AD Hubfest and TAFCON, Descript's new pricing plans, Mystic Prairie, a new scam to watch out for, and The Lazy Luddite Strikes Back

Issue 319 of The Fiction Podcast Weekly is brought to you by How to Promote a Podcast: 30 Ways to Scale Your Growth.

How to Promote a Podcast: 30 Ways to Scale Your Growth. Y’all, I darn near burst a blood vessel keeping this under five thousand words. It is chock-full of strategies to promote your show. I hope it helps.

News, Roundups, and Announcements

• iOS 26: What’s new for Apple Podcasts The new “Enhance Dialogue” feature sounds a lot like Voice Boost in Overcast: “Using real-time audio processing and machine learning, Enhance Dialogue reduces background noise to make speech clearer without altering your original audio.” Does this new feature mess with multi-layered audio?

• The Audio Drama Hubfest returns to The Riverside Club in High Wycombe for 2025! Bookmark the site for updates.

• TAFCON: The Audio Fiction Convention’s Kickstarter has exceeded its funding goal and is cruising toward the stretch goal. Can they put this convention online and go international?

• From Fame to Fraud: The new podcast scam preying on your desire to be noticed by Rachel Bogle for WMBF News

• Descript announced new pricing plans, and will include charging by “media minutes” and “AI credits” later in the year. I use Descript with my brother as an accommodation for his disability, but “AI credits” won’t help us. It might be time to say goodbye.

• Roundup: Earbuds Podcast Collective shared Podcast Recommendations: Portraits of Possible Futures That’ll Make You Glad for Our Present.

• The Battle Cry of the Lazy Luddite by David Hoffman for Podnews. “The joy of a podcast is in listening to a human voice, and hearing what it has to say. Remove that, and there’s nothing left.”

• Inside the AI Slopocalypse: Why We’re Not Backing Down. Turns out they weren’t kidding; they really think that recycled pulp has value. Why don't they just come out and say, “We’re coming for your jobs, puny arts and humanities majors?”

Do you have feedback or suggestions for improving the Fiction Podcast Weekly?

Share your thoughts in this brief survey. Thanks!

Promote Your Podcast, Business, or Service to Audio Fiction Enthusiasts

With over 1700 subscribers and an average open rate of 47%, the Fiction Podcast Weekly is a brilliant place to advertise. We have options to fit every need, want, and budget.

• The Top: Be the main sponsor of an issue for $99 per week or $340 for four weeks.

• The Middle: Purchase a Classified Ad for $28. These sit in the middle of the email and have no accompanying graphics.

• The Bottom: Get your link and logo in our Supporter gallery for $4.99 a month or $50 a year.​

​Do you have audio drama or fiction podcast news to share with us? Let us know!

Creator Resources

• Why You Should Keep Podcasting When The World Is On Fire by Lindsay Harris Friel (that’s me) is ready for you in Mindset Moments for Podcasters.

• How to Upload & Publish a Podcast to Every App & Platform in 2025 by Matthew McLean for the Podcast Host

• Which PodHost? Sarah shares a panel discussion about hosting services to help you choose the service that’s right for you, with Shannon K. Perry, Robert Crighton, Crystal Storm, and Lindsay Harris Friel (that’s me).

• Voice artist Billie Jo Konze shared the GVAA Rate Guide on LinkedIn. Know the rates before you sign a contract.

• Make sure your podcast keeps going even if you can’t, by James Cridland for Podnews can help you preserve your digital legacy, or at least keep it from falling into the wrong hands.

• September’s All Hear, the Everything List for Audio Opportunities, is ready for you.

• What podcast do you consider “successful” and why? I asked this question in the Indiepod community, which promoted some interesting discussion among fiction and non-fiction podcasters. I'm curious about the goals podcasters aim to achieve or feel pressured to meet (as opposed to “I did X with my show and got Y”). Come over and chime in!

• The Open Sketchbook interviewed Lauren Shippen about the mechanics of storytelling podcasts, the origins of The Bright Sessions, what it's like writing for audio, and her own thoughts about the various shows she's written.

• Got screen fatigue? I know I do. Fortunately, you can get the highlights of The Fiction Podcast Weekly in audio form. Check out The Fiction Podcast Weekly wherever you get your podcasts.

Classified Ads

Get your brand, product, podcast, or service in front of over 1700 fiction podcast enthusiasts. Place a classified ad of up to 30 words in an upcoming Fiction Podcast Weekly email newsletter issue for just $28.

​Fiction Podcast Weekly Classified Ad Form​

Do you know someone who'd enjoy this newsletter? Forward it to a friend and share the Fiction Podcast Weekly love. Or, share it on social media and tag us with #FictionPodcastWeekly.

Opportunities

• Casting Call: Neurobridge. Accents needed: Chinese, Irish, Russian, Italian, other European, American. Other accents are welcome as well.

• Casting Call: Amongst The Stars.

• Small Packages: The Art and Practice of Short Audio Storytelling, taught by audio makers and collaborators Talia Augustidis and Jules Bradley. This 4-week course will uncover the art of creating short audio — from generating ideas to making the damn thing.

• The SONAR Audio Challenge is an international call-out for new short audio stories on the theme of “Care” or “Unseen.” Deadline: October 12.

• Audio Bites - an international call-out for audio pieces to accompany Audio Bites, a multi-sensory dinner at the Norwich Podcast Festival, taking place from the 17th to the 19th of October. Selected pieces will be played at the event, and creators will receive £50 per piece. Submissions may be up to 7 minutes long and may take any form, including documentary, sound art, soundscape, monologue, and more. The event theme is “Connection,” which applicants can interpret however they like. They are specifically looking for existing audio pieces. To apply, email hello [at] soundyard [dot] org with a link to the audio piece, along with the following details: name; location; short bio; title of audio; short description of audio; and how this audio relates to “Connection.” Deadline: 30th September.

Milestones & Debuts

• Mystic Prairie. Laurel, Kansas. 1953. When their game of make-believe goes cosmically wrong, two childhood friends spend the rest of their lives haunted by the world they created together.  Mystic Prairie is a horror podcast about dreams, stories, and the ideas that chase us across a lifetime.

• The Keeper Bannau Brycheiniog, the Brecon Beacons are old. Older than man. And the creatures who call it home have lived here longer than you or I, or Leigh for that matter.

• Baile na Gótrin (Ball-ya na go-trin) is a town in Ireland that is stranger than it seems. These are the broadcasts from Baile na Gótrin Radio's host Barry Biev as he reports on the mysterious goings on of the town like cats writing that they're people, a stranger who says you know his name and the ever concerning lights in the creek.

• Two Thousand and Late. Harper’s life is upended when she’s possessed by a demon hell-bent on bringing about the apocalypse.

• The Limbo. The aftermath of a global supernatural event in which everyone in the world was transported to a different place for 28 hours.

• SAVE THE DATE: The Truth returns October 9.

I’ll be out of the office next week, listening to your podcast and judging it. Just kidding. Maybe. Keep sharing good stories.

The Fiction Podcast Weekly is supported by: