Issue #255 of The Fiction Podcast Weekly is brought to you by The Biggest Threat To Podcasting in 2024, According to Experts.

Katie Paterson asked podcasters about the biggest chompy Kaiju stomping on the podcast zeitgeist today. Find out what they said and why, and tell us what you think!

News, Roundups, and Announcements

• Did you know Backstage, Mandy, and StarNow are all connected? I didn't. This info has been making the rounds lately: Did you know that both Backstage and Mandy have ToC saying you grant without any credit or or compensation to you, the ability to use any User Provided Content prrrrretty much however they like? Reddit user LTHewitt says, "They removed the clause, but the damage is done." More info at their Instagram.
• And "the first 360-degree IP based on a podcast" with toy licensing is...🥁 Wondery Kids and Wow In The World! Of course it is. The talks with Mattel to make Jarnsaxa Barbie With Color Changing Shapeshifter Action and Jotunheim Revenge Armor aren't going as well as I'd hoped. But hey, fiction podcast action figures need to be a thing! Wondery Kids and Wow in the World Expand Consumer Products Program by License Global.
• Speaking of 360-degree things that are not baking temperatures: Absurd Ventures is a transmedia project with an audio drama podcast component. Rockstar Games co-founder’s new open world game details revealed in new report, by Aaron Trueman for Rockstar Intel.
• Sprechen sie Deutsch? Der Dragon Slayer Podcast interviewte Travis Vengroff über Dnd, die OGL, seine Karriere und seine Hörspielproduktionen. Achtung: Dieses Interview ist ein Mix aus Englisch und Deutsch.
• ​Congratulations to Amber Devereux for winning Composer of the Year at The UKAudioNetwork Audio Awards 2024!
• ​The first line-up announcements for The London Podcast Festival are ready for you, including such luminaries as The Beef & Dairy Network. They offer live and online streaming tickets, so you can milk it for all it's- yes. Yes, you saw where I was going.
• ​The Podcast Show is happening now. If you attended and want to share your experience as an audio drama and fiction podcast artist, let me know.
• ​Earbuds Podcast Collective shares Literary Fiction for Your Ears: Podcast Recommendations curated by the creator of "Wyrd Woman"​

Creator Resources

• ​Audio UK has two new membership levels, to increase accessibility. "Academic level membership is for academic institutions to sign up to on behalf of their students giving them fantastic insight into the professional audio world and Creator level membership which is specially designed for freelancers."
• Audiotrain's got new courses available: Expanding Audio Mixing Skills For Podcast Producers and How To Become A Successful Freelancer.
• ​The Industry is in Crisis, But Make Something Anyway Despite all the challenges creatives face at the moment, Laura Hunter Drago is finding a way to get her work out there.
• ​Tink Media interviewed Talia Augustidis about "'woah moments with audio," In the Dark, Tribeca, and jigsaw puzzles.
• ​@UKCalls is a new Instagram account for casting calls, created in response to the Mandy-Backstage-StarNow debacle.
• ​The State of Creativity Study 2023, commissioned by the Cannes Lions Advisory panel, says that brands should collaborate with independent creators (around page 26) and "bring entertainment back." Tired: Making up an AI influencer (i.e., Lu from Magalu, page 28). Wired: Partnering with existing creators and communities (pages 29-31). Inspired: Sponsoring audio drama and fiction podcasts.
• ​Podcast Conferences: Are They Worth The Investment? by Content is Queen
• ​Lessons on failure from Nikolai Gogol Voice actor Chris Tester shares why, as Stephen Colbert said, "There are no mistakes, only discoveries."

Opportunities

• The Austin Film Festival's Fiction Podcast competition is now The Realm Podcast Fellowship. "Scripts should be already adapted for audio; they are not currently evaluating screenplay or teleplay material." The late deadline is May 24, and the Extended Deadline is July 6.
• Do you love Rusty Quill podcasts? Got a secret Cry Havoc slashfic about Gaius Caesar and Marc Antony? Now's your chance, buckaroos! Piles of Nonsense is hosting Rusty Quill Big Bang 2024. Details at the link: writer sign-up ends 26 May. Sign up on this form right here.
• Casting Call: Waiting For October is an upcoming queer supernatural audio drama series from the creators of Moonbase Theta, Out, and MonkeyTales. "The setting is the world of October - a place of monsters, a place of fiction, a place of others born from the need of our stories. It’s a world that’s wild and transformative, where gill folks live in the lakes and weres run through the city streets, while kaiju roar beyond the mountains and the Moon always fills the midnight sky." More kaiju? What is even happening right now?
• ​Sensitivity reader wanted, seeking an Arab Muslim woman and a Black American person of any gender. Deadline: 20 June.
• Casting? Looking for scripts? Need collaborators? Share your opportunities via The Fiction Podcast Weekly today!

Milestones & Debuts

• After creating audio projects for 17 years, Peter Beeston is bringing ‘Cornucopia Radio’ to an end & releasing one final piece called ‘The Gilded Imagination,’ "which is all about the telling stories."
• ​Before The Tone: Mack has just gotten a job as a CCTV operator at the increasingly suspicious Atlas Consulting. The story takes the form of voicemails from Mack to her sister, Daria, who never seems to answer her calls.
• ​San Endijo County To celebrate the last day of high school, a group of childhood friends journey to their old hangout spot: an abandoned amusement park. The only problem is they might not be alone…
• ​Imprinted Alex works in the Department of Imprinting and Records where, using Second Stem technology, she is able to witness victims' last moments before death and help bring their killers to justice.

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