Flame Tree Myth & Fiction

If you caught Tuesday’s episode, you’ll know that this week on the LIVE AND SPOOKY edition of the podcast, we’re spotlighting our anthology, This Way Lies Madness. A collection of short stories that presents fictional interpretations of madness with the hope of reinventing the over stigmatized representations of mental health in horror.  In that episode , we included a discussion between the edito...

The first ever LIVE AND SPOOKY episode of the Myth and Fiction podcast is here! This October, the Flame Tree Myth & Fiction Podcast is being haunted by our newest horror fiction titles. We're bypassing the tricks this Halloween and treating you all to: 2 brand new short stories, 2 episodes a week, editor and author guests and exclusive listener discounts! Today’s episode looks at This Way...

September’s podcast guest star is author and editor V. Castro!  V. Castro is the celebrated author of Mestiza Blood , The Queen of the Cicadas and several short stories in our anthologies. She finds her inspirations in Mexican folklore and the urban legends of Texas.  In this episode, recorded at London Book Fair, Nick and V. chat all about their passion for storytelling, folklore and dark fiction...

In today’s episode, we are taking a look into the veil between worlds, the margin between the living and the dead. Is it really so clear which side is which? Or is this veil thinning all the time, in memories we inherit, and in those moments when we brush close to the other side? Featuring   ‘Our Bones Were the Mortar’ by Anjali Patel (01.25) , read by Cheryl S. Ntumy. A story from our African Gho...

As any fans of Flame Tree will know already, we pride ourselves on being a publisher of speculative fiction. We’ve covered the founding genres of SFF on this podcast already but perhaps we’ve given slightly more attention to our horror and fantasy short stories, but not today. Today we’re journeying to the future on the back of two of our Science Fiction stories. Brace yourself for worlds where te...

Transformation lies at the heart of every great story. Sometimes this takes the shape of a mentality shift or character development, but today’s stories examine transformation in its most literal meaning - the physical. We’re talking skin to fur and nail to claw -  humans who have been forced to succumb to the beast within. Featuring ‘The Stag’ by Kate Wilmot (01.34) , read by Olivia.  A reinventi...

Today we're diving into the shadows cast by crowns, where love and power dance their oldest, most dangerous waltz. Because here's what Disney never tells you: every court has its secrets, and every crown sits heavy with the weight of what rulers will do to protect what they love. Featuring  Naked Villainy by Joshua K. Haarstad (02.31) , read by Nathan Chatelier. A story about a king who...

In our August Special episode Olivia delves into the horror genre with the guidance of award winning authors and editors, Paul Kane and Marie O’Regan.  Paul Kane and Marie O’Regan were the editors of Flame Tree’s Folk Horror . A collection of stories that covers a wide range of mythologies and dark corners from around the world. Five of its short stories were selected from open submissions and the...

A creator god, a trickster folk hero, a wily spider and a heroic symbol of resistance, Anansi is a fascinating figure within West African folklore. This episode contains both an original folkloric story and a modern depiction of Anansi from our Myths, Gods & Immortals series.  Featuring: ‘The Secrets of Jamestown Lighthouse’ by Benjamin Cyril Arthur (01.15) , read by Cheryl S. Ntumy. In this s...

Content Warning: This episode contains discussion of sexual violence. What happens when someone who was never supposed to speak suddenly finds their voice? Today we're exploring that question through two very different lenses - one brutally contemporary, one ancient as the changing seasons. Both ask us to listen to voices that were meant to stay silent forever. Featuring:  ‘Vessels and Warnin...

Everyone knows Achilles - the golden warrior, the rage of the Greeks, the heel that doomed him. But nobody talks about Achilles the toddler, the little boy who was scared of water. Both stories in this episode will help listeners consider Achilles, the man, not just his life but what he left behind…  Featuring:  ‘How Achilles Grew Up’ by Kenzie Lappin (02.17) , read by Nathan Chatelier. A story th...

After three months of the Myth & Fiction Podcast, we thought it was about time we heard from you! We asked for your questions and comments about the show and today we’re answering them all. Join Olivia, Nick, and Bea as they respond to your thoughts in this special Q&A episode. If you have more questions for the Myth & Fiction team, please use our feedback form, we’d love to hear from...

Today's episode takes us into the spaces between sounds - where silence isn't empty, but hungry. These two stories explore the creatures that mirror us so perfectly they might not be creatures at all, but reflections of what we keep buried beneath our civilized surfaces. Featuring: 'No Strings' by Ramsey Campbell (01.52) , narrated by Nathan Chatelier. A contemporary horror sto...

We’ve all heard of H.G. Wells. The famed British author, best known for his science fiction novels and short stories. Many of which can be found in Flame Tree’s anthologies. However, have you ever thought about what would happen if you used a time machine to travel back in time to meet the man behind those well-known words?  Featuring: ‘Shaping Things to Come’ by Dominick Cancilla (01.00) , narrat...

In today’s episode, which is a couple of days ahead of the Buck Moon, we are presenting you with two moon-tales. Stories, where the night dances with ancient power as the moon watches.  Featuring:  ‘Shattered Moon, Hungry Sea’ by Elou Carroll (02:13) , narrated by Olivia.  A story where a child’s curiosity unleashes oceanic fury, proving that some jewellery should never be touched, and some secret...

Today’s episode carries us East through two short stories. These stories are united by a powerful motif - water as memory. In both, water surmounts to more, it comes to represent the enduring presence of the natural world. Offset by human mortality and the quickening of time associated with growing up.  Featuring: ‘Waiting for Karaga’ by Amal Singh (00:55) , narrated by Shilpa Varma. A touching sh...

Our second monthly Special invites our listeners into the world of publishing, with a particular focus on the Middle East. Recorded at London Book Fair 2025, Olivia speaks to Trevor Naylor - a writer and publisher who has over 40 years of experience in the book industry. Though his career has taken him to over 90 countries, he spent decades based in Cairo, Egypt. We catch up with him as he’s worki...

This week’s episode brings us two strange stories from the sea. The sea offers the perfect setting for short stories: it’s dramatic, vast and by extension mysterious. We only know a fraction of what actually lives in its depths. No wonder then, that it captured the imagination of the authors featured in this episode.   Featuring: ‘Over the Side’ by W.W. Jacobs (00.46) , narrated by Olivia. This st...

This week, we're slipping into something magical - two stories bound by a common thread: enchanted dresses. One bringing life, the other death. Together, you could say they weave a pattern of love, loss, and transformation. Featuring: ‘The Wedding Dress’ by Cheryl S. Ntumy (00.51), narrated by the author herself, has been selected from her collection Black Friday - a stunning anthology of spe...

On this week’s episode of the Flame Tree Myth & Fiction Podcast, we feature two powerful short stories linked by their discussions of motherhood - but don’t be mistaken, these stories are anything but sweet.  Featuring: ‘Pegasus’ by Danai Christopoulou (00.50), narrated by Amanda Benzecry. A narrative that follows the famed pegasus, through its creation, violent birth and its resulting vow of...

The first of our monthly specials! In this week’s episode, Olivia revisits her conversation with the editors of The Open Heart & Short Stories by Catherine Wells , Patrick Parrinder and Emelyne Godfrey. Recorded at The London Book Fair, this episode is full of insights and revelations about the often overlooked authorial work of H.G. Wells’s wife. The Open Heart is one of the latest books to c...

In this week’s episode of Flame Tree’s Myth & Fiction podcast, we are again visiting the horror genre but this time we are honing in on how the human mind and often madness can connect itself to the supernatural. Essentially, two short stories that populate the subgenre of psychological horror. Featuring: ‘He Will Hear Us Coming’ by Anna Ziegelhof (00.38), narrated by Amanda Benzecry. A story...

In this episode of Flame Tree’s Myth & Fiction podcast, we have two chilling horror short stories to share with you. Both deliver eerie apparitions of the dead and embrace the traditional tropes of Gothic literature.  Featuring: ‘A Vine on a House’ by Ambrose Bierce (00.44), narrated by Bea. A story about a decaying manor house overrun by a supernatural vine. First gifted to us in 1905, this s...

The first story episode of Flame Tree’s Myth & Fiction podcast! Contained within are two tales that speak to anxieties prompted by artificial intelligence and advancements in technology.  Featuring: ‘The Dancing Partner’ by Jerome K. Jerome (00.52), narrated by Olivia. A story about a toy maker who creates a clockwork dance partner for a group of girls who are unsatisfied with the men who freq...

Introducing the new podcast from Flame Tree, highlighting the stories, myths and authors featuring in the coming months. ..................................................................................................................................... Music is an extract of Sunbeams by Allen Stroud, from his Fractal Series album, licensed courtesy of fpl-digital 2025. This podcast is hosted and...