Whether it be an epic quest, fairies, or dragons, Magic in the Middle is a podcast dedicated to all things related to fantasy books. Episodes release weekly, providing listeners with book reviews of new releases and backlist titles as well as interesting discussions on topics such as tropes of the genre. Each episode concludes with a recommendation for a listener, and recommendations includes middle grade, YA, and adult fantasy books. The podcast’s goal is to provide high quality content that celebrates the genre in a way that both those who are new to fantasy books as well as long time readers can enjoy. This particular episode focuses on new releases publishing in 2025.
The podcast episode incorporates sound effects, music, and a voice over. The opening is a mix of magical sounds related to the fantasy genre, striving to create a feeling that the listener is opening a book and being whisked away by the magic. The podcast opens with the turning of pages, and then a mix of magical sound effects and music follow. Sounds effects of a magic wand, a magic spell, and a fairy flying are all used. A spoken word sound effect of a female voice saying “Once upon a time” is also included in the introduction, and the audio effect of an am radio filter curve has been added to the particular sound effect. The sounds have been overlaid to create a magical, mystical feel. The selected music is reminiscent of music often found within fantasy movies. The music plays at varying volumes throughout the podcast, and if the audio was longer it would fade out entirely after the introduction. The podcast includes a voice over, which is me introducing the podcast and today’s episode based on a script I wrote. Along with using the audio effects of fading in and out, noise reduction has been used to clean up the recordings. Additionally, volumes of the individual audio recordings have been adjusted to mix together better.
I edited the “Magic in the Middle” podcast using Audacity. I edited the “Magic in the Middle podcast poster” using Canva.
Audio Credits:
“Book Page Turn” by Kodack (CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0)Public Domain Dedication)
“Aquarium” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License CC by 4.0
“Magic spell (small positive)” by Nakhas (CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0)Public Domain Dedication)
“Fairy FlyBy 2.aif” by timgormly (CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0)Public Domain Dedication)
“Female Voice: Once Upon a Time” by LadyImperatrix (CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0)Public Domain Dedication)
“3D Magic Wand tinkle_16bit.wav” by Timbre (Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0))
“Magic in the Middle audio” by Caitlin Woodington (Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0))
Photo Credit:
“brown stick on book page” by Tuyen Vo licensed under the Unsplash License (Some Rights Reserved)
Hello Caitlin, it’s nice to e-meet you! I love this podcast! Seems like we both had the same idea with rustling pages in the beginning! The background music was also a great choice as it fits your theme and is at a really good volume to hear you. The podcast cover that you created is very playful and the yellow from the lights in the background was a great choice! I think this podcast could be well-received by many different audiences, fantasy readers, librarians, teachers, parents, etc. I have two minor improvements to suggest. I would recommend lowering the volume on the magical wand in the beginning and perhaps setting the “once upon a time” back just a bit as I can only make out “upon a time”. Great job!
Hello Caitlin!
Wow, you and Emily- I would listen to y’all’s podcasts everyday! This podcast would be a great listen for lovers of fantasy (which I am! I love Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit!). Your voice is very soothing and calming, the sounds of the pages rustling and the magic wand make me feel like I’m entering the Hogwarts library! The image evokes that same feeling- warmth, reading, and magic.
My tiny critique would be to either lengthen the little voice in the beginning so we can really hear what it’s saying or to cut it completely. I can’t tell if it’s saying “Once Upon a Time”, or “Potter Darling.”
Hey Caitlin! This is a very cool idea! You did great with the image as well, it really looks like a professional podcast photo, your font is spot on and the want with the string lights on the book with that font really immediately lets me know what genre this podcast is for – nailed it! I think your audio for your voice, your music, and your sound effect was all excellent as well. You did really well with the timing and the feeling of the sounds was just right I think – not too chaotic no too much going on, but absolutely magical and whimsical. The only thing I think I would say is I would make your script a little more like what you wrote for your descriptions, something to include the excitement I feel when I read that first line about epic quests, fairies, and dragons that your Magic in the Middle podcast can really deliver. But all your links work, your audio is amazing, your image is perfect, your description is great, this is really excellent!!
Thanks!
Kiani