My wife has been attending the New Jersey Romance Writers Convention for decades, and for many years, I’ve been tagging along, using that trip as an excuse to head into Manhattan and hang with friends. The most recent trip was different from all the rest, though, in that now, I have a podcast (one which you can help grow bigger and better via your Patreon support), which means you can eavesdrop on all those lunches and dinners.

This first to be recorded this visit took place at the Ukranian restaurant Veselka, which turns out more than 3,000 pierogi each day, and has been around since 1954. My guest that afternoon was editor Ellen Datlow, who for more than 35 years has brought readers amazing stories in magazines such as Omni, on sites such as SCI FI Fiction, and in anthologies such as Fearful Symmetries, The Doll Collection, and more than 90 others.

We discussed why reading slush is relaxing, which editors she wanted to emulate when she began editing, how she winnows down her favorite stories for her Year’s Best anthologies, the complexities of navigating friendships when making editorial decisions, how Ed Bryant challenged her to become a better editor, and much more.

Here’s how you can listen in on our conversation—

1) Head on over to the iTunes store (where you can also find all 26 previous episodes) and subscribe.

2) Download episodes to the device of your choosing via the show’s RSS feed of http://eatingthefantastic.libsyn.com/rss.

3) Or just listen right here via the embed below.

Here’s what we chowed down on this episode—

Pierogi with apple sauce, sauteed onions, and sour cream

Blintzes with raspberries, apple sauce, and sour cream

Potato pancakes with apple sauce and sour cream

Ola’s famous veal goulash

Steamed vegetables

Apple crumb cake with vanilla ice cream

What’s next for Eating the Fantastic? Well, two weeks from now, you’ll get to hear me chat over BBQ with my former Syfy boss of more than 13 years, Craig Engler—who’s now the Co-Creator/Writer/Co-Executive Producer of the hit zombie TV show Z Nation, which was recently renewed for its 4th third season on Syfy.

If the two-week wait between episodes is too much for you, check out how you can help shorten that gap on Patreon. I’m not going to be able to pick up the pace on my own, so I’d like your support in capturing all the amazing creators out there.

Whether or not you’re in a position to help out financially, you can always help by subscribing to Eating the Fantastic, rating the show on iTunes, and liking us on Facebook, all actions which will boost the profile of the podcast and bring us to the attention of others.

Thanks, as always, for listening.