StarShipSofa Stories: Volume 3

For those of you who are already rabid fans of StarShipSofa, this volume needs no introduction. This foreword is for the rest of you, the yet-to-be-converted. (And man, do I envy you who have yet to experience all the 'Sofa's episodes for the first time!)
StarShipSofa is not your typical podcast – it's a fully-fledged audio magazine. Every episode (or issue, if you prefer) features editorials, interviews, nonfiction articles, recurring columns, just like paper and pixel magazines. But in my mind – and I think many of the 'Sofa's fans will agree – the real stars of the podcast are the stories.
Under the able command of Captain-Editor Tony C. Smith, StarShipSofa has featured many of the best and the brightest authors working in the Science Fiction and fantasy genres today. But the captain doesn't just go for the big names you are already familiar with – and don't get me wrong, he presents plenty of those – but he also brings you the up-and-comers you might not already be familiar with, the writers who may turn out to be the big names of tomorrow. Just take a look at the contents of this volume: you've got long-established authors such as Tad Williams, David Brin, Karen Joy Fowler, Kevin J. Anderson, and Joe Haldeman alongside exciting new talent like Catherynne M. Valente, Aliette de Bodard, Will McIntosh, and Saladin Ahmed. That's quite a lineup!
And, of course, since the 'Sofa is open to all kinds of Science Fiction and fantasy, every episode (and all three volumes collecting the fiction) presents a very wide range of topics and themes. By listening to the 'Sofa (and reading this anthology), you really get an overview of what's happening in genre short fiction today.
But StarShipSofa is more than an audio magazine – it's a community. The 'Sofa is not just a monolithic publication that drops every week; it's a conversation between the 'Sofa's contributors and its listeners. If you just read the stories in this anthology, you'll appreciate why people love the 'Sofa, but you might not grok what really sets it apart and inspires the kind of devotion that made the 'Sofa the first podcast in history to win a Hugo Award. But if you listen to the podcast, it'll immediately become clear: It's the good captain, Tony C. Smith. His enthusiasm for Science Fiction and fantasy, his tireless efforts to promote short fiction, and his ability to engage with the listeners... those are the real reasons people tune into StarShipSofa... and what's made StarShipSofa the flagship of SF podcasts.

John Joseph Adams
California, October 2011