Variant Frequencies

Best Speculative Fiction Story (Short Form)

• Clarkesworld Magazine – The Things by Peter Watts [subscribe]
• Podcastle – Restless in my Hand by Tim Pratt [subscribe]
• Tales of the Children – Swimming Lessons by Gabrielle Harbowy [subscribe]
• The Tank by Scott Sigler
• The Dunesteef Audio Fiction Magazine – A Princess Of Earth by Mike Resnick [subscribe]

Best Speculative Fiction Story (Novella Form)

• Tattoo by Paul Elard Cooley [subscribe]
• 7th Son: 7 Days by J.C. Hutchins [subscribe]
• Heaven – Season Five: War by Mur Lafferty [subscribe]
• Personal Effects: Sword of Blood by J.C. Hutchins [subscribe]
• Title Fight by Scott Sigler & Matt Wallace [subscribe]

Best Speculative Fiction Story (Long Form)

• 7th Son: Descent (2009 production) by J.C. Hutchins [subscribe]
• Captain’s Share by Nathan Lowell [subscribe]
• Infected by Scott Sigler [subscribe]
• Underwood and Flinch by Mike Bennett [subscribe]
• Secret World Chronicle by Mercedes Lackey, Dennis Lee, Steve Libbey, and Cody Martin, with the reading done by Veronica Giguere [subscribe]

Best Speculative Fiction Audio Drama (Short Form)

• The Metamor City Podcast – Whispers in the Wood by Chris Lester [subscribe]
• In The Gloaming by Nathaniel Tapley [subscribe]
• Batman: The Ace of Detectives by Pendant Productions [subscribe]
• Sea of Stars: A Voyage of the Space Cruiser Argo by Devin Cox [subscribe]
• The Radio Adventures of Dr. Floyd by Grant Baciocco & Doug Price [subscribe]

Best Speculative Fiction Audio Drama (Long Form)

• Star Trek: Outpost by Daniel McIntosh & Tony Raymond [subscribe]
• Twilight Theatre – Sides by Mike Murphy [subscribe]
• We’re Alive by KC Wayland, Shane Salk, & Greyson Stone [subscribe]
• The Byron Chronicles by Eric Busby [subscribe]
• Decoder Ring Theatre by Gregg Taylor [subscribe]

Best Speculative Fiction Video Story

• Calls for Cthulhuby Brand Gamblin [subscribe]
• GOLD: Season 1 by David Nett & Andrew Deutsch [subscribe]
• Grant’s Advent Calendar by Grant Baciocco [subscribe]
• The Radio Adventures of Dr. Floyd by Grant Baciocco & Doug Price [subscribe]

Best Speculative Fiction Magazine or Anthology Podcast

• The Drabblecast edited by Norm Sherman [subscribe]
• Erotica à la Carte edited by P. J. Ballantine [subscribe]
• The Crypt edited by Scott Sigler [subscribe]
• Escape Pod edited by Mur Lafferty [subscribe]
• Variant Frequencies edited by Rick Stringer [subscribe]

Best New Speculative Fiction Podcaster/Team

• Brass Needles hosted by Miss Kalendar [subscribe]
• The Dreamer’s Thread by Starla Huchton [subscribe]
• The Gearheart by Alexander White [subscribe]
• In The Gloaming by Nathaniel Tapley [subscribe]
• ShadowCast Audio Anthology by Jason Warden [subscribe]

Best Speculative Fiction Fan or News Podcast (Specific)

• The ScapeCast featuring Brent Barrett, Chris Polansky, Hank Shiffman, Kevin Bachelder, Kimberly Thompson, Lindy Rae, Michael Falkner, Sammy Mohr, & Wendy Hembrock [subscribe]
• The Signal featuring Kari Haley, Kevin Bachelder, Kara Helgren, Les Howard, Jutta Jordans, Dave Tomasic, Andy King, Nick Edwards, Miranda Thomas, Helen Eaton, Anna Snyder, James Parkinson, & Jill Arroway [subscribe]
• The Babylon Podcast featuring Tim Callender, Summer Brooks, & Jeffrey Willerth [subscribe]
• The ForceCast featuring Jason Swank & Jimmy “Mac” McInerney [subscribe]
• The H.P. Lovecraft Literary Podcast featuring Chris Lackey & Chad Fifer [subscribe]

Best Speculative Fiction Fan or News Podcast (General)

• Television Zombies featuring Tina, Chris, Jeff, & Chuck [subscribe]
• PodCulture featuring Brad, Glenn, Christina, & Adam [subscribe]
• Galactic Watercooler featuring Audra, Chuck, & Sean [subscribe]
• Geek Radio Daily featuring Billy Flynn, The Flynstress, & The Bruce [subscribe]
• WhatTheCast featuring Brian, Stephen, Crispy, & Patrick [subscribe]

Best Podcast about Speculative Fiction Content Creation

• The Dead Robots’ Society featuring Justin Macumber, Ryan Stevenson, Terry Mixon, & P.G. Holyfield [subscribe]
• Writing Excuses featuring Brandon Sanderson, Dan Wells, Eric James Stone, Howard Tayler, & Stacy Whitman [subscribe]
• The Henson.com Podcast featuring The Jim Henson Company, Grant Baciocco, Producer [subscribe]
• I Should Be Writing featuring Mur Lafferty [subscribe]
• Unleashed featuring James Melzer [subscribe]

Best Fact Behind the Fiction Podcast

• The 365 Days of Astronomy featuring the Astrosphere New Media Association [subscribe]
• The Command Line Podcast featuring Thomas Gideon [subscribe]
• Skepticality featuring Derek Colanduno & Robynn “Swoopy” McCarthy [subscribe]
• The Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe featuring Steven Novella, Robert Novella, Rebecca Watson, Evan Bernstein, Jay Novella, & Perry DeAngelis [subscribe]
• Skeptoid featuring Brian Dunning [subscribe]

Best Speculative Fiction Comedy/Parody Podcast

• Dragon*ConTV featuring Brian Richardson & crew [subscribe]
• Bell’s In The Batfry featuring John Bell [subscribe]
• Teknikal Diffikulties featuring Cayenne Chris Conroy [subscribe]
• Comedy4Cast featuring Clinton Alvord [subscribe]
• Frequency of Fear featuring Zombie Astronaut [subscribe]

Best Speculative Fiction Music Podcast

• The FuMP featuring Devo Spice, Possible Oscar, Raymond and Scum, Rob Balder, Robert Lund and Spaff.com, the great Luke Ski, Tom Smith, & Worm Quartet [subscribe]
• Radio Free Hipster featuring Z. [subscribe]
• Wander Radio featuring Jack Hosley [subscribe]
• Wandering Geek Podcast featuring Curt Ardent & Scott Langsten [subscribe]

We have had five awesome seasons of Variant Frequencies. However, in recent months my work life has gotten to be more challenging than in the past. It is harder to concentrate on the podcast.

All good things must come to an end. On May 30, 2010 we will be doing a live show at Balticon 44. That will be the final episode of Variant Frequencies. We hope that any of you who will be at Balticon 44 will come join us for this farewell performance. It is an opportunity to celebrate and say goodbye, instead of simply fading away.

We can’t thank the Farpoint Media family enough. It has been an honor and a privilege to be associated with this wonderful group of people. We will keep the site going as long as FPM is willing to let us. That will keep all of the stories available. It will also leave open the possibility of one day returning if I get the bug again.

Then we have the amazing writers: A.R. Yngve, Adrian Grey Marsden, Bryn Sparks, Carmelo Rafala, Christa Faust, D.K. Thompson, Darren Reid, David Tallerman, Dennis Egan, D.J. Burnham, James P. Hogan, Jason McDowell, Jonathan C. Gillespie, Johathan McGoran, Michael Natale, Ray Banks, Scott Sigler, Seth Harwood, Matthew Warner, Jack Mangan, D. M. Moehrle, Michael A. Stackpole, Ray Banks, Jack Westlake, and of course the two authors for which this podcast was originally started, Anne Stringer and Matt Wallace.

Variant Frequencies could not have existed without the incredible voice talents of: Stacey Griffith-Livingston, Tom “DevoSpice” Rockwell, Ian Jones, Anne Stringer, Maia “KnitWhitch” Whitaker, Anton Buntic, Heidi Jones, Jan Dalton, Evo Terra, Neil Stringer, Adrian Grey Marsden, A.R. Yngve, Jeff Frank, Scott Sigler, Ali Groves, Rich Sigfrit, Dani Cutler, Nan Worthington, Tee Morris, Mur Lafferty, Michael R. Mennenga, Chuck Tomasi, Leann Mabry, J. Marcus Xavior, John Cmar, Jack Hosley, Tony McCartney, Matthew Wayne Selznick, Will Hoffacker, Phil Rossi, Jack Ward, Lonnie Ezell, Ciaran O’Carroll, Nobilis, Paul S. Jenkins, Lorrie Mennenga, TD-0013, P.G. Holyfield, Seth Harwood, Thomas “cmdln” Gideon, Marck Pearlstone, Matthew Warner, Heather Welliver, Kreg Steppe, Matt Wallace, J.C. Hutchins, Chris Lester, Marilyn Taylor, Michael A. Stackpole, Sean “Dogg” Robertson, Benjamin Grundy, Christopher Mott, and Alasdair Stuart.

We also had some beautiful artwork by: Deena Warner, Paul Drummond, and Vincent Chong.

A major part of Variant Frequencies has been the music. We have been honored to feature music by: Abney Park, Cagey House, Evan Tate, Greg Seaman, Mue Sephei, Neil Stringer, and the Traverse Symphony Orchestra.

Finally, we want to thank you, the listeners. Without you, Variant Frequencies would have had no reason to be. It has been truly an honor to have you listen to our stories. We can only hope that we entertained you, and distorted your reality…

for just a little while.

Well, we got through the big push for J.C. Hutchin’s book, “7th Son: Descent.” I’m back in control of the site. That Kilroy 2.0 is one tricky hacker. It sounds like Hutch had a great day. I hope you all went out and purchased his book. Hutch is a fantastic writer, and I can’t say enough good things about the man.

J.C. Hutchins is about to rock the publishing world with the print version of 7th Son: Descent. I’ve already told you how much I admire Hutch’s work. Hutch is one of the pioneers in podcast fiction. He released his entire 7th Son trilogy in 2006 and 2007 to prove that he could find an audience. He did exactly that, found an audience. But the mission isn’t finished. We need to help him get the rest of the trilogy published. Right now, only 7th Son: Descent is guaranteed to be published by St. Martin’s Press. The other two books are dependent on how well this one does. So, I’m asking you to go to JCHutchins.net to order 7th Son: Descent.

Hutch is once again creating new ways to promote his fantastic writing. You can get an EP recorded by one of the characters. John Smith’s “Anyman” EP can be found here:

http://jchutchins.net/site/2009/10/12/anyman-ep-track-1-unscrew-you/

There is so much more to explore on his site:

• A brand-new podcast recording of the “print edition” of the novel (with new scenes, twists, and character tweaks)
• A prequel audio short story anthology called 7th Son: 7 Days
• Serialization of the novel in PDF at my site, and the text at BoingBoing.net
• Free songs written and performed by John Smith, the musician character in the book
• And more

I think Hutch is one of the best new writers out there. You are doing yourself a huge disservice if you have not read or listened to his work. There is no excuse. It is available in just about any form that you want, and maybe even soon, on film.

Here is the promo for 7th Son: Descent.

http://media.libsyn.com/media/jchutchins/7thSonDescent_Promo_01.mp3

Variant Frequencies: Season V starts on October 15, 2009. We will be back with a great story by Matthew Warner.

In December, we are going to blast your ears twice a week with The Failed Cities: Hath a Darkness by Matt Wallace! The action starts on December 1 and ends on Christmas Day.

In January we will continue the Christmas theme with a fantastic story by New York Times Best Selling Author, Michael A. Stackpole.

We are just getting rolling folks. It is going to be a great season!

Variant Frequencies won another Parsec Award. “Under The Bed” by Michael Natale won Best Speculative Fiction Story (Short Form). We are very excited about it. Congratulations Michael, and thank you for letting us produce this wonderful, creepy story.

We also want to thank Michael A. Stackpole. Mr. Stackpole is New York Times Best Selling Author who provided the incredible voice for this story. From the moment I first read this story, I heard Michael A. Stackpole’s voice in my head. I’m so glad he agreed to read it for us.

Thank you to the 2009 Parsec Awards Steering Committee for all of their hard work on the awards.

Finally, thank you for listening to Variant Frequencies. There is more good stuff to come, we promise.

I narrated “Aerophelia” by Tobias Buckell. It was a fun story to do, and StarShipSofa is doing a fantastic job with their stories. Check it out at: http://www.starshipsofa.com.

The Parsec Awards are now open for submissions for 2009. As you all know, Variant Frequencies has done well at the Parsec Awards. We don’t know if we can win an unprecedented fourth year in a row, but that sure would be nice.

Here is a list of our episodes that qualify for Best Speculative Fiction Story (Short Form).

Saint Darwin’s Spirituals
Grounders
The Destruction of Sennacherib
Queue
All The Time
Under The Bridge Downtown
Best In Class
Creature of God
Gill Bando
Prisoners
Under The Bed

For Best Speculative Fiction Story (novella)
The End of Flesh

Finally, you certainly could nominate us for Best Speculative Fiction Magazine or Anthology Podcast.

We hope that you have enjoyed Variant Frequencies enough to nominate us again for the Parsec Awards. It has been an honor to be part of it for the past three years. So, if you think we deserve it, please go to http://parsecawards.com/submission and tell them what you think about us.

Thank you from everyone at Variant Frequencies.

__

UPDATE: Variant Frequencies has been nominated by a few people now. Thank you to those that have nominated us. If you want to nominate a specific story, then go to this page: http://www.parsecawards.com/node/618. Then add a comment that tells them the exact story that you want to nominate.

If you want to listen to a different type of interview, go to “How To Grow Your Geek” http://www.howtogrowyourgeek.net/. Susie interviewed me about being a geeky parent. It was a fun interview, and we even talked about the podcast some.

I had a great time. Thank you Susie!

Mark your calendars! On May 14th, 2009 you will be able to get your hands on a new anthology, “Full Throttle Space Tales #3: Space Grunts,” edited by Dayton Ward. The part that really has us excited is that it contains a story by Anne Stringer and Jason McDowell.

The book is edited by Dayton Ward, best known for his Star Trek novels. He also wrote one of the stories.

Anne and Jason wrote a story called “Flashback.” You all know how good Anne’s writing is. Jason is a terrific writer, and has real war experience from his tour in Iraq. They came up with a piece about a former soldier who goes on the run for murder, and winds up in a mercenary team on a far distant colony planet. They were happy with how it turned out, and apparently so was Mr. Ward.

Anne has written many of our stories here on Variant Frequencies, and Jason wrote the Parsec Award nominated “Sacrifice.”

Here is the full list of authors and their stories in the book:

Derek Tyler Attico, “Blowback”

Robin Wayne Bailey, “Shin-Gi-Tai”

Kirsten Beyer, “Widow’s Weeds”

David Boop, “The Thing With Private Leon’s Face”

John Coffren, “Across the Endless Sea”

Jeff D. Jacques, “Rush”

Jean Johnson, “It’s Not a Game”

Alan L. Lickiss, “Granny’s Grunts”

Julie McGalliard, “98 Hill”

Nayad A. Monroe, “An Assessment of the Incident At Camp Righteous”

Scott Pearson, “Finders Keepers”

Irene Radford, “Price of Command”

Selina Rosen, “Unchained”

Bradley H. Sinor and Susan P. Sinor, “Who Stand and Wait”

Anne Stringer and Jason McDowell, “Flashback”

James Swallow, “Target Market”

Geoffrey Thorne, “Truth Metric”

Dayton Ward, “A Fresh Perspective”