written by David Steffen
Pseudopod is the weekly horror podcast edited by Shawn Garrett and Alex Hofelich. 2016 marked some major moments in the podcast’s history. 2017 marked a major landmark for them when they were added to the SFWA list of professional short fiction publications, after raising their flash fiction pay rates to be in line with their pay rates for longer fiction, which means that all four of the Escape Artists podcasts are on the list–Escape Pod, Podcastle, Pseudopod, and Cast of Wonders.
After running a successful Kickstarter campaign in 2016 for their 10th anniversary to fun an anthology, that anthology went live in 2017, Of Mortal Things Unsung which included many Pseudopod favorites as well as some brand new original fiction. (My story “What Makes You Tick” that had previously appeared on Pseudopod was reprinted in the anthology.)
In February Pseudopod once again participated in the Artemis Rising theme across the Escape Artists podcasts, publishing horror stories by women (including some originals picked out from a special slushpile just for this purpose).
Pseudopod publishes episodes weekly, with occasional Flash on the Borderlands episodes that collect 3 similar-themed flash stories for a single episode, for a total of 66 stories published in 2017, by my count.
Stories that are eligible for this year’s Hugo and Nebula Awards are marked with an asterisk (*), all of which would be credited to Pseudopod as the original publisher.
The List
1. “Under the Rubble” by John Wiswell*
This story as told by survivors in a collapsed grocery store, which collapsed for reasons unknown.
2. “The Hole at the Top of the World” by Benjamin Blattberg*
What is at the top of Mount Everest? What will happen when the summit is reached?
3. “Granite Requires” by T.J. Berry*
Each kind of stone requires its own sacrifices, some much more extreme than others, to everyone who lives in this small town. Granite is among the most demanding.
4. “The Corpse Child” by Chris Kuriata*
It is believed that there is a cure of a sick child that involves placing the corpse of a child underneath their bed for the night. Does it really work?
5. “Passover” by Caspian Gray*
In a concentration camp, a worker finds a body that won’t burn.
6. “An Unsent Letter From an Unnamed Student” by Aaron Fox-Lerner*
Who decided who is the monster? What if both sides think that they’re haunted?
7. “Indiscretions” by Hillary Dodge*
All the little details in Mary’s day tell her something is wrong. But what is it?
Honorable Mentions
“Four Hours of a Revolution” by Premee Mohamed*
“A Howling Dog” by Nick Mamatas*
“When First He Laid Eyes” by Rachael K. Jones