There's a new sci-fi/fantasy podcast in town!
I'm a big listener of podcasts and I have several I'm devoted to. So when I heard about The Genre Hustle, I was cautiously optimistic. They describe themselves on Twitter as 'your virtual sci-fi/fantasy writer's group' which guaranteed I'd be giving them a go.
The team
Anton S. Howard, Chris Zerby, Lucy Caird, Karter Mycroft and A.P. Thayer were all part of a writers group in LA who have turned the group into a podcast. They are all working on novels which all sound wonderfully intriguing. From dark fantasy to science fiction and cosmic horror, they cover almost everything in the speculative fiction world.
Anton S. Howard writes urban fantasy and is currently working on a story about a dragon discovered frozen in ice. Chris Zerby is a sci-fi writer, describes himself as 'a leading expert on imaginary robots' and his work has appeared in many publications. Lucy Caird was a semi-finalist in Writers of the Future 2018 and writes YA. Karter Mycroft writes horror and fantasy and edits Murder Park After Dark. And A.P. Thayer is a speculative fiction author who focuses on cosmic horror and dark fantasy.
The episodes
The Genre Hustle have uploaded five episodes so far:
Ep.1 - First Sentences Ep.2 - Inciting Incidents Ep.3 - Protagonists Ep.4 - Dialogue
Compared to the other podcasts I listen to, this really sounds like a writing group. The team take it in turns over the episodes to read out sections of their own work and the others have constructive and supportive criticism. So far, we've heard the first line from Lucy's new novel, the inciting incident in Chris's sci-fi-novel, A.P's mercenary heroine and an expert from Anton's frozen dragon story. All sound like exciting stories and I'm eager to hear more about them as the series continues.
And like any writing group, it will inevitably end up in a discussion of other literary examples and gossip. This is the kind of stuff I love to listen to and this group stands out for me.
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Verdict
Perhaps my only criticism of Genre Hustle is the episodes are too short! They're around 15mins on average and I'm used to listening to much longer podcasts. 15mins seems far too short to really explore the theme or get to know the group. Maybe we could have more than one of the team reading out experts each episode?
Of course, these very early days and they're finding their feet. But I hope that they'll break into longer sessions as it continues. It will also be interesting to see if they plan to have any interaction with their audience - always a bit of a two-edged sword!
All in all, I'm really enjoying it and I'm keen to see how it evolves. If sci-fi or fantasy is your genre and you're looking for a new podcast, this is well worth the listen. The Genre Hustle's website here, but you can also find it on iTunes, SoundCloud, Google Podcasts, Blubrry and Stitcher.
Also, if you're looking for a fantasy, folklore podcast, may I strongly recommend Fabulous Folklore with Icy? Read my review here!