This week, River Reads will launch Season 4 with Episode 30, titled "Fire, Ash & Death.” This episode includes two stories: a brief narrative titled "The Shepherdess and the Chimney-Sweep" from Hans Christian Andersen's collection  Fairy Tales, and the longer, gruesome tale, "The Master-Maid," from Andrew Lang’s "The Blue Fairy Book." Be sure to listen ‘til the end for the reveal of the episode's Gender Blender tale. Please note:  River Reads is not a kids show but not not a kids show and may contain content suitable for a mature audience; listener discretion is advised.

River Reads is a program where those of all ages can escape into fairy tales and strange stories; both new and old, but mostly old and at times macabre, or silly, or even perhaps a little confusing as written in old english and the host fumbles words, and then there’s those stories whose premises have perhaps not aged as well over the years. Let’s face it you can’t be too picky when you’re dependent upon free material available to you through creative commons. 

This episode's fairy tales are: 

1. The Shepherdess and the Chimney-Sweep. Fairy Tales By Hans Andersen. Weathervane Books. Crown Publishers. New York. 1977 Printing.

2. The Master-Maid. The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. Longmans, Green and Co. 1889. This edition, printed in Great Britain by Cambridge University Press. 2003 Printing.

River Reads has won  Best Podcast in the Small Market category at 2023 Broadcast Dialogue's Canadian Radio Awards.