Issue 334 of The Fiction Podcast Weekly is brought to you by Blighthouse Studio.
Learn more about the home of Counterbalance, The Lucky Die, The Sprouting, and many more at Blighthouse.Studio.
I’m posting one of our Supporters at the top of each issue of the Fiction Podcast Weekly (unless someone buys a Single Issue or Monthly Sponsorship) until they run out, to celebrate the fact that SUPPORTER SPOTS ARE BACK, BABY! Add your podcast’s image, linked to your podcast’s website, for the low, low price of $4.99 a month or $50 per year. That’s like getting two months free! Such a bargain (Psst… You don’t even have to have a podcast. If your newsletter or brand can benefit from being seen by thousands of fiction podcast enthusiasts every week, you should join our Supporter Gallery). Read on to find out how you can be one of the cool kids. And now, back to our newsletter.
News, Roundups, and Announcements
Thank you to everyone who answered last week’s poll, “What should audio drama and fiction podcasters do in times of strife?” The results are in, and I’m happy to see we have so many fans of catharsis.
How New Consumers are Shaping Podcasting’s Next Chapter – The Evolving Ear Webinar by Edison Research shows that video discovery helps drive audio consumption. 72% of first-years and 68% of long-timers say they have started listening to the audio-only version of a podcast after discovering its video version. Maybe we should think of YouTube as a welcome mat rather than a dining table.
Podnews reports that Audiochuck's $1 Million Grant Fuels IYG, Championing LGBTQ+ Youth & Young Adults in Indiana. IYG offers a continuum of life-saving and life-shaping programs—basic needs support, safer spaces, therapy and behavioral health services, youth advocacy, life skills training, and statewide policy leadership.
Podcast Movement Evolutions Unveils First Wave of SXSW Talent, including a reading of “The G.Y.M”, a script by Dani Hanks for the Table Read podcast, and a Discovery Track made up of 10-minute spotlight talks, with topics spanning business, creativity, and culture.
The Microphone Is Democratized. The Platforms Are Not. Dr. Byron Green-Calisch provides an overview of changes being made behind the scenes at Podcast Movement and Sounds Profitable to build equity in the podcast industry event space.
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Creator Resources
How to win the Sound Design Showdown (told by last year’s winners) by Asbjoern Andersen for A Sound Effect
Kit vs. Beehiiv: Which Email Platform Fits Your Podcast? by me, Lindsay, for Alitu CreatorCraft
Indie Podcaster Grants and Funding Opportunities 2026 (UK & USA), by Katie Paterson for The Podcast Host
The Power of Sound Design: Radio Drama Story Structure by That Media Prof on YouTube. How radio drama sound design and audio storytelling techniques can make listeners see entire worlds using nothing but sound.
Atypical Artists’ Audio Drama Office Hour is available for you on YouTube: Lauren Shippen answers questions about the business of audio drama, how to know which medium to make your story in, and how to write that messy first draft.
Classified Ads
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Opportunities
The Scottish Podcast Awards are open for entry. Podcasts that “demonstrate a clear Scottish connection” are eligible to enter. Categories include Fiction & Drama, Comedy, and Scotland’s Emerging Talent. Deadline: 9th of March.
The Pen to Print Audio Play Competition in Partnership with Alternative Stories’ deadline is Monday 23 March 2026, at 12 noon.
Tribeca Festival’s Audio Storytelling program’s extended deadline is the 11th of February.
The Whickers Podcast Pitch is an international funding opportunity for narrative podcast series and one-off audio documentaries. Applicants submit up to four minutes of original taster audio for consideration. Deadline: 27th February, midnight GMT.
The Georgia Council for the Arts Project Grant provides between $1000 and $5000 of funding for artists based in the state of Georgia. Deadline: 6th of February, midnight ET.
The SPACES – Echo Artist Residency Program is a 6-week residency for Cleveland artists to create on-site projects for the greater Cleveland community and their galleries. Deadline: 10th of February.
Launches and Milestones
Choose the Bear, a queer, radical retelling of the Greek myth about Callisto, is ready for your binge-listening enjoyment. Set in a dystopian future where humans and human rights are at stake. Finally available on all podcatchers.
The Mnemosyne Audio Archives preserves things that cannot be trusted to exist quietly.
The Accursed. One day, letters began to arrive in the little library at the end of my driveway. Each envelope held a ghost story, handwritten and haunting. As the letters continue to arrive, they weave together a tale of an accursed and
haunted life.
Back of Bourke. A mysterious show once aired in Australia, but no one seems to remember it. Michael and Alice investigate.
Keep sharing good stories.
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