420. Brown Girl in the Ring by Nalo Hopkinson (Reading Rangers)

https://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/sand-f-420-brown-girl-in-the-ring/SandF_420_Brown_Girl_in_the_Ring.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSInvisible men, sexy moss, and gymnastics, oh my! Shaun Duke and Alex Acks join forces for the first ever A Book and Its Adaptation pairing. April 2021’s selection includes Nalo Hopkinson’s Brown Girl in the Ring and the prequel adaptation, Brown Girl Begins (2017; dir. Sharon Lewis)! In this episode, Shaun and Alex discuss Hopkinson’s novel, diving into the book’s themes, its treatment of white flight and Caribbean culture, its exploration of medical and cultural power, and its significance, among other amazing subjects. Thanks for listening. We hope you enjoy the episode!
419. Captives of the Flame by Samuel R. Delany (Reading Rangers)

https://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/sand-f-419-captives-of-the-flame/SandF_419_Captives_of_the_Flame.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSInvisible men, sexy moss, and gymnastics, oh my! Shaun Duke and Trish Matson take a page out of the 60s to discuss Samuel R. Delany’s Captives of the Flame! Together, they discuss Delany’s approach to plotting, the novel’s themes of the other and war, the strange ending, and so much more! Thanks for listening. We hope you enjoy the episode!
Book Review: ESCAPE POD Edited by Mur Lafferty and S.B. Divya

The eponymous Escape Pod represents a ‘best-of’ anthology of sorts, celebrating the fifteenth anniversary of the audio short fiction podcast. Edited by Mur Lafferty and S.B. Divya, the book features some of the biggest names in speculative fiction published through the podcast’s history. While I don’t have interest in listening to stories, I adore them in print form, and this collection from Titan Books offers a diverse selection of high-quality writing. With the current exclusive focus of Skiffy & Fanty on writers/works by the BIPOC community, I’ll highlight here that this collection features superb stories by Maurice Broaddus and N.K. Jemisin. In what follows, I’ll briefly review the stories in this collection.
412. Eden Royce (a.k.a. The Crab Whisperer) on Root Magic

https://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/sand-f-episode-412-eden-royce/SandF_Episode_412_Eden_Royce.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSMarsh crabs, magic paint, and the times are a-changin’, oh my! Shaun Duke and Jen Zink join forces for this super special interview with Eden Royce on Root Magic. Together, they discuss Eden’s approach to U.S. history and the Gullah-Geechee culture, what makes Root Magic a southern gothic novel, and the wonderful world of middle grade novels. Plus so much more! Thanks for listening. We hope you enjoy the episode!
“Sharing Worlds: The Story of the Stories” by Gillian Polack

I have two new novels out, both having to emerge with the lack of fanfare that we’re accustomed to in 2020. They were written a decade apart. One is published in Australia and the other in New Zealand. One is set in a world far in time and space where the government has brought back the eighteenth century. The other is set last year, in rural Australia. You can find more about both of them here. They have several things in common. The most important is that I did not write them alone. I am active in fandom and my fannish habits peeped into my work and changed it. Poison and Light is part of a shared universe. The original concept came when my historian self whispered to my writing self, “I have an idea.” However, an ezine and an anthology containing much work by other writers were released long, long before my version of things saw light of day. As a result the New Ceres universe has two quite different paths, but that’s another story.
409. Looking Back, Moving Forward 2021 w/ Brandon O’Brien

https://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/sand-f-episode-409-looking-back-moving-forward/SandF_Episode_409_Looking_Back_Moving_Forward.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSNew years, new shiny, and memories, oh my! Shaun Duke, Jen Zink, and Brandon O’Brien join forces for the first podcast of 2021. Together, they take a dive back into the things they enjoyed about 2020 before jumping in time to all the things they’re looking forward to in 2021. Plus, we share new goals for the year, announcements about things to come, and brand new intro music! Thanks for listening. We hope you enjoy the episode!