I’ve had an idea for a while that it would be great to write short fiction and publish it as a podcast. It would be good for people who like to listen to stories, but have other things to do as well, (say, knit or sew. Or drive to work. Or build and paint little models…).
Then I found EscapePod, which is doing that very thing, for sci-fi. (and, hallelujah, they recommend you to their sister podcasts if you want horror or if you want fantasy. Obviously created by a true fan. Booksellers, wake up. Just because segments of the audience for sci-fi often enjoy fantasty and/or horror, it doesn’t mean all sci-fi readers want to wade through titles of a different genre to find theirs! Surely there’s enough of each genre now to warrant their own sections…)
I love short fiction and it’s not a form that is celebrated (as far as I can tell) in the US. Few mainstream magazines publish fiction anymore, and one of the reasons you’ll often find Woman’s Weekly in my shopping bag, is that they publish short romance and mysteries and, even though they’re not high art, they inspire me to write stories of my own.
My mummy sent me a couple of copies of the “My Weekly” magazine from the UK. I was astounded at the number of short stories in there. They don’t seem to publish their guidelines on the web, but in searching, I found the journal of a woman who writes for them, and republishes their (paper!) guidelines. Thanks, Womagwriter!
Guidelines for submission to Escape Pod are here.
Word Wonders 