There may be a good possibility you are new to this blog this week. If you are — I hope you had fun in New Orleans! I hope to see you again in Savannah!
(If you are curious as to what I mean by that, stay tuned. I have another blogpost in the works about that.)
Being new to the blog, I’d like to bring you up to speed on some good news from the podcasting front, made official on receiving this badge:
If you are not enjoying podcasts because this is the first time you have heard of them, a podcast is some sort of online media (usually audio or video, but really any kind of file) automatically delivered using iTunes, Juice, Bloglines or some kind of app that can subscribe to its feed. It sounds complicated, but trust me — it isn’t.
The 2012 Parsec Awards, now in their seventh year, honors podcasts featuring Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror, celebrating the best in speculative fiction. I’ve not been up for a Parsec since 2008 when Billibub Baddings and The Case of the Singing Sword won that year for Best Audio Drama (Long Form).
This year, however, I’m apparently making up for lost time…
Best Speculative Fiction Story: Small Cast (Short Form)
- “A Ruby in Rain†by Grant Stone (from The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences)
- “Darkest Before Darkwater†by Tee Morris (from The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences)
- “Night’s Plutonian Shore†by Jack Mangan (from The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences)
- “Precarious Child†by Pip Ballantine (from The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences)
- “Sins of the Father†by Tee Morris (from The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences)
Best Speculative Fiction Magazine or Anthology Podcast
- Beneath Ceaseless Skies Magazine
- Drabblecast
- The Dunesteef Audio Fiction Magazine
- The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences: Tales from the Archives, Vol.1Â (produced with Pip Ballantine)
- Toasted Cake
Best Podcast about Speculative Fiction Content Creation
- The Dead Robots Society
- Pendragon Variety Podcast
- The Roundtable Podcast
- The Shared Desk (produced with Pip Ballantine)
- Writing Excuses
What makes this year’s Parsecs so special for me is that this year marks the first time Pip and I are appearing as producers, not just podcasters. Tales from the Archives also appears twice in the Best Short Story (Large Cast) category, and I don’t know who is more excited — Starla, Paul, or Pip and myself. We are so proud of the talented authors appearing in the Tales from the Archives (all of them — even the ones that weren’t nominated), but the Ministry’s presence at this year’s Parsecs only validates what we already knew. Thank you, everyone!
And to everyone in the Final Round, congratulations. To make the finals in the Parsecs is practically standing in the Winners’ Circle as far as I am concerned, and it’s a nice place to be. I wish you all the best of luck!
Onward to Dragon*Con…