It’s the Hugo shortlist time of year! I’m doing my part (a very small part) by hosting some of my Internet Friends to discuss the 2026 finalists for the Hugo Award for Best Short Story! This was a super quick edit, so it’s perhaps not quite a tight or clean as a typical episode. But … Continue reading "2026 Hugo Award for Best Short Story nominees panel!"
My sister Megan joins me for a discussion of the much-loved book she’s had since the early 80s, Beauty, by Robin McKinley, a retelling of “Beauty and the Beast.” Megan’s copy of the book, held together by a hair tie.
A few of us from the Portland (and broader Pacific NW) chapter of the Nebulugo Book Club Discord got together in Portland to do a Hot Ones style challenge, with the questions done Book Club style as the sauces got hotter (well, that was the intent, but our sauces were all over the place). Audio … Continue reading "Hothouse, by Brian Aldiss (Hot Ones challenge), with Mythius, Sophia, and Sarah"
“Fantasy is when we are presenting a world that isn’t our world, even if it’s just slightly off from our world.” Dan Harris from the Nebulugo Book Club Discord joins me for a Foundational Fantasy about Mervyn Peake’s Gormenghast series, starting with Titas Groan. I highly recommend the print or ebook for this one, as … Continue reading "Foundational Fantasy: Titus Groan, by Mervyn Peake, with guest Dan Harris"
“Fantasy reflects…a simpler lifestyle and…an exaggeration of physical ability…and many different types of people.” Ray Jamison joins me for a quick Foundational Fantasy discussion about Fantasy Films, but is mostly here to plug his cool fantasy comic project, The Madcaps, currently running a Kickstarter campaign. I thought the project looked cool, so I invited him … Continue reading "Interview with Ray Jamison, author of The Madcaps (and a sprinkling of Foundational Fantasy)"
Back to a regular episode this time with Clifford Simak’s City, winner of the International Fantasy Award in 1953, and I’m joined by the newest entry in what I call The Hugo Collective, Christine Baker from the excellent podcast, Hugo History! We go pretty much full spoilers right away, but this is a 70+ year … Continue reading "City, by Clifford Simak, with Christine Baker"
“It’s fantastical, it’s awe-inspiring, it’s extraordinary, it’s something that really doesn’t exist, hence the name fiction…you know, it inspires you.” – James Ralston It’s another Foundational Fantasy episode!Returning guest James (also my Take Me To Your Reader co-host) joins me for a discussion of Raymond E. Feist’s Magician, the first book (or is it two … Continue reading "Foundational Fantasy: Magician, by Raymond E. Feist, with guest James Ralston"
“Fantasy is a comfort, an escape, a way to imagine other sorts of realities other than the one I’m in.” – Paul Weimer It’s another Foundational Fantasy episode!Returning guest Paul Weimer joins me for a discussion of Roger Zelazny’s Nine Princes in Amber, the first book of the Chronicles of Amber. And we chip away, … Continue reading "Foundational Fantasy: Nine Princes in Amber, by Roger Zelazny, with guest Paul Weimer"
This is the first in a series I hope to do for much of 2026, called Foundational Fantasy.What does that mean? Tune in to find out. Also find a fun discussion of Brian Jacques’s excellent Redwall, the first in a long-running series of children’s fantasy books. My close friend and podcast co-host Colin joins me … Continue reading "Foundational Fantasy: Redwall, by Brian Jacques, with guest Colin Kuskie"
Bob Morrell joins me again for a brief discussion of the short but hilarious Hugo and Nebula finalist Doorways in the Sand, by Roger Zelazny Notes & Links: https://sites.google.com/site/bbbmorrell/bobs-writing-page https://magazine.trollbreath.com Ways to support the podcast: Buy Me a Book/Coffee!: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/sethheasled Support Me on Patreon!: https://www.patreon.com/hugospodcast Pick a Book off the Mondo List and contact me: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1s6JbgvwCB3ptr2cDZWWaEHvbc-BEmC5Y5avdf2kaLqQ/edit?usp=sharing
Ways to support the podcast: Buy Me a Book/Coffee!: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/sethheasled Support Me on Patreon!: https://www.patreon.com/hugospodcast Pick a Book off the Mondo List and contact me: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1s6JbgvwCB3ptr2cDZWWaEHvbc-BEmC5Y5avdf2kaLqQ/edit?usp=sharing Three of my Nebulugo Book Club friends join me for a draft of our favorite Science Fiction and Fantasy concepts. Themes: Round 1: Round 2: Round 3: Round 4: Bring Out Your … Continue reading "Bonus! Science Fiction and Fantasy Concepts Draft (with Dan, Emmanuel, and Kalin)"
Hi everyone, I hope you enjoy this microfiction fantasy story I wrote and submitted as part of NYC Midnight’s 250-word Microfiction Contest. This story made the cut in Round One, and then I had to submit another original story for Round Two, and that’s as far as I got. But I thought the story was … Continue reading "Original Fiction: Bookends, or Libromancy, by Seth Heasley"
Mythius from the Nebulugo Book Club Discord Server joins me for a discussion of Jeff Vandermeer’s 2014 Nebula-winner, Annihilation. Ways to support the podcast: Buy Me a Book/Coffee!: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/sethheasled Support Me on Patreon!: https://www.patreon.com/hugospodcast Pick a Book off the Mondo List and contact me: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1s6JbgvwCB3ptr2cDZWWaEHvbc-BEmC5Y5avdf2kaLqQ/edit?usp=sharing Other Notes & Links: Nebulugo Discord: https://discord.gg/AJvyZUq2 The writing on the walls of … Continue reading "Annihilation, by Jeff Vandermeer, with Mythius from
James from the podcast/blog Something About Dragons joins me for a discussion of Glory Road, by Robert A. Heinlein, which was shortlisted for the 1964 Hugo Award. It’s fantasy wrapped in science fiction wrapped in good old 1950s misogyny! https://somethingaboutdrag.wixsite.com/something-about-drag Ways to support the podcast: Buy Me a Book/Coffee!: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/sethheasled Support Me on Patreon!: https://www.patreon.com/hugospodcast Pick a … Continue reading "Glory Road, by Robert A. Heinlein, with James Hedrick"
A couple of my friends from the Nebulugo Book Club Discord join me for a more or less spur of the moment episode on a book I’d recommended to them after recently reading it. The book is The Man Who Saw Seconds, by Alexander Boldizar, the most recent winner of the Locus Award. Notes & … Continue reading "The Man Who Saw Seconds, by Alexander Boldizar, with Sophia Suhu and JW Wartick"
(This one had a quick turnaround and I didn’t go back through and edit it for language, or really, anything. This is about as raw as you’ll get a Hugos There episode, so it’s marked Explicit for language.) I don’t do a ton of author interviews, but I was intrigued by David’s new book and … Continue reading "Great America In Dead World, by David Agranoff (interview with the author)"
Ways to support the podcast: Buy Me a Book/Coffee!: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/sethheasled Support Me on Patreon!: https://www.patreon.com/hugospodcast Pick a Book off the Mondo List and contact me: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1s6JbgvwCB3ptr2cDZWWaEHvbc-BEmC5Y5avdf2kaLqQ/edit?usp=sharing It’s another Seth’s Picks episode, taking about an old favorite of mine, Dean Koontz’s Lightning, with guests Megan Cutter (my big sister) and Colin Kuskie. Spoilers start about 07:30. Other Notes & … Continue reading "Lightning, by Dean Koontz (with guests Megan Cutter and Colin Kuskie)"
A bit of a download about WorldCon 2025, about people I met, interviews I did, and some plans for the future. Links and Photos! Translated Hugo Initiative: https://translatedhugo.org/about-us Endeavour Award: https://osfci.org/endeavour/ Brian Aldiss: https://brianaldiss.co.uk/ Ray Bradbury Center: https://give.myiu.org/iu-indianapolis/I380010312.html https://www.instagram.com/bradburycenter https://raybradburycenter.substack.com https://today.iu.edu/iu-indianapolis/live/news/46788-ray-bradbury-center-presents-festival-451indy
Ways to support the podcast: Buy Me a Book/Coffee!: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/sethheasled Support Me on Patreon!: https://www.patreon.com/hugospodcast Pick a Book off the Mondo List and contact me: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1s6JbgvwCB3ptr2cDZWWaEHvbc-BEmC5Y5avdf2kaLqQ/edit?usp=sharing Don’t forget to stick around for the quiz at the end of the podcast! (photos for the quiz are included down below) This time it’s another Zoomed Out, Subgenre Spotlight episode, back … Continue reading "Zoomed Out: SFF Novelizations, with Andrew and Hannah from Authorized!"
I’m joined for a discussion of the 2025 Hugo nominees for Best Novella by a few of my best Internet Friends. Guests include: Video will be posted hopefully tomorrow. These episodes get very little editing, so if it sounds a bit rougher than normal, that’s to be expected, but the discussion was terrific, so I … Continue reading "2025 Hugo-nominated Novellas panel"
I’m joined for a discussion of the 2025 Hugo nominees for Best Novel by a few returning guests, and a couple of new people. Guests include: No video for this episode. Technology let us down and we lost Mythius and his video recording toward the end, which is why he’s not in the sign off, … Continue reading "2025 Hugo-nominated Novels Panel"
If you prefer video, check us out here: https://youtu.be/pEPVVL7njFQ I’m joined for a discussion of the 2025 Hugo nominees for Best Short Story by a few returning guests. Guests include: These episodes get very little editing, so if it sounds a bit rougher than normal, that’s to be expected, but the discussion was terrific, so … Continue reading "2025 Hugo-nominated Short Story Panel"
It’s time for more Secret Histories with Tim Powers! This time it’s a World Fantasy Award and Locus Award nominee, and winner of the Mythopoeic Award, The Stress of Her Regard, which weaves a fantasy/horror story into the lives and deaths of the Romantic Poets. Don’t forget to reach out to me if you’ll be … Continue reading "The Stress of Her Regard, by Tim Powers (with guest Ray Alston)"
It’s another Zoomed Out, Author Deep Dive episode, this time on Kurt Vonnegut, with guest Nic Pietersma. Ways to support the podcast: Buy Me a Book/Coffee!: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/sethheasled Support Me on Patreon!: https://www.patreon.com/hugospodcast Pick a Book off the Mondo List and contact me: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1s6JbgvwCB3ptr2cDZWWaEHvbc-BEmC5Y5avdf2kaLqQ/edit?usp=sharing Segments and time codes: (06:43) – Intro to Kurt Vonnegut (12:00) – Vonnegut 101 (24:38) … Continue reading "Zoomed Out: Kurt Vonnegut, with guest Nic Pietersma"
This is a Seth’s Picks episode, the very highly regarded, though not much honored at the time Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson. It’s like Ready Player One, but without all the references or terrible writing. (It’s not really like RPO at all, and that’s a very good thing.) This is one of my shorter episodes, … Continue reading "Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson, with guest Leah Borden"
