The groundhog saw his shadow, which means six more weeks of winter... or, if you prefer, six more weeks of perfect conditions for settling in with a story you already love. February's a month for turning the clock back. For rediscovering the moment a show first grabbed you, or catching the details you missed the first time through. New episodes are coming, sure. But there's no shame in hitting repeat on something that already worked. Sometimes the best way forward is finding your way back to the beginning.

Guest Blogs

We spend a lot of time telling you about the shows we make. This year, we're handing over the mic to the people who make them. Starting this month, the Fable & Folly newsletter will occasionally feature guest articles from creators across our network. The writers, directors, sound designers, and producers who turn ideas and inspiration into the stories you love.
 

Some will share behind-the-scenes glimpses into what we do. Others will offer advice for aspiring creators; diving into the craft itself. All of them will give you a closer look at how audio drama actually gets made.
 

This month, we're starting with an article by writer and producer Tal Minear, who's tackling one of the most intimidating parts of making a show: writing a casting call. If you've ever wanted to tell your own story but froze when it came time to find actors, this one's for you. Tal breaks down how to write casting calls that actually work. Clear, specific, and designed to attract the right talent. Read on!

Creating Audio Drama Casting Calls

by Tal Minear

As a podcast creator and voice actor, I’ve made a few casting calls and auditioned for a lot more. I’ve seen folks ask if there exists a guide to making casting calls for audio fiction shows, but I’ve never seen one myself, so I decided to make one. This is a guide for what I think are best practices for making an audio drama casting call. I’m by no means a casting call expert, and these are merely guidelines, not rules — feel free to just incorporate what works for you.

Document Formatting

My favorite casting calls are written up in google docs. PDFS come as a close second, but these can be difficult for those who use screen readers to access. Please don’t only post your casting call as an series of images. Not only are these are impossible for screen readers to read, your text isn’t copy/pasteable and folks who need to change text size, color, or font to read it won’t be able to. Images are great to post on social media and catch people’s attention with, but consider including a link to a google doc as well. If you’re using google docs, make sure the link you share is view-only, not restricted or editable. Check the permissions in an incognito window before you share the link.

On the document itself, you don’t need to get fancy with formatting. It’s more important to have clear, legible text than fancy colors or fonts. In the casting calls I’ve made, I used 11pt Nunito and 12 pt Arial, and bolded the most important information. I like to include show art at the top of the casting call, but this is just a personal preference and definitely not necessary. I’ve never had character art to share, but if you do, that could be worth including as well.

2/05/2026

The Terra Mundi Chronicles

Series Launch!

Set in a fantasy realm on the brink of collapse, The Terra Mundi Chronicles is an actual-play podcast using the collaborative storytelling system An Improvised History of the Universe. The players don't just inhabit the world; they build it in real time. Prophecy fractures. Faith wavers. History writes itself at the table. If you love bold worldbuilding and stories that feel alive and unpredictable, this is your next obsession.