These are avenues for fiction writers, and they pay for stories meant for podcasting. They are all open now, or opening soon, for submissions, and pay, from token to pro rates. Apart from the markets below, several pro-rated markets also podcast some of their published fiction: Clarkesworld (science fiction and fantasy, $0.10/word for fiction; their guidelines say stories have to be suitable for audio) and Strange Horizons (science fiction and fantasy, $0.08/word). There are also some podcast markets which are currently closed, and will likely open later in the year: Glittership (speculative fiction with some queer content, $0.03/word), Monsters Out of the Closet (LGBTQ+ horror fiction, $0.02/word), PodCastle (fantasy, $0.08/word), PseudoPod (horror, $0/08/word), and Cast of Wonders (young adult, $0.08/word). – S. Kalekar
Alpennia: Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast Fiction
They want short stories in the lesbian historic fiction genre, to be produced in audio format for the podcast, as well as published in text on the website. The editors want to see actual historic culture and the plot and characters should be firmly rooted in that time and place. Stories must be set before 1900; the editors would like to see stories that reach beyond the popular settings of 19th century America and England. Romance is optional – meaning story lines focusing on the establishment of a new romantic relationship – and romance stories should have some other strong element in addition to the romance. Stories may include fantastic elements that are appropriate to the historic setting. For example, they can include fantastic or supernatural events or beings that people of that era considered to be real. Or stories may be modeled on the fantastic literature of a specific historic era and culture. No time-travel or past memories, erotica or tragic endings.
Deadline: 31 January 2020
Length: Up to 5,000 words
Pay: $0.08/word
Details here.
Gallery
of Curiosities
They publish
Curiosities, speculative fiction in digital and print on demand format, and
publish some of these stories in a twice-monthly podcast, the Gallery of
Curiosities. They had started out as an audio-only venue. Their guidelines say,
“This project is a comfortable
two-headed beast at play in the curious and often dark corners of retropunk
fiction. That means steampunk, dieselpunk, dreadpunk, bronzepunk, others that
haven’t even been invented yet punk … but not atompunk.” Anything set after WW2
is a hard sell – take a look at the editors’ preferences and hard sells on the
guidelines page. They also accept multiple submissions (up to three) and
reprints.
Deadline: 31
January 2020
Length: Up to 7,500 words
Pay: $0.04/word
Details here.
The Overcast
This is a speculative
fiction podcast. Their guidelines say, “We are interested in
speculative fiction, whatever that means to you, be it Science Fiction,
Fantasy, Steampunk, Magical Realism, Slipstream, or an as-yet-unnamed genre.
Anything that looks at the world and life from an unexpected angle.” Roughly half the stories they publish are from
writers in (or connected to) the Pacific Northwest, and the rest are from
around the world. They welcome reprints that haven’t been previously produced
in an audio format. They do not publish horror. They accept submissions in
January, April, and October.
Deadline: 31
January 2020
Length: 1,000-5,000 words (2,000-3,000 is the sweet spot)
Pay: $0.01/word, $20 for stories under 2,000 words
Details here.
Escape Artists: Escape Pod
This is an online and audio science fiction magazine. Their guidelines say, “We are fairly flexible on what counts as science (we’ll delve into superheroes or steampunk on occasion) and are interested in exploring the range of the genre. We want stories that center on science, technology, future projections, and/or alternate history, and how any or all of these things intersect with people.” They also accept reprints. Associated markets are PodCastle, PseudoPod, and Cast of Wonders.
Deadline: Reading period begins February 1st, 2020.
Length: 1,500-6,000 words
Pay: $0.08/word
Details here.
Hawk and Cleaver
They want tales
that terrify, scar and haunt. They have several themed calls coming up: Parasites
(3 February); Remote Places (17 February); Trophy Hunter (15 March); Fire (30
March); Big Brother (13 April). They also accept reprints.
Deadlines: Various
Length: 2,000 words
Pay: $5
Details here.
The
Centropic Oracle
This is an audio-only
science fiction and fantasy market. The prose must be readable and easily
spoken aloud. They want stories “that make you feel and think”. See guidelines
for hard sells, and the kind of stories they will not accept. Their guidelines
also say, “If we accept your story we will require a bio and a photo from you
for promotional purposes on our website. In addition, be prepared to be called
to interview with the reader and/or a small panel for a group discussion of
your story. Talking points will be sent out prior to the voice-only interview
so that you can have anecdotes or comments prepared. If you do not wish to have your photo posted, or appear on the
show, do not submit.”
Deadline: Open now for short stories
Length: 200-1,500 words for flash;
1,500-6,500 for short stories
Pay: CAD0.01/word
Details here.
Breakroom Stories
This is an audio journal that specializes
in strange fiction, plays, and poetry. “We want to be a publication that evokes
the eerie familiarity we all feel with the region between wakefulness and
dream. We want to be a forum for odd or untraditional voices. We want to be a
home for stories that make their readers shiver and shake. To paraphrase David
Foster Wallace, we want to be a source of fiction that comforts the disturbed,
and that disturbs the comfortable”, according to their website.
Deadline: Open now
Length: Pieces that can be read aloud in 15-30 minutes preferred; longer pieces
may be divided into episodes
Pay: $10
Details here.
We Will
Remember Freedom Podcast
This fiction podcast is
looking for work that meets at least one of the three criteria:
– be by an
author who identifies as an anarchist or with another political tradition that
opposes state authority, capitalism, and other oppressive hierarchies
– takes place in a society without state authority, capitalism, or other
oppressive hierarchies
– involves struggle against state authority, capitalism, or other oppressive
hierarchies
Their guidelines also say, “While
we are aiming this podcast at a primarily anarchist audience, we are actively
excited about publishing work from other political traditions that share an
antiauthoritarian, pro-community worldview.” This is primarily a reprint
market.
Deadline: Open now
Length: 2,000-7,000 words
Pay: $0.01/word
Details here.
StarShipSofa
This Hugo
award winning podcast wants science fiction of all shades, ranging from soft,
social science fiction to weird pulp to hard SF and YA adventure. The SF
element must be the backbone of the story. They are particularly interested in
work that is outside the US/Anglo-sphere and welcome translations. Second
person is a tough sell, as are didactic and preachy stories. No fantasy or
supernatural horror. They accept reprints, as well.
Deadline: Open now
Length: 2,000-10,000 words; stories under 2,000 words are unpaid
Pay: $50
Details here.
The
NoSleep Podcast
They want
horror stories for their podcast, written from a first-person perspective.
Stories should provide good audio cues and make good use of dialogue. They
would like to see more script submissions – formats written as an audio drama
starring two or more characters, with more being preferred. Dramas should
ideally last 20-40 minutes. Their flash fiction submissions are currently
closed, but other categories are open.
Deadline: Open now
Length: Flash (up to 1,200 words), short fiction (1,200-2,500 words), regular
submissions (at least 2,500 words)
Pay: $40 for flash, $100 for short fiction, $125 for regular submissions
Details here.
Manawaker Studio’s Flash Fiction Podcast
All fiction genres will be considered, but the story must
remain accessible to all ages, which mostly means no erotica or gore-horror.
The editor has a particular love for sci-fi stories, so those may get slightly
stronger consideration. They also prefer stories that have a plot. They’re
currently low on sci-fi stories, and are almost always low on light-hearted
stories. They are currently reading for Season 5.
Deadline: Ongoing
Length: The ideal length is around 800 words, but stories as short as 250 or as
long as 1500 may be considered.
Pay: Half a cent per word
Details here.
The Drabblecast
This is a weekly
audio science fiction, fantasy, and horror podcast. Their guidelines say, “Our
singular focus is off-beat, funny, eclecticism in science fiction, fantasy, and
horror.” They also accept reprints.
Deadline:
Unspecified
Length:
Short fiction of 500-4,000 words; Drabbles of 100 words and Twabbles of 100
characters – fiction under 500 words is unpaid
Pay:
$0.06/word for short fiction, with a cap of $300
Details here.
Author Bio: S. Kalekar is the pseudonym of a regular contributor to this magazine. She is the author of 182 Short Fiction Publishers. She can be reached here.