PodCastle is the world’s first audio fantasy magazine. Weekly, we broadcast the best in fantasy short stories, running the gammut from heart-pounding sword and sorcery, to strange surrealist tales, to gritty urban fantasy, to the psychological depth of magical realism. Our podcast features authors including N.K. Jemisin, Peter S. Beagle, Benjamin Rosenbaum, Jim C. Hines, and Cat Rambo, among others. Terry Pratchett once wrote, “Fantasy is an exercise bicycle for the mind. It might not take you anywhere, but it tones up the muscles that can.” Tune in to PodCastle each Tuesday for our weekly tale, and spend the length of a morning commute giving your imagination a work out.
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PodCastle 436: Flash Fiction Extravaganza! Elements
* Authors : S.B. Divya, Erica Ruppert, Leigh Wallace and Alexandra Balasa
* Narrators : Nadia Niaz, Khaalidah Muhammad-Ali, Graeme Dunlop and Kim Rogers
* Audio Producer : Peter Wood
“Gaps of Joy, and a Knot for Love” by S. B. Divya.
Read by Nadia Niaz.
Prakash’s wife lay on a mattress as old as their marriage and as sunken as her cheeks. Devi’s hair was gray like the threadbare curtains, her body swollen and sweaty with betrayal, consuming itself in an immunological civil war. The doctor had shrugged in apology and prescribed pain medicine. “Nothing else we can do,” he’d said and left.
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“Green Girl” by Erica Ruppert.
Read by Khaalidah Muhammad-Ali.
Sharp spring came, and with it mud. Cold early rains turned the still-frosty soil to a rich black paste, something that clung to your boots and spoiled the rugs. Clea didn’t care that it did. After the deprivations of winter, a little mud was good for the soul. But she was surprised to find it all over the sheets.
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“Dragon Fancy” by Leigh Wallace.
Read by Kim Rogers.
There are dragons everywhere!
I’ve never been to a dragon fanciers show before. I get my badge and table assignment and push my contestant, in her covered baby carriage, down the center aisle. I try to see everything at once. Did you know pygmy squiggles, with their curly fringe, come in hot pink? Me neither! And I’ve never seen a wyrmicorn before. There’s one with a glowing horn! I love dragons. I love every kind of dragon.
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“The Seventh Year” by Alexandra Balasa.
Read by Graeme Dunlop.
I long to be free, I long to live large,
I make my coin raiding boat and barge,
Take what I want, do as I please,
I fear no Keeper of the Seas!
So say the men who foolishly rove
Into the depths of Casiphea’s Cove
– From ‘Seafarer’s Blight,’ a pirate’s song of unknown origin
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Rated PG-13, for some language.