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About This Podcast
Queer Spec Fic Conversations explores speculative fiction publishing through a queer, social justice lens. It’s for authors and industry professionals committed to building thoughtful, lasting careers in SFF publishing.
Besides chatting about great books, it's also about how to sustain creative work in ways that prioritize care, relationship-building, and long-term artistic practice over the relentless grind of capitalism, tech-bro disruption narratives, and AI hype.
Season 2 runs monthly through May 2026. Subscribe and join the conversation.
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Recent Episodes
S2E8 Does Your Editorial Business Actually Need to Be Visible?
Send a textThis episode is all about book editor visibility.tl;dr: For most editors, visibility is an optional strategy, not a necessityTune in to hear how:Visibility isn't something you have to do…
S2E7 Inclusive Language and Nonbinary Gender Outside the Anglosphere
Send a textIn today's ep I'm chatting with Vesna Kurilic of Shtriga Books again!Today we discuss inclusive language and nonbinary gender in Croatian language and fiction. We explore how culturally…
S2E6 2025 Business Review & 2026 Predictions!
Send a textIn the last episode of 2025, I discuss how the year went from a business and marketing perspective.2025 was a big experiment in running my business without social media.Things didn't go…
S2E5 The Publishing Landscape in Croatia, with Vesna Kurilic
Send a textHow does publishing work outside the Anglosphere?In today's ep, I'm chatting with Vesna Kurilic, owner of Shtriga Books – a small press in Croatia publishing queer speculative fiction.We…
S2E4 Wish Fulfilment in Fiction
Send a textWhy do you read stories? What keeps you turning the page?Wish fulfilment is one possible answer! Tune in to hear other reasons, alongside a chat about wish fulfilment in romance and…
S2E3 Editors Who Write, with Karen Parker
Send a textThis week's ep is all about how we balance our editing, coaching, and writerly selves and businesses! 😍We discuss the query trenches, writing routines and habits, whether you need to be a…
S2E2 Literary Magazines for the Overwhelmed
Send a textThis week's ep is all about lit mags! ✨If you're exploring this space and trying to figure it out, this podcast ep is for you.I discuss how to find the right magazine for your story, the…
S2E1 Decolonizing Fiction Craft with Karen Parker
Send a textWelcome to Season 2! Yay!Today's topic is decolonizing fiction craft, and I'm chatting with the book coach and fiction editor Karen Parker. We cover everything from the hero's journey and…
S1E8 Story Structure 101
Send a textStory structure is one issue fiction editors love to disagree about. At one end of the spectrum, some promote rigid templates, while others say "anything goes."In this episode, I cover…
S1E7 Therapists in Fiction, with Aimee Walker
Send a textPsychotherapists and counsellors often feature in TV, film, and books. While there are all sorts of good story reasons to include them, they often do unrealistic things like sit in very…
S1E6 Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Niche?
Send a textToday is all about niching! Do you need one as a book editor? What will your clients say or think?How will they find you? And are niches necessary – or always a bad thing?Tune in for some…
S1E5 Marketing off Social Media
Send a textSocial media marketing isn't for everyone, and for small business owners, it comes with several tricky traps and challenges attached.Junk AI content and tech bro CEOs aligned with…
S1E4 Into the Generative AI Trenches
Send a textIs generative AI making the publishing world a better place? Or is it leaving a bad taste?So far, it's pretty clear to me there's a lot of hype, stolen data, angry authors, some benefits,…
S1E3 Is Your Small Business Extractive?
Send a textIt's all take, take, take!This week is all about how extraction – a pattern of one-sided taking from others – can show up in our small businesses.I cover how it's hardwired into big…
S1E2 Prestige Traps in Fiction Publishing
Send a textToday's episode is all about how editors can get trapped in a cycle of satisfying and interesting but low-paid work for Big 5 publishers. #opensecretsI call this cycle a prestige trap, and…
S1E1 10 Reasons I Am So Over Self-Publishing
Send a textWelcome to episode 1! Today I'm discussing all the problems I see with self-publishing from my fiction editor perspective.First, I discuss my values misalignment with the self-publishing…
S1E1 The Free Lancer: Season 1 Trailer
Send a textThis is a trailer for a new show called The Free Lancer.The Free Lancer is a show discussing all things publishing through a queer, social justice lens. It’s for authors and editors…
Frequently Asked Questions
Queer Spec Fic Conversations has published 17 episodes since February 2025, covering topics in Arts, Books.
Queer Spec Fic Conversations is currently highly active with new episodes monthly. Average episode length is 21m.
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