StarShipSofa

Kit (formerly Ekaterina) Sedia is a critically acclaimed writer of speculative fiction and noir, and a World Fantasy Award winning editor. He is the author of several novels and a short story collection, featuring stories originally published in venues such as Asimov’s , Analog , and Clarkesworld . His translations from Russian have appeared in The Big Book of Classic Fantasy and The Big Book of Modern Fantasy . He 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. Kit currently resides in the Pinelands of New Jersey, where he teaches biology at a state university, and runs a rescue for medically needy cats. He is a communist and an abolitionist. Free Palestine. This story originally appeared in Spicy Slipstream Stories , 2008. Narration by: Will Stagl Will Stagl lives in Tucson, Arizona and is a proud member of the StarShipSofa team. He’s like to kick off the the autumn by inviting any listeners interested in narration to contact him at williamstagl@gmail.com to join our stellar team of volunteer voice actors. 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.

Tim Pratt (genderfluid, any pronouns) is the author of more than thirty-five novels, most recently multiversal space opera T he Jewel and the Comet . Pratt is a Hugo Award winner for short fiction, and has been a finalist for Nebula, World Fantasy, Sturgeon, Stoker, and otherawards. She publishes a new story every month at www.patreon.com/timpratt and posts incessantly on Bluesky (bsky.app/profile/timpratt.org) This story originally appeared on Tim Pratt's Patreon account. Narration by: Zed Hope Simon Zed Hope Simon (they/them) is a Brooklyn-based performer, playwright, and fight director. Their short plays have been produced at various digital and live festivals throughout New York City and around the United States and their first full-length play, Watchlist, received a workshop production at The Tank in February 2020. They have previously performed with Alterra Productions interactive theatre company and help coordinate the annual New York Summer Sling stage combat workshop for the Society of American Fight Directors. Zed has hosted podcasts covering film, tv, and video games for Whirlwind Podcasts, Post Show Recaps, Rob has a Podcast, and Arcade Pizza, and can be found streaming games on YouTube at youtube.com/@hardrockhope. For more, follow Zed on Bluesky @hardrockhope or visit www.zedhopesimon.com Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/starshipsofa . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jeremy Szal was raised by wild dingoes, which should explain a lot. He writes epic fantasy and dark space opera of a character-driven, morally grey nature. He sold The Common trilogy to Gollancz/Orion when he was 23, which includes STORMBLOOD, BLINDSPACE, and WOLFSKIN, about a drug harvested from alien DNA that makes users permanently addicted to adrenaline and aggression. He’s the author of over fifty short stories, translated into seventeen languages, many of which appear in his short fiction collection BROKEN STARS. He was the editor for the Hugo-winning StarShipSofa until 2020 and has a BA in Film Studies and Creative Writing from UNSW. He carves out a living in Sydney, Australia with his family, where he loves watching weird movies, eating Japanese food, exploring cities, learning languages, cold weather and dark humour. Find him at https://jeremyszal.substack.com/ or @jeremyszal Narration by: Doni Nicoll Doni Nicoll-Duir (nickel-dar) is originally from the Western Slope of Colorado. He has lived in and out of Arizona his whole life and now finds himself settling down in Tucson, AZ. Doni works in the renewable energy sector as a design engineer and permitting specialist. When Doni isn’t working on saving the planet, one rooftop at a time, or trying to keep up with his teenage daughter, he can be found cooking, hiking or playing board games with his friends at one of the local breweries. 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.

Seia Tanabe is a horror and weird fiction writer based in Osaka. She won the 15th Japanese Horror Novel Award in the Short Story category for her debut work, "Iki-byobu" (The Living Folding Screen). Deeply inspired by local folklore, ghost stories, and urban legends, she has published numerous horror novels and edited several anthologies. Tanabe's English-language debut, "The Parrot Stone", was published in the anthology Phantasm Japan . This story was translated by the author and is original to StarShipSofa. Narration by: Will Stagl Will Stagl is Star Ship Sofa's audio engineer and occasional voice talent. He lives in Tucson Arizona and would like to wish a happy August birthday to the pride of Leos in his life--Susan, Violet, Stacey, Daphne, Jeremy and Doni. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/starshipsofa . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

T. K. Rex is a science fiction and fantasy author from the western United States, whose stories can be read in numerous publications, including The Wildcraft Drones , their debut collection on shelves May 21, 2026. The Wildcraft Drones begins in the near future of "The Flowers Where Five-Eighty Used To Be" and follows the evolving relationship between humanity, nature and technology into the far future. T. K.'s stories, socials, and newsletter can be found at tkrex.wtf. This story originally appeared in Tractor Beam , March 2025 Narration by: Diane Severson Diane Severson is a lyric soprano specializing in Early Music, especially Baroque and medieval music. Diane has been involved in the SF Poetry Scene (yes, it’s a thing) since 2010. She has narrated for StarShipSofa, and PodCastle. She produces the sporadic podcast, Poetry Planet and is a member of the Science Fiction Poetry Association. She is a staff blogger for Amazing Stories Magazine focusing on Science Fiction Poetry. The best place to find her is on the web because she tends to pick up and move to another country at the drop of a hat. She and her family currently reside in Paris. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/starshipsofa . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Scott Edelman has published 135+ short stories, many of which have been collected in These Words Are Haunted , W hat Will Come After, Tell Me Like You Done Before , Things That Never Happened , and 101 Things to Do Before You're Downloaded . He has been a Stoker Award finalist eight times. Additionally, he has hosted the 2026 Hugo Awards finalist Eating the Fantastic interview podcast since February 2016. This story is original to StarShipSofa. Narration by: Brian Rollins Brian Rollins is a voice actor living in Colorado with his wife. He's the prolific narrator behind the Glen & Tyler series as well as the Uncommon Bonds fantasy adventure series. In addition to audiobooks, he's the host and creator of the Dorky Geeky Nerdy Trivia Podcast. You can find Brian at TheVoicesInMyHead.com. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/starshipsofa . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cat Rambo’s 300+ fiction publications include stories in Asimov’s , Clarkesworld Magazine , and The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction . In 2020 they won the Nebula Award for fantasy novelette Carpe Glitter . They are a former two-term President of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA). Their most recent works are space opera Devil’s Gun (Tor Macmillan, 2023) and anthology The Reinvented Detective (Arc Manor, 2023), co-edited with Jennifer Brozek. Narration by: Diane Severson Daine Severson is a lyric soprano specializing in Early Music, specifically Baroque and medieval music and loves her work teaching people to sing. She has narrated for Escape Pod , PodCastle , Cast of Wonders , Pseudopod , and Tales to Terrify . Diane has been involved in the Speculative Poetry Scene since 2010, she is Vice President and membership chair of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Poetry Association and is a passionate promoter of genre poetry. The best place to find her is on the web because she tends to pick up and move to another country at the drop of a hat. 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.

P.A. Cornell is a Chilean-Canadian speculative fiction writer. A two-time finalist for the Nebula Award, her stories have been published in over seventy magazines and anthologies, including Lightspeed , Apex , and eight “Best of the Year” anthologies. In addition to becoming the first Chilean Nebula finalist in 2024, Cornell has been a finalist for the Aurora and World Fantasy Awards, and in 2022 won Canada’s Short Works Prize. When not writing, she can be found assembling intricate LEGO builds or drinking ridiculous quantities of tea. Sometimes both. For more on the author and her work, visit her website pacornell.com . This story first appeared in Frivolous Comma , January 2023. Narration by: Will Stagl Will Stagl celebrates his fourth anniversary as audio editor for Starship Sofa this June. He lives in Tucson Arizona, where he works as a creative professional, and as the bass player for the Fathers of the Violet Moon, an all-nerd-dad doom metal band. 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.

Kenneth Mark Hoover is a professional writer who has sold over 70+ short stories, and several novels, including those of the Haxan series. He is a member of SFWA and HWA. His fiction has appeared in Beneath Ceaseless Skies , Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Strange Horizons , and many others. Mr. Hoover divides his time between New Mexico and Texas. He writes full-time. This story is original to StarShipSofa. Narration by: Christina Rau Christina M. Rau, The Yoga Poet, leads Meditate, Move, & Create workshops for various organizations in person and online. Her collections include How We Make Amends , What We Do To Make Us Whole , and the Elgin Award-winning Liberating The Astronauts . She moderates the Women’s Poetry Listserv and has served as Poet in Residence for Oceanside Library (NY) since 2020. Her poetry airs on Destinies radio show (WUSB) and appears in various literary journals like fillingStation and The Disappointed Housewife while her prose has appeared in Punk Monk Magazine and Reader’s Digest . During her downtime, she watches the Game Show Network. http://www.christinamrau.com Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/starshipsofa . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kenneth Mark Hoover is a professional writer who has sold over 70+ short stories, and several novels, including those of the Haxan series. He is a member of SFWA and HWA. His fiction has appeared in Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Strange Horizons , and many others. Mr. Hoover divides his time between New Mexico and Texas. He writes full-time. This story is original to StarShipSofa. Narration by: Will Stagl Will Stagl lives in Tucson, Arizona and is a proud member of the StarShipSofa team. He’s like to kick off the new year by inviting any listeners interested in narration to contact him at williamstagl@gmail.com to join our stellar team of volunteer voice actors. Fact: Looking Back At Genre History by Amy H Sturgis GrowMore CookMore GrowMore CookMore: https://apps.apple.com/app/id6755640310 GrowMoreCookMore Website: https://growmorecookmore.com/ Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/starshipsofa . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Carrie Finch is a writer in San Francisco, California. Her published fiction includes fantasy, science fiction, and horror. She has two cats, who take turns lying down on the keyboard and keeping her from writing. carriefinch.com This story originally appeared in Broken Time Blues, 2011. Narration by: Doni Nicoll Doni Nicoll-Duir ( nickel-dar ) is originally from the Western Slope of Colorado. He has lived in and out of Arizona his whole life and now finds himself settling down in Tucson, AZ. Doni works in the renewable energy sector as a design engineer and permitting specialist. When Doni isn’t working on saving the planet, one rooftop at a time, or trying to keep up with his teenage daughter, he can be found cooking, hiking or playing board games with his friends at one of the local breweries. GrowMore CookMore GrowMore CookMore: https://apps.apple.com/app/id6755640310 GrowMoreCookMore Website: https://growmorecookmore.com/ Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/starshipsofa . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Main fiction: "Starpoop" Sandra McDonald is an avid writer, reader, foster mom, and cat wrangler. A military veteran and veteran teacher, she is the author of several books and several dozen published short stories in magazines and anthologies. She holds a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and has won awards for stories that explore the intersections of gender, duty, and science fiction. You can sometimes find her on social media, but more likely she is stuck in a minivan in a school pickup line in Florida, scribbling story ideas on the back of store receipts. This story originally appeared in Lightspeed Magazine , July 2023. Narration by: Lucy Simpson Lucy Simpson is a caregiver, published poet, artist, and sometimes voice actor. She is wending her way through the byzantine maze that is her first novel with the invaluable assistance of the Ubergroup, which offers low-cost fine arts education for adults. Check out theubergroup.org for more. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/starshipsofa . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Caren Gussoff Sumption lives in a nest of books, knitting, and rescue cats, south of Seattle, WA. The author of 6 books (most recently, her postcolonial, deep space, far-future comedy of manners, So Quick Bright Things Come to Confusion ) and more than 100 short stories, Caren received her MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and in 2008, was the Carl Brandon Society’s Octavia E. Butler Scholar at Clarion West. Caren is autistic, Romany, Jewish, and can't carry a tune (she tries anyway, gods help us all). Find her online at www.spitkitten.com This story originally appeared in Interzone , July/August 2014. Narration by: Rodney Lopez Rodney D. Lopez is a software developer and self-described nerd. He enjoys consuming science fiction & fantasy in multiple mediums and is a proud alumni of the Ubergroup, a 501c3 nonprofit providing low-cost collegiate level fine arts education for working adults. More info at theubergroup.org . My App : GrowMore CookMore Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/starshipsofa . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sandra McDonald is an avid writer, reader, foster mom, and cat wrangler. A military veteran and veteran teacher, she is the author of several books and several dozen published short stories in magazines and anthologies. She holds a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and has won awards for stories that explore the intersections of gender, duty, and science fiction. You can sometimes find her on social media, but more likely she is stuck in a minivan in a school pickup line in Florida, scribbling story ideas on the back of store receipts. This story originally appeared in Lightspeed Magazine , July 2023. Narration by: Lucy Simpson Lucy Simpson is a caregiver, published poet, artist, and sometimes voice actor. She is winding her way through the byzantine maze that is her first novel with the invaluable assistance of the Ubergroup, which offers low-cost fine arts education for adults. Check out theubergroup.org for more. 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.

By day, Lori Selke is an ESL instructor (and stealth adjunct composition instructor) who lives in Oakland, California. But beneath that wholesome and mild-mannered facade lurks a zine veteran, an education and social justice academic, a queer writer and activist, and a general thorn in the side of normativity. Their fiction has been previously published in Nightmare Magazine , Strange Horizons , and Asimov's ; their nonfiction has appeared at NPR.org, Offbeat Home , The Billfold , and the SF Weekly , as well as the open-access academic journals Refuge and the International Journal of Human Rights Education . This story originally appeared in Outlaw Bodies (2012). Narration by: Will Stagl Will Stagl lives in Tucson, Arizona and is a proud member of the StarShipSofa team. He’s like to kick off the new year by inviting any listeners interested in narration to contact him at williamstagl@gmail.com to join our stellar team of volunteer voice actors. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/starshipsofa . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Caren Gussoff Sumption lives in a nest of books, knitting, and rescue cats, south of Seattle, WA. The author of six books (most recently, her postcolonial, deep space, far-future comedy of manners, So Quick Bright Things Come to Confusion ) and more than 100 short stories, Caren received her MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and in 2008, was the Carl Brandon Society’s Octavia E. Butler Scholar at Clarion West. Caren is autistic, Romany, Jewish, and can't carry a tune (she tries anyway, gods help us all). Find her online at www.spitkitten.com This story originally appeared in Interzone #253. Narration by: Will Stagl Will Stagl lives in Tucson Arizona and is a proud member of the StarShipSofa team. This month you’ll likely find him tearing through some fantasy epic at a local café or waiting for the next sci-fi TV show to air. 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.

K. Ceres Wright received her master’s degree in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University and her published cyberpunk novel, Cog, was her thesis for the program. Her short stories, poems, and articles have appeared on the Strange Horizons and Amazing Stories websites; in the FIYAH Magazine of Black Speculative Fiction; Luminescent Threads: Connections to Octavia Butler (Locus Award winner; Hugo Award nominee); and Sycorax’s Daughters (Bram Stoker Award nominee); among others. Her most recent publication is Too Old to Dance but Young Enough to Rock ’n’ Roll, a post apocalyptic military sci-fi novella she cowrote with L. Gene Brown, a Vietnam War veteran. Ms. Wright is the founder and president of Diverse Writers and Artists of Speculative Fiction, an educational group for creatives. This story first appeared in Sycorax's Daughters (2017). Narration by: Donna Schmidt Donna Schmidt lives in Seattle, recently retired from a career in tech, now spending her days playing violin, singing, finding gigs for her band, drawing, sewing and gardening. Oh, and talking. Because she really likes to talk and hear the sound of her own voice. Pretty embarrassing, right? But hey, it sure comes in handy when you get the chance to do voice narration! Plus, you get to play with fun toys like microphones and audio equipment. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/starshipsofa . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Main fiction: "Stars in a Grave, Stars in a Skull" Jeremy Szal was born in 1995 and was raised by wild dingoes, which should explain a lot. He writes epic fantasy and dark space opera of a character-driven, morally grey nature. His main series is the Common trilogy from Gollancz/Hachette, which includes Stormblood , Blindspace , and Woflskin , about a drug harvested from alien DNA that makes users permanently addicted to adrenaline and aggression. He’s the author of over fifty short stories, translated into fifteen languages, many of which appear in his short fiction collection Broken Stars . He was the editor for the Hugo-winning StarShipSofa until 2020 and has a BA in Film Studies and Creative Writing from UNSW. He carves out a living in Sydney, Australia with his family, where he loves watching weird movies, eating Japanese food, exploring cities, learning languages, cold weather and dark humour. Find him at https://jeremyszal.substack.com/ or @JeremySzal This story first appeared in Broken Stars (2024). Narration by: Will Stagl Will Stagl lives in Tucson Arizona and is a proud member of the StarShipSofa team. This month you’ll likely find him tearing through some fantasy epic at a local café or waiting for the next sci-fi TV show to air. 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 Wild & Wishful, Dark & Dreaming: The Worlds of Alethea Kontis (2016). Alethea Kontis is an actress, storm chaser, and New York Times best-selling author. She has received the Scribe Award, the Garden State Teen Book Award, and is a two-time winner of the Gelett Burgess Children’s Book Award. She was twice nominated for both the Andre Norton Nebula and Dragon Award. Alethea narrates stories for multiple award-winning online magazines and does freelance work for Writing the Other. Born in Vermont, Alethea currently resides on the Space Coast of Florida where she watches K-dramas with her teddy bear, Charlie. Together they are ARMY, VVS, and Black Roses. Narration by: Will Stagl Will Stagl lives in Tucson Arizona and is a proud member of the StarShipSofa team. This month you’ll likely find him tearing through some fantasy epic at a local café or waiting for the next sci-fi TV show to air. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/starshipsofa . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This story originally appeared in Punktown (2000). Jeffrey Thomas’s books include Punktown , Deadstock , Blue War , The American , and T he Unnamed Country . He has been a finalist for the Bram Stoker Award and John W. Campbell Award, and his stories have been reprinted in The Year’s Best Horror Stories 2022, T he Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror #14 (editors, Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling), and Year’s Best Weird Fiction #1 (editors, Laird Barron and Michael Kelly). Thomas lives in Massachusetts. Narration by: Christina Rau Christina M. Rau, The Yoga Poet, leads Meditate, Move, & Create workshops for various organizations in person and online. Her collections include How We Make Amends , What We Do To Make Us Whole , and the Elgin Award-winning Liberating The Astronauts . She moderates the Women’s Poetry Listserv and has served as Poet in Residence for Oceanside Library (NY) since 2020. Her poetry airs on Destinies radio show (WUSB) and appears in various literary journals like FillingStation and The Disappointed Housewife while her prose has appeared in Punk Monk Magazine and Reader’s Digest . During her downtime, she watches the Game Show Network. http://www.christinamrau.com 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.