Fiction Podcast Weekly 290

Issue 290 of The Fiction Podcast Weekly is brought to you by Apple Just Made It Easier to Launch Your Podcast.

Not only is Apple Podcasts one of the major platforms for podcast consumption, but getting your show listed there automatically makes it available in scores of other apps and directories. So this is almost like having a “submit everywhere and as quickly as possible” button, which is even more exciting! Get the details in Matthew McLean’s Apple Just Made It Easier to Launch Your Podcast.

News, Roundups, and Announcements

• As you can see, we are incredibly close to our 300th issue of The Fiction Podcast Weekly. Got any ideas for how we can celebrate? Please send them to [email protected], and if they’re simple, helpful and brilliant, we may be able to use them and credit you.

• Podnews reports that AIR Releases the 2025 Rate Guide: A Vital Benchmark for Fair Pay in the US Audio Industry, “offering freelancers the tools to advocate for their worth, negotiate confidently, and build sustainable careers.”

• Podnews also points out how, after last year’s Podnews Report Card, Apple simplified its submission process for podcasters. Fill out the Podnews report card survey ASAP, so we can tell platforms that make money off our hard work how to, at the very least, make it easier for us to help them.

• Roundup: I don’t care what the White House says; it’s Black History Month, and it’s gonna stay that way for another week. Here’s a roundup of completed fiction podcasts Made by BIPOC Creators for you to share and enjoy, with BONUS! Cyberpunk is Not An Instruction Manual, courtesy of The End.

• Muzhinga Kankinda shares 6 Key Lessons from Africa Podcast Day 2025.

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Creator Resources

• Newly updated: Podcast Awards in 2025: Where to Enter & Is It Worth It?

• In Episode 305 of Indie AF, Sarah interviews Emily Inkpen and Chris Gregory of Alt Stories about their behind-the-scenes process for Wasteland. Learn about writing, casting, and table reading, with more to come.

• Talia Augustidis has published the new All Hear for February 2025.

• Jeff Towne shares “a few sources that he's found consistently useful, or sometimes just entertaining, offering real help in navigating the world of contemporary media production” with Online Audio Resources at Transom.

• Is this a creator resource or an opportunity? It’s both. Content Is Queen announced, “Our Content is Queen Marketplace opportunities are now in beta! This is now the best place to find opportunities added as they are available. If you're hiring or looking for collaborators, we'd love for you to sign up and post opportunities. It's the perfect place to connect with talented creators and industry pros.” You can sign up for the beta test of the Content is Queen Marketplace at their site. Remember, this is a beta test.

• This isn’t fiction or audio drama-specific, but when Francis Zierer interviewed Alicia Kennedy for Creator Spotlight about how she makes her writing practice sustainable, they both unearthed gems from which audio drama and fiction podcasters can benefit. Rejecting the 'creator' label to build a sustainable career as a critical writer

   

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Opportunities

• The BBC World Service and the British Council have launched The International Audio Drama Competition 2026. Deadline, 4 June.

• Dan Dewes writes, “Seeking a partner for my kids' story podcast, By Kids For Kids Story Time, to handle social media, marketing, and organization. Must love kids' audio stories, enjoy collaboration, and want a long-term, revenue-sharing partnership. I'll focus on creating stories; you'll help grow the show.” Contact via the website form or the email on the site.

• Casting Call: Orion seeks a voice artist to play Elsie. Deadline not mentioned, but recording will take place in March at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL, USA.

• Audio Flux’s Circuit 05 in 3D! is open for submissions. This one looks really good, and you can win $750. Deadline: 1st April. Go get ‘em, Tiger!

• Open Call: Low Orbit is “an audio zine and podcast looking for audio pieces that span a wide range of sonic and artistic styles — anything that sounds interesting or compelling in some way. Low Orbit is a self funded, no-profit podcast, so people who submit share their work in the spirit of community and collaboration. Email Josh Mattison at josh [at] rocketfromearth [dot] com.” Rolling deadline.

• The Edith-Russ-Haus for Media Art, Oldenburg, will award three Media Art Grants of the Stiftung Niedersachsen (€12,500 each). Expect to stay in Oldenburg for at least one month. Deadline: 27 February.

Milestones & Debuts

• The End of The World launched on the 20th of February. After a violent encounter in the big city, a desperate young man finds himself in the kitchen of a strange and mysterious bed and breakfast establishment named, rather ominously, The End of the World.

• Dash launched their second season on the 20th of February, too. This second season will feature several new story arcs and a new voice actor, Jared Calhoun as Dash Malone.

• Sunset and Pastel Skies. After being involved in a horrific car crash, Maddie, a young artist, suffers life-changing injuries. A new experimental drug gives her hope and dreams.

• Lookalike. Malick decides to rent out the spare room in his apartment, only to be met with an uncanny doppelganger of himself.

• Congratulations: UK production company Rusty Quill’s The Magnus Archives Surpasses 100 Million Downloads, Earning Prestigious Award from Spotify.

Keep sharing good stories.

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