JAMES PATRICK KELLY (1951 – ) An American SF author who is particularly adept with short fiction, James Patrick Kelly is well represented in the audio medium. A few years ago he was actively involved with Seeing Ear Theater – before its productions ceased several of Jim’s stories were adapted to SET’s unique audio dramatizations. His stories tend towards the sociological and personal – but they also tend to be humorous and poetical. Kelly writes a column about the internet for Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine. He is a podcaster and produced a series of paid podcasts for Audible.com. Kelly’s website used to contain a large “Free Reads” section. Today, most of his audio work is listed on Audible.com.
James Patrick Kelly’s StoryPod (commercial podcast series):
StoryPod 1.0
By James Patrick Kelly; Read by James Patrick Kelly
13 Audible Downloads – 14 Hours 36 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Audible.com
Published: 02-01-2007
StoryPod 1.0 brings you 13 mind-bending stories from Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author James Patrick Kelly! Kelly not only narrates each story, he adds exclusive commentary that takes you inside his creative process. The tales in StoryPod 1.0 have a decided cyberpunk/singularity bent. You’ll hear the Hugo and Nebula-nominated story, “Rat“; the Hugo-nominated “Bernardo’s House“; the Nebula-nominated “Standing in Line with Mister Jimmy” and “Mr. Boy“; and much more. Some of the stories are short. Some are full-length novellas. Most have never appeared in audio before.
StoryPod 2.0
By James Patrick Kelly; Read by James Patrick Kelly
13 Audible Downloads – 19 Hours 45 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Audible.com
Published: 05-24-2007
StoryPod 2.0 brings you 13 classic stories from Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author James Patrick Kelly! Kelly not only narrates each story, he adds exclusive commentary that takes you inside his creative process. The theme of StoryPod 2.0 is stories about aliens and outer space. And it includes a real treat: the complete, Nebula Award-winning novella, “Burn“. But the classic stories don’t stop there. You’ll also hear the Hugo-winning novelette, “Think Like a Dinosaur“, plus three other Hugo and Nebula-nominated stories: “Undone“, “Saint Theresa of the Aliens“, and “Men Are Trouble“.
StoryPod 3.0
By James Patrick Kelly; Read by James Patrick Kelly
13 Audible Downloads – 11 Hours 14 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Audible.com
StoryPod 3.0 brings you 13 classic stories from Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author James Patrick Kelly! Kelly not only narrates each story, he adds exclusive commentary that takes you inside his creative process. If you don’t think you like science fiction, then StoryPod 3.0 is for you. If you DO like sci-fi, then it’s REALLY for you! You’ll hear the classic Hugo Award-winning novelette, “10 to the 16th to 1“, about a time-traveling android who recruits a young boy to change history. You’ll also get “The Best Christmas Ever“, a Hugo nominee; “Itsy Bitsy Spider“, nominated for both the Hugo and Nebula; and more.
StoryPod 4.0
By James Patrick Kelly; Read by James Patrick Kelly
13 Audible Downloads – 7 Hours 37 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Audible.com
Published: 2008
“StoryPod 4.0 brings you 13 great science fiction stories from Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author James Patrick Kelly! Kelly not only narrates each story, he adds exclusive commentary that takes you inside his creative process. StoryPod 4.0 puts Jim Kelly’s many talents on display, from a comic remake of the book of Genesis to a ghost story featuring Emily Bronte to a tale of aliens Christmas shopping at the mall – and everything in between.”
Commercial Audiobooks:
10 to the 16th to 1
By James Patrick Kelly Read by Brian Corrigan
Audible Download – 1 hour – Unabridged
Publisher: Random House Audible
Published: 2001
An evocative story of a young boy thrown into the thick of the Cold War when he is faced with some very tough choices, the sort which turn a boy into a man – and which could also spell doom for all life on Earth if he chooses wrong. “10 to the 16th to 1” was a selection in The Year’s Best Science Fiction edited by Gardner Dozois.
The Best of Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine 2002
By Various Authors; Read by Various Readers
Audible Download – 7 hours 29 minute – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Audible.com
Published: 2003
This collection includes James Patrick Kelly’s “Candy Art”. A romantic sitcom about what happens when your deceased parents move in with you and your boyfriend.
Online Fiction:
Bernardo’s House
By James Patrick Kelly; Read By James Patrick Kelly
1 MP3 – 1 Hour [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: www.jimkelly.net
Published: April 2004
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Unique Visitors
By James Patrick Kelly; Read by James Patrick Kelly
1 MP3 – 15 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: www.jimkelly.net
Published: April 2004
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The Best Christmas Ever
By James Patrick Kelly; Read by James Patrick Kelly
1 MP3 – 38 Minutes 19 Seconds [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Fictionwise; James Patrick Kelly
Published: 2005
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Fruitcake Theory
By James Patrick Kelly; Read by James Patrick Kelly
1 MP3 – 30 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: www.jimkelly.net
Published: March 2004
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The Ice Is Singing
By James Patrick Kelly; Read By James Patrick Kelly
1 MP3 – 12 Minutes MP3 [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: www.jimkelly.net
Published: April 2004
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The Pyramid of Amirah
By James Patrick Kelly; Read By James Patrick Kelly
1 MP3 – 18 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: www.jimkelly.net
Published: April 2004
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Itsy Bitsy Spider
By James Patrick Kelly; Read By James Patrick Kelly
1 MP3 – 35 Minutes 54 Seconds [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Free Reads
Published:
First published in Asimov’s Science Fiction, June 1997
Monsters
By James Patrick Kelly; Read By James Patrick Kelly
1 MP3 – Approx. 1 Hour [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Free Reads
Published:
First published in Asimov’s Science Fiction, June, 1992.
Faith
By James Patrick Kelly; Read by James Patrick Kelly
1 |MP3| – Approx. 60 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Free Reads Podcast
Podcast: April 7th 2007
“Faith” was first published in Asimov’s Science Fiction, June 1989. In 1999, “Faith,” an opera adapted from this story by composer Michael Ching has its debut at the City Auditorium in Concord, NH. It subsequently has played in New York and Chicago.
Audio Drama:
The Propagation of Light in a Vacuum
By James Patrick Kelly – Performed by a Full Cast
RealAudio – 46 Minutes 56 Seconds [AUDIO DRAMA]
Publisher: Seeing Ear Theater
Seeing Ear Theatre takes you to an strange and illogical place, where our laws of nature have been repealed. In this “unreality,” near is very far away, time ticks at random — from yesterday to tomorrow to today — and imagination is the key to survival. Where did everyone go? When our hero awakes after his starship breaks reality’s speed limit, his fellow crew members have mysteriously vanished. All alone on a ship he barely understands, he stares into the depths of madness but manages to look away — with the help of his imaginary wife. Together they are haunted by the secret of the runaway starship.
Breakaway, Backdown
By James Patrick Kelly – Performed by a Full Cast
RealAudio – 35 Minutes 54 Seconds [AUDIO DRAMA]
Publisher: Seeing Ear Theater
It’s the future, and living in space is no laughing matter. It’s hard work, and hazardous to your health, cutting life expectancy by 40 to 50 years. What kind of person would give up 40 to 50 years for the adventure of breaking away from Earth? Not Cleo. She tried desperately to break away, to start a new life in space, but failed. She backed down.
Written by: James Patrick Kelly
Produced and Directed by: Brian Smith
Starring: Jacqueline Cuscuna as Cleo, Tara Sands as Jane, Lynette Sheldon as Elena
Feel the Zaz
By James Patrick Kelly – Performed by a Full Cast
RealAudio – 65 Minutes 10 Seconds [AUDIO DRAMA]
Publisher: Seeing Ear Theater
Published:
Play croquet with Muhammad Ali, bake cookies with Gertrude Stein, or take John Wayne’s philosophy course. That’s the allure of Starscape, the interactive VR celebrity Web site, where you can visit with your favorite stars of the 20th century. Live the glamour. Become the legend. Unfortunately for Dylan McDonough, artistic director of the site, the year is 2037, which means that most of the people on the net could care less about old, dead celebrities. Starscape is reeling. Their zaz is way down. Until the arrival of Vanity Mode, superstar wannabe. Vanity is an odd egg, a Down Syndrome patient with a Computer Aided Thinking implant, and a voice and attitude like liquid sex. This is her story.
Tales From The Crypt: Carrion Death
By James Patrick Kelly – Performed by a Full Cast
RealAudio – 41 Minutes 16 Seconds [AUDIO DRAMA]
Publisher: Seeing Ear Theater
Published: 2000
Former high school English teacher and current convict for armed robbery “Professor” Wall has a clear goal — never to return to the confines of the institutions (scholarly and otherwise) that have made his life a hell of banality and mediocrity. But sometimes a simple walk to a distinct destination isn’t so uncomplicated after all — especially when the path leads through mirages, deadly illusions, and a merciless desert wasteland of greed and desperation.
Think Like a Dinosaur
By James Patrick Kelly – Performed by a Full Cast
RealAudio – 48 Minutes 53 Seconds [AUDIO DRAMA]
Publisher: Seeing Ear Theater
Published:
In the latter half of the 21st century, the Earth has made first contact with a lizard-like species of intelligent extraterrestrials. They have given mankind the means to unlock the secret of interstellar travel and join a galactic society of peace and harmony. But this gift comes at a price – a price Michael Burr, a translator, and Kamala Shastri, his subject, are forced to pay as their life-or-death decision may determine humanity’s ultimate future in the cosmos.
Podcast fiction:
The FREE READS podcast is a spinoff of the pre-podcasting days MP3 page James Patrick Kelly pioneered on his website.
Podcast feed:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/freereads
Look Into The Sun
By James Patrick Kelly; Read by James Patrick Kelly
34 MP3s – Approx. 11 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Podcast: James Patrick Kelly’s FREE READS
Podcast: March – November 2007
A disillusioned architect reluctantly accepts an offer from the alien Chani to travel to their world and undertake his most important commission–the construction of a monument to their “immortal” priestess.
Burn
By James Patrick Kelly; Read by James Patrick Kelly
4 MP3 Files – 5 Hours 49 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Podcaster: James Patrick Kelly’s Free Reads
Podcast: 2006
Download the novella: Part 1|MP3| Part 2|MP3| Part 3|MP3| Part 4|MP3|
Men Are Trouble
By James Patrick Kelly; Read by Genevieve Aichele
8 MP3s – [UNABRIDGED]
Podcaster: James Patrick Kelly’s Free Reads
Podcast: February – March 2008
“Men Are Trouble” first published in Asimov’s in June of 2004. A Nebula finalist.