Apex Magazine Podcast

Writing is a challenging task. A profession for some, a hobby for others. Regardless, there is often a shared sense of helplessness when it comes to matters such as who is published, why they're published, and the processes behind those decisions. It is with these three questions in mind (who/why/how) that we subject our short fiction editorial team to your questions and force them to answer on livestream! Join Jason Sizemore, Lesley Conner, and Maurice Broaddus for a live Apex Magazine event—Apex Magazine Editor Q&A, hosted by Beth Dawkins! Remember to check out the Apex Magazine Kickstarter page, running until August 18, 2021. Apex Magazine podcast, copyright Apex Publications. Apex Magazine is a bimonthly short fiction zine focused on dark science fiction, fantasy, and horror. Find us at http://www.apex-magazine.com.

"Survival, After" — published in Apex Magazine, issue 124, July 2021. Read it here: https://apex-magazine.com/survival-after/ Nicole J. LeBoeuf is a New Orleanian writer of short speculative fiction and poetry appearing in such venues as Cast of Wonders, The Future Fire, Departure Mirror Quarterly, Daily Science Fiction, and the vampirism anthology Blood and Other Cravings (Tor Books, 2011). She also posts weird flash-sized story-like objects to Patreon four times monthly. She currently lives in Boulder, Colorado with her indy RPG-writing husband and their adorably criminal rabbit. Her not-so-secret superhero identity is that of roller derby skater Fleur de Beast of the Boulder County Bombers. She blogs at www.nicolejleboeuf.com and tweets at @nicolejleboeuf. This Apex Magazine podcast was produced by KT Bryski. Theme music by Alex White. Other music in this podcast includes "Giant Wyrm," "Symmetry," "Welcome to Horrorland," and "Fresh Air," all by Kevin MacLeod and licensed under a Creative Commons Attributi

"Eilam Is Forever" — published in Apex Magazine, issue 124, July 2021. Read it here: https://apex-magazine.com/eilam_is_forever Beth Dawkins grew up on front porches, fighting imaginary monsters with sticks, and building castles out of square hay bales. She currently lives in Northeast Georgia with her partner in crime and their offspring. She can be found on Twitter @BethDawkins. Summer Fletcher is the host and assistant editor of PodCastle. When not writing their own stories, they can be found enjoying impractical things like fancy pastry or shooting arrows from horseback. More at https://summerfletcher.com. This Apex Magazine podcast was produced by KT Bryski. Theme music by Alex White. Other music in this podcast includes "Fanfare for Space," "Spacial Winds," "Space Xplorers," "Night Vigil," "Stay the Course" and "Shadowlands 4 - Breath," all by Kevin MacLeod and licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution license. Some sounds in this podcast provided by the Free Sound Project. Find out more at www.fr

"All This Darkness," published in Apex Magazine, issue 123, June 2021. Read it here: https://apex-magazine.com/all-this-darkness Jennifer R. Donohue grew up at the Jersey Shore and now lives in central New York with her husband and her doberman. She is a Codexian and an Associate member of the SFWA, with work appearing in Escape Pod, Truancy, The Future Fire, and elsewhere. Her novella series, Run With the Hunted, is available on Amazon and most digital platforms. She tweets @AuthorizedMusin. Our narrator this month is A.F. Grappin. A. F. Grappin is an author, craftsman, gamer, and voice actor. His most recent publication is the final volume of The Deadly Studies series of novellas, with the nonfiction history of the micronation Westarctica, 20 Years on Ice, coming later in 2021. With his best friend, he also runs The Chain Nerd Chainmail, creating chainmail jewelry, wall art, trinkets, and more. He streams crafting with metal on Twitch twice a week as TheChainNerd. Vocal credits include appearances on The Vo

"The Life & Death of Mia Fremont: An Interview with a Killer," published in Apex Magazine, issue 123, May 2021. Read it here: https://apex-magazine.com/ A. K. Hudson lives in the Pacific Northwest where she works for a video game developer by day and writes speculative fiction by night. Her stories have appeared in various anthologies, including the 2019 Sirens Benefit Anthology. You can find her geeking out over fantasy novels and punctuating her posts with Schitt’s Creek memes on Twitter @TheAKHudson. Our narrators this month are Veronica Giguere and Jackie Mahoney. Veronica Giguere (V.) is a storyteller of the spoken and written word. She narrates across genres, but her favorites are science fiction and fantasy. Her passion for science and innovation shines in her roles as audiobook narrator, science fiction author, podcast producer, and forever-geeky mom. Find her at http://www.voicesbyveronica.com/ Jackie Mahoney is a Toronto-based actor, producer and writer who specializes in historic performance. O

"If Those Ragged Feet Won't Run," published in Apex Magazine, issue 122, March 2021. Read it here. apex-magazine.com/if-those-ragged-feet-wont-run Annie Neugebauer is a novelist, blogger, nationally award-winning poet, and two-time Bram Stoker Award-nominated short story author with work appearing in more than a hundred publications, including Cemetery Dance, Black Static, and Year’s Best Hardcore Horror volumes 3, 4, and 5. She’s a columnist and writing instructor for LitReactor. You can visit her at www.AnnieNeugebauer.com. New Zealand born fantasy writer and podcaster Philippa (Pip) Ballantine is the author of the Books of the Order, The Chronicles of Art, and The Shifted World series. She is also the co-author of the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences series with her husband Tee Morris. In nonfiction, Pip has cowritten with Tee Social Media for Writers from Writer’s Digest. Her awards include an Airship, a Parsec, the Steampunk Chronicle Reader’s Choice, the RT Reviewer’s Choice Award for steampunk, and a S

"The Amazing Exploding Women of the Early Twentieth Century," published in Apex Magazine, issue 122, February 2021. Read it here: https://apex-magazine.com/the-amazing-exploding-women-of-the-early-twentieth-century/ A.C. Wise’s fiction has appeared in publications such as Apex, Uncanny, Clarkesworld, and multiple Year’s Best anthologies. Her work has won the Sunburst Award for Excellence in Canadian Literature of the Fantastic, as well as twice being a finalist for the Sunburst Award, twice being a finalist for the Nebula Award, and being a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award. She has two collections published with Lethe Press, and a novella published by Broken Eye Books. Her debut novel, Wendy, Darling, is forthcoming from Titan Books in June 2021, and a new collection, The Ghost Sequences, is forthcoming from Undertow Books in Fall 2021. In addition to her fiction, she contributes review columns to Apex and The Book Smugglers. Visit her at her website. A storyteller of many forms, Aly Grauer has been kn

"Mr. Death" — published in Apex Magazine, issue 121, January 2021. Read it here: https://apex-magazine.com/mr-death/ Please note that this episode contains references to child death. A former academic and adjunct, Alix E. Harrow is now a full-time writer living in Kentucky with her husband and their semi-feral kids. She is the author of Hugo-award-winning short fiction, and her debut novel, The Ten Thousand Doors of January, was a finalist for the Hugo, Nebula, and Locus Awards. Find her at @AlixEHarrow on Twitter. Chris Lester is a writer, voice actor, scientist, and podcaster. He is the creator of Metamor City, an urban fantasy series that has won three Parsec Awards for excellence in audio fiction. His books can be found on Audible, Amazon, and many other online retailers. In addition to voicing his own work, he has narrated stories for Escape Pod, Nobilis Erotica, and Erotica a la Carte, and for author Abigail Hilton. To learn more about his fiction, hire him for audio work, or subscribe to his fiction po

"Root Rot" — published in Apex Magazine, issue 121, January 2021. Please note that this episode contains references to substance use disorder and alcohol use. Read it here: http://www.apex-magazine.com/root-rot Fargo Tbakhi (he/him) is a queer Palestinian-American performance artist. He is the winner of the 2018 Ghassan Kanafani Resistance Arts Prize, a Pushcart and Best of the Net nominee, and a Tin House Summer Workshop alum. His writing is published in Strange Horizons,  Foglifter,  Hobart,  The Shallow Ends,  Mizna,  Peach Mag, and elsewhere. His performance work has been programmed at OUTsider Fest, INTER-SECTION Solo Fest, and has received support from the Arizona Commission on the Arts. He is currently a Halcyon Arts Lab Fellow and works at Mosaic Theater. This Apex Magazine podcast was produced by KT Bryski. Theme music by Alex White. Other music in this podcast includes "Tempting Secrets," "Stay the Course," and "Night Vigil," all by Kevin MacLeod and licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution l

The Apex Magazine Kickstarter continues until August 19! In this Q&A session, Andrea Johnson leads Apex editorial team Jason Sizemore, Lesley Connor, Maurice Broaddus, and Shana DuBois through a wide array of topics and listener questions - from the slush pile, to the fiction they love, to plans for the zine.

This is a special announcement: the Kickstarter for Apex Magazine's relaunch is LIVE! This campaign will run July 20th-August 18th with a funding goal of $7,500. If funded issue 121 will come out January 2021, along with a new episode of the podcast.   Some of the rewards available include bundles of signed books, critiques from the Apex Magazine team, mystery boxes, and Apex alien head artwork.   Check out the Kickstarter here! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/apexpublications/apex-magazine-2021  

"N-Coin," by Tobias S. Buckell -- published in Apex Magazine, issue 120, May 2019. Read it here: http://www.apex-magazine.com Tobias S. Buckell is a New York Times Bestselling author born in the Caribbean. He grew up in Grenada and spent time in the British and US Virgin Islands, which influence much of his work. His novels and over 50 stories have been translated into 18 different languages. His work has been nominated for awards like the Hugo, Nebula, Prometheus, and the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Science Fiction Author.  He currently lives in Bluffton, Ohio with his wife, twin daughters, and a pair of dogs. He can be found online at www.TobiasBuckell.com. This Apex Magazine podcast was produced by KT Bryski. Music in this podcast includes "That's a Wrap," "Laser Groove," and "Voltaic," all by Kevin MacLeod and licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution license. Some sounds in this podcast provided by the Free Sound Project. Find out more at www.freesound.org. Our narrator for this episode is

"Professor Strong and the Brass Boys," by Amal Singh -- published in Apex Magazine, issue 119, April 2019. Read it here: http://www.apex-magazine.com Amal Singh is a professional screenwriter currently living in Mumbai, India. His web-shows are on YouTube, while his fiction has appeared in Syntax & Salt, Truancy, Mithila Review, among others. He is constantly in search of meaning in life and drowns his sorrows in copious amounts of tea.  This Apex Magazine podcast was produced by KT Bryski. Music in this podcast includes "Backbay Lounge," "Basement Floor," "Bicycle," "Covert Affair," "Dances and Dames," "Egmont Overture Finale," "I Knew a Guy," "Pure Attitude," "Smoother Move," "Too Cool," and "Waltz, Tchaikovsky Op. 40," all by Kevin MacLeod and licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution license. For more information, visit him at www.incompetech.com. This podcast also includes "E Pari Ra," "The Turtle Dove," and Thomas Tallis's "O Nata Lux," all within the public domain and performed by KT Bryski.

NB: THIS EPISODE CONTAINS EXPLICIT LANGUAGE. "Curse Like a Savior," by Russell Nichols -- published in Apex Magazine, issue 118, March 2019. Read it here: http://www.apex-magazine.com Russell Nichols is a speculative fiction writer and endangered journalist. Raised in Richmond, California, he sold all his stuff in 2011 and now lives out of a backpack with his wife, vagabonding around the world. Find his work in Fiyah, Apex Magazine, Fireside Fiction, Strange Horizons, Nightmare Magazine's POC Destroy Horror special issue and others. Look for him at russellnichols.com. This Apex Magazine podcast was produced by KT Bryski. Music in this podcast includes "On the Ground," "Arcadia," and "Angel Share," all by Kevin MacLeod and licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution license. For more information, visit him at www.incompetech.com. Our narrator for this episode is Dominick Rabrun. Dominick Rabrun was born in Brooklyn, New York, and now lives near Washington, DC. At an early age he discovered his love of cart

"Cold Iron Comfort," by Hayley Stone -- published in Apex Magazine, issue 117, February 2019. Read it here: http://www.apex-magazine.com. Hayley Stone is a writer, editor, and poet from California. She is best known for her adult sci-fi novel, Machinations, which was chosen as one of Amazon’s Best Sci-fi & Fantasy Books for 2016. Her short fiction has appeared in Fireside Fiction, Escape Pod, Flash Fiction Online, and various anthologies, while her speculative poetry is widely available online. Hayley loves to hear from readers and writers. Find her at www.hnstoneauthor.com and on Twitter @hayley_stone. This Apex Magazine podcast was produced by KT Bryski. Music in this podcast includes "Mirage" "Dreamlike," and "Ice Demon," all by Kevin MacLeod and licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution license. For more information, visit him at www.incompetech.com. Other sounds in this podcast provided by KT Bryski. Our narrator for this episode is Charity Rodriguez. Charity is a teacher by day and voiceover a

"The Pulse of Memory," by Beth Dawkins -- published in Apex Magazine, issue 116, January 2019. Read it here: http://www.apex-magazine.com. Beth Dawkins grew up on front porches, fighting imaginary monsters with sticks, and building castles out of square hay bales. She currently lives in Northeast Georgia with her husband and two dogs. She can be found on Twitter @BethDawkins.  This Apex Magazine podcast was produced by KT Bryski. Music in this podcast includes "Almost in F," "Mind Scrape," "Tenebrous Borthers Carnival: Mermaid," and "Water Prelude," all by Kevin MacLeod and licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution license. For more information, visit him at www.incompetech.com.This podcast also included "Caro Mio Ben," a piece in the public domain performed by KT Bryski.  Our narrator for this episode is Drew Mierzejewski. Drew holds a Masters in Acting from Northern Illinois University. He is a performer currently based out of Orlando where he wrangles velociraptors and explores the theme parks. He i

"Towards a New Lexicon of Augury," by Sabrina Vourvoulias -- published in Apex Magazine, issue 114, November 2018. Read it here: http://www.apex-magazine.com Sabrina Vourvoulias (www.sabrinavourvoulias.com) is an award-winning Latina journalist whose work has appeared at PRI’s The World, The Guardian US, Philly.com, and Philadelphia Magazine, among others. After years of adhering to AP style, and juggling the conventions of English- and Spanish-language journalism, she turned to speculative fiction. Her short fiction has appeared at Uncanny Magazine, Tor.com, Strange Horizons, GUD Magazine, Crossed Genres, and upcoming in Apex Magazine, as well as in numerous anthologies. She is also the author of Ink, a near-future, immigration-centered dystopia which draws on her memories of Guatemala's armed internal conflict and of the Latinx experience in the United States. It was named to Latinidad’s Best Books of 2012, and was reissued by Rosarium Publishing in September 2018. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband

"On the Day You Spend Forever With Your Dog," by Adam R. Shannon -- published in Apex Magazine, issue 115, December 2018. Read it here: http://www.apex-magazine.com. Adam R. Shannon is a career firefighter and paramedic, as well as a fiction writer, aspiring cook, and steadfast companion of dogs. He and his wife live in Virginia, where they preside over the furry whirlwinds of two resident canines as well as visiting foster dogs. His work has appeared in Compelling Science Fiction, Every Day Fiction, the anthology Behind the Mask, and elsewhere. He’s a graduate of Clarion West 2017. This Apex Magazine podcast was produced by KT Bryski. Music in this podcast includes "Rumination," "Wounded," "Loss," "Pensif," and "Dark Walk," all by Kevin MacLeod and licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution license. For more information, visit him at www.incompetech.com. Other sounds in this podcast provided by the Free Sound Project. Find out more at www.freesound.org Our narrator for this episode is Erica Hastings. Er

"With Lips Sewn Shut," by Kristi DeMeester -- published in Apex Magazine, issue 113, October 2018. Read it here: http://www.apex-magazine.com. Kristi DeMeester is the author of Beneath, a novel published by Word Horde Publications, and Everything That’s Underneath, a short fiction collection from Apex Books. Her short fiction has appeared in approximately forty magazines, including Ellen Datlow's The Year's Best Horror Volume 9, Stephen Jones' Best New Horror,  Year’s Best Weird Fiction Volumes 1, 3, and 5, in addition to publications such as Black Static, Pseudopod, and several others. In her spare time, she alternates between telling people how to pronounce her last name and how to spell her first. Find her online at www.kristidemeester.com.  This Apex Magazine podcast was produced by KT Bryski. Music in this podcast includes "Lone Harvest" and "Magic Forest," both by Kevin MacLeod and licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution license. For more information, visit him at www.incompetech.com. Other soun

"Field Biology of the Wee Fairies," by Naomi Kritzer -- published in Apex Magazine, issue 112, September 2018. Read it here: http://www.apex-magazine.com. Naomi Kritzer is a speculative fiction writer and blogger. Her 2015 short story "Cat Pictures Please" was a Locus Award and Hugo Award winner and was nominated for a Nebula Award. She has lived in London and Nepal. She currently lives in Minnesota and blogs on local elections. This Apex Magazine podcast was produced by KT Bryski. Music in this podcast includes "The Snow Queen" and "Sneaky Adventure," both by Kevin MacLeod and licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution license. For more information, visit him at www.incompetech.com. Our narrator for this episode is Brea Grant. Brea is an e-reader who moonlights as an actress and filmmaker (most recently, she can be seen on the television show The Arrangement and in movies like A Ghost Story and Dead Awake) and daylights as a podcast co-host on the show Reading Glasses. She writes comic books, reads sc