My final Eating the Fantastic episode recorded during the Kansas City Worldcon was also my final taste of Kansas City BBQ. I chose Q39 for my brisket farewell, as Bonjwing Lee, a foodie I trust, had written that the place offered “some of the most tender and well-smoked meat” he’d eaten recently according to his Eater survey on Kansas City burnt ends.

My guest this episode is the incredible prolific Robert Reed, who’s been writing award-winning science fiction for decades—and I do mean decades—starting in 1986, when he was the first Writers of the Future Grand Prize Winner for his story “Mudpuppies,” all the way to 2007, when he won the Best Novella Hugo Award for “A Billion Eves” (which I was honored to accept on his behalf at the 2007 Worldcon in Yokohama).

We discussed why he believes he isn’t as prolific as we all think he is, the reason Robert Silverberg was a role model for him as he was getting started, what it was like writing 500-word short shorts for the Destiny videogame, why he didn’t read the shooting script when his short story “Truth” was made into the movie Prisoner X, how he really feels about collaboration (hint: he doesn’t play well with others), and more.

Here’s how you can share the BBQ and conversation—

1) Click through to the iTunes store and subscribe—where you can also find the previous 22 episodes.

2) Download episodes onto whatever device you choose with the show’s RSS feed of http://eatingthefantastic.libsyn.com/rss.

3) Or listen via the embed below.

Here’s what Bob and I dug into for lunch.

Spiced onion straws with BBQ aioli

My sausage, burnt ends, and sliced brisket

Bob’s BBQ chicken and potato salad

What’s next for Eating the Fantastic? Two weeks from now, my guest will be Sam J. Miller, winner of the Shirley Jackson Award for his short story “57 Reasons for the Slate Quarry Suicides,” with whom I was able to connect during the Baltimore Book Festival.

And closing out the year will be Nalo Hopkinson, winner of the World Fantasy Award for her short story collection Skin Folk, who’s also won the Sunburst Award, the Prix Aurora Award, and many others.

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