Keeping the Mystery Alive: what Doctor Who can learn from Twin Peaks

In an era when marketing a TV show relies heavily on revealing content in press screenings, trailers and interviews, the secrecy surrounding Twin Peaks: The Return has been central to its success with fans. Why has Doctor Who lost the element of surprise – and how can it learn from the refreshing spoiler-free approach of Twin Peaks? … Continue reading

Geeky Crochet – Twin Peaks style

Last year I took up crochet. I’d never done it before, and the last time I knitted anything Twin Peaks didn’t even exist. But when I optimistically bought some wool and hooks and a beginner’s guide to the basics, I had one particular project in mind – a slice of damn fine cherry pie. … Continue reading

Time for Cherry Pie and Coffee!

Twin Peaks is returning! We’ve been getting fired up about it for a while (it featured heavily in Episode 3) and we thought about how we could incorporate the show into our regular Time for Cakes and Ale episodes over the coming months. We couldn’t really make it work without Twin Peaks taking over the podcast… so instead we have decided to start a sister stream of episodes: Time for Cherry Pie and Coffee. … Continue reading

Short form speculative fiction and where to find it

To follow up on our recent podcast about short fiction in SF&F (Episode 15),  we’ve put together a list of some of the sources of speculative fiction that we have encountered. This is not a list of authors of short fiction, but rather the places where one might look to get a feel for genre (short) fiction. Some were mentioned in the episode and several listeners told us that they would like some more information. We have added details for both specific magazines we follow,  and publishers whose catalogue covers an array of formats or perhaps publish genre fiction as part of a broader catalogue. There is occasionally overlap between entries. Click the names of each item to jump to their website and find out more.

This is not meant to be an exhaustive list, but rather the sources we have followed for some time to get the ball rolling. We constantly are looking for new things so we will continually update this post. Maybe you’ve got some recommendations for a magazine we haven’t listed or a publisher you’ve seen consistently produce speculative short fiction. Maybe you’ve been published somewhere and want to give them a plug! We’ve only put a few things on the list so far but we would be especially keen to get some recommendations and a short blurb (not just names!) for magazines, online fiction, flash fiction, and resources for specialist subgenres. If you have comments or suggestions for additions to this list, please get in touch via Twitter or in the comments below. … Continue reading