Welcome to The Metaworker Podcast! We’ve published so much great stuff over the years but, as often happens with online magazines, the good stuff can get lost in the shuffle. So we created this podcast to discuss some of our favorite pieces and to delve deeper into the reasons we decided to publish them. (Though who are we kidding? Everything we publish is our favorite.) Our goal is to make the publishing world a little less murky, and to get you inspired to keep writing. We hope you enjoy these episodes as much as we enjoyed creating them!
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The text of each poem/prose piece read in individual episodes is copyright by the respective author(s). The Metaworker Podcast © 2024 by The Metaworker editors is licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International. This means you may not sell, alter, or transcribe any part of the podcast, but you are free to share or copy the file as long as you retain attribution to The Metaworker and the author(s).
Episode Description: In this two-part series, we celebrate our Pushcart Prize nominees. This episode features Chris Cooper, Frank Njugi, and Linda Lacey. We asked each author to read an excerpt from their poetry or prose and to share some insights about their piece and themselves as writers. Elena, Mel, and Cerid also discuss what we loved about each piece and why we chose to nominate it. Featured Authors: Chris Cooper is a fiction author from New Jersey; his short story “Bleed” was listed among the “Best Summer Reads” for 2021 at Hash Journal; his 2020 short story "Finn Almost Buys a Goldfish" won the 'Emerging Writer’s Award' at Spank the Carp Magazine; and his short story “The Swim” was recognized as the Best in Fiction for 2019 at Across the Margin. Chris' work has also been featured in Expat Press, Bookends Review, and elsewhere. Nominated fiction: Thirst by Chris Cooper ...
Episode Description: In this two-part series, we celebrate our Pushcart Prize nominees. This episode features Amita Basu, Daniel Brennan, and Marie-Louise McGuinness. We asked each author to read an excerpt from their poetry or prose and to share some insights about their piece and themselves as writers. Elena, Mel, and Cerid also discuss what we loved about each piece and why we chose to nominate it. Featured Authors: Amita Basu's fiction has appeared or is forthcoming in over sixty magazines and anthologies including The Penn Review, Bamboo Ridge, Another Chicago Magazine, The Dalhousie Review, and Funicular. She’s a reader at The Metaworker, sustainability columnist and interviews editor at Mean Pepper Vine, and submissions editor at Fairfield Scribes Microfiction. She lives in Bangalore, uses her cognitive science PhD to work on sustainable behaviour, and blogs at http://amitabasu.com/ Nominated fiction: Retreat by Amita Basu on The Metaworker website Daniel Brennan (he/him) is ...
Episode Description: Elena, Mel, and Cerid talk with former Metaworker Editor in Chief Matthew Maichen about writing rituals, how they create characters, and the benefits and drawbacks of writing with or without a plan. They discuss the importance of respecting readers and doing research when writing about vulnerable topics, then Matthew shares an excerpt (rated NC-17) from one of his published stories and encourages any writers listening to join The Metaworker’s weekly Discord writing group. Author Bio: Matthew Maichen typically writes as Johnathon Heart, and is the former editor-in-chief of The Metaworker. He is dedicated to writing stories for anyone who thinks that Halloween is better than Christmas, that love is worth believing in, and that all the best love stories are at least a little bit sad. Clearly enough people think this for him to get published. He has appeared in a variety of anthologies and is slated to ...
Episode Description: Elena, Mel, and Cerid talk with former Metaworker Editor in Chief Matthew Maichen about his writing and publishing journey since he stepped away from leading the magazine. They discuss writing query letters, the challenges of marketing a novel and finding stories you didn’t know you were looking for. They also discuss what goes on behind the scenes in the slush piles, and Matthew shares what motivates him to continue slogging through those query trenches. Author Bio: Matthew Maichen typically writes as Johnathon Heart, and is the former editor-in-chief of The Metaworker. He is dedicated to writing stories for anyone who thinks that Halloween is better than Christmas, that love is worth believing in, and that all the best love stories are at least a little bit sad. Clearly enough people think this for him to get published. He has appeared in a variety of anthologies and is slated ...
Episode Description: Matthew, Elena, and Mel talk with Oisín Breen about his poem “The Borderland Furies” and about his new book of poetry, Lillies on the Deathbed of Étaín, published by Beir Bua Press. We discuss how to approach reading poems that we don’t understand on a first read, a reader’s interpretation of a poem vs. the author’s intention, and looking at the world from different angles to find writing inspiration. We ask Oisín how he finds time to write and what his process of writing a book of poetry entails, then the discussion turns philosophical as we discuss the concept of one’s self changing over time, and Plato’s concept of the idealized form of objects. Author Bio: Irish poet, doctoral candidate, and journalist, Oisín Breen, a Best of the Net Nominee, is published in 105 journals in 20 countries, including in Agenda, North Dakota Quarterly, Books Ireland, About Place, ...
Episode Description: Matthew, Elena, Mel, and Cerid talk with Isabel O’Hara Walsh about her short fiction piece “In the Willow Garden”. Content Warning: We discuss victims of trauma and abuse reclaiming their narratives, the process of writing dark and difficult stories, and the need to take care of one’s mental health while doing so. We also discuss different perspectives on the need for dark fiction vs. light fiction as well as Appalachian culture, language, and dialects. Author Bio: Isabel O’Hara Walsh (she/they) is a graduate from the MFA program in fiction at North Carolina State University and is working on her second novel. She teaches fiction at the Redbud Writing Project, and also works as a Tarot reader and witch. Walsh writes literary fiction with touches of horror that bring buried stories to light. She lives in Raleigh, NC with her partner and many pets. Referenced in this episode: In ...
Episode Description: In this final episode of the editors chat, Matthew, Elena, Mel and Cerid get personal. They talk about their own writing projects and how they approach their craft, they share what they get up to outside of their fiction lives and finally wrap things up by providing a list of great books from the recent reads they loved. Referenced in this episode: Mermaids MonthlyWorldCon/ConZealandNPR Top 100 SFF book list and other NPR book listsKurt Vonnegut - Slaughterhouse 5Dark Tower: Stephen King Book Recommendations: The Bread the Devil Knead by Lisa Allen-Agostini A Dead Djinn in Cairo and Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark Stariel series by AJ Lancaster The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron The King in Yellow by Robert Chambers Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter Beckoning of the Gate by Benjamin J. Ryan Court of the Grandchildren by Michael Muntisov and Greg Finlayson Borderlanders by Gillian ...
Episode Description: Matthew, Elena, Mel, and Cerid talk about how they got into writing and why they are involved in the publishing world, even as unpaid editors of an indie literary magazine. They also delve into the type of submissions they’d like to see in their inbox. Referenced in this episode: The Metaworker submission wish list The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron Jane The Virgin - TV series Brian Froud - Artist/concept creator Kelly Link - Author Neil Gaiman - Author Long Ridge Writers Group everydayfiction.com www.fanstory.com Topics of interest in this episode: Magic realism and Cultural Traditions in Storytelling Dungeons and Dragons Genre Fiction/Lit Fic/Fantasy/Historical Fiction Comic-Con Writing Affirmations/Craft Commentary Episode Transcript: Matthew Maichen (00:01):Hello, we are here for the second part of our 'editors only' podcast. This one is going to be more of a roundtable discussion. In case you didn't catch the last one, it was more ...
Episode Description: Matthew, Elena, Mel, and new intern Cerid talk about how they fell in love with reading, then move into a history lesson about how The Metaworker got started, and how Mel and Cerid joined the team. Referenced in this episode: Treesong by Melissa Reynolds on The Metaworker website Cerid’s photo featured in A Fair Deal by Jon Kemsley on The Metaworker website A translated poem, A Passage by Irsa Ruçi, on The Metaworker website Episode Transcript: Matthew Maichen (00:01):Hello, we are doing our first editors only podcast recording because we have some new people here. Well, one specific new person and we just figured it would be interesting to touch base. So, let's start just by formally introducing ourselves again, just in case. My name is Matthew Maichen. I'm the editor-in-chief of The Metaworker. Elena L. Perez (00:32):I'm Elena Perez. I'm the managing editor of The Metaworker. Melissa ...
Episode Description: Matthew, Elena, Marina, and Mel talk with Sam Asher about his beautifully strange story Boy, Deer, Chair. We discuss symbolism, inherited trauma, pantsers vs. plotters, and imposter syndrome. Referenced in this episode: Boy, Deer, Chair by Sam Asher on The Metaworker website Chelsea Sutton - author recommended by Sam Karen Joy Fowler - author recommended by Sam Blackfish City by Sam Miller Clarion Writers Workshop Afrofuturism Trans authors Literary Magazines: Voodoonauts Fiyah LitMag Clarkesworld Apex Magazine Strange Horizons Uncanny Magazine Mid-American Review Author Bio: Sam Asher is an alcoholic born and partly raised in the Middle-East, now living in New York. He loves translating English -language fiction into Arabic, and being terrible at social media. Find his work in Amazing Stories, Daily SF, and the Gateway Review. Episode Transcript: Matthew Maichen (00:00):Hello, my name is Matthew Maichen. I am the editor-in-chief. Elena L. Perez (00:07):Hi, I'm Elena Perez, ...
