This week we’re delighted to welcome E. Lily Yu to the podcast. We discuss her work, writing, and all sorts of other stuff.  As always, we hope you enjoy the podcast. And, if you get the chance, try some of Lily’s terrific new stories!

• “The Urashima Effect,” Clarkesworld (June 2013).
• “The Forgetting Shiraz,” Boston Review (May/June 2013).
• “Ilse, Who Saw Clearly,” Apex Magazine (May 2013).
• “Loss, with Chalk Diagrams,” Eclipse Online (March 2013).

This week, following a failed attempt at Wiscon, the incredible M. Rickert and Christopher Barzak make the long Skype-complicated journey to the Gershwin Room to talk to Gary and Jonathan about Wiscon, fantasy, living in the Mid-West, tribalism, Christopher’s fantastic new collection Before and Afterlives,  and all sorts of other interesting things.  Mary also gave the Podcast a huge news scoop. She has sold her first novel, tentatively titled A Taste of Ash and Honey, to Source Books. It should be out in 2014, which is spectacularly exciting news. We can’t wait to read the book and to have her back when it comes out.

With Gary just returned from Madiscon, Wisconsin, the glorious Concourse Hotel and the fun of Wiscon 37, where hotel wi-fi frustrated plans for live podcasting, he joined Jonathan in the Waldorf Room high above the Coode Street Motel Six to discuss the role of bookstores in helping readers to find unexpected, books we’ve not read (The Pride of Chanur and Downwards to the Earth!!), and lifetime achievement.  With nominations closing in just days, they exhorted listeners to nominate for the 2o13 World Fantasy Awards (nomination ballot here), and made special mention of Mary Stewart and Susan Cooper as possible Lifetime Achievement Award recipients. As always, Gary and Jonathan hope you enjoy the podcast!

Once again our hardy commentators, Jonathan Strahan and Gary K. Wolfe, climbed the stairs to the Waldorf Room, high above the Coode Street Motel Six, took in the breathtaking views of the science fiction field that can only be seen from the Gernsback Bar, and held forth on matters SFnal, including new and recent SF, awards and anthologies, and just dipped their toes into the beginnings of a possible discussion of politicised editing. As always, we hope you enjoy the podcast. See you next week!

After an extended break caused by travel and illness, our intrepid science fictioneers return to the Waldorf Room to continue their ongoing discussion of the science fiction field. There’s every chance that some week now they’ll find something new to talk about, but until now the old topics of awards, anthologies, conventions, and stuff will have to do. As always, we hope you enjoy the podcast! More next week, we promis