These Fiction Podcasts Want Your Stories
I love fiction podcasts because before I was a writer, I was a reader/listener. Consuming fiction podcasts while at my day job was detrimental to my growth as a writer and to finding new places to submit my stories to. The first story I ever sold to a publication was to a podcast that accepted short story submissions, NIGHTLIGHT: A Horror Podcast. It jumpstarted my writing career and gave me the confidence to submit more stories and to push myself.
Talking to a lot of writers out there, I know that I’m not the only one who listens to audio drama or fiction podcasts for the sheer joy of it. So, I wanted to do a bit of a roundup for other writers out there like me who want to hear their stories in an audio format. The below stories produce a mixture of audio genres and will do the audio work for you, all you have to do is write that story that steals your heart.
Tales from the Arcanist
Tales from the Arcanist is the podcast branch of the Medium speculative flash fiction publication The Arcanist. They publish about four stories per episode ranging in genres from horror to fantasy to steampunk and other literary forms of speculative fiction. For listeners who write short pieces under 1,000-words, Tales from the Arcanist is open to submissions of your strange and literary stories. They also pay! For flash fiction, they offer .10/word, which makes this a Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America qualifying market. They are open to submissions throughout the year, so consider sending them that flash piece you wrote on haunted steamboats traveling through time or something. The editors suggest sending in stories that have strong characters, where something happens, and have a three-act structure all without sacrificing the worldbuilding.
Apple Podcasts | Pocket Casts | Stitcher | Website | Transcripts
Nightmare Magazine – Horror and Dark Fantasy Story Podcast
Nightmare Magazine Podcast publishes some of the best literary horror and dark fantasy stories on the net, both through the podcast and in their online magazine. On the podcast, they publish short fiction and are one of the few professional publications that still put out zombie stories. If you’re wanting to submit your dark fiction to Nightmare, keep in mind that their style leans toward the literary. This means that the style and structure of the story should be as well-written and constructed as the characters, worlds, and themes within. For accepted stories, they pay .08/word, making this publication a Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America and Horror Writers of America qualifying market like Tales from the Arcanist. Currently, they are not open to submissions and accept stories only during small windows throughout the year. To stay in the know of when they’ll be accepting stories next, follow the publication on social media.
Apple Podcasts | Pocket Casts | Stitcher | Website | Transcripts
Read more: Introducing “How to Audio Drama”
Clarkesworld Magazine Podcast – Science Fiction & Fantasy
The Clarkesworld Magazine Podcast is similar to a few other podcasts on this list in that it is a magazine’s audio fiction department where they record and produce stories from their issues. Clarkesworld Podcast produces literary science fiction and fantasy where ‘there is no distinction between style and substance or story and writing.’ That means that like with Tales from the Arcanist, the stories submitted should be well-constructed with distinct voices, complex characters, and worlds that feel real, lived in. They are open to submissions throughout the year and encourage stories from underrepresented writers featuring characters and worlds from outside the United States. They also highly encourage stories that have been translated from other languages. Clarkesworld Podcast is a paying market and offers accepted writers .10/word, making it a Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America qualifying market.
Apple Podcasts | Pocket Casts | Stitcher | Website | Transcripts
Thirteen
Unlike most of the podcasts featured on this list that are a part of magazines, Thirteen is a podcast that produces one feature length dark tale a month. By feature length, the creators mean hour long. They publish audio dramas ranging from horror to supernatural atmospheric stories and ghost stories. To meet the feature length requirement, aim for stories that are over 5,000-words long and don’t have too many speaking characters or a large cast of characters. Currently, they are accepting finished stories that are under the umbrella of the horror genre and could be classified as slow-burns or character driven spooky stories. Though they offer pay, I was not able to find out how much.
Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Website
Pseudopod
Pseudopod is a part of the Escape Artist podcast group that includes Escape Pod, Podcastle, and Cast of Wonders. All covering different genres and audience groups. Out of the four, Pseudopod
is the group’s horror fiction podcast. I’ll be including all of the Escape Artist podcasts on this list, so don’t worry! Pseudopod aims to publish the best short horror audio fiction. And since 2006, they’ve been doing pretty much that on a consistent basis. They publish all types of short and flash horror fiction with the main caveat being that it is written with audio in mind. It bears noting that they are more into darker themes and stories than humorous ones. Pseudopod is a Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America qualifying market, along with all of the other Escape Artist podcasts, and pays .08/word for original fiction, $100 for reprints, and $20 for flash fiction reprints. Their current submissions window is only for stories published in 2021 anthology. Check their website for the next general flash and fiction submission openings.
Apple Podcasts | Pocket Casts | Stitcher | Website | Transcripts
Read more: How To Start A Podcast (The Complete Guide)
Escape Pod
Escape Pod, similar to Pseudopod, is the science fiction branch of the Escape Artists podcast family. Operating since 2005, Escape Pod has published a wide range of authors and sci-fi subgenres and is pretty lenient when it comes to defining science in a sci-fi story. They produce long form fiction such as novelettes up to 18,000-words as well as short fiction with a minimum word count of 1,500-words. For writers looking to submit stories to this publication, keep in mind that they want science fiction that is intersectional and inclusive. For original short fiction, Escape Pod pays .08/word, but reprints are paid a flat $100 fee. They are only open to submissions a couple of times a year. The next submission window won’t be till September 2021, so there’s still some time to polish off or sharpen those sci-fi stories you’ve got.
Apple Podcasts | Pocket Casts | Stitcher | Website | Transcripts
Podcastle
Like the other Escape Artist podcasts, Podcastle’s genre focus is on fantasy fiction. Originally founded in 2008, Podcastle is an award-winning podcast with a lot of genre respect and recognition within the community. They publish all forms of fantasy fiction including magical realism and slipstream. In their submission guidelines, they note that they’d love to see more stories set outside of America and their sweet spot for word counts is 3,000–4,5000-words, though they accept stories up to 6,000-words. Since Podcastle is a part of the Escape Artist family, they too tend to lean more toward the literary. They have a rolling submissions period and aren’t currently accepting any stories at the time of writing this piece. General submissions are open again from July 1, 2021 to July 30, 2021.
Apple Podcasts | Pocket Casts | Stitcher | Website | Transcripts
Cast of Wonders
The final Escape Artists podcast that I’ll feature on this list is their young adult speculative fiction podcast, Cast of Wonders. Though these stories are aimed at young listeners there are still dark themes and stories that show up. Many of the stories have a ‘deep emotional resonance and that critical spark of wonder’ that sets Cast of Wonders apart from other young adult audio fiction podcasts. Check their submission guidelines for how they define young adult fiction. They pay $.08/word. For reprints, they offer a $100 flat rate for short fiction and a $20 flat rate for flash. In 2021, they have tentative plans to open up for young author submissions only starting July. This usually means writers under the age of 18 but subscribe to their newsletter and social channels to get the full details.
Apple Podcasts | Pocket Casts | Stitcher | Website | Transcripts
Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine Podcast
Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine Podcast is the podcast of the Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine that has been publishing modern crime and mystery short stories since the 1940’s. They accept all kinds of mystery short stories except for true detective or true crime stories. For authors who have never published before, their guidelines state that they are ‘especially happy to review’ these stories. These mystery stories should be sent to Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine Department of First Stories. For writers interested in submitting their short mystery fictions, Ellery explicitly wants ‘strong writing, an original and exciting plot, and professional craftsmanship.’ They are currently open to submissions and seem to be so throughout the year. Though they sometimes will pay higher rates for established authors, they offer accepted writers .05–.08/word for works ranging from 250–20,000-words.
Apple Podcasts | Pocket Casts | Google Podcasts | Website
Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast
The Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast is not a regular audio fiction podcast, but once a year, they open up for lesbian historic short fiction submissions that they publish on the podcast. Normally, The Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast digs into history’s forgotten lesbian lovers and figures. Their submission period usually happens at the beginning of every year, with the stories being published a year later. Since the podcast is a history one, the fiction stories they publish must be set in a specific time and place in history with characters from that era. The stories also must feature women characters who are emotionally or sexually attracted to other women, though The Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast does not want erotica or sexual situations. This is a paying publication as well, offering authors .08/word. The past few years have seen The Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast host their open call for submissions for their fiction series in January.
Apple Podcasts | Pocket Casts | Stitcher | Website
Before you run off to submit your stories to these podcasts, I want to give a bit of advice. Submitting to podcasts is no different than submitting to print publications. Only send your best completed work and follow the guidelines that the podcast lists. Listen to past episodes so that you can get a feel for what type of stories they produce—the horror that you’ll find published by Nightmare’s podcast is going to be different than the horror you find in Pseudopod. Keep all of this in mind as you send your stories out, and good luck!
Previous Story
Podcast Spotlight: Rational Ignorance
Next Story
It's CONSPIRACY WEEK at Discover Pods!
Comments
Comments are closed.