How discovery works
One story, many paths
10 Minutes To... doesn't put a story on a single shelf. Every episode is described across five overlapping dimensions — genre, theme, place, mood and audience — so it can be found the way you actually browse: by what you're in the mood for, not just what section it's filed under.
A single episode, in practice
A nine-minute story by an Alberta writer, about teenagers confronting climate-driven wildfire
It could appear under all of the following at once — no extra content from the author required:
Genre
- Speculative Fiction
- Environmental Fiction
Theme
- Climate Change
- Environmental Justice
Place
- Alberta Authors
- Canadian Authors
Mood
- Hopeful
- Suspenseful
Audience
- Young Adult
That's the model: the objective isn't perfect library classification — it's discovery.
Dimension 1
Genre
What kind of story is it? Broad genres, each with their own subgenres as the catalogue grows.
Dimension 2
Theme
What is the story about beneath its genre?
Dimension 3
Place
Place works two ways: where an author writes from (always optional to share) and where a story is set.
Author location
Story setting
Regional and national playlists launch once enough participating authors make them worth following — specific beats empty.
Dimension 4
Mood
What does it feel like to listen?
Dimension 5
Audience
Who the piece suits — reflecting the submitted story itself, not necessarily its parent book.
Length
How the system works
A few ground rules
- Categories overlap. An episode is expected to belong in more than one collection.
- Authors suggest; 10 Minutes To... curates. Submission selections help us understand the work, but don't create a right to placement.
- Categories grow with the catalogue. A playlist becomes useful once enough suitable pieces exist — not the moment a category is named.
- Sensitive identity categories are opt-in, relying entirely on an author's own voluntary identification.
- One story, many paths. The goal is discovery, not perfect classification.