Episode 116 - Marguerite Sheffer: "The Observer's Cage"

We've brought back a newly-packaged edition of our 2022 Holiday episode, featuring stories selected from our contest submissions that year, as well as a few by authors who were guests on the podcast. We've added a story from 1917 that was discovered in the archives of Project Gutenberg, and was featured in Episode 4 of the first edition of Short Story Today. Featuring the voices of Jon DiSavino, Alison Fraser, Peter Garruba, Barret Leddy, and Suzanne Savoy. https://shortstorytoday.com/Support the show

This week we've created an audiobook anthology of short stories about thanksgiving - not the holiday, per se, but the things that Thanksgiving represents: family bonds, gratitude, and benevolence. There are nine stories by five authors: Mathieu Cailler, Melissa Ostrom, Andrea Rinard, John Sheirer, and Hart Vetter. Featuring the voices of Daniel Dykiel, Sierra Lidén, Meg Sewell, and Jon DiSavino.https://shortstorytoday.com/ Support the show

Toronto author Danila Botha's third story collection, Things That Cause Inappropriate Happiness (Guernica Editions), moves uniquely through time. She combines multigenerational stories that eloquently reflect on history with contemporary stories of the lives and loves of urban youth. Sierra Lidén reads "Don't Look Back," which was first published in Jewishfiction.net.https://www.danilabotha.com/Support the show

Mississippi author Eliot Parker's second collection of stories is something of a love letter to the hard-working people of Appalachia that he's come to appreciate in the many years he's lived in the territory. Table For Two (Colorful Crow Publishing) is a multi-genre collection of tales that focus on one-on-one conversations with heart and humor. We read "Giving," the final story in the book.https://www.eliotparker.com/ Support the show

Award-winning Massachusetts author Jeffrey Feingold will see his third short story collection published this fall. A FINE MADNESS - AND OTHER MAD STORIES (MFT Press) is a combination of literary realism and magical realism that crosses over, at times, into the surreal. What binds it all together, though, is the humor. We read "My Left Foot" from his first book, The Black Hole Pastrami.https://jeffreymfeingold.com/Support the show

New Orleans author Marguerite Sheffer is a Professor of Practice at Tulane University, where she teaches courses in design thinking and speculative fiction as tools for social change. Read her collection The Man in the Banana Trees (Univ of Iowa Press) to see how it's done. We read "The Observer's Cage," which was first published in The Offing. https://www.margueritesheffer.com/Support the show

Bay Area author Nina Schuler doesn't subscribe to the "write what you know" school of thought. For her, that would just be boring. In her fiction, she writes fearlessly about complex subjects like AI and the science of climate change, and makes us think about what roles we might take in an effort to make the world a better place. Karen Joy Fowler, author of Booth, has called her collection IN THIS RAVISING WORLD "the book this moment needs." We read "Brethren and Sistren" from the collection. https://ninaschuyler.com/Support the show

New Jersey author Janis Hubschman was a marathon runner, so she understands the true meaning of endurance. The women in her debut story collection Take Me With You Next Time (Betty Books) are athletes and outdoorswomen who find themselves on terrain that challenges not only their bodies, but their hearts and minds, too. We read "Please See Me," which was first published in Chautauqua Journal.https://www.janishubschman.com/about.htmlSupport the show

Author Tara Isabel Zambrano is an electrical engineer by day, where she relies on her left brain in designing semiconductors. She balances that by ensuring that her right brain gets time to do some playing - particularly in the form of writing fiction. Of her new collection Ruined a Little When We Are Born (Dzanc Books), Laura Picklesimer, author of Kill For Love writes: "Enchanting and heartbreaking, Zambrano’s prose pulses with intensity, magic, and insight."https://taraisabelzambrano.wordpress.com/Support the show

Georgia author Viggy Parr Hampton discovered that the best way to find the satisfyingly scary horror stories she craved was to write them herself. She's just published her second novel, Much Too Vulgar, which has been described by Ronald Malfi, bestselling author of Small Town Horror as “A brash, unapologetic, and often funny novel with a delightful nasty streak." We read the story "The Waiting Mortuary," which was published in The Cafe. https://viggyhampton.com/Support the show