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cover art for StarShipSofa No 692 Cara Hoffman

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StarShipSofa No 692 Cara Hoffman

Main Fiction: "The Apiarist" by Cara Hoffman

Cara Hoffman is the author of three New York Times Editors' Choice Novels and a founding editor of The Anarchist Review of Books. Her latest book, Ruin, is published by PM Press. She lives in Athens, Greece.

This story originally appeared in Ruin (PM Press, 2022).

Narrated by: Mary Murphy

Mary is a New York based actor/voice-over artist. She loves the world of audio drama and is delighted to be back on board the StarShipSofa. She has performed in theatre, film, TV, animation, radio, and video games. A few of her recent credits include the one-woman play An Evening With Lola Montez, It’s A Wonderful Life, a streamed performance of the piece Near Nellie Bly, and the audio dramas Frontier Gentleman, Chinook, and Newfield. She can be heard voicing various characters for Disney, GoKidGo, LeapFrog, the Center For New American Media, Audible, and Audimance. She has also been a regular performer on the audio drama series Fireside Mystery Theatre, The NoSleep Podcast, and many other audio venues.

Fact: Looking Back At Genre Fiction by Amy H Sturgis

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  • StarShipSofa 758 Pedro Iniguez

    59:33|
    Pedro Iniguez is a Mexican-American Bram Stoker, Elgin, and Rhysling Award-nominated horror and science-fiction writer from Los Angeles, California. He is the author of Mexicans on the Moon: Speculative Poetry from a Possible Future, and Fever Dreams of a Parasite, among others. Forthcoming books include his SFF collection, Echoes and Embers: Speculative Stories, and his debut picture book, The Fib, which are slated for 2025 releases.This story originally appeared in Infinite Constellations, 2023.Narrated by: Mary MurphyMary is a New York based actor/voice-over artist. She loves the world of audio drama and is delighted to be back on board the StarShipSofa. She has performed in theatre, film, TV, animation, radio, and video games. A few of her recent credits include the one-woman play An Evening With Lola Montez, It’s A Wonderful Life, a streamed performance of the piece Near Nellie Bly, Divination of The Three for Asheville Fringe, and the audio dramas Frontier Gentleman, Chinook, and Newfield. She can be heard voicing various characters for Disney, GoKidGo, LeapFrog, the Center For New American Media, Audible, and Audimance. She has also been a regular performer on the audio drama series Fireside Mystery Theatre, The NoSleep Podcast, The Wicked Library, To the Manor Borne By Robots, and Campfire Radio Theater. marymurphyonline.comFact: Looking Back At Genre History by Amy H Sturgis
  • StarShipSofa 757 Maggie Slater

    27:54|
    Maggie Slater’s (she/her) speculative fiction has appeared in Apex Magazine, Metaphorosis, and Redivider, among other venues. She lives in an 1800s farmhouse in New England with two half-tamed boys, one half-trained dog, her husband, her parents, and at least one benign ghost. For more information about her and her current projects, visit her blog at maggieslater.com or find her on Instagram: @maggiedot_writes or on Bluesky: @maggiedotwrites."Any Day But Today..." originally appeared in Andromeda Spaceways Magazine, #79, 2020.Narrated by: Zed Hope SimonZed Hope Simon (they/them) is a Brooklyn-based performer, playwright, and fight director. Their short plays have been produced at various digital and live festivals throughout New York City and around the United States and their first full-length play, Watchlist, received a workshop production at The Tank in February 2020. They have previously performed with Alterra Productions interactive theatre company and help coordinate the annual New York Summer Sling stage combat workshop for the Society of American Fight Directors. Zed has hosted podcasts covering film, tv, and video games for Whirlwind Podcasts, Post Show Recaps, Rob has a Podcast, and Arcade Pizza, and can be found streaming games on YouTube at youtube.com/@hardrockhope. For more, follow Zed on Bluesky @hardrockhope or visit www.zedhopesimon.com
  • StarShipSofa 756 Tina Connolly

    55:03|
    Tina Connolly writes fantastical stories for kids, teens, and grown-ups. Some of them are serious and some of them involve flying bananas. Her books include the Ironskin and Seriously Wicked series, the collection On the Eyeball Floor, and the official Choose Your Own Adventure book Glitterpony Farm. She has been a finalist for the Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy awards. She also co-hosts Escape Pod, narrates stories, and runs the intermittent flash fiction podcast Toasted Cake. Find her at tinaconnolly.com.This story originally appeared in Helix #9, 2008.Narrated by: Tahereh SafaviTahereh Safavi is an improv kid and your biggest fan. She runs the Ubergroup, a 501(c)3 nonprofit providing low-cost fine arts education for adults. The Ubergroup offers university-level coursework, support, and networking for all writing-related art formats (including but not limited to: commercial and literary novels, stage and screen plays, short fiction, comics, nonfiction and academic, podcasts and webseries, picture books, poetry, IP writing, and some writing-adjacent arts such as acting and illustration) at a pace suitable for adults with full-time jobs and families. Check out theubergroup.org for more.Fact: Looking Back At Genre History by Amy H Sturgis
  • StarShipSofa 755 Akis Linardos

    24:25|
    Akis Linardos is a writer of bizarre things, a biomedical AI scientist, and maybe human. He’s also a Greek that hops across countries as his career and exploration urges demand. Find his words at Apex, Strange Horizons, Uncharted, Heartlines Spec, and visit his lair for more: https://linktr.ee/akislinardosThis story originally appeared in The Colored Lens #49, Autumn 2023.Narrated by: Doni NicollDoni Nicoll-Duir (nickel-dar) is originally from the Western Slope of Colorado. He has lived in and out of Arizona his whole life and now finds himself settling down in Tucson, AZ. Doni works in the renewable energy sector as a design engineer and permitting specialist. When Doni isn’t working on saving the planet, one rooftop at a time, or trying to keep up with his teenage daughter, he can be found cooking, hiking or playing board games with his friends at one of the local breweries. This is his second narration for StarShipSofa.
  • StarShipSofa 754 Bogi Takács

    01:01:08|
    Bogi's bios can be found scattered all over the internet. In the spirit of cooperation demonstrated in the story, Bogi would like to ask you to take a few moments to engage in a tangible act of solidarity with people experiencing state violence and/or oppression: Palestinians, Ukrainians, Roma in Hungary and the world over, and more — the list is very long, but maybe together we can make it shorter and help eachother.This story originally appeared in Life Beyond Us Susan Forest, Lucas K. Law, and Julia Novakova, eds.Narrated by: Kaila MolesKaila Moles is a Pacific Northwest native who relocated to Tucson, AZ in 2019. She is a mother to one beautiful daughter and spends her days working with her patients who struggle with trauma. She is a psychotherapist who specializes in trauma, addictions and postpartum diagnoses. In her free time, she enjoys baking, dancing, and writing music and poetry. This is her third narration for StarShipSofa.Fact: Looking Back At Genre History by Amy H Stur
  • StarShipSofa 753 Sarah Day & Tim Pratt

    48:56|
    Sarah Day writes horror, science fiction, and fantasy. Her debut dark fantasy novella Greyhowler is available from Underland Press (https://books2read.com/b/greyhowler). Find her on Bluesky (@sarahday.org) or subscribe to her newsletter (https://buttondown.com/sarahday).Tim Pratt is the author of more than thirty novels, most recently multiverse/space opera adventure The Knife and the Serpent. He’s a Hugo Award winner for short fiction, and has been a finalist for Nebula, World Fantasy, Sturgeon, Philip K. Dick, Mythopoeic, Stoker, and other awards. He’s also a senior editor and occasional book reviewer for Locusmagazine. He posts a lot at Bluesky (@timpratt.org) and publishes a new story every month for patrons at www.patreon.com/timprattThis story originally appeared in Overclocked Holmes, Cat Rambo & Jennifer Brozek, eds.Narrated by: Rikki LaCosteWhen Rikki LaCoste is not causing trouble with his social activism—or running a local food bank—or rockin' the stage with his musical projects in Toronto, Canada, Rikki narrates for various short story audio magazines such as Tales To Terrify, the No Sleep Podcast, Cast of Wonders, Pseudopod, and StarShipSofa of course, as well as lending his voice—and voice acting—to other projects and podcasts.
  • StarShipSofa 752 e rathke

    48:47|
    Main fiction: "The Ganymede Blues" by e rathkee rathke writes about books and games at radicaledward.substack.com. A finalist for the Baen Fantasy Adventure Award and recipient of the Diverse Worlds Grant, he is the author of Glossolalia, Howl, and the space opera series The Shattered Stars. His short fiction appears in Mysterion Magazine, Cosmic Horror Monthly, and elsewhere. This story originally appeared in Luminescent Machinations: Queer Tales of Monumental Invention, Rhiannon Rasmussen & Dave Ring, eds.Narrated by: Diane Severson MoriDiane Severson Mori is a lyric soprano specializing in Early Music, specifically Baroque and medieval music and loves her work teaching people to sing. She has narrated for Escape Pod, PodCastle, Cast of Wonders, Pseudopod, and Tales to Terrify. Diane has been involved in the speculative poetry scene since 2010, she is membership chair of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Poetry Association and is a passionate promoter of genre poetry. The best place to find her is on the web because she tends to pick up and move to another country at the drop of a hat. She and her family currently reside in Buckinghamshire, England.Fact: Looking Back At Genre History by Amy H Sturgis
  • StarShipSofa 751 Guido Eekhaut

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    Guido Eekhaut is a European writer of weird, speculative fiction, crime and literary fantasy, residing in Spain and Belgium; Dutch-, English and French-speaking, published 70 books and 180 stories in several languages, awards and nominations mostly for crime writing, no cat (likes cats, does not have one, but has a lot of books).This story is original to StarShipSofa.Narrated by: Will StaglWill Stagl lives in his adopted home of Tucson Arizona where he is a creative professional by day and proudly recruits talented voice actors for StarShipSofa whenever duty calls. He shares a birthday with Mark Twain, Billy Idol and Winston Churchill, who will all be raising a pint together at the end of this month in celebration.
  • StarShipSofa 750 Eris Young

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    Eris Young is a transgender writer of speculative fiction. Their work has appeared in publications including Escape Pod, GigaNotoSaurus, Small Wonders, and the Immigrant Sci-Fi Short Stories anthology from Flame Tree Press. Their novel-in-progress, Idomeneja, was longlisted for the Cheshire Novel Prize. They are fiction editor at Scotland's science fiction magazine, Shoreline of Infinity, which won a 2024 British Fantasy Award for Best Periodical.This story is original to StarShipSofa.Narrated by: Katra Ariello Katra Ariello is a 35 year old Italian-American trans woman, voice actress and audiobook narrator based in New Jersey. She debuted in February 2022 as the audiobook narrator for Manhunt by horror novelist Gretchen Felker-Martin, and she was also the narrator for Wrath Goddess Sing by Maya Deane. Additionally, she recently launched her own independent audiobook production company called Golden Apple Audio to help fund and produce audiobooks for queer and trans authors who otherwise cannot afford to have audiobooks made.Fact: Looking Back At Genre History by Amy H Sturgis