It’s been a while since I had any writerly updates, but now, I finally have some news to share. Well… old stuff, really. “When Jimmy Hendermann Wore a Dress to School”, which was first published back in 2019 over at the now long-gone Daily Science Fiction, has been published again. This time in audio format, expertly narrated by CB Droege over at Manawaker’s Flash Fiction Podcast. You can listened to the story on Spotify or here.
It’s a quick listen, which is perfect if you have 5-6 minutes to fill out.
Reselling a flash fiction story might not be big news to most people, but personally, this is one of the sales I’ve made that I’m happiest about. For one thing, the narration and sound quality is excellent. Secondly, it’s just always nice to have a story out with a magazine I frequently read/listen to myself. Thirdly, this is both the first time I sold reprint rights to one of my stories and the first time one of my stories has had an audio production.
If nothing changes, it will also result in me giving my first interview as an author, but you have to join Manawaker’s patreon if you want to see how that turns out.
With that, 2026 already looks to be a much better year for me when it comes to publishing than 2025 was. Last year, I got zero stories published, though the year did end with to acceptances, meaning I have two stories slated to be published in 2026. And now, the Manawaker story overtook both of them.
I’m still hoping to break into one of the bigger magazines such as Clarkesworld of Podcastle, but even if I don’t manage that this year, 2026 has already been good to me.
Toby Backman 