This is a post in the series of speculative fiction podcasts, and the fourth interview for “Seven Questions with your favourite SFF podcast editors” (for the previous ones, see this).This week I feature Mariah Avix, editor of 600 Second Saga, a weekly science fiction and fantasy podcast. Every week they feature an author and their vision of the fantastic, futuristic, and far-fetched – in less than ten minutes. Simply awesome!
Describe what your podcast is about, Mariah. What makes it special / different compared to others?
600 Second Saga lets listeners sample a wide range of sci-fi and fantasy in little bites. All of the episodes are less than 10 minutes and give listeners a chance to try something different without a lot of commitment. I also think flash fiction is a great way to let your brain roam through a different world, which makes this a mind expanding way to jump start your imagination.
Why / how did you decide to start it?
There are so many fantastic pieces of flash fiction out there and I kept hearing people saying they didn’t have enough time to read. The podcast was really about creating a way for people to escape and try something new every week.
Which particular brand of speculative fiction do you publish in your podcast?
600 Second Saga really encompasses all kinds of speculative fiction. From things with the slightest hint of wait…was that real, to aliens, interstellar travel, and AI. From a glimpse of something that might have been magical, to magical duels. From alternate history to completely surreal.
Tell us something about your target audience.
Sci-fi and fantasy fans who don’t have a lot of time, readers who are looking for a change of pace, and people who are trying to get their friends or family to see the range that sci-fi and fantasy have.
Which qualities /characteristics you are after in the pieces you accept for publication?
Stories that bring a world to life. Stories that haven’t been told before, or haven’t been told enough. Stories that sketch the outline of a place and let the audience fill in the rest. Stories that make the reader sigh, cry, laugh, or get mad and take action. Really open to all speculative fiction. The only thing is we try to stay away from horror, and we are not an explicit podcast.
Which ones among the pieces you have published you would recommend to people?
There are so many, what do you like? It depends so much on what you like or what you might want to try. Want something funny? Try S1.9 Slippery Fish by Ronel van Tonder or S1.22 Franklin’s Version of the Origins of Tag by John Collings. Prefer fantasy? Try S1.6 An Ill-fated Scarf by M L Moos or S1.28 Like Bad Spray Paint by JW Troemner. Science fiction more your style? S1.37 Vein Raiders by S. H. Mansouri or S1.26 Moscow on Neptune by Stefan Budansew. Just want something surreal? S1.42 The Screaming of the Fish by Vincent W. Sakowski. There are so many—and they are short—so try them all!
Anything else you would like to say?
If you aren’t sure if you should try? Try. Put your words down. Share them. Submit them. Publish them. Make your voices heard. And thank you very much.
Many thanks to Mariah and happy listening!