London Podcast Festival's 10-year celebration, Tom Webster's preservation paradox, ARTCRY grants, and loads of creator resources

Issue 309 of The Fiction Podcast Weekly is brought to you by The Indie Podcasters’ Survey.

Enter to win over $500 in podcasting gear from Lewitt when you tell us about your podcasting experience in 2025. Your anonymous insights will help shape a report on the industry's state. And, of course, you could win over $500 in podcast gear from Lewitt. Take the survey at thepodcasthost.com/survey25.

News, Roundups, and Announcements

• ICYMI: Creators Caucus launches in Congress with support from Patreon, YouTube, by Amanda Silberling for TechCrunch. If you’ve ever tried to explain to a tax preparer what your podcast is and why, this is worth your time to read.

• Coming Soon: The London Podcast Festival celebrates ten years of live podcasting, and will run from 4–14 September 2025. Deep in the list of entertainment, you’ll find that…

• Wooden Overcoats Returns - for One Night Only! David K. Barnes has all the details for you.

• Arielle Nissenblatt shares 5 Reality-Bending Podcasts That Challenge Perception. Sign up for the Earbuds Collective newsletter to get more roundups.

• Creators Beware: Inside the Podcasting Scam Trying to Take Over Social Accounts by Kayla Cobb for The Wrap. It’s the same Facebook scam that’s been going around for a few years, but Cobb’s article provides more detail and Magic. 🪄 🐰 

• South Carolina Voyager interviewed John Ballantine of Campfire Radio Theater. “…perhaps bypassing the visual cortex altogether and taking a detour via the ear canal was the best way to tell horror stories.”

• You Can't Shake A Speare At These Classics is the most recently updated roundup from The End.

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

• The Podcast Preservation Paradox by Tom Webster for Sounds Profitable. He said, “Video podcasting isn’t just changing distribution – it’s creating economic pressure toward specific formats, and that’s where the real threat lies…“How do we ensure economic incentives don’t accidentally eliminate valuable creative forms?” I’m not talking about stopping podcasting’s evolution or picking technological winners. I’m talking about preventing economic pressures from inadvertently creating a creative monoculture.”

• Shure MV7i Review: I’m Shure This Hasn’t Been Done Before! by Matthew McLean “The Shure MV7i is a USB mic that doubles up as a USB audio interface, enabling you to connect a second (XLR) mic to record guests or co-hosts. It’s a truly innovative idea and a promising bit of kit.”

• A Sound Effect’s Summer Sale is ready: get’em while you can.

• Podcast Promo Swap Training Watch the IndiePod Community’s live training about using promo swaps to grow your podcast. It’s free, and Lauren Passell is the bee’s knees.

• The Creator's Guide to Building Systems (Without Losing Your Soul) Colin Gray and Layla Pomper show you why some creators resist structure, and tools you can use today to create systems that work for you.

• To Build a Retro Sonic World, Learn Some Retro Copyright Law by Julia Barton & Dan Koch for Continuous Wave

• Batch Processing Your Podcast for Mental Clarity Grouping similar tasks in my workflow reduces decision fatigue, helps me develop skills, and creates a flow state that makes me feel good. Let me explain how this can work for you.

• The Fiction Podcast Weekly’s podcast is like finding a small treat that you didn’t know was there in the back of the cupboard, and it’s still fresh. Add it to your queue 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: 'Leo Ended Years Ago'. Listing expires August 2nd.

• Casting Call: Audio Drama Production of Saint Catherine Laboure. Listing expires August 1st.

• The Lovie Awards are the European sister to the international Webby Awards. The final deadline is 27th June, and the extended entry deadline is 8th August.

• Casting Call: Last Dance seeks voices to speak in unison. Deadline: 15 July, 5pm GMT. Unpaid, but probably a lot of fun. Everyman Submission Form

• ARTCRY grants are rolling funding for responsive, social, and political art which happens for free, in public space in the U.K. (Ever considered making a sound walk?)

Milestones & Debuts

• Murder Night in Blood Forest. Welcome To Night Vale is on tour, and tonight, the 11th of July, they perform at The Bell House in Brooklyn, NY. Tour dates and more info at the link.

• The Perfect Sentence is an audio fiction concept album about grief, memory, nostalgia, truth, fiction, regret, and misinformation, by Jeff VanDreason. Get it while it’s hot on Bandcamp.

• Pizzey - The Revolution. Erin Pizzey has the idea of opening a drop-in centre where other young mothers can get together for a chat and a coffee - but she little knew what a can of worms she was opening! A drama about the founding of the world’s first refuge for women in Chiswick, West London, in the 1970s.

• Kicking the Bucket. Growing old together was the plan. Dying together? That part’s improvised. Dolores and Howard have decided to die with dignity. But they’re not exactly sure how.

• The Assignation. Two years after a mass shooting, Ben and Abigail meet in a group for survivors of the victims. Ben doesn't know that Abigail is a secret interloper

• The Lost Sapphire of Lewisville. Join Percival Brookes, Craig Wilkins, Atlas Alpenmoore, and Jane Abernathy on a wild goose chase for the Lost Sapphire of Lewisville, a mysterious gem rumored to grant your greatest wish.

Keep sharing good stories.

The Fiction Podcast Weekly is supported by: