Last month, I announced that I would stop The Spark newsletter and podcast indefinitely. But then, chatting with a friend, I asked myself: why don’t I use this platform to share an audio excerpt of my debut, Staring into the Sun? So please enjoy the beginning of the first story, “Things My Dad Told Me.” This story was shortlisted in The Hope Prize and published by Simon & Schuster Australia in the anthology, Tomorrow There Will Be Sun.

🗓️ Book tour dates

Here are my planned tour dates. Specific event details coming soon!

Sat & Sun, May 23 & 24 — New York

Tues-Thurs, May 26-28 — Reno

Fri, May 29 — Locke, CA

Sat-Sun, May 30-31 — San Francisco Bay Area

Share The Spark

📙 Where to find my writing

Staring into the Sun will be published by Ten16 Press in May 2026 in paperback and ebook. The audio book will be produced by Mercury Calling.

👉 Preorder links coming soon! 👈

"Things My Dad Told Me" in Tomorrow There Will Be Sun, The Hope Prize anthology published by Simon & Schuster Australia.Buy in US | Buy in UK

“Gold Mountain Diggers” in Issue 10 of Livina Press.Buy in US | Buy in UK

“His Bones” in Transformations, the Oxford Flash Fiction Prize anthology.Buy in US | Buy in UK

Find out more about me and my writing, including press coverage, on my website: madelynpostman.com.

Most book links go to my Bookshop.org page, where sales are win-win-win, benefiting the authors, local bookstores, and my own writing—unlike using A-you-know-who.

You can listen to The Spark on your favorite podcast platform. On Substack, you can listen to the podcast and subscribe to the newsletter. Please take a moment to leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify—it would mean the world to me. And please share it with your reading and writing friends!

Music and mixing by anthony@mercurycalling.audio.

Thanks for reading The Spark! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

Share The Spark

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit madelynpostman.substack.com

20 Excerpt of Staring into the Sun