It’s 2026 and that means a brand new year and a brand new season of the Myth & Fiction Podcast. For many people, the New Year is about fresh starts, resolutions, new habits and clean slates. But it’s also a moment of closure, a chance to reflect on everything the previous year brought with it. So today’s episode sits between those two inevitabilities: beginnings and endings. Featuring The Chains That Bind by Brandon Ketchum (05.40), found in Odin and read by Frances Bodiam. This one draws heavily on Norse mythology and in keeping with this episode's theme, navigates the ultimate ending or Ragnarök from the perspective of the Norns. How All Things Began From Norse Mythology (19.37), read by Olivia. The wonderfully strange and imaginative Norse creation myth. You can find this one in Sun Rising Short Stories. Biographies Brandon Ketchum is a speculative fiction writer from Pittsburgh, PA who enjoys putting a weird spin or strange vibe into every story, dark or light. He is a member of SFWA and the Horror Writers Association, and his work has been published with Air and Nothingness Press, Perihelion, Mad Scientist Journal, and many other publications, including the short story collections Legio Damnati and its sequel Civili Bellum. Ethel Mary Wilmot-Buxton (1870-1923) was an English translator, author and teacher. Mainly writing accessible scholarly works for younger audiences, Wilmot-Buxton focused on creating educational narratives based on historical literature and events. As always, we must remind the reader that, as tales from mythology and folklore are principally derived from an oral storytelling tradition, their written representation depends on the transcription, translation and interpretation by those who heard them and first put them to paper. ‘The Chains That Bind’ is ©2024 Brandon Ketchum and appeared in Odin (Flame Tree Publishing, 2024). ‘How All Things Began’ from Norse Mythology was first published in ‘Told by the Northmen: Stories from the Eddas and Sagas’ by Ethel Mary Wilmot-Buxton in 1908, but more recently appeared in Sun Rising Short Stories (Flame Tree Publishing, 2024). ..................................................................................................................................... Music is an extract of Sunbeams by Allen Stroud, from his Fractal Series album, licensed courtesy of fpl-digital 2025. This podcast is hosted and sometimes narrated by Beatrix Ambery (also audio editor), Olivia Jackson (also podcast coordinator), Shilpa Varma and Nick Wells (also producer). Chosen from hundreds of wonderful tales, short stories such as these are selected by our short window open submission process, giving opportunities to writers of all levels of experience, culture and location. Look out for our submission announcements, and see the full list here: flametreepublishing.com/gothic-fantasy-book-series-list.html Our full range of thematic short stories, epic tales, mythology and folklore titles are available at all good bookstores, online and in retail, and at flametreepublishing.com Flame Tree Publishing, Independent Publisher of the Year 2024, British Fantasy Society. Beautiful Books, Timeless Storytelling, Fresh Perspectives. The Flame Tree Myth and Fiction podcast is created and © copyright 2025 Flame Tree Publishing Ltd.
