(December 23, 2022) — Escape Artists Inc., the home of free genre audio fiction since 2005, is thrilled to announce it is becoming a 501(c)(3) registered nonprofit as of January 1st, 2023. Building on its tagline of ‘One Story, Told Well’, this transition will support EA in its continuing mission to publish free and accessible speculative literature to a global audience.

Completion of the multi-year nonprofit conversion will allow EA to reduce its operating expenses and seek grant funding, while maintaining its SFWA qualifying pay rates to authors.

“Since taking the helm in 2014, we’ve brought EA into the forefront of genre publications,” said Marguerite Kenner, EA’s co-owner. “Two new shows joined the original trio, and we’ve been honored with major award wins and nominations including the Ignyte, Hugo, World Fantasy, British Fantasy, Aurora, and Academy of Podcasters awards. Our supporters and audience have been there for us at every step.

But genre magazines are precarious. For all our millions of annual streams and downloads, only about 2% of our audience are donors, a number that hasn’t significantly changed in ten years. Most years, EA barely breaks even. Over the last three years even that has been the exception rather than the rule, with outside investment being required. And we aren’t alone; it’s been heartbreaking to see fellow publications struggle with the same issues, or shutter completely.

So we asked a different question — what could we do to set EA up for the greatest chance at long term success without compromising our values? We refused to consider dropping our pay rates, or abandoning our commitment to pay every single member of our crew, from editors to community moderators. We talked to experts in both the genre publishing and podcasting spaces, and decided that becoming a nonprofit was the best next step.”

Further details will follow in the coming weeks as the change takes place, including a company-wide metacast planned for mid to late January and a new FAQ section on the company’s website. Release schedules of the podcasts are not impacted by the change.

About Escape Artists

Escape Artists Inc. is a US-based media company. We specialize in creating free-to-listen short fiction podcasts including the original science fiction podcast, Escape Pod. Our award-winning content is downloaded or streamed millions of times a year. Visit EscapeArtists.net for more information and our press kit.

On January 1, 2023, we will become the Escape Artists Foundation, a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit.