app01 Thu, 15 Oct 2026 18:01:23 +0000 Fireside (https://fireside.fm) Story Behind the Story - Episodes Tagged with “Short Stories” https://story.fireside.fm/tags/short%20stories Thu, 15 Oct 2026 07:00:00 -0700 Host Clara Sherley-Appel interviews authors about their creative process, from the inspiration behind the books they write to specific choices they make. en-us episodic Stories about stories and how they came to be Clara Sherley-Appel Host Clara Sherley-Appel interviews authors about their creative process, from the inspiration behind the books they write to specific choices they make. no books, book show, author interviews, interviews, stories Clara Sherley-Appel clara@ksqd.org Real Sugar Is Hard to Find with Sim Kern https://story.fireside.fm/real-sugar c6360001-cdbd-4d91-80be-f363831b4098 Thu, 15 Oct 2026 07:00:00 -0700 Clara Sherley-Appel full Clara Sherley-Appel Clara talks to solarpunk author, journalist, and activist Sim Kern. 57:31 no <p>Sim Kern started writing after the birth of their child left them disabled and unable to return to full-time work as a teacher. Though their first stories were quite personal, frequently taking a memoiristic form, they soon found a home in speculative fiction.</p> <p>Their short story collection, <em>Real Sugar Is Hard to Find</em>, leans into solarpunk, a genre of speculative fiction that refuses cynicism, depicting ecologically sustainable futures and highly cooperative communities, and allowing Sim to combine their life as an activist with their life as a writer. They reject the notion that political fiction is inherently didactic or narratively impoverished. Rather, they view the emotive qualities of narrative and character as powerful tools for political education.</p> <p>I loved talking to Sim. If you've only ever known them through their political work, I hope you'll take the time to listen. <em>Real Sugar Is Hard to Find</em> comes out on October 20, 2026 from Interlink Press. You can preorder it now from <a href="https://interlinkbooks.com/product/real-sugar-is-hard-to-find/" rel="nofollow noopener">the publisher's website</a>, or wherever books are sold.</p><p>Special Guest: Sim Kern.</p> real sugar is hard to find, sim kern, speculative fiction, political fiction, solarpunk Sim Kern started writing after the birth of their child left them disabled and unable to return to full-time work as a teacher. Though their first stories were quite personal, frequently taking a memoiristic form, they soon found a home in speculative fiction.

Their short story collection, Real Sugar Is Hard to Find, leans into solarpunk, a genre of speculative fiction that refuses cynicism, depicting ecologically sustainable futures and highly cooperative communities, and allowing Sim to combine their life as an activist with their life as a writer. They reject the notion that political fiction is inherently didactic or narratively impoverished. Rather, they view the emotive qualities of narrative and character as powerful tools for political education.

I loved talking to Sim. If you've only ever known them through their political work, I hope you'll take the time to listen. Real Sugar Is Hard to Find comes out on October 20, 2026 from Interlink Press. You can preorder it now from the publisher's website, or wherever books are sold.

Special Guest: Sim Kern.

]]> Sim Kern started writing after the birth of their child left them disabled and unable to return to full-time work as a teacher. Though their first stories were quite personal, frequently taking a memoiristic form, they soon found a home in speculative fiction.

Their short story collection, Real Sugar Is Hard to Find, leans into solarpunk, a genre of speculative fiction that refuses cynicism, depicting ecologically sustainable futures and highly cooperative communities, and allowing Sim to combine their life as an activist with their life as a writer. They reject the notion that political fiction is inherently didactic or narratively impoverished. Rather, they view the emotive qualities of narrative and character as powerful tools for political education.

I loved talking to Sim. If you've only ever known them through their political work, I hope you'll take the time to listen. Real Sugar Is Hard to Find comes out on October 20, 2026 from Interlink Press. You can preorder it now from the publisher's website, or wherever books are sold.

Special Guest: Sim Kern.

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