Hour of the Wolf, the world’s longest-running radio program regarding science fiction and fantasy, has ended a 38-year run in the 5-7 a.m. timeslot on New York station WBAI-FM and will begin a new era as a late-night show, broadcast on the radio and streamed over the Internet live Wednesday nights/Thursday mornings from 1:30 to 3 a.m. starting Thanksgiving Eve.

Jim Freund, the show’s host and producer, will launch the new era with a show featuring one of the program’s favorite guests: science fiction and fantasy writer Richard Bowes, who has published five novels, two collections of short fiction and fifty short stories and articles. Recent and forthcoming stories appear in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, and the Digital Domains, Best Gay Stories, Beastly Bride, Wilde Stories, Haunted Legends, Naked City, Nebula Awards Showcase 2011, Supernatural Noir and Blood and Other Cravings anthologies.  He has won the World Fantasy, Lambda, International Horror Guild and Million Writers Awards.

The full press release follows the jump.

November 16, 2010
For immediate release

CONTACT:
Jim Freund
[email protected]
718-395-7458

Hour of the Wolf radio show moves to new night

Hour of the Wolf, the world’s longest-running radio program regarding science fiction and fantasy, has ended its initial 38-year run from 5-7 AM on WBAI-FM and will be beginning a new era in an exciting late-night timeslot. The show will be broadcast on the radio and streamed over the Internet live Wednesday nights/Thursday mornings from 1:30 to 3 AM starting Thanksgiving Eve.

 Over the years, producer and host Jim Freund has presented many of the world’s greatest science fiction, fantasy and horror writers in live interviews, readings and listener calls.  Through the decades, guests have included Douglas Adams, Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Octavia Butler, Samuel R. Delany, Harlan Ellison, Frank Herbert, Dr. Michio Kaku, Ursula K. LeGuin, Barry N. Malzberg, Frederik Pohl, Gene Roddenberry, Theodore Sturgeon, Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., Connie Willis, Roger Zelazny, and hundreds more. 

In addition to presenting such established great writers, Hour of the Wolf will continue to be a forum for adventurous authors who are expanding the field of speculative fiction and interstitial literature. The show will also continue to experiment with innovative ideas, such as regularly hosting Altered Fluid, a writer’s group which critiques first draft stories by its members live on the air.  Recorded performances from the New York Review of Science Fiction Readings (also produced and curated by Jim Freund) and the KGB Fantastic Fiction Readings will continue to be a staple, along with new, original radio drama.

The first episode of the new era of the show will feature one of the program’s favorite guests: science fiction and fantasy writer Richard Bowes, who has published five novels, two collections of short fiction and fifty short stories and articles. Recent and forthcoming stories appear in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, and the Digital Domains, Best Gay Stories, Beastly Bride, Wilde Stories, Haunted Legends, Naked City, Nebula Awards Showcase 2011, Supernatural Noir and Blood and Other Cravings anthologies.  He has won the World Fantasy, Lambda, International Horror Guild and Million Writers Awards.

Background
Hour of the Wolf began life on WBAI in 1972 as a free-form live radio program. Created by Margot Adler (now of National Public Radio, and author of Drawing Down the Moon andHeretic’s Heart,), the program originally ran Monday thru Friday from 5 – 7 AM. Thursdays and Fridays were designated as a ‘Science Fiction Spectacular’ with Jim Freund co-hosting those mornings.  In July, 1974, Jim Freund became the sole host when Margot Adler moved to another timeslot.

About 1975, the show narrowed its focus to concentrate on science fiction and related fields of endeavor. In 1983, the program was moved to Saturday mornings.

The title is taken from the Ingmar Bergman film Hour of the Wolf ( Vargtimmen in Swedish), and refers to the time of day “between night and dawn” and the ancient belief that this is when “most children are born and most people die,” and when fantasy is made real.

In addition to the broadcast over 99.5 FM in New York, Hour of the Wolf can be heard live over the Internet at http://stream.wbai.org and a streaming archive of the two most recent episodes are available at http://archive.wbai.org/show1.php?showid=hotwolf  Links to each are maintained at the main Web site at http://hourwolf.com

Listener-sponsored, commercial-free WBAI broadcasts over 99.5 FM in New York City and is a part of the Pacifica Foundation.  The station can also be heard over http ://stream.wbai.org and through a few smartphone apps.

Jim Freund has been involved in producing radio programs of and about literary sf/f since 1967 when he began working at New York City’s WBAI at age 13 as an intern for Baird Searles.  Over the years, he has produced myriad radio dramas, and lost track long ago of how many interviews and readings he has done or presented.  His work has been twice nominated for and once a winner of the Major Armstrong Award for Excellence in Radio Production.  Jim has also dabbled (occasionally with great success) in producing for the New York stage.  He is currently Producer and Executive Curator of The New York Review of Science Fiction Readings.  He occasionally maintains his Web site at http://hourwolf.com and sporadically tweets as @JimFreund.