Find Your Category. Make Your Mark

This award celebrates a producer or team making podcasts and audio that offers genuine insight, expertise, or a fresh perspective on the arts and cultural world. Entries can span a wide range of subjects including but not limited to: traditional/modern art, design, literature, poetry, film. The format is not fixed: reviews, interviews, criticism, essays, or new innovative approaches are all welcome.

What sets this category apart is the editorial depth behind the content - the sense that the producer really knows and loves their subject, and has found a way to share that with an audience.

The judges will be looking for intellectual curiosity, strong production craft, and a distinctive point of view.

IMPORTANT: Entertainment content driven by pop culture rather than arts insight should be entered in the Entertainment category. Music content should be entered in the Music category.

This award recognises producers and production teams. While judges will assess the submitted audio, the focus of judging is the quality of the production team's work, including editorial judgement, storytelling, creativity and technical execution. Entries may consist of a single programme or a compilation of clips from multiple programmes.

This award is for an exceptional producer or team of producers who knows how to bring a story, its characters, and narrative to life in the listeners' minds through dramatisation. This category is for non-narrated or predominantly dramatised audio productions. Think three-dimensional production, sound design, and performance rather than a single narrator reading a story.

We welcome entries from podcasts, radio drama, and original audio productions in the form of a single programme, episode, or multiple clips across a series.

The judges will be looking for a producer or team who knows how to take full advantage of the medium through sound design, performance direction, narrative craft, and creative storytelling.

IMPORTANT: Narrated fiction should be entered in the Fiction Audiobook category. Non-narrated content that blends drama with factual storytelling may be entered here or in Factual / Documentary at the entrant's discretion.

This award recognises producers and production teams. While judges will assess the submitted audio, the focus of judging is the quality of the production team's work, including editorial judgement, storytelling, creativity and technical execution. Entries may consist of a single programme or a compilation of clips from multiple programmes.

This award celebrates a producer or team who has used video in a podcast context in a genuinely innovative and impactful way, where the creative use of the visual dimension takes the content beyond what audio alone could achieve.

We are looking for work that demonstrates excellence in video podcast craft. Judges will be looking for creative and technical use of editing, pacing, visual storytelling, graphics, colour grading, motion design, and other post production techniques that elevate the audience experience. Successful entries will show how video has been used intentionally to enhance storytelling, increase engagement, create memorable moments, and build a distinctive visual identity across platforms.

The judges will be looking for originality and creative ambition in the use of video alongside production quality across both sound and picture, and clear evidence that the visual layer genuinely elevates the audience experience.

IMPORTANT: This category is for producers whose work is produced and distributed as video podcast content. Audio-only productions should be entered in the relevant genre or craft category.

This award recognises producers and production teams. While judges will assess the submitted content, the focus of judging is the quality of the production team's work, including editorial judgement, storytelling, creativity and technical execution. Entries may consist of a single programme or a compilation of clips from multiple programmes. This is a new category for 2026. As with all new categories, it will be subject to a minimum entry threshold, please refer to the terms and conditions.

This award recognises a producer or production team who creates podcast and audio content that is made in direct partnership with, and on behalf of, a named brand - and that serves both the brand's objectives and the audience's interest in equal measure.

To be eligible, there must be a clear and explicit relationship between the producer and the brand. Entries must clearly identify the brand partner and explain the nature of that relationship in the supporting statement. Content entered in this category must have been commissioned by, co-produced with, or funded by a named brand.

IMPORTANT: This is not a category for commercials, trailers, or station imaging. It is specifically for branded podcast and audio content where a brand chooses to partner with a producer or team on a podcast or audio show.

Judges will be focusing on how effectively the brand story is brought to life, whether through sound design or storytelling while remaining genuinely engaging and valuable to the listener.

This award recognises producers and production teams. While judges will assess the submitted audio, the focus of judging is the quality of the production team's work, including editorial judgement, storytelling, creativity and technical execution. Entries may consist of a single programme or a compilation of clips from multiple programmes.

This award celebrates the best producer or production team in audio comedy, whether podcast or audio show.

We welcome entries across any comedic style or subject, from satire and sketch to storytelling and stand-up. The only requirement is that the primary aim and the result is making people laugh.

The judges will be looking for creative ambition, strong production craft, and comedy that actually lands.

This award is in memory of Gethin Thomas, the pioneering Welsh comedy producer and performer.

This award recognises producers and production teams. While judges will assess the submitted audio, the focus of judging is the quality of the production team's work, including editorial judgement, storytelling, creativity and technical execution. Entries may consist of a single programme or a compilation of clips from multiple programmes.

This award recognises a producer or team of producers who creates podcasts and audio that exists for pure enjoyment. Content that is fun, warm, escapist, and genuinely entertaining to listen to. This is the category for shows that make listeners feel good.

Entries could include but are not limited to: pop culture discussion, nostalgia, quizzes, celebrity interviews, fandom content, and entertainment commentary.

The judges will be looking for energy, originality, entertainment served with creativity and distinctiveness.

IMPORTANT: Content driven by arts criticism or cultural analysis should be entered in the Arts & Culture category.

This award recognises producers and production teams. While judges will assess the submitted audio, the focus of judging is the quality of the production team's work, including editorial judgement, storytelling, creativity and technical execution. Entries may consist of a single programme or a compilation of clips from multiple programmes.

NEW FOR 2026

This category recognises podcasts and audio works in which sound itself takes a leading role - pieces where the sonic experience is the primary vehicle, not a supporting element to voice or narrative.

We welcome entries that push the boundaries of what audio can be: work that is unconventional, immersive, or formally ambitious. This could include sound art, experimental features, purely sonic narratives, and works that blend music, field recording, voice, texture, and silence in ways that challenge what a listener expects from audio.

The judges will be looking for originality, a distinctive and confident sonic vision, technical skill, and creative ambition. There is no requirement for a traditional narrative - the work should be judged on the experience it creates and the craft with which it creates it.

IMPORTANT: If your work uses sound design to support a mainly voice-led narrative, please enter the Sound Design category instead. This category is specifically for work where sound is the story.

This award recognises producers and production teams. While judges will assess the submitted audio, the focus of judging is the quality of the production team's work, including editorial judgement, storytelling, creativity and technical execution. Entries may consist of a single programme or a compilation of clips from multiple programmes.This is a new category for 2026. As with all new categories, it will be subject to a minimum entry threshold, please refer to the terms and conditions.

This award recognises a producer or production team who demonstrates exceptional craft in the creation of documentary and factual podcasts and / or audio shows. The best entries bring real-world subjects to life with clarity, nuance, and emotional depth - combining editorial rigour with a strong narrative vision and production excellence.

Subjects can include but are not limited to: science, environment, religion, ethics, philosophy, education, economics, business, technology and so on. What unites eligible entries is the editorial intent to inform, illuminate, and emotionally engage - not just report or comment.

The judges will be looking for a gripping, well-crafted narrative, strong journalistic instinct, and compelling audio production.

IMPORTANT: News and politics shows should be entered in the News & Politics category. True crime content should be entered in the True Crime category. History-focused content should be entered in the History category.

This award recognises producers and production teams. While judges will assess the submitted audio, the focus of judging is the quality of the production team's work, including editorial judgement, storytelling, creativity and technical execution. Entries may consist of a single programme or a compilation of clips from multiple programmes.

UPDATED FOR 2026

This award recognises and celebrates a producer or team of producers that takes a work of fiction and crafts it into a flawless audiobook production that draws the listener into the story being told. Judges will be looking at the range and choice of material, performance, direction and production values, as well as the creative use of casting, editing, and quality of acoustics.

Producers / teams should enter a series of extracts taken from each title.

This category is open to individual producers or a team of producers working closely together.

This category celebrates a producer or team of producers, who demonstrates excellence in history-focused podcasts and / or audio. It specifically recognises the craft of historical research, narrative reconstruction, and the ability to bring the past to life for a contemporary audience - whether through archive, testimony, storytelling, or new creative formats.

The judges will be looking for the depth and rigour of historical research, the quality of narrative construction, and the skill with which complex or distant events are made vivid and relevant to listeners today.

Rather than set a date before which events count as history - if you can justify it, please enter it. One person's history is another person's teenage years.

IMPORTANT: Factual content that is not primarily history-focused should be entered in the Factual / Documentary category.

This award recognises producers and production teams. While judges will assess the submitted audio, the focus of judging is the quality of the production team's work, including editorial judgement, storytelling, creativity and technical execution. Entries may consist of a single programme or a compilation of clips from multiple programmes.

NEW FOR 2026

This award recognises a producer, production team, or company based in the UK whose work has successfully reached audiences, platforms, or markets beyond the UK: demonstrating that their audio talent and storytelling has achieved a meaningful international impact.

Eligible entries should show clear evidence of international traction. This could include distribution on international platforms, commissions from overseas brands or broadcasters, significant audience growth outside of the UK, critical recognition in international markets, tours abroad or other indication of success beyond the domestic market.

The judges will be looking for the quality of the work itself alongside the scale and significance of the international breakthrough and what it says about the global appeal of the audio being made.

This award is open to UK based producers, production teams, and companies of any size. This is a new category for 2026. As with all new categories, it will be subject to a minimum entry threshold, please refer to the terms and conditions.

This category celebrates a producer or team of producers helping to create the explosion of podcasts and audio being created for younger audiences. We welcome entries across all formats including podcasts, audio drama, fiction and non-fiction audiobooks, and talkshow-style content for children.

IMPORTANT: Content that relates to parenting experiences and advice should be entered in the Lifestyle & Society category. And this one will be judged by kids!

This award recognises producers and production teams. While judges will assess the submitted audio, the focus of judging is the quality of the production team's work, including editorial judgement, storytelling, creativity and technical execution. Entries may consist of a single programme or a compilation of clips from multiple programmes.

This category celebrates producers making podcasts and audio that explores how people actually live - and how the world around them shapes that experience.

We welcome entries across two broad areas. The first is everyday life: content that looks at identity, relationships, family, work, money, health, and the choices people make day to day. The second is social experience: content that examines how society functions and who it affects - including inequality, institutions, community, and underrepresented voices and experiences.

The best entries will combine high production standards with a genuine sense of insight - showing audiences something true about life that they might not have heard elsewhere.

IMPORTANT: This category is for content that explores life and society through the lens of real human experience. Abstract reporting or comment-led content should be entered in News & Politics or Factual / Documentary.

This award recognises producers and production teams. While judges will assess the submitted audio, the focus of judging is the quality of the production team's work, including editorial judgement, storytelling, creativity and technical execution. Entries may consist of a single programme or a compilation of clips from multiple programmes.

This category celebrates a producer or team of producers working in music-led podcasts and / or audio shows. Eligible entries include but are not limited to: specialist music shows, DJ-led programmes, live music coverage, music documentaries with significant music content, and new creative formats where music is central to the listening experience. All entries must include excerpts of the music being played or featured.

The judges will be looking for an understanding and appreciation of the music and the genre alongside creativity and excellent production values, as well as an insight into music selection and programming.

IMPORTANT: If your show features music as a topic for discussion, review, or analysis - but less than 50% of the actual audio content is music - please enter the Arts & Culture category instead. Music genre alone does not determine eligibility; the proportion of music content does.

This award recognises producers and production teams. While judges will assess the submitted audio, the focus of judging is the quality of the production team's work, including editorial judgement, storytelling, creativity and technical execution. Entries may consist of a single programme or a compilation of clips from multiple programmes.

This award celebrates the best producer or production team in news and / or politics podcasts and / or audio shows. Entries here should be from shows which are clearly led by the news and / or politics agenda. The judges will be looking for a strong journalistic instinct, and a riveting narrative told powerfully with authority and creativity.

Entries can cover local or regional stories, nationwide and international. They can be individual stories, a portfolio of work, or a deep-dive investigative piece. Standalone news programmes / sequences within programmes are also eligible.

This award recognises producers and production teams. While judges will assess the submitted audio, the focus of judging is the quality of the production team's work, including editorial judgement, storytelling, creativity and technical execution. Entries may consist of a single programme or a compilation of clips from multiple programmes.

NEW FOR 2026

This award recognises and celebrates a producer or team of producers that takes a work of non-fiction - whether memoir, biography, history, science, or any other factual subject - and crafts it into a compelling and high-quality audiobook production. Judges will be looking at editorial judgement, performance direction, production values, and the creative handling of factual material.

Producers / teams should enter a series of extracts taken from each title.

This category is open to individual producers or a team of producers working closely together.

This award celebrates individual sound designers and small sound teams whose work elevates audio from great to extraordinary. It recognises excellence in sound design that serves voice-led storytelling, where atmosphere, texture, production craft and sonic detail enhance and support the narrative.

Entries are welcome from all forms of audio production, including podcasts, radio, audiobooks and gaming, and across all genres.

The judges will be looking for outstanding technical skill, sound quality, creativity, innovation and the overall contribution of sound design to the listener experience.

IMPORTANT: If your work is primarily sound-led or experimental, with sound taking a leading role and little or no reliance on voice, please enter the Experimental Sound Design category instead.

This award recognises individual sound designers and sound teams. Judges will assess the entrant's craft, creativity and technical execution as demonstrated through the submitted work. Entries may consist of a single programme or a compilation of clips from multiple programmes.

This award is for a producer or team of producers that really knows how to draw listeners into the world of sport. This is a sports-only category. Entries must be clearly and primarily focused on sport.

Entries can feature outstanding, engaging sports content in a range of formats, from podcasts to live radio programmes. Submissions could include one or all of: storytelling, commentary, event coverage, analysis, and discussion. Entries do not have to focus on a single sport or a single event, as long as the shows were produced during the specified entry window.

Judges are looking for evidence of compelling and distinctive production and creativity.

This award recognises producers and production teams. While judges will assess the submitted audio, the focus of judging is the quality of the production team's work, including editorial judgement, storytelling, creativity and technical execution. Entries may consist of a single programme or a compilation of clips from multiple programmes.

This award honours a producer or team who demonstrates exceptional storytelling, research, and editorial skill in the creation of true crime podcasts and / or audio shows. Through meticulous attention to detail, compelling pacing, and ethical storytelling, real-world events are transformed into immersive audio experiences that captivate and inform listeners.

The judges will be looking for integrity in how real events and real people are handled, alongside innovation in narrative craft and the ability to keep listeners gripped from first to last.

This award recognises producers and production teams. While judges will assess the submitted audio, the focus of judging is the quality of the production team's work, including editorial judgement, storytelling, creativity and technical execution. Entries may consist of a single programme or a compilation of clips from multiple programmes.

NEW FOR 2026

This award recognises an individual whose leadership, editorial vision, and strategic thinking has elevated the audio work around them over the past year. This is not a craft award, it is a leadership award. It celebrates the people who shape what gets made, who makes it, and how it reaches the world.

Judges will be looking for evidence of creative oversight, commissioning decisions, talent development, and the broader impact of the executive producer's influence on their company, network, or the wider industry. This is a new category for 2026. As with all new categories, it will be subject to a minimum entry threshold, please refer to the terms and conditions.

This award is for an individual.

This category celebrates the vocal interpretation of the written word, including narration in non fiction audiobooks, narrative podcast formats, and substantial single voice performance within drama.

Entries can consist of a single outstanding piece of work or a selection of clips that together demonstrate the range and skill of the narrator.

The judges will be looking for how the narrator brings the audience on the journey of the story, the creative use of voice, and connection to the subject matter.

This award is for an individual.

This award celebrates an individual who is new to podcasting and audio and already showing the potential to become one of the best. Whether through a single exceptional debut or a sustained body of early work, we are looking for producers who have quickly developed a distinctive craft and a clear creative instinct.

The judges will be looking for production quality, creative ambition, and the early signs of a producer who is going to matter.

IMPORTANT: Entrants must have under 2 years' experience as a producer by the end of May 2026. This is for an individual.

This award is for someone who has stepped in front of the mic recently and immediately made you want to listen. New Voice celebrates the person whose presence, personality, and performance makes the work come alive. This category is for presenters, hosts, and narrators: people whose on-mic personality and voice is the thing that draws an audience in.

The judges will be looking for a unique tone, compelling storytelling and an authentic presence behind the mic.

This award is for an individual.

Recognising and celebrating exceptional individual on-mic talent in podcasts and / or audio. Judges will be looking for compelling conversation, outstanding creativity, the ability to share their passions - whether a music genre, chosen topics or issues - and a genuine audience connection.

IMPORTANT: For entries of more than one person in a presenting team or cast, please enter the Ensemble Cast / Presenting Team category.

This award celebrates an individual producer whose body of work over the past year represents the very best of what audio production can be. This is a craft award: it recognises the person in the edit, on the shoot, in the studio, making the work exceptional.

The judges will be looking for production excellence across one or more projects, creative ambition, and evidence of growth and development as a producer. Entries are open to all formats and subjects, and to producers working independently or within a company, network, or platform.

IMPORTANT: In this category, entry length is up to 30 minutes.

NEW FOR 2026

This award recognises an individual, team, company, or organisation making a genuine and demonstrable difference through the audio content they make. We are looking for work that has meaningfully shifted a conversation, raised awareness, or engaged listeners around a significant social, cultural, or environmental issue.

The judges will be looking for real-world evidence of content impact: not intention, but outcome. How has this audio changed something?

NEW FOR 2026

This award recognises an exceptional cast of performers in an audio drama, fiction podcast, or audiobook. where the chemistry, interplay, and collective performance between actors or voice artists creates something greater than the sum of its parts.

The judges will be looking for the quality of individual performances, the dynamic between cast members, and the overall impact of the ensemble on the storytelling. The minimum number of cast members is 2. This is a new category for 2026. As with all new categories, it will be subject to a minimum entry threshold, please refer to the terms and conditions.

IMPORTANT: If you are entering a presenting or hosting team rather than a performance cast, please enter the Hosting Team category instead.

This award recognises the relationship between hosts or presenters in an exceptional cast of on-mic talent presenting podcasts or audio shows.

The judges will be looking for great conversation, outstanding creativity and a genuine connection to the audience, as well as a compelling relationship between the presenters.

IMPORTANT: If you are entering a cast of performers in an audio drama or fiction production, please enter the Ensemble Cast category instead.

This award celebrates a production company that has consistently made exceptional audio content over the past year. The focus is on the work itself: the quality, creativity, and craft of what the company has produced.

Judges will be looking for a strong and diverse portfolio, creative excellence across formats and genres, innovation in storytelling and sound design, and a commitment to developing talent and pushing the work forward. Business context and growth will also be considered, with the scale and resources of the company taken into account.

Entries are warmly welcomed from the smallest to the largest companies.

In this category, entry length is up to 30 minutes.

This award recognises a publisher or network that has shaped the podcasts and audio landscape through the strength of its commissioning, editorial leadership, and distribution strategy. Where the Production Company award focuses on the craft of making, this award focuses on the vision behind what gets made and how it reaches audiences.

Judges will be looking for the quality and originality of the slate, the strength of editorial decision-making, audience growth and engagement, and the broader contribution the publisher or network has made to the UK podcasts and audio industry during the qualifying period.

Entries are warmly welcomed from the smallest to the largest, across companies, platforms, brands and broadcasters.

In this category, entry length is up to 30 minutes.

IMPORTANT: Production Companies should enter the Production Company of the Year award, or are welcome to enter both if they identify across both categories.