Pulling the Future Toward Me

Today at PodCastle, we just published one of my absolute favorite stories of 2014: “Makeisha in Time,”  by Rachael K. Jones, read by the amazing K. Tempest Bradford. You should go listen to it ASAP for two reasons:

1) It’s an incredible piece of fiction, and I hope you all get a chance to listen.

2) Anna Schwind and I announce some big news after the story: we will be stepping down as editors of PodCaslte.

Why? Well, this is a decision Anna and I have been considering for some time now, and it’s a personal one for both of us. For my own part, it’s really pretty simple. I need to chase down some different dreams. I want to spend more time writing my own short fiction, and I want to write a novel. Or: novels. Writing a novel is a dream I really want to say I tried to chase down, and with all my responsibilities, I can’t figure out a way to do PodCastle, and write a novel, work a dayjob, and be the dad and husband I want to be. There are, sadly, not enough hours in the week.

This was an incredibly difficult decision for me to reach. I’ve loved running PodCastle with Anna. Anna, who you probably don’t know as well as you know me, has been the best co-editor I could hope for — someone who helps me see the bigger picture, while at the same time keeping me grounded. PodCastle itself has been one of the things I’ve taken a lot of satisfaction from  on a weekly basis, because I feel like we were able to make the world a little bit of a better place because of it. And we are RIDICULOUSLY PROUD of the stories we’ve run there. We tried to take you all over the realms of fantasy – and we tried to push those boundaries as hard as we could. We did full cast stories, and we did stories that a lot of people might’ve thought we had no business doing in audio, but were listener favorites. We did that every week for five years, and it was a pleasure and a delight. And there’s a part of me that thinks I might be stupid for moving on, because I think we actually did some good in the world with this PodCastle. But, I am super excited for the next chapter.

We’ve introduced our audience to some amazing authors like Saladin Ahmed, Amal El-Mohtar, Ben Burgis (the first author to sell us an original story!), E. Lily Yu, Ken Liu, Claire Humphrey, C.S.E. Cooney, Kat Howard, Zen Cho, Rachael K. Jones, and Christie Yant, as well as some giants in the field like Holly Black, Scott Lynch, Garth Nix, and Kelly Link. We also ran some amazing stories I couldn’t be more proud to be associated with by authors like Peter S. Beagle, Daniel Abraham, N.K. Jemisin, Jeff VanderMeer, Tim Pratt and Heather Shaw (Xmas FOREVER), Cat Rambo, Greg Van Eekhout, Ellen Kushner, Elizabeth Bear, Jim C. Hines, Vylar Kaftan, Keffy R.M. Kehrli, Ferrett Steinmetz, Samantha Henderson (FISHY BITCHES!), and  Nalo Hopkinson. We worked with some amazing narrators — too many to mention, but I’ll try: Wilson Fowlie (Horrrrrrrrribly)  Graeme Dunlop (by Crom!), Tina Connolly, M.K. Hobson, Rajan Khanna, Norm Sherman, Mur Lafferty, Alasdair Stuart, Eric Luke, Ian Stuart, Elizabeth Green Musselman, Laurice White, Marguerite Croft, Christopher Reynaga, Ben Phillips, Steven Anderson, Roberto Suarez, Amanda Fitzwater, John Meagher, Paul Jenkins, MarBelle, Julia Rios, Bob Eccles, Marguerite Kenner, Dave Robison, Marshal Latham, Rish Outfield and Big Anklevich, Cian MacMahon, Christiana Ellis, Dani Daly and so many more. We also had a killer staff – in particular Ann Leckie, who read slush and guest-hosted for years. Peter Wood, our sound producer. LaShawn Wanak, Arun Jiwa, Sarah Goleman, and Graeme (again). Our publishers: Al and Dan, who allowed us to go out the way we wanted to. Also our previous publishers: Paul Haring, and Ben Phillips. None of them ever second guessed our choices. Finally, an enormous to Rachel Swirsky, who gave us the chance, and Steve Eley, who made it so.

And of course, everyone who came along for the ride.  I’m probably leaving folks out, and I apologize for that. If you’ve been associated with us at all, please know — it’s been a true pleasure, and it’s an epic journey we’re proud to have shared with all of you, our listeners. I mean, My God. Look at that list! It’s a legacy to be proud of, and one we’ve shared with you — all of you who’ve come along on the journey with us.

We’re not exactly leaving immediately. We’ve scheduled stories through March 31st, and are trying to close out a couple narrations and things. We still have a few tricks up our sleeves, but really — this is where we say goodbye.

As Anna says in the episode, you don’t always get to choose your endings, and we feel fortunate to have been able to choose this one. “Makeisha in Time” in particular felt like the epitome of what we wanted PodCastle to be, and we’re thankful for all your support over the years, and coming along with us on the journey. Thank you for storming the castle with us. May you keep on pulling the future toward you.

Best,

Dave Thompson