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2021 was quite the year here at the Flying Castle. We published fifteen original stories and thirty-one new reprints; we were nominated for Hugo, British Fantasy, Ignyte, and Aurora awards; and we bid farewell to former Co-Editors Jen R. Albert and Cherae Clark, as well as to Assistant Editor and Host Summer Fletcher at the end of the year. Shingai Njeri Kagunda and Eleanor R. Wood took over as Co-Editors, and we’re starting 2022 with a whole new masthead, gazing at the glorious horizons before us, and deeply excited about all the wonderful stories we’re planning to bring you this year.

If you’re reading for awards consideration, we’d be honoured if you’d consider our PodCastle Originals from 2021 for the Best Short Story category in the Hugo and Nebula awards, amongst others.

We’re also eligible for the Best Semiprozine Hugo Award. Our staff in 2021 included Co-Editors Jen R. Albert, Cherae Clark, Shingai Njeri Kagunda and Eleanor R. Wood; Assistant Editor and Host Summer Fletcher; and Audio Producer Peter Adrian Behravesh.

Jen R. Albert, Cherae Clark, Shingai Njeri Kagunda, and Eleanor R. Wood are also eligible for the Best Editor (Short Form) Hugo Award (please nominate all on the same ballot).

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Original Short Stories 2021:

 

The Engineer of the Undersea Railways by Varsha Dinesh

Clouds in a Clear Blue Sky by Matt Dovey

Circle of Memories by Jessica Meats

Jenny Come Up the Well by A.C. Wise

#BloodBossBabes by Rachel Kolar

Pull by Leah Ning

Three For Hers by Filip Hajdar Drnovšek Zorko

Gitl Schneiderman Learns to Live With Her In-Laws by Rebecca Fraimow

The Healer of Branford by C. A. Barrett

Black Wings, White Kheer by Rati Mehrotra

Solace of the Keeper by Woody Dismukes

Catch by Ally Chua

How the Demigod Albert Einstein Stole Nuclear Power from the Physical Gods by Aleksander Wittkamp

When the Head Comes Knocking by Sylvia Heike

Abby’s T-Rex by Drew Czernik

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Reprint Short Stories 2021:

 

“La Camaraderie du Cirque” by dave ring

“Our Mortal Undressing” by Hamilton Perez

“Wytchen Wood” by Lori J Torone

“Reading Dead Lips” by Dustin Steinacker

“An Empty Cup” by Jeremy A. TeGrotenhuis

“The Book of May” by C.S.E. Cooney and Carlos Hernendez

“A Mindreader’s Guide to Surviving Your First Year at the All-Girls Superhero Academy” by Jenn Reese

“Chameleon” by Kate Heartfield

“The First Stop Is Always the Last” by John Wiswell

“Rewind” by Josh Rountree

“Pulling Secrets From Stones” by Beth Goder

“Blush Response” by E. Catherine Tobler

“Our Roots Devour” by Lora Gray

“Once and Future” by Dan Micklethwaite

“Ashwright” by Robert Luke Wilkins

“What the Sea Reaps, We Must Provide” by Eleanor R. Wood

“In the Dim Below” by Teresa Milbrodt

“Love, Your Flatmate” by Stephanie Burgis

“Guardian of the Gods” by Tobi Ogundiran

“In September” by Aimee Ogden

“Aeaea on the Seas” by Hester J. Rook

“The Gannet Girl” by Frances Rowat

“When the White Bird Sings” by KT Bryski

“Everybody’s Got a Hungry Heart” by Louis Evans

“Excavate” by Melody Gordon

“Tend To Me” by Kristina Ten

“Down to Niflhel Deep” by Maria Haskins

“The Last Petal” by Anna Madden

“Rulebook for Creating a Universe” by Tashan Mehta

“Hummingbird” by Eisuke Aikawa and Toshiya Kamei

“Candy Canes, Comics, and Christmas” by Gary McKay