Oz news!

Any Oz fan who enjoys podcasts needs to be subscribing to a couple podcasts. (In addition to The Royal Podcast of Oz, which will be returning soon.)

First of all is Crossover Adventure Productions, which is currently running Season Two of "The Chronicles of Oz," adapting The Marvelous Land of Oz. This adaptation takes a few twists on the story, just as season 1 took twists on The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, but it's proved delightful and very exciting.

Second of all is another story telling podcast, Hit The Bricks. This series has a pilot up, with a brand new story that involves some of the smaller Oz characters. They'll soon be running a Kickstarter to raise funds to pay the costs of running a podcast, and are also casting several characters.

In some sadder news, blog team member Craig Noble is having to part with his collection of valuable Oz and Baum books, including many first editions in dustjackets. PBA Galleries will be handling the auction in San Francisco on November 29, 2018.

In new Oz book news, The Lost Tales of Oz is finally out. This anthology is full of fun Oz stories by Oz fans and established writers such as Nathan DeHoff, Mike Conway, Michael O. Riley, Eric Shanower, David Tai, Paul Dana, J.L. Bell, Jeff Rester, M.A. Berg, Marcus Mebes, Andrew Heller, Sam Sackett, editor Joe Bongiorno, and yours truly. The book is illustrated by Eric Shanower in his lively, detailed classic Oz style. The book features a framing sequence of Dorothy, Trot and Betsy looking through new entries that have appeared in the Royal Library of Oz. Some of these tales have supposedly slipped through the cracks and aren't presented in chronological order. One of the longer tales follows the three other search parties in The Lost Princess of Oz, offering many Easter eggs for well-versed fans. And it's not quite all rainbows and yellow brick roads, either as a few stories might contain a moments better appreciated by older Oz fans.

Finally, Oz fan Anthony Whitaker is using Indiegogo to seek funding for his new play, Scraps, presenting the further adventures of the Patchwork Girl. Perks include a poster, online access to a video version of the play, and a script in return for donations from $35-$100.