Our 300th Issue: Rephonic's gaps, Golden Globes, NYC meetups, WGA resources, and new casting calls

Issue 300 of The Fiction Podcast Weekly is brought to you by The Podcast Host’s We Compared Real Podcast Downloads to Rephonic’s Estimates – Here’s What We Found

What’s the difference between a download, a play and a listen? Katie Paterson compared Rephonic’s metrics to podcaster numbers, and found how independent podcasters are under-served by industry leaders. Learn more: We Compared Real Podcast Downloads to Rephonic’s Estimates – Here’s What We Found.

News, Roundups, and Announcements

• We made it! Congratulations, Gentle Reader. You have helped us reach the 300th issue of The Fiction Podcast Weekly. Thank you for sharing the newsletter and contributing. Please keep sending us your news, opportunities, resources, and debuts. The best way for us to predict the future of audio drama podcasting is to invent it.

• Golden Globes Best Podcast Award Coming in 2026, by Scott Feinberg for the Hollywood Reporter. The category “will feature six nominees, chosen from among the 25 most-listened-to podcasts, “that have made a significant impact over the past year, celebrating the creativity and influence of creators worldwide.” Let the fiery debates begin!

• Still Laughing: Why Comedy Podcasts Still Dominate the Attention Economy, by Andrew Goldsmith, CEO of Adelicious

• Spotify announced that they’re adding a “play” count to their metrics, which is cool, I guess. Podnews reports that the definition of a “play” is, apparently, “a measure of intentional engagement,” and added, “it seems an opaque and self-serving number, and is disappointing.”

• In other metrics news, Podnews reports that Podcast Hosting Provider Audiorella Launches Data Platform for Publishers, “the first and only solution in Germany that allows publishers to aggregate all key performance data of their podcasts in a single platform.” Learn more at Audiorella Data.

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Creator Resources

• Nick Douglas will host another NYC Audio Drama meetup on the 31st of May.

• Writing Software, Tools, and Formatting for Audio Drama Script Writing What software, formatting method, or strategy is the best for audio drama podcasts? Emily Inkpen, Flloyd Kennedy, Shannon K. Perry and Brendon Connelly discuss the bugs, features, facts and fallacies so you can choose what’s right for you, in the latest episode of ADWIT.

• How Do I Find Time to Podcast, Create, and Still Have a Life? You do have time to make a podcast. You don’t have time for distractions.

• Why We Moved Our Podcast Email Newsletter to Beehiiv Learn what Beehiiv can do for your podcast newsletter.

• Discussing Artificial Intelligence: Pulling Back the Curtain on the Limitations & Liabilities of A.I. The Writers’ Guild of America, East will host a Zoom panel discussion about how to protect and empower writers against using Artificial Intelligence, on 19 May.

• Writers who love research, rejoice! The WGA East presents Accessing Public Records with Jessica Huseman of the Friendly State News, on 12 May.

• Horror producers, rejoice! OVERKILL: How Rock the Speakerbox unleashed pure audio carnage for their latest sound library, by Asbjoern Andersen for A Sound Effect.

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Opportunities

• Casting Call: “Our casting call for Dracula: 2004 is now officially open! All roles are paid. Information on rates is included in the casting document. We are looking for: Romanian speakers, nonbinary VAs of colour, Yorkshire accents, and VAs from British Asian or South Asian backgrounds.” Deadline: 25th of May.

• Casting Call: The Harbingers. “Will be recording the first four episodes of the season in July of 2025. At this time, production is only considering actors based in the Chicago area.” Deadline: 21 May, so go get ‘em, Tiger.

• Casting Call: Close Your Eyes, season 3. Deadline not mentioned, but listing expires June 7.

• Casting Call: Ominous Thrill. Deadline not mentioned, but listing expires 12 May

• The Davey Awards have a Podcasts, Scripted Fiction category, and the deadline is 30 May.

• Audible UK seeks a Production Manager for Audio Drama.

• Lest we forget: The BBC World Service International Audio Drama Competition 2026’s deadline is 4 June.

Milestones & Debuts

• Chance Muehleck writes, “Our hallucinatory thriller LAST RESORT is an Official Selection at this year's Tribeca Festival. Live Preview Event June 12.”

• Obscura Dramatica writes, “Borrowed Lives, the first audio drama series created by new podcast creation company Obscura Dramatica, debuted in the top 100 podcasts of Apple Podcast's Top 250 list for Drama (we were #81 or #98, depending on the ranking service). And more series are in the works!”

• Baked Off! A group of would-be home-bakers based in England and Scotland, who meet up for a regular online baking class under the tutelage of a retired Australian chef in Brisbane, Australia.

• The Hatred A haunted veteran. A demonic recruiter. A curse that binds them both.

• To Live And Die In New Orleans Rosa Montero’s idyllic life of yoga, cocktails, and romance takes a terrifying turn when her long-lost uncle Julio arrives from Cuba, propelling her into a perilous game of espionage and betrayal.

Keep sharing good stories.

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