Thanks to Andy Duncan, this episode marks an Eating the Fantastic first.

Andy’s a multiple award-winning science fiction and fantasy writer, having won three World Fantasy Awards, a Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award, a Nebula Award, and others, plus he’s been been nominated for the Hugo, Bram Stoker and Shirley Jackson Awards as well. His nonfiction has also received recognition, with his essay “It Is Always Time To Think About These Things,” having received a World Fantasy Award nomination last year. His collections include Beluthahatchie and Other Stories (which came out in 2000), The Pottawatomie Giant and Other Stories (published in 2011), and, most recently, An Agent of Utopia (in 2018) His most recent work of fiction, “The Hodges Meteorite,” was published November 2025 in the Sunday Morning Transport.

And as for the way Andy was a catalyst for a unique episode —

I first chatted with him on the show way back in 2016 on Episode 6, when we squeezed as much as we could of his secret origin and writing process into the length of a meal.

We narrowed our focus in 2018 on Episode 85 for a discussion of his then newly released short story collection An Agent of Utopia.

But this time around, we got even more granular, doing a deep dive into a single short story — “Criswell Predicts!” — parts of which I first heard Andy read at a con in 2014, and was finally published just a few months ago in Storyteller: A Tanith Lee Tribute Anthology. Discussing in detail how his initial idea was across more than a decade written and revised and workshopped until it finally saw print made for a fascinating conversation.

We discussed how his titles are often born decades before the stories to which they’re eventually attached, how his research into Criswell’s predictions “ethically stymied” him, why the way he creates stories isn’t a way he’d encourage anyone else to follow, the epiphany which caused him to realize a perceived bug in his story was actually a feature, what he hoped sending his story through the Sycamore Hill Writing Workshop would unlock, why he’s willing to publicly read aloud sections of stories he hasn’t completed, the essential exclamation point suggested by John Kessel, at what stage in the revision process specific details of setting get added, whether the story would have taken even longer to complete without the eventual pressure of a deadline, what about the story made it fitting for a Tanith Lee tribute anthology, the editorial acumen of Gardner Dozois, and much more.

Here’s how you can join us at Mythical Pizza in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia —

1) Subscribe at Apple Podcasts — or wherever you choose to consume your podcasts — where I hope you’ll be tempted to sample a few of the 271 previous episodes.

2) Listen via the RSS feed of http://eatingthefantastic.libsyn.com/rss on the device of your choice.

3) Or simply use the embed below.

Here’s what you would have seen us nibbling had you been with us at Mythical Pizza —

Our Cryptid Sodas
scott’s bigfoot brew birch beer; andy’s snarly yow strawberry soda

Andy’s Flight of Mini-Pizzas
Poultrygeist
buffalo, cheddar, chicken, banana peppers,
jalapeño peppers (after bake: ranch drizzle)
The Alabama White Thang
garlic oil, chopped garlic, mozzarella, ricotta, cherry tomatoes,
chopped basil (after bake: sasquatch seasoning and sea salt)
Flatwood Bueller’s Day Off
marinara, mozzarella, diced ham, pineapple, jalapeño peppers

Scott’s Flight of Mini-Pizzas
Pastanormal Activity
alfredo, mozzarella, cheddar, penne pasta, chicken, bacon,
smoked turkey burnt ends (after bake: barbecue drizzle)
Quadzilla: King of Pepperoni
marinara, full-coverage pepperoni
(after bake: mike’s hot honey drizzle & red pepper flakes)
Smokey and the Bigfoot
barbecue, mozzarella, cheddar, chicken,
bacon, green peppers, corn (after bake: barbecue drizzle)

And should you decide to visit Mythical Pizza — which you should — beware!

If you enjoyed this episode and want to support my mission of breaking bread with creators of the fantastic while letting you eavesdrop, there are several ways you can help bring this podcast to the attention of potential new listeners looking for science fiction, fantasy, horror, and comics ear candy —

One is to rate Eating the Fantastic on Apple Podcasts and like it on Facebook.

Also — you could tell your friends about the show by sending them a link to your favorite episode and letting them know what I’m doing here.

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You could make a small recurring monthly donation over at Patreon, where there are various perks involved depending on your level of support, such as access to a patrons-only blog, getting a shout-out on the show, stickers, postcards, and more.

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Coming up next on the podcast, you’ll be able to head with me to the Baltimore Comic-Con, and then wander off to Little Italy for dinner with Don Simpson, the comics creator of Megaton Man, Bizarre Heroes, Border Worlds, and so much more.

Thanks for listening!