Here Are 15 Audio Fiction Podcasts For Every Kind Of Reader
Have you been running through audiobooks so quickly that the library is running out?
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We get it. And we have a fix for you: original fiction podcasts!
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Whether you choose one that you can binge, or one that's still releasing new episodes, you'll be able to fill the time between library audiobook loans with these and maybe even find a new addiction!
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1.For those who love romance AND murder: Bone, Marry, Bury
The dream team behind RomComPods, Rachael King and Becca Freeman, recruited another dream team: actors Sarah Hyland and Harvey Guillen for their newest podcast, Bone, Marry, Bury. Sarah plays Allie, who just got dumped and fired and is crashing on her best friend Gabe's (Harvey Guillen) couch. Gabe narrates their journey which starts at a New Years Eve party where Allie will meet three people: one she'll kill, one she'll sleep with, and one she'll marry, all by the end of the month. Follow along to find out who's who!
2.For the foodies: Showmance
Also from the brilliant team at RomComPods, Showmance feeds a lot of cravings. There's a reality show which is also a cooking competition, international travel, dating your boss trope, and even '90s boy band references (yes, there is a Lance Bass cameo)! The story follows Casey as she leaves behind her crummy ex and travels to London to help launch the British spinoff of the cooking competition show she produces, where she finds the romance she's been looking for.
3.For nosy, true crime junkies: Neighbourly
Neighbourly is a one-man show in terms of narration, but the story features a whole roster of characters — and houses. Each episode tells the story of a different home on Little Street and those who inhabit it, skeletons in the closet and all. Each episode is sure to send a shiver up your spine, and more importantly, make you think, even long after the episode's ended. New episodes are still currently releasing, so there's plenty to catch up on AND look forward to.
4.For horror fans: Alice Isn't Dead
Written by author Joseph Fink, Alice Isn't Dead is a thriller told through the point of view of Keisha, a truck driver whose wife, Alice, is missing and presumed dead. On her search for Alice, Keisha encounters surreal happenings and creatures, each creepier than the last.
This podcast started airing in 2016, and new episodes are no longer releasing, but that means you have three seasons to binge! Oh, and a standalone novel adaptation to read if you want, too.
5.For fans of the fantastical: Faerie
In this dark fantasy, a world is imagined in which faeries not only exist, but are far more dangerous than the playful and cute fairies we've seen imagined by children's media. While these faeries lurk in the shadows, our narrator is on a mission to uncover the truth which has been hidden by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Listen on Spotify.
6.For lovers of tropes: Kaleidotrope
Voicey and tons of fun, Kaleidotrope is a queer rom-com with some magical fantasy elements about Drew and Harrison, college radio co-hosts who couldn't be more different but are forced to work together and get to know each other, and oh, maybe fall in love. Does it sound tropey? Well, that's the point! If you love tropey romances or fanfic, you'll love this podcast.
Listen on the podcast's official website or on Apple.
7.For time-travel readers: The Dial-Up
Two strangers connect when one calls for tech support — but it isn't a normal interaction. Because one of them is living in the present day, and the other is in 1999. How did this happen? While they stay on the phone and annoy each other with stories and anecdotes, they start to wonder: Why are they connected? Will they ever figure it out?
This brand new mystery is still releasing new episodes weekly, so it's a great time to catch up and follow along.
8.For fans of current and classical dystopia: Dust
Dust isn't structured like other stories on this list. The first season, Horizons, serves as an anthology of sci-fi short stories with varying themes, some more classical and others more futuristic. Season 2: Flight 008 follows a common thread of passengers on a plane from Tokyo to San Francisco, which somehow passes through a wrinkle in time and lands in the year 2040. Each episodic story is written about a different person, by a different person (many of them talented authors!). Finally, the most recent season Chrysalis is described as "14-part epic drama" that follows an AI who awakens to a world where the human race is wiped out by a mass genocide and seeks vengeance.
Actors like Toni Collette and Corey Hawkins star in the series, with Hawkins even producing the third season, Chrysalis. The longer episodes and amount of seasons make this a great choice for someone who's been flying through their audiobooks too quickly, and there are even a few special bonus episodes with standalone stories!
9.For those who love epistolary storytelling: Love and Luck
Described as a "queer slice-of-life romance," Love and Luck is narrated through voicemails that Kane and Jason leave each other. At first, this method of communication is a result of missing each other's calls, but they grow to like it and choose to keep it up. Their correspondence is so sweet, it may change your mind on what voicemails can be — pretty sure the common consensus on them is that they're annoying and outdated.
10.For fans of political romance: Vote For Love
Lucy is falling for her boss's son, Lincoln. But her boss is the governor of Texas, and he's a no-nonsense guy, so he's not on board with his son's musician dreams, and he pushes him away. It backfires when Lincoln actually makes it big, and leaves Texas for Los Angeles, leaving not just his dad behind, but Lucy, too. When his dad starts his campaign for presidential election eight years later, he's missing the youth appeal: which is where Lincoln comes in. But with their strained relationship, he doesn't want to reach out. So he recruits Lucy to do it, which is how she ends up calling the guy who ghosted her eight years ago, and finding out that just as she's never forgotten him, he hasn't stopped thinking about her, either.
11.For fans of Stranger Things on Netflix: Bridgewater
Jeremy Bradshaw is a folklore professor living in Bridgewater, a Massachusetts town where strange things like animal sacrifice, UFO sightings, and cult activity are known to occur. When he finds a mysterious piece of evidence related to the death of his police officer father in the 1980s, he's pulled into a rabbit hole with no clear escape. This supernatural thriller is expertly produced and narrated by some familiar voices, like Misha Collins of Supernatural, Melissa Ponzio of Teen Wolf, Hilarie Burton of One Tree Hill, and more.
12.For fans of romances set on vacation: Honeymoon for One
Claire thinks she has it all: She's just about to marry her college sweetheart, shopping for houses, and excited for the future, especially her Italian honeymoon. But then she catches her fiancé cheating with his co-worker just three days before their wedding. Taking her friend's advice to have her "Eat Pray Love moment," Claire goes on her honeymoon to Italy — alone. But will she be alone for long? Hm...not if her guide, Matteo, can help it.
13.For those who love stories with complicated family dynamics: The Call of the Void
This sci-fi mystery podcast takes place in New Orleans, where it follows Topher Sommers and his sister Simone as they look for their missing father. Along the way, Topher meets Etsy, a palm reader, and together they begin to uncover the secrets of an otherworldly entity that wishes to silence the world as they know it. Full of chemistry, this story has three seasons and counting, so there's plenty to discover and love.
14.For fans of all kinds of magic: Unseen
This urban fantasy imagines a world where magic exists, but those who contain it must keep it to themselves. Holding in your magic and identity isn't an easy thing to do, and those who are cursed with this conflict struggle with it. Each episode of the first season features a different performer telling a different story about their own experience with magic: Some are lively and exciting, others are sad and melancholy, all are enticing and encompassing.
15.For those who like to guess the ending: Someone Dies In This Elevator
Pitched as a "spoiler-driven anthology series where there's always an elevator and someone always dies — but everything else is different," this podcast is a fun and creative reverse mystery that starts with the answer of who died, and takes you on the journey of finding out how it happened. The episodes range from micros (~5-7 minutes long) to short (~15-20 minutes long), and since the stories aren't connected, you can listen in any order that works for you. Maybe you want to binge them, or maybe you just want a short creepy story before bed. The choice is yours!
