Escape Pod (podcast)
| Escape Pod | |
|---|---|
 The official Escape Pod logo | |
| Presentation | |
| Hosting | Norm Sherman; Alasdair Stuart |
| Genre | Sci-fi Short Stories |
| Updates | Weekly |
| Publication | |
| Debut | 16 May 2005 |
| Website | http://www.escapepod.org/ |
Escape Pod is a magazine-style podcast founded by Steve Eley and launched on 12 May 2005 which presents science fiction stories. It has been called "the world's leading science fiction podcast".[1]
About 10 months later Steve Eley created Escape Artists, Inc. to produce Escape Pod and sister podcasts.
Podcast staff
May 2005 launch
Escape Pod launched with founder Steve Eley filling all roles. Later Jeremiah Tolbert joined as editor.[2]
May 2010
Steve Eley announced his retirement on 26 April 2010. His last appearance was Episode 240 on 12 May 2010.
Mur Lafferty assumed both producer and hosting roles at Escape Pod with Episode 241.
January 2013
Effective 1 January 2013, Mur Lafferty stepped down as editor, keeping her association with Escape Artists, Inc.[3] On 18 December 2012, at Escape Pod's site, Mur published "Announcing the new editor of Escape Pod!", naming co-host Norm Sherman the new editor and Alasdair Stuart interim editor until Sherman assumes his new role. On 3 January 2013 Escape Pod confirmed Mur's departure during Episode 377's introduction.
Escape Artists, Inc.
Escape Artists, Inc. is a Georgia corporation established 21 February 2006 by Steve Eley[4] for producing Escape Pod and sister podcasts and is distinct from Escape Artists Productions, LLC.
Sister podcasts
Escape Artists has three sister podcasts:
- Escape Pod is dedicated to science fiction,
- Pseudopod is dedicated to horror fiction, and
- PodCastle is dedicated to fantasy fiction.
WWW sites
- Home Page features podcast images and links
- Escape Artists Forums
Content
Escape Pod features several different types of content. The magazine offers a weekly story, usually between 2000 and 6000 words in length. It also releases flash fiction pieces less than 2000 words in length on an irregular schedule. Occasionally, the podcast airs reviews of mainstream science fiction and fantasy media, most of which are presented by Jonathon Sullivan, Escape Pod's reviews editor. Annually Escape Pod publishes audio presentations the year's Hugo Award nominees in the short story category. On rare occasions, other types of content have been made available on Escape Pod, such as metacasts (episodes discussing the achievements and future plans of the show itself), an interview, book and movie reviews, and PDFs for Playing for Keeps by Mur Lafferty and Infected by Scott Sigler.
In 2008, Escape Pod refocused its attention back to its science fiction roots, leaving the horror and fantasy stories to the sister podcasts but Eley states that there are still no hard and fast rules on content, and Escape Pod may still feature the occasional horror or fantasy piece.
Narration
Escape Pod has a policy against allowing authors to read their own works. Many stories are read by people associated with Escape Pod (Steve Eley, Mur Lafferty, Jonathon Sullivan, and Anna Eley) as well as other members of the podcasting community.
SFWA professional market
Escape Pod is considered a professional market by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America and publications in it count towards qualifying writers for SFWA.[5]
Music
Escape Pod's music is provided by surf rock band Daikaiju with the band's permission. The opening theme is the instrumental song "The Final Phase," and the closing theme is "Choujikuu Mitsukai" ("Super-Dimensional Angels"). Both are from the album The Phasing Spider Menace.
Reception
Short fiction audio podcast magazines like Escape Pod and its sister publications, Pseudopod and PodCastle, have caught the interest and imagination of fiction enthusiasts, and doing a wonderful job at reviving awareness in both new short fiction and classic works
Distribution and rights
Escape Pod is distributed under the Creative Commons attribution non-commercial no-derivatives 3.0 license.[2] This means that Escape Pod episodes are available at no cost and can be redistributed but not sold or modified. Any of the show's episodes may be downloaded individually from Escape Pod's website or received via a podcatcher.
The fiction itself remains copyrighted by its respective authors. Escape Pod contracts with the authors for non-exclusive audio rights, paying semi-professional rates.[7]
Escape Pod now sells collections of their podcasts at PodDisc. There are currently five discs available. Disc one contains episodes 1 through 26. Disc two contains 27 through 52. Disc three contains episodes 53 through 78. Disc four contains episodes 79 through 104. Disc five contains episodes 105 through 130.
See also
References
- ↑ TNC New Media, Inc. "Speaker Bio: Stephen Eley". TNC New Media, Inc. Archived from the original on 2007-10-15. Retrieved 2007-11-13.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "About Escape Pod". Escape Artists, Inc. Retrieved 2009-05-21.
- ↑ "Podcasts". The Murverse Annex. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
- ↑ "ESCAPE ARTISTS, INC. Control Number: 0617104". Georgia Secretary of State Corporations Division. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
- ↑ SFWA. "SFWA Membership Requirements". SFWA.
- ↑ Eugie Foster. "The Fix - short fiction website launches today!". The UK SF Book News Network. Archived from the original on 2007-10-18. Retrieved 2007-11-13.
- ↑ "Submission Guidelines". Escape Artists, Inc. Retrieved 2009-05-21.