Signal Boost
59 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 4 years ago - ★★★ - 2 ratingsSignal Boost is a short science fiction, fantasy, and horror interview and discussion podcast. Our interviews focus on boosting the work of a diverse range of authors, writers, artists, and more. Our discussions look at issues of inclusivity and diversity in the SF/F/H community. Signal Boost is part of The Skiffy and Fanty Show podcast network. If you want to find out more about us and our other shows, go to skiffyandfanty.com.
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Episodes
372. Libia Brenda on A Larger Reality 2.0 (Signal Boost)
March 23, 2020 20:03 - 35 minutes - 32.6 MBIn today’s episode of Signal Boost, Shaun Duke interviews Libia Brenda about the Mexicanx Initiative and A Larger Reality 2.0, a new hybrid anthology. They discuss the importance of the initiative, the unique hybrid nature of the new anthology, the importance of unconventional forms of narrative, and much more! Thanks for listening. We hope you enjoy […]
370. Geek Calligraphy & Tanya DePass (Signal Boost)
March 11, 2020 16:00 - 53 minutes - 49 MBIn today’s episode of Signal Boost, Shaun Duke interviews Ariela Housman & Terri Ash of Geek Calligraphy fame. They discuss the wild world of professional calligraphy, what it takes to run a calligraphy business, where their geek passions come from, and so much more. Then Shaun and Jen Zink join forces in a Dublin cafe […]
367. Malka Older (Orphan Black) and R.J. Barker (The Bone Ships)
February 10, 2020 17:00 - 52 minutes - 24 MBIn today’s episode of Signal Boost, Shaun Duke interviews the the wondrous Malka Older about the 1st season of Serial Box’s Orphan Black, co-written with Madeline Ashby, Mishell Baker, Heli Kennedy, E.C. Myers, and Lindsay Smith! They discuss the incredible task of bringing a beloved TV show to the written form, the work it takes […]
Signal Boost #56 — C.S.E. Cooney (Desdemona and the Deep) and Carlos Hernadez (Sal and Gabi Break the Universe)
October 26, 2019 20:07 - 41 minutes - 56.6 MBIn today’s episode of Signal Boost, Shaun Duke interviews the fantabulawesome C.S.E. Cooney about Desdemona and the Deep and the wonderrifical Carlos Hernandez about Sal and Gabi Break the Universe! Unlike other Signal Boost episodes, this one features both guests on the same mic! And that means in addition to talking about Cuban food, the […]
Signal Boost #55 — Strange Horizons Fund Drive with Vanessa Rose Phin!
July 30, 2019 13:00 - 17 minutes - 8.35 MBWEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! This is a slightly different Signal Boost than usual. Instead of our usual two boosts, this time we want you to focus completely on the super extra important fund drive for the amazing STRANGE HORIZONS!! Today, Jen Zink is joined by by Strange Horizons newest Editor-in-Chief, Vanessa Rose Phin, to talk a little bit […]
Signal Boost #54 — Ada Hoffmann (The Outside) and David Wellington (The Last Astronaut)
July 17, 2019 17:34 - 49 minutes - 66.6 MBIn today’s episode of Signal Boost, Paul Weimer and Kate Sherrod interview the wonderful Ada Hoffmann about her debut novel, The Outside. They discuss the really fun basis for the novel, the mash-up of horror and space opera, representation of neurodivergent characters, AI gods, linguistic spiders, and a bunch more fun stuff! Then Shaun Duke […]
Signal Boost #53 — Tracy Barnett (Iron Edda TTRPG) and Evan Winter (Rage of Dragons)
June 11, 2019 17:00 - 41 minutes - 57.7 MBIn today’s episode of Signal Boost, Jen Zink interviews Tracy Barnett, podcaster, writer, and TTRPG designer, about their work as a TTRPG designer, from their first game, School Daze, to their most recent (as of the recording of the podcast, which we must apologize for posting 2 months later than expected) big project, Iron Edda! […]
Signal Boost #52 — L. D. Lewis (A Ruin of Shadows) and Ebony Elizabeth Thomas (The Dark Fantastic)
March 19, 2019 17:00 - 58 minutes - 81.4 MBIn today’s episode of Signal Boost, Jen interviews L. D. Lewis, short story writer, author of A Ruin of Shadows, and Art Director of FIYAH Literary Magazine for Black Speculative Fiction! L. explains why the theme of changing allegiances after discovering the truth is something she likes to explore, how science fantasy helps her ground […]
Signal Boost #51 – Erin Roberts (Various) and Sarah Chorn (Seraphina’s Lament)
February 27, 2019 22:53 - 38 minutes - 52 MBIn today’s episode of Signal Boost, Jen talks to short story and interactive game designer, Erin Roberts, about her work. They talk about what Erin really enjoys exploring thematically, one of the key features that connects her story, Sour Milk Girls, with her game, Thanks for the Memories, the differences and connections between writing short […]
Signal Boost #50 – T. Frohock (Where Oblivion Lives) and Alex Harrow (Empire of Light)
February 13, 2019 02:22 - 44 minutes - 30.9 MBIn today’s episode of Signal Boost, Paul talks to T. Frohock about her new Los Nefilim series novella, Where Oblivion Lives. T. treats us to a glimpse of what life was like just prior to the Spanish Civil War, how she deals with the trauma of World War I, the queer relationship between Diego and […]
Signal Boost #49 – Steph Matuku (Flight of the Fantail) and Bethany C. Morrow (MEM)
December 19, 2018 01:28 - 44 minutes - 30.7 MBIn today’s episode of Signal Boost, Elizabeth talks to Steph Matuku, author of the debut novel, Flight of the Fantail, and the children’s book, Whetū Toa and the Magician. Both are out from HUIA Publishers in New Zealand. The two talk about how Steph treated the environment as a character, the influence her Maori culture has on her books, […]
Signal Boost #48 — Sabrina Vourvoulias (Ink) and Stephanie Gunn (Icefall)
December 05, 2018 01:34 - 39 minutes - 59 MBIn today’s episode of Signal Boost, Shaun talks to Sabrina Vourvoulias about the re-release of her incredibly prescient novel, Ink. They discuss how the book’s conversation about immigration is more timely than ever, the courageousness of Rosarium Publishing, what it means to be primed to notice the signs of authoritarianism, journalism, and much more! Then […]
Signal Boost #47 — Betsy Dornbusch (The Silver Scar) & Dax Murray (Birthing Orion)
November 28, 2018 00:31 - 35 minutes - 52.3 MBIn today’s episode of Signal Boost, Jen talks to Betsy Dornbusch, author of the Seven Eyes series and much more, about her new novel, The Silver Scar. Betsy shares with us a little about the story, why she decided on a blending of genres to create the setting, the way in which the religious war […]
Signal Boost #46 — DC (Mutants in the Night) & Chinelo Onwualu (Omenana & Anathema)
October 24, 2018 23:38 - 44 minutes - 66.4 MBIn today’s episode of Signal Boost, Shaun talks to DC, creator of the table-top role-playing game, Mutants in the Night. They discuss how Mutants in the Night utilizes the Forged in the Dark RPG system to explore marginalization, what inspired them to create RPGs in the first place, how RPGs allow us to create a […]
Signal Boost #45 — Charlie J. Eskew (Tales of the Astonishing Black Spark) & Danny Lore (ed. The Wilds)
October 17, 2018 01:05 - 43 minutes - 63.3 MBIn today’s episode of Signal Boost, Shaun talks to Charlie J. Eskew, author of the debut novel, Tales of the Astonishing Black Spark! Charlie tells us all about his new book, Black superheroes, dealing with contemporary issues through the superhero genre, tokenism, why he decided not to set his book in Metropolis, and so much […]
Signal Boost #44: C.L. Polk (Witchmark) and Tonia Thompson (Nightlight Podcast)
October 10, 2018 19:31 - 37 minutes - 53.8 MBIn today’s episode of Signal Boost, Jen talks to C.L. Polk, author of the debut novel Witchmark from Tor.Com Publishing. We learn what inspired C.L. to set the novel in an allegorical post-WWI England, how she developed a complex governmental and class system around a simple magic system, what compels the m/m romance that is […]
Signal Boost #43 — A Conversation about Black Speculative Fiction Month at Skiffy and Fanty
October 03, 2018 01:28 - 31 minutes - 47.3 MBWe know, we know. It’s been an age and a half since Shaun and Jen sat down to have a conversation, but we’re back to let you know about a very special month at Skiffy and Fanty — Black Speculative Fiction Month! October was designated Black Speculative Fiction month in 2013 by Milton Davis and […]
Signal Boost #42: Rhonda Parrish & Greg Bechtel (co-ed. Tesseracts 21: Neverthless) & Peter Tieryas (Mecha Samurai Empire)
September 28, 2018 01:48 - 47 minutes - 63.4 MBIn today’s episode of Signal Boost, Jen talks to to Rhonda Parrish and Greg Bechtel, the co-editors of Edge Publishing’s anthology Tesseracts 21: Nevertheless. They discuss how each got involved with this collection of optimistic speculative fiction stories, how the theme was impacted by the 2016 US election, how persistence, specifically, became a dominant message, […]
Signal Boost #41 — Tansy Rayner Roberts (ed. Mother of Invention) & Sam Hawke (City of Lies)
September 12, 2018 01:18 - 39 minutes - 28.5 MBIn today’s episode of Signal Boost, Elizabeth talks to Dr. Tansy Rayner Roberts, writer and editor extraordinaire, about 12th Planet Press’s robot creation anthology, Mother of Invention, which Tansy co-edited with Rivqa Rafael! The two discuss a bit of Tansy’s experience as an editor, how much she enjoyed going through the Kickstarter progress, what the […]
Signal Boost #40 — Claire O’Dell, Daniel Hansen, and Ilana C. Myer
August 08, 2018 02:06 - 44 minutes - 31 MBAfter a long break, we’re back with not two but THREE WHOLE INTERVIEWS! Because you deserve it (and also we need to catch up). In today’s episode of Signal Boost, Paul talks to Claire O’Dell (the pen name of Beth Bernobich) about the first book in her new science fiction mystery series inspired by Sherlock […]
Signal Boost #39 — Joseph Brassey (Dragon Road) and Michael R. Underwood (Born to the Blade)
May 15, 2018 16:00 - 40 minutes - 29 MBIn today’s episode of Signal Boost, Paul talks to Joseph Brassey about the second book in his Drifting Lands series, Dragon Road. Careful, because there are spoilers for the first book in the series, Skyfarer, which you should definitely go read right away. When you’re ready, listen to Joseph discuss how he likes to explore […]
Signal Boost #38 — At ICFA — The Dell Award Finalists
April 24, 2018 18:03 - 28 minutes - 55.4 MBIn today’s episode of Signal Boost, Shaun, Julia and Joyce sit down with the finalists for the Dell Award for Undergraduate Excellence in Science Fiction and Fantasy Writing at ICFA! They talk to Arthur Davis (the 2018 Dell Award Winner), C.E. McGill, Brittney Hubley, and Alexandra Barr about their experiences at ICFA, their work and […]
Signal Boost #37 — At ICFA — Keffy R.M. Kehrli (GlitterShip) and Bryan Camp (The City of Lost Fortunes)
April 17, 2018 22:53 - 38 minutes - 58.4 MBIn today’s episode of Signal Boost, we’re coming at you from the International Convention on the Fantastic in the Arts! Yay! First, Shaun and Joyce are joined by Keffy R.M. Kehrli to talk about GlitterShip SF, a queer speculative fiction short story magazine, including the challenges, the highlights, and the benefits of having a queer […]
Signal Boost #36 — Sean Grigsby (Smoke Eaters) and Thoraiya Dyer (Titans’ Forest Trilogy)
April 10, 2018 18:55 - 30 minutes - 21.5 MBIn today’s episode of Signal Boost, Paul talks to Sean Grigsby about his debut novel, Smoke Eaters, which imagines a future world in which firefighters also fight dragons! They discuss how Sean’s fire service career helped inform the novel and why he chose an older protagonist. He also gives us a glimpse into his next […]
Signal Boost #35 — Tonya Moore (Becoming) and R.S.A. Garcia (Lex Talionis)
April 03, 2018 17:01 - 30 minutes - 41.5 MBIn today’s episode of Signal Boost, Elizabeth talks to Tonya R. Moore about her collection of short stories (Becoming), how her Jamaican heritage affects her writing, her love of anime and how it influences her work, her upcoming zine on Yaoi anime, and juggling lots of projects. Then Paul is joined by R.S.A. Garcia to talk […]
Signal Boost #34 — Rati Mehrotra (Markswoman) and Marlee Jane Ward (Orphancorp Series)
February 28, 2018 00:37 - 22 minutes - 15.8 MBIn today’s episode of Signal Boost, Jen talks to Rati Mehrotra about her debut novel, Markswoman. They explore how Mehrotra’s own background inspired the world, why she decided to write it as a post-apocalyptic novel, what inspires her writing, and a few hints about what is coming next in the Asiana duology. Then Elizabeth is […]
Signal Boost #33 — Marko Kloos (Points of Impact) and Cody Sisco (Resonant Earth Series)
February 20, 2018 19:55 - 31 minutes - 44.8 MBIn today’s episode of Signal Boost, Paul talks to Marko Kloos about his military SF series, Frontlines, and more specifically about the sixth and “final” book in the series, Points of Impact. Marko shares how he tried to play with the typical military SF tropes, how his military service inspired the series, and a little […]
Signal Boost #32 – A Conversation on Silly Audience Questions
February 06, 2018 19:55 - 30 minutes - 21.8 MBSignal Boost is back! In our 1st boost festival of the year, a very sick Jen and a dissertation-downtrodden Shaun attempt to answer a few of your silly questions. Based on questions by @Runalongwomble and @timata87, we tell you about our secret Jaeger names, our fight songs, and the sf/f worlds we like to live or […]
Signal Boost #31: Wrapping Up the Year
December 26, 2017 19:55 - 18 MBIn our final podcast of the year, Shaun and Jen offer a quick wrap-up of all the things we loved about 2017. We share some of our favorite episodes, remind folks of our listener/reader survey, and offer up some last minute mini boosts to make 2017 just a little bit more joyful. We hope you […]
Signal Boost #30: Michelle Kan (No More Heroes) and Rachel Cordasco (SFinTranslation.com)
December 19, 2017 19:55 - 40.4 MBIn today’s episode of Signal Boost, Becca talks to Michelle Kan about her book, No More Heroes. They discuss what it meant for Michelle to write an #OwnVoices gender-fluid aro-ace character that included her ethnic heritage, issues with anxiety, and parkour! They also talk about how Michelle wrote No More Heroes during NaNoWriMo and how […]
Signal Boost #29: A Conversation about Exciting News!
December 12, 2017 17:07 - 37.6 MBOn today’s Signal Boosts, Shaun and Jen share some exciting news about the Skiffy and Fanty website, our RSS feeds, the future of our funding sources, and our 2017 Reader/Listener Survey! Even though we’re pissed about what Patreon just did, our patron support has allowed us to do some really big things that will help […]
Signal Boost #28: Claudie Arseneault (City of Spires Trilogy) and Brandon O’Brien
December 05, 2017 19:55 - 28 MBIn today’s episode of Signal Boost, Jen talks to Claudie Arseneault about her work, including the recently released second book of the City of Spires trilogy, City of Betrayal. They discuss the mosaic narrative of City of Spires, found families, the solar punk genre and her first book, Viral Airwaves, and what inspired Claudie to […]
Signal Boost #27: K. Arsenault Rivera (The Tiger's Daughter) and Stacey Berg (Echo Hunter 367 Duology)
November 21, 2017 23:55 - 41.3 MBIn today’s episode of Signal Boost, Jen talks K. Arsenault Rivera about her debut novel, The Tiger’s Daughter. K talks about the narrative structure of the novel, the importance of queer representation, how her Kung Fu film obsession helped her write the action sequences, and gives us a great break down of the important characters. […]
Signal Boost #26: A Conversation about All the Star Wars
November 14, 2017 19:55 - 42.2 MBOn today’s Signal Boosts, Shaun and Jen take a moment to squee about the fact that there are going to be THREE WHOLE NEW STAR WARS MOVIES AND A TV SHOW AND OMG! SQUEEEEEE!!! They’re moderately more coherent than that as they tackle what type of story Rian Johnson might tell. Then Jen moves them […]
Signal Boost #25: Mike Brooks (Dark Deeds) and S.A. Chakraborty (City of Brass)
November 07, 2017 20:04 - 38.6 MBIn today’s episode of Signal Boost, Jen talks to Mike Brooks about the third installment of his Keiko series, Dark Deeds. Mike gives us a recap of the the first two books, which he calls dirty space opera, and sets us up for the crew’s shenanigans as they try to pull off a heist and […]
Signal Boost #24: Ian Muneshwar and Zin E. Rocklyn
October 26, 2017 18:55 - 47.8 MBThis is the final episode of our month of focusing on horror writers, and it has been so much fun that we’ll be sure to do it again next year! Each of our guests had different reasons for why they write horror and how they use the conventions of horror to explore themes that are […]
Signal Boost #23: Eden Royce and Karolina Fedyk
October 24, 2017 18:55 - 24.7 MBIn today’s episode of Signal Boost, Jen talks to Eden Royce, a southern black woman transplanted to jolly old England, about the differences between horror and the Southern Gothic, the influences of her rootwork and hoodoo cultural background, the challenges of getting published in horror given the kinds of stories she writes, and so much […]
Signal Boost #22: Tonya Liburd and Stephen Graham Jones
October 17, 2017 18:55 - 22.4 MBIn today’s episode of Signal Boost, Jen talks to Canadian-Born Trinidadian horror writer, Tonya Liburd, about the horror of losing identity, how horror allows you to talk about taboo subjects, and her short story, “A Question of Faith.” Then Stephen Graham Jones — award winning author — joins Jen to talk about how he first […]
Signal Boost #21: Nathan Adler and Darcie Little Badger
October 03, 2017 23:13 - 55.4 MBIn today’s episode of Signal Boost, we kick off our month of focusing on horror writers from traditionally marginalized communities. First up, Jen talks to Nathan Adler — artist, writer, Anishinaabe and Jewish member of the Lac Des Milles Lacs First Nation — about his novel, Wrist, how Anishinaabe stories informed the monster and how […]
Signal Boost #20: Sandra Odell and Ausma Zehanat Khan (The Bloodprint)
September 26, 2017 18:55 - 22.8 MBIn today’s episode of Signal Boost, Sandra Odell, prolific short story writer, joins Jen to talk about disability, sexuality, and gender representation in science fiction and fantasy, how her identities inform her short stories, and what good representation actually looks like. Then Ausma Zehanat Khan, author of the Esa Khattak and Rachel Getty mysteries, joins […]
Signal Boost #19: A Conversation about SFF Canon
September 19, 2017 18:55 - 29 MBOn today’s Signal Boost, Jen remembers that we have a listener suggestion form, and so we FINALLY talk about the questions that one intrepid listener is dying to know! Actually, it’s mostly Shaun talking about the answers while Jen nods sagely. What are those questions? Well, listen to the episode and you too will know […]
Signal Boost #18: Michael J. Martinez (MJ-12: Shadows) and Patrick Hester (Samantha Kane: Into the Fire)
September 12, 2017 18:55 - 48.6 MBIn today’s episode of Signal Boost, Michael J. Martinez, author of The Daedaelus Trilogy, joins Paul to talk about the second book of his Majestic-12 trilogy, MJ-12: Shadows. They discuss how truth is crazier than fiction and how that led to Mike writing a secret history instead of an alternate history. Then Patrick Hester, a […]
Signal Boost #17: A Conversation about YA, Ageism, and Assholes
August 29, 2017 18:55 - 54.7 MBOn today’s Signal Boost, Shaun and Jen discuss a few things that had them either shaking their head “WTF?” or screaming “WTF?!,” including the rise and fall of a wanna-be NYT Bestselling YA novel, agism directed at a dear friend, and the conservative military SFF community’s response to the upcoming Space Marine Midwives Anthology. Warning, […]
Signal Boost #16: Fran Wilde (Horizon) and Bogi Takács (Transcendent 2: The Year’s Best Transgender Speculative Fiction)
August 22, 2017 18:55 - 26.7 MBIn today’s episode of Signal Boost, Fran Wilde, author and tech consultant, joins Paul to dive into the final book in her Bone Universe series, Horizon. Fran and Paul discuss some of the worldbuilding and where this newest book takes us. Then Bogi Takács, writer of short-form speculative fiction, joins Jen to talk about Transcendent 2: The […]
Signal Boost #15: A Conversation about Helsinki WorldCon & WSFS Business
August 15, 2017 20:01 - 97.7 MBOn today’s psuedo-Signal Boost, Shaun, Paul, and our resident WSFS expert, Alex, recap the Helsinki WorldCon WSFS Business meeting LIVE from WorldCon (ok, so not exactly live, but it’s as close as we get). Alex shares the nitty-gritty, the grim and ugly, the wonderful and the strange, that occured at the Helsinki WSFS business meeting, […]
Signal Boost #14: Elsa Sjunneson-Henry & Dominik Parisien (Uncanny Magazine "Disabled People Destroy Science Fiction" Kickstarter) and Dave Robison (Archivos)
August 08, 2017 18:55 - 25.2 MBIn today’s episode of Signal Boost, Elsa Sjunneson-Henry and Dominik Parisien join Paul to talk about the Uncanny Magazine Disabled People Destroy Science Fiction and Year Four Kickstarter. Elsa is the Non-Fiction Editor and Dominik is the Fiction Editor for the special edition of Uncanny Magazine focusing on disability representation in Science Fiction and Fantasy. […]
Signal Boost #13: Nicky Drayden (The Prey of Gods) and Wendy Wagner (An Oath of Dogs)
July 26, 2017 18:55 - 42.4 MBIn today’s episode of Signal Boost, Nicky Drayden (a debut author!) joins Stina (in her debut as host!) to talk about the crazy genre mash-up, The Prey of Gods, the journey to becoming a debut author, and how she’s working on a pipeline to encourage Black speculative fiction writers through ArmadilloCon. Then, Jen is joined […]
Signal Boost #12: A Conversation about Conventions, Economics, and Inclusion
July 18, 2017 19:47 - 50.9 MBOn today’s Signal Boost, Shaun and Jen discuss conventions, the economics of attendance, and how they can be more inclusive. They’re particularly concerned with how convention culture tends to be somewhat exclusive, how conventions often fail utterly at disability access, and how something called WorldCon should MAYBE travel around the world a bit more. Then […]
Signal Boost #11: Tanya DePass (#INeedDiverseGames/From the Margins) and Hope Nicholson (The Spectacular Sisterhood of Superwomen/Love Beyond Body, Space, & Time)
July 11, 2017 18:33 - 25.4 MBIn today’s episode of Signal Boost, Tanya DePass, founder and director of I Need Diverse Games, joins Jen to talk about the importance of diversity in games and the gaming industry, supporting diverse gamers, and the upcoming anthology, From the Margins, a collection of personal essays from marginalized individuals in the game industry (currently accepting […]
Signal Boost #10: Alien Nation, Supergirl, and Flash!
July 04, 2017 18:55 - 56.3 MBOn today’s Signal Boost, Shaun and Jen COMPLETELY lose track of what they were supposed to be talking about, end up pitching an Alien Nation reboot (after discussing what made it so 90s), and discuss Supergirl and positive relationships between men in Flash. Honestly, we don’t even know what we’re talking about, but for American […]