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Christina Orlando

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Five Fiction Podcasts That Go Bump in the Night

Fri Oct 25, 2019 10:00am 5 comments 1 Favorite [+]
Photo: Christina Orlando

The medium of radiodrama started back in the 1880s with sketches and short skits written specifically for radio, and became a phenomenon with Orson Welles’ iconic War of The Worlds in 1938. Some of our favorite SFF stories have existed as radio plays, including Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, which was broadcast in 1978, and Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere, adapted for radio in 2013. With the popularity of fictional podcasts like Welcome to Night Vale, The Bright Sessions, and The Message, fans of riveting fiction experiences now have tons of stories available to them. The act of listening becomes an immersive experience—with a great sound designer, a few top-notch voice actors, and a great script, fictional podcasts provide a new way to escape the real world.

Now that it’s spooky season, it’s time to plug your headphones in to haunted houses, creepy townspeople, and terrifying alien invasions. The music fades in, a soft piano, but maybe just slightly out of tune. The wind blows by your ear. The footsteps of a tall, mysterious figure draw closer and closer. A twig snaps somewhere off in the distance. And suddenly, there are chills racing up your spine.

Ready to get lost? Here are a few great places to start.

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Not Another Race Panel: “Geeks of Color” Celebrates Fandom Joy at NYCC

Sun Oct 6, 2019 3:07pm 3 comments 5 Favorites [+]
from left to right: cosplayer and editor Jay Justice, comic author/artist Wendy Xu, comic author/ editor Nadia Shammas, moderator Diana M. Pho, writer and professor Sargon Donabed, author P. Djeli Clark.

The fact of the matter is that we’re all sick of diversity panels focused on how people of color are othered. We’re tired of sitting on panels talking about race, gender, sexuality, disability, and all the many ways we feel ostracized from our industries and the SFF community. It just makes people of color feel even more like our identities separate us out from the majority, like we’re invited to do diversity panels but not invited to take part on panels for our fandoms. It feels like we’re here to share our traumas, not our joys.

The Geeks of Color panel at NYCC is in its seventh iteration this year, so moderator Diana M. Pho (Hugo-Award nominated editor for Tor Books) had an idea. What if a diversity panel didn’t talk about race at all, but instead was given the opportunity to talk about the work they do and the fandoms they enjoy?

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Five Wheel of Time Fan Podcasts to Plug Into

Thu Sep 19, 2019 10:00am 40 comments 8 Favorites [+]
Art by Darrell K. Sweet

It’s pretty safe to say there’s no shortage of fandom content for Robert Jordan’s epic fantasy series, The Wheel of Time. Trust us, we’ve seen it all—art, fanfic, games, t-shirts, jewelry, cosplay, and everything else you could possibly think of. Like any good fandom, Wheel of Time fans put in the work to show just how much they love their favorite series. And that includes spending hours poring over the details, working through themes both large and small, finding holes in the plot to poke at, and going over every little decision their favorite character has made.

Podcasting offers the perfect way for fans to share their enthusiasm in a more engaging way—listening to a great literary podcast feels like hanging out with your friends and talking about your favorite books, exploring the stories we hold so dear. And as the television adaptation draws nearer, more and more readers are finding and rediscovering The Wheel of Time. Good news is, with these podcasts, there’s something for everyone. Whether you’re new to the series, coming back to it after a long time away, or maybe re-reading it for the millionth time, there’s a podcast to connect to. Here are five great discussion-style podcasts for you to get your geek on with.

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Traveling Between Genders in V.E. Schwab’s A Darker Shade of Magic

Mon Jun 24, 2019 10:30am 4 comments 5 Favorites [+]

I am fifteen. I am in a white, floor-length beaded dress that corsets at the back. My hair is curled, set with hairspray, with flower-shaped crystal clips set in. For the first time in my life I have fake acrylic nails, squared off at the tip, with a delicate floral pattern painted on the ring finger. My mother has loaned me her jewelry, a delicate diamond necklace that sits just over my collarbone. I am on my way to my first prom.

Lila Bard is nineteen. She is in Calla’s clothing shop in Red London surrounded by finery. She picks up a black half-mask with two horns spiraling up from the temples. Forgoing the available dresses, she wears a black tunic, fitted trousers, and a pair of black boots made of soft, supple leather. She selects a dramatic high-collared black velvet coat with a half-cloak over her shoulders and glassy red clasps. She is on her way to a masquerade at the palace.

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“Dani and Bryce are the Abbi and Ilana of Crescent City”: Sarah J. Maas Talks About Her Adult Debut

Tue Jun 4, 2019 12:00pm 5 comments 2 Favorites [+]

Sarah J. Maas did not appear at BookExpo this past weekend. There weren’t even promotions available for her new novel series, Crescent City, which publishes early next year. Fans might not even know that she was here—unless they’ve spotted her walking around with her husband and her newborn baby. In a place where book authors become rockstars, Sarah J Maas is flying under the radar this year.

Crescent City marks the NYT Bestselling author’s adult debut—something she seems fairly nonplussed about, frankly. The series follows Bryce, a young woman living in a city filled with shapeshifters, vampires, and more. It’s different from the traditional fantasy she’s done in the past, taking a decidedly modern route. Crescent City’s population may be supernatural, but they still have cellphones and nightclubs and jobs to go to in the morning. It’s a shift in her career, but Maas’ fans are ready and hungry for it, having grown up with her two massive fantasy series, Throne of Glass and A Court of Thorns and Roses. And her fans are, well, fanatic. Maas started writing the Throne of Glass series at just sixteen years old, and they’ve stuck by her the whole way.

But after working on that series for nearly half her life, it’s time for Sarah J. Maas to do something new.

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