, Pseudopod, and StarShipSofa of course, as well as lending his voice—and voice acting—to other projects and podcasts. Today, Rikki is collaborating with his daughter Isis LaCoste, a chip off the old block. They have worked together before, to present various stories. In particular, the Cast of Wonders staff pick of 2015: a short science fiction tale by Ellen Klages called "Amicae Aeternum", in which Mur Lafferty's daughter, Fiona “Princess Scientist” Van Verth also appears. Unfortunately, Rikki lost everything in a terrible house fire and had to drop out of audio projects for a number of years. Fortunately, he and Isis are now back in business, Rikki is involved in various organizations to help the less fortunate, and Isis is about to enter college to be an animator…and today's story happens to be the very first audio project for their comeback debut. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/starshipsofa. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Main Fiction: "The Apiarist" by Cara Hoffman Cara Hoffman is the author of three New York Times Editors' Choice Novels and a founding editor of The Anarchist Review of Books. Her latest book, Ruin, is published by PM Press. She lives in Athens, Greece. This story originally appeared in Ruin (PM Press, 2022). Narrated by: Mary Murphy Mary is a New York based actor/voice-over artist. She loves the world of audio drama and is delighted to be back on board the StarShipSofa. She has performed in theatre, film, TV, animation, radio, and video games. A few of her recent credits include the one-woman play An Evening With Lola Montez, It’s A Wonderful Life, a streamed performance of the piece Near Nellie Bly, and the audio dramas Frontier Gentleman, Chinook, and Newfield. She can be heard voicing various characters for Disney, GoKidGo, LeapFrog, the Center For New American Media, Audible, and Audimance. She has also been a regular performer on the audio drama series Fireside Mystery Theatre, The NoSleep Podcast, and many other audio venues. Fact: Looking Back At Genre Fiction by Amy H Sturgis Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/starshipsofa. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Main Fiction: "Voice of the Martyrs" by Maurice Broaddus A community organizer, teacher, and Afrofuturist, Maurice Broaddus's short stories have appeared in such places as like Lightspeed Magazine, Black Panther: Tales from Wakanda, Weird Tales, Magazine of F&SF, and Uncanny Magazine. His novels include Sweep of Stars, Unfadeable, Pimp My Airship, & The Usual Suspects. Narrated by: Anthony Babbington Anthony Babington is a voice actor who looks just slightly off from how he sounds. From his secret volcano lair in Minnesota he narrates podcasts, and leases his soul to corporate America. He can also be heard on the Tales to Terrify podcast, and has recorded for both the Far Fetched Fables and The Cursed Inn podcasts. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/starshipsofa. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Main Fiction: "Not Without Mercy" by Jeffrey Ford This story originally appeared in Conjunctions #67, Fall 2016 Jeffrey Ford is the author of the novels The Physiognomy, Memoranda, The Beyond, The Girl in the Glass, The Cosmology of the Wider World, The Shadow Year, The Twilight Pariah, Ahab's Return, and Out of Body. His short story collections are The Fantasy Writer’s Assistant, The Empire of Ice Cream, The Drowned Life, Crackpot Palace, A Natural History of Hell, The Best of Jeffrey Ford, and Big Dark Hole. Ford’s fiction has appeared in numerous magazines and anthologies from Tor.com to Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction to The Oxford Book of American Short Stories and been widely translated. It has garnered World Fantasy, Edgar Allan Poe, Shirley Jackson, Nebula awards and a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. He lives in Ohio’s farm country in a 120-year-old house and teaches part-time at Ohio Wesleyan University. Narrated by: Bob Hole Bob Hole is a bon-vivant (hermit), author, podcaster, blogger, and social media addict. He loves science fiction, fantasy, mysteries, stamp collecting, cactus, and most of the sciences (geek AND nerd). He lives in the Sonoran Desert with his partner. Fact: Looking Back At Genre History by Amy H Sturgis  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/starshipsofa. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Main fiction: "Just Another Date Night on the Highway Out of Town" by Zandra Renwick This story originally appeared in PULP Literature #32, 2021. Zandra Renwick's award-nominated fiction has been translated, performed on stage, and optioned for TV. Stories under iterations of her full name have appeared in The Baltimore Review, Asimov's, Ellery Queen's & Alfred Hitchcock's, New Canadian Noir, and assorted Year's Best volumes. Find out more at zandrarenwick.com or in the ether @zandrarenwick. Narrated by: Alethea Kontis Alethea Kontis is a princess, storm chaser, and bestselling author of over twenty books and fifty short stories. Alethea has received the Jane Yolen Mid-List Author Grant, the Scribe Award, and is a two-time winner of the Gelett Burgess Children’s Book Award. She was nominated twice for both the Dragon Award and the Andre Norton Nebula. In her spare time, Alethea narrates stories for a myriad of award-winning online magazines. Born in Vermont, Alethea currently resides on the Space Coast of Florida with her teddy bear, Charlie. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/starshipsofa. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.