Podcast

Future Fables

Over two and a half millennia ago Aesop, the sage of ancient storytelling, spun yarns with moral teachings that still weave into the present—but one wonders what sort of tales he might have written today. It is this thought which inspired Future Fables, a podcast created in partnership with Literary Hub, which features freshly penned fables by thought-provoking writers.

The River Cat’s Brother by Akwaeke Emezi

Sleep Is All Hers by Mieko Kawakami

The Rat and the Hamster by Amelia Abraham

Butterfly Man by Lydia Millet

The Pack by Rivers Solomon

Season one

The River Cat’s Brother by Akwaeke Emezi

As one of the most vibrant voices in contemporary literature (and beyond), multidisciplinary artist and writer Akwaeke Emezi has won a plethora of prestigious awards, and has been featured on the cover of TIME Magazine as a 2021 Next Generation Leader. The moral of their story, told through the claws and roars of river cats, relates to the importance of accepting help from others.

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Sleep Is All Hers by Mieko Kawakami

Described as ‘ceaselessly growing and evolving’ by Haruki Murakami, Mieko Kawakami was recently shortlisted for the International Booker Prize for her novel Heaven (2009), translated by David Boyd, who also translated this fable. Exploring the preciousness of friendship and our relationship with death, Kawakami’s story invites us to reconsider common fears with a gently irreverent wit.

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The Rat and the Hamster by Amelia Abraham

Amelia Abraham is a journalist and the author of two books—Queer Intentions (2020) and We Can Do Better Than This (2021), an anthology which brings together 35 voices on the future of LGBTQIA+ rights. In a playful tale of friendship, envy and empathy, Abraham invites listeners to consider comparison and ponder its worth—or lack thereof.

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Butterfly Man by Lydia Millet

Millet is a prolific author of over 13 books, whose collection of short stories Love in Infant Monkeys (2010) was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. Her most recent novel, A Children’s Bible, was published in 2020. Exploring the nature of change and the sometimes unwelcome passing of time, Lydia Millet’s tale of a slightly stubborn insect is charmingly bittersweet.

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The Pack by Rivers Solomon

Solomon is an award-winning author, self-proclaimed gender malcontent and keen bird watcher, whose novel An Unkindness of Ghosts featured in the Aesop Queer Library last year. In this episode of Future Fables, Solomon invites us to join a pack of wolves and discover the importance of community.

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