2024 Finding Fantasy Reads Awards

Bonus episode

Enjoying the podcast? Please consider leaving a review.

show notes

In this episode you’ll hear which stories and authors were most play and most appreciated for Season One.

full transcript

Karyne (00:00:07) – Hi fantasy readers. This is Karyne Norton, your fellow book binger, and you are listening to the Finding Fantasy Reads podcast where you can test out a new fantasy story every single week to find your next favorite author.

Although on this particular bonus episode, we’re not testing out a new fantasy story. Instead, we’re giving out awards for some of the most loved episodes for season one. (group cheering)

I decided to add the awards to the podcast on a bit of a whim. I was given an award a couple months ago, and it sounds silly, but it was so encouraging. And I realized that because of the podcast, I have the power to encourage others in the same way. So the Finding Fantasy Reads awards were born.

And then after fighting with Photoshop for five hours, I even had some fun award badges to send out to the authors, because what author doesn’t want fun award badges to show off on their website? Because it was so last minute, we’re doing four simple awards this year. And I’ll be brainstorming if and how we should change things up for future years.

I’ll start out with the most played award, which was a bit tricky to measure because the plays are across a variety of platforms. But after combining all the stats, the episode that had the most plays across all platforms was (drum roll) Dawnbringer by EJ Kitchens. (group applauding) I was actually a bit surprised by this because statistically, earlier episodes in a season have a bit of a leg up. But this is one of our most recent episodes, and you all have been diving into it. If you haven’t checked it out yet, it’s a steampunk futuristic fantasy with a unique take on fae. I love the way she’s thrown out expectations for all of the subgenres and tropes and created her own style. So congrats, Elizabeth. Watch your email for your fancy badge to prove how popular your story is. (group applauding)

Our second award is our narrator’s choice award. Technically, it’s our second and third awards because Paeter and I each chose one. I tried guessing which one Paeter would pick, and I easily narrowed it down to two because Paeter has a distinct preference in the types of fantasy he likes, and I was right. In other words, if you are a classic sword and sorcery writer, you’ll have a better chance of winning his award. Can you guess which one he picked? (drum roll) Soul Blade by Jeffrey L. Kohanek. (group applauding)

If you know my brother, this shouldn’t be a huge surprise. I grew up learning Hero Quest from him and watching movies like Legend and Dark Crystal. Soul Blade hit the action he likes while still having the character depth that he craves. Congrats, Jeff, and be sure to check your email for your equally shiny badge. (group applauding)

My narrator’s choice award pick was a bit different. It’s one of the very first stories I narrated, and it challenged me to do a variety of voices with strange fae names and even some French words, and made me question if I actually wanted to do this sort of podcast. But in the end, it solidified my confidence that this was something I could pull off. To be honest, it’s also one that I had to record three different times while I experimented with new recording environments and equipment. I thought I would hate the story by the end of all that, but I found that with each read, the story felt even stronger, and I loved all the perfect little details that she snuck in. If you haven’t been able to guess yet, the story I picked is (drum roll) The Lily Gate by Hanna Sandvig. (group applauding)

If you haven’t listened to it yet, you may want to check out her Patreon, where she’s doing a fun summer event that centers around the cozy romantasy with lots of extra stuff that will make your reading experience even more fun. (group applauding)

Last, but definitely not least, is the Reader’s Choice Award. If you voted, you’ve probably sped listened through all these other awards, eager to see if the person you picked won. I was actually nervous that there wouldn’t be enough votes to pick a winner, because with 54 episodes in season one, the votes could have been spread thin over a large number of stories. But thankfully, there was a clear winner. It was one of the only urban fantasy stories I read, so I guess I need to start hunting for more of those to keep you all happy. Or maybe you all need to start writing more of those. It spanned over two episodes, and it was a retelling of a dark fairy tale that I’m honestly not even sure if I read in its original form. But the winning story that you all voted for was (drum roll) Kate Stradling’s Threshbeard. (group applauding)

For those of you who voted, thank you for making that last award so much fun. I’d love to give out even more awards next year. So if you have ideas for what those should be, please send me a message by either responding to the newsletter emails or using the contact form on the website.

I hope you’re all having a wonderful summer. My family has been busy with swimming and summer camps, and next month we have a road trip to Illinois. So taking the summer off from the podcast was the right move. But I’m eager to get back into the swing of things and sharing some amazing stories.

Thank you all for listening, and happy reading.

Know someone who would enjoy this episode? Please consider sharing it!

Host

Karyne Norton hasn’t found the key to time travel, immortality, or infinite lives, so she’s taking a break from nursing and photography to focus on raising four human beings while writing epic fantasy.