Main fiction: "Throwing a Haymaker" by Rick Novy Rick Novy is an engineer, writer, and musician. In his free time, he enjoys working out, playing guitar, and cooking healthy meals. Rick lives in Arizona, spending time in both Tucson and Scottsdale. Learn more at www.ricknovy.com. This story originally appeared, in slightly different form, in M-Brane SF, March 2010. Narrated by : Nobilis Reed Nobilis Reed is the host and narrator of the podcast, "This Kaiju Life" which is entirely safe for...

Main fiction: "Sassi's Last Ride" by Alethea Kontis Alethea Kontis is a storm chaser, adventurer, and New York Times bestselling author of over 20 books and 50 short stories. She has received the Scribe Award, the Garden State Teen Book Award, and is a two-time winner of the Gelett Burgess Children’s Book Award. She was twice nominated for both the Andre Norton Nebula and Dragon Award. She narrates stories for online magazines and reviews books for NPR. Born in Vermont, Alethea currently...

Main fiction: "Nice For What?" by Dominica Phetteplace Dominica Phetteplace writes fiction and poetry. Her work has appeared in Ecotone, Copper Nickel, PANK, The Los Angeles Review, Zyzzyva, Wigleaf, Best Microfiction and The Year's Best Science Fiction and Fantasy. Her honors include two Pushcart Prizes, a Rona Jaffe Award, a Steinbeck Fellowship and support from MacDowell, Tin House and Djerassi. This story originally appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, July/Aug...

Main fiction: "Other People's Things" by Jay O'Connell Jay O’Connell is a graduate of Syracuse University, Clarion West, Launchpad, and the school of somewhat hard knocks. He’s worked as a software executive, UI/UX designer, business writer, illustrator, animator, graphic artist, construction worker, house-cleaner and burger flipper. As RAH put it, specialization is for insects. He lives in—and writes about—a world rapidly approaching the event horizon of the fabled SF singularity. He is...

Main fiction: "Red Oil" by Lincoln Michel Bio: Lincoln Michel's debut novel, The Body Scout (Orbit), was named one of the ten best SFF books of 2021 by The New York Times and one of the fifty best science fiction of all time by Esquire. He is also the author of the story collection Upright Beasts (Coffee House Press) and the co-editor of the anthologies Tiny Crimes (Catapult) and Tiny Nightmares (Catapult). His fiction can be found in The Paris Review, Lightspeed, F&SF, One Story, and...

My Health Little update on myself Treat me to a coffee as I won’t be doing much physically for a while: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/tonycsmith Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/starshipsofa. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Karl El-Koura lives with his family in Canada's capital city and works a regular job by day while writing fiction at night. This is his second appearance in StarShipSofa (his story "The Undertow Jackpot" was featured in issue #685). Visit www.ootersplace.com to learn more about his work. This story originally appeared in Utopia Science Fiction, October 2021. Narrated by Randal L. Schwartz Randal L. Schwartz is best well known for his seminal books on the Perl programming language that helped...

Main fiction: "The Orb" by Tara Campbell With a BA in English, an MA in German, and an MFA in Creative Writing, Tara Campbell has a demonstrated aversion to money and power. Originally from Anchorage, Alaska, she has also lived in Oregon, Ohio, New York, Germany and Austria. She currently lives in Washington, D.C. She is the recipient of the following awards from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities: the 2016 Larry Neal Writers' Award in Adult Fiction, the 2016 Mayor's Arts Award for...

Main fiction: "The Unveiling" by Christopher Rowe Christopher Rowe's stories have been printed, reprinted, and translated around the world and he has been a finalist for many awards, including the Hugo, the Nebula, and the World Fantasy Award. He lives in Lexington, Kentucky with his wife and many pets. This story originally appeared in Asimov's Science Fiction, January 2015. Narrated by: Drew Mallory Drew Mallory is a professor of organizational psychology and management coach in Bangkok,...

William Meikle is a Scottish writer, now living in Canada, with over thirty novels published in the genre press and more than 300 short story credits in thirteen countries. He has books available from a variety of publishers including Dark Regions Press and Severed Press and his work has appeared in a large number of professional anthologies and magazines. He lives in Newfoundland with whales, bald eagles and icebergs for company. When he's not writing he drinks beer, plays guitar, and dreams...

Main fiction: "I am the Grass" by Jeff Somers Jeff Somers (www.jeffreysomers.com) began writing by court order as an attempt to steer his creative impulses away from engineering genetic grotesqueries. He has published nine novels, including the Avery Cates series and the Ustari Cycle series, as well as over fifty short stories, including “Ringing the Changes,” which was selected for inclusion in Best American Mystery Stories 2006. He is a contributing editor at Writer’s Digest Magazine, which...

Main Fiction: "The Big Whimper" by Laird Barron Laird Barron, an expat Alaskan, is the author of several books, including The Imago Sequence and Other Stories; Swift to Chase; and Blood Standard. Currently, Barron lives in the Rondout Valley of New York State and is at work on tales about the evil that men do. This story originally appeared in Weird World War IV, 2022. Narrated by: Will Stagl Will Stagl is proud to be a member of the StarShipSofa team, recruiting narrators for the podcast’s...

Main Fiction: "In a Structure Simulating an Owl" by Ander Monson Ander Monson is the author of eight books, including the forthcoming I Will Take the Answer and The Gnome Stories from Graywolf. He edits the magazine DIAGRAM among other projects, and he directs the MFA program at the University of Arizona. “In a Structure Simulating an Owl” from The Gnome Stories. Copyright © 2020 by Ander Monson. Used with the permission of The Permissions Company, LLC on behalf of Graywolf Press. Narrated...

Main Fiction: "Charlie's Angels" by Terry Bisson Terry Bisson is a science fiction writer and editor. Currently he is the series editor for PM’s Outspoken Author Series. He also writes the This Month in History feature in Locus Magazine. His works and story can be found on his website, Terry Bisson of the Universe. This story originally appeared in SciFiction, August 2001. Narrated by: Mark Nelson Mark Nelson began audiobook narration in 2006, and now has over 180 titles at LibriVox....

Main Fiction: "With Frank and Lucinda Brewer at the East Pole" by Gregory Norman Bossert Gregory Norman Bossert is an author and filmmaker based just over the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco. He started writing in 2009 on a dare and has no intention of stopping anytime soon. His story “The Telling” won the 2013 World Fantasy Award; other stories have appeared everywhere from Asimov’s Science Fiction to the Saturday Evening Post. When not writing, he wrangles spaceships and superheroes...

Steve Rasnic Tem is a past winner of the Bram Stoker, World Fantasy, and British Fantasy Awards. His novel Ubo (Solaris Books), a finalist for the Bram Stoker Award, is a dark science fictional tale about violence and its origins, featuring such historical viewpoint characters as Jack the Ripper, Stalin, and Heinrich Himmler. He has published over 500 short stories in his 40+ year career. Some of his best are collected in Thanatrauma and Figures Unseen from Valancourt Books, and in The Night...

Molly Tanzer is the award-winning author of five novels, two collections, and many works of short fiction. She lives outside of Boulder, CO with her notorious cat, the Toad. Follow her on Instagram @molly_tanzer. This story originally appeared in Phase Change: Imagining Energy Futures, 2012. Narrated by: Mary Murphy Mary is a New York based actor/voice-over artist. She loves the world of audio drama and is delighted to be back on board the StarShipSofa. She has performed in theatre, film, TV,...

Main Fiction: "Mines" by Eleanor Arnason Eleanor Arnason published her first story in 1973. She is one of the flood of women writers who came into SF during the Second Wave of Feminism; and her work reflects the Second Wave, as well as the aspirations and conflicts of the 1960s. She has published five or six novels, depending on how you count, 50+ short stories and some poetry. It's been a tough forty years, but she still lives in hope of Freedom and Justice. Narrated by: Will Stagl Will...

Main fiction: "Planet of Sarah" by David McGillveray David McGillveray was born in Edinburgh, Scotland but now lives and works in London. His fiction has previously appeared or is forthcoming in Interzone Digital, Shoreline of Infinity, Kaleidotrope, Space & Time and others. This story is original to StarShipSofa. Narrated by: Anthony Babbington Anthony Babington is a voice actor who looks just slightly off from how he sounds. From his secret volcano lair in Minnesota he narrates...

Main Fiction: "Rockhoppers" by Ramez Yoakeim A one-time engineer and educator, Ramez Yoakeim’s work favors the darker side of speculative fiction but mostly he writes about hope, including "More Than Trinkets," named one of Tor.com’s Must-Read Speculative Short Fiction. You’ll find more of his stories in Hidden Realms from Flame Tree Press, Sci Phi Journal, Translunar Travelers Lounge, Andromeda Spaceways, and many others. Discover more on his website, yoakeim.com, and Twitter...

This story originally appeared in Uncanny Magazine, #40. José Pablo Iriarte is a Cuban-American writer, high school math teacher, and parent of two. Their fiction has been finalist for the Nebula, Hugo, Locus and Sturgeon Awards, longlisted for the Otherwise Award, and reprinted in various Year's Best compilations. Their debut novel is slated for publication in spring of 2024 from Knopf Books for Young Readers. José currently serves as Director-at-Large for SFWA. Learn more (but frankly not...

What Is Happening To StarShipSofa in 2023Hey up, Just wanted to wish you all have MASSIVE and amazing Happy New Year for 2023. It truly means a lot to know you are still out there and still listening to my little podcast that I started nearly 17 years ago. That makes me so proud just to type those words. And... the big thing... we are still going after all these years thanks to you. So... not just a massive thank you but a Ultra Massive thank you. But... I'm hellish selfish and I want...

Main Fiction: "An Elegy for the Bucephalus" by Rhiannon Rasmussen This story originally appeared in Unlikely Wonders (Robot Dinosaur Press, 2022). Illustrator and writer Rhiannon Rasmussen creates dark fantasy, horror, and science-fiction that juxtaposes humanity and queerness with elements of monstrosity, phantasm, and the weird. Rhiannon’s work has appeared in galleries & magazines including Lightspeed Magazine, HEARTWOOD, and Magic: the Gathering. Find more work on...

Main Fiction: "The Hunt" by Gerri Leen Gerri Leen lives in Northern Virginia and originally hails from Seattle. In addition to being an avid reader, she's passionate about horse racing, tea, and collecting encaustic art and raku pottery. She has work in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Nature, Strange Horizons, Galaxy's Edge, Dark Matter, and others. She's edited several anthologies for independent presses, is finishing some longer projects, and is a member of SFWA and HWA. See...

Main Fiction: "That Feeling You're Feeling" by Matthew Sanborn Smith Matthew Sanborn Smith was born and raised in New England and has spent so many years in Florida, even his Florida-born children are well into adulthood. His fiction has appeared here at StarShipSofa, Tor.com, Nature, Apex Magazine, and the Drabblecast, among others. He is the keeper of the Beware the Hairy Mango podcast and its progeny. You can support his future works by way of patreon.com/matthewsanbornsmith. This story is...