Podcast Awards in 2025: Where to Enter & Is It Worth It?

A List of Podcast Awards and Competitions in 2025

This is by no means an exhaustive list of opportunities. You’ll notice that many fees are dynamic. Often, competitions incentivize sending in your work early by charging lower “early bird” fees and higher fees for later deadlines. I’ll update this information as deadlines, fees, and opportunities change. For now, here are a few of the opportunities for podcast awards and competitions.

The Ambies: The Awards for Excellence in Audio

The Ambies are the award effort of The Podcast Academy, whose “mission is to support podcast makers and advance the cultural merit of the medium.”

“Through programs including The Ambies, we celebrate, inspire, and connect creators from around the world, while attracting new audiences to their work.”

• Fee: TBA. In 2024, the fees were $150-$250. 
• Deadline: Submissions for 2025 occurred over the summer of 2024. Stay tuned for next summer’s entry period. 

The Audio Production Awards

Recognizing and celebrating outstanding achievements in Audio production. The Audio Production Awards are open to all: from freelancers to those working at production companies, with brands or broadcasters, independently, or in any form of audio (which includes podcasts, radio, audiobooks, and more).

• Fee: TBA. In 2024 it was £35+VAT to £55+VAT. Audio UK members get a discount. 
• Deadline: TBA. 

The Independent Podcast Awards TBA

The Independent Podcast Awards “were launched for those podcasts that are truly free of corporate ties. If you create a podcast but don’t think you have a chance of winning an award against some of the bigger players, this is the place for you and your show.” 

The Independent Podcast Awards will reveal the winners at the event at Kings Place in London on the evening of Wednesday, the 23rd of October. 

• Fees: TBA, may vary by category. 
• Deadline: TBA

The International Women’s Podcast Awards

The International Women’s Podcast Awards “recognize moments of brilliance in podcasting and the women and people of diverse genders that produce them.”

“Celebrate these intimate moments of podcasting brilliance and the women and non-binary folk that make them happen. [The organizers, Everybody Media] don’t look at the genre your podcast is in, and we don’t care how many downloads you’ve had.”

• Fees: £30 per entry for independent and charity podcasts, and £65 for those run by corporate entities or production companies.
• Deadline: Monday 17th March, 2025.

Jar Audio Emerging Women in Podcasting Pilot Competition

“It’s never been more important for women to use their voices. At JAR, we recognize the power and potential of women creators and are very proud to announce the 3rd annual JAR Audio Emerging Women in Podcasting Pilot Competition. 

We encourage all women-identifying emerging podcast creators to pitch us their ideas. The winner gets a professionally produced audio podcast pilot episode, with full support from JAR’s talented team. Importantly, creators retain full ownership rights to their projects.”

• Fee: Not mentioned, ask JAR for details
• Deadline: 1st May 2025

The New America Award

The Society of Professional Journalists’ New America Award honors public service journalism that explores and exposes issues of importance to immigrant or ethnic communities in the United States.

• Fees: $40 for SPJ members, $60 for non-members
• Deadline: March 11, 2025.

New Jersey Web Festival

NJ Web Fest says, “Submissions from all over the world, and from every genre, are welcome. Quality is the only criteria: we want to showcase the very best. We accept webseries, short films, pilots, trailers, music videos, narrative fiction podcasts, actual play fiction podcasts, actual play livestreams, and short scripts, so that all digital creators can experience the #JerseyMagic!”

• Fees: $40-$69
• Deadlines: Early Bird, Jan 12, 2025, Regular Deadline, March 16, 2025 and June 19, 2025 is the Late deadline. 

The People’s Choice Podcast Awards

The People’s Choice Podcast Awards “is the longest-running premier podcast awards event in the podcasting space, open to shows worldwide.”

“Designed from the beginning to allow fans to show their appreciation by nominating their favorite participating shows. Culminating with a live-streamed awards show on International Podcast Day.”

• Fee: TBA. 
• Deadline: “The Podcaster Registration Period will be announced in February, 2025.”

The Podcasting, Seriously Awards Fund

This award differs from the others; it’s worth knowing since it covers fees for podcasters who might not be able to afford to enter podcasting competitions. LWC Studios launched The Podcasting, Seriously Fund to support independent BIPOC, Queer and Trans audio producers in both submitting high-quality work to media/journalism awards and receiving further production education and training.

With AIR, Pacific Content, Acast, Triton Digital, and Sounds Profitable as Fund Partners, the Fund helps independent U.S., U.K., Canada, and Australia-based audio professionals to submit their work to competitions and attend them. 

• Fees: None. 
• Deadline: Rolling: The Fund accepts applications year-round. 

The Signal Awards

The Signal Awards “seek to honor and celebrate the people and content that raise the bar for podcasting. Luminaries and leaders within the industry will judge Shows, Limited Series & Specials, Individual Episodes, and Branded Shows & Advertising across categories ranging from Best Innovative Audio Experience to Best TV & Film Recap.”

• Fee: Varies, $195-705
• Deadline: TBA

The S+T+ARTS Prize Africa

The S+T+ARTS Prize Africa is a competition for works at the intersection of the arts and technology that strive towards a positive social, humanitarian, economic or political impact.

The competition is open to citizens and residents of all African countries, as well as legal entities registered on the continent. All forms of artistic works and practices with a link to innovation in technology, business and/or society are welcome.

The winner of the STARTS Prize Africa Grand Prize commits to accept the award in person at the Award Ceremony and to present the work at the STARTS Prize Forum. Both will take place during the Ars Electronica Festival on September 3 – 7, 2025 in Linz, Austria. 

• Fees: None. 
• Deadline: March 5, 2025

Top 50 Over 50 Podcaster Awards

The Top 50 Over 50 Podcast Awards “honor outstanding podcasts hosted by creators over the age of 50. These awards showcase the creativity, wisdom, and impact of seasoned voices in the podcasting world. Our goal is to highlight the incredible talent and inspire a new generation of creators.”

• Fee: $50
• Deadline: Feb 28, 2025

T.O. Webfest

T.O. Webfest is designed to support, connect, promote, and celebrate independent content creators from Canada and worldwide. The TOWF Conference offers engaging keynotes, panels, networking sessions, web series screenings, and an Awards Gala!

This opportunity is mainly for web series, but they also want podcasts: fiction, unscripted non-fiction, and Actual Play. 

• Fees: $35-$75. 
• Deadlines: Early Bird, February 28, 2025, Regular Deadline, May 15 2025, and June 6, 2025 is the late deadline. 

Tribeca Audio Storytelling

Deep in the Tribeca Festival is the Tribeca Audio Storytelling Competition. “Tribeca’s audio storytelling program is dedicated entirely to scripted content, with a focus on excellence in writing and performance.” 

• Fees: $30-$40. 
• Deadlines: The official deadline is January 15. The extended deadline is February 12. 

The Whickers Podcast Pitch Competition

The Podcast Pitch follows the growing global trend towards solo, episodic listening to factual audio on the move and replaces the Radio and Audio Funding Award (RAFA). Single-episode proposals will also be considered. The application is open to all independent podcast makers who fulfill the application’s core criteria.

The Podcast Pitch is a joint initiative with Sheffield DocFest. The Whickers are giving the winner a £15,000 production award and £5,000 to a runner-up. Six finalists will also receive a free pass to the Sheffield Documentary Festival in June 2025, two nights of accommodation, a contribution of up to £400 per project towards their travel expenses, and access to top industry professionals and commissioners of the audio world.

• Fees: “There is no entry fee, but any form with uncompleted obligatory fields will be automatically disqualified.”
• Deadline: February 28.

So, SHOULD I Enter a Podcast Award?

Without a doubt, winning a podcast award or competition feels good. And, of course, it can help you promote your show. But not all podcast awards and competitions are alike. Some aren’t necessarily rewarding. In this article, I’ll show you how to evaluate podcast awards and competitions, how to apply to them, and how to get the most out of the contest, whether you win or not.

What Makes an Award Rewarding?

Because the podcasting medium is so new, there’s minimal precedent for what makes a podcast award or competition either prestigious or beneficial. As podcasters, we should take the initiative and evaluate available opportunities to determine if they’re worth the time and energy.

Chiefly, podcasters need to weigh how much they have to put into the application process compared to what they will get from it. What does the award organizer require? Is there a one-page form or a ten-page form? Do they want audio files, links to the show, or a script? What kind of fees or ticket prices are involved? There are a lot of considerations that can affect your decision-making process, and they all involve time and energy.

Eligibility 

Before attempting to enter any podcast awards or competitions, the first thing to check is whether or not your show is eligible.

Region or country of residence, creator demographic, podcast category, and production time frame can all affect eligibility. Usually, your podcast must have published episodes within the most recent year or season to be eligible if the award is annual. 

In some cases, the average independent podcaster can’t enter. A committee picks the nominations, and then either a jury or public voting determines the winners.

In other cases, your podcast has to be completely under wraps all the way up through the winner’s announcement. The panel judges only unpublished shows for some competitions, such as the Tribeca Festival and the Austin Film Festival’s podcast script competition. Tribeca, for example, wants to premiere the project at their Audio Storytelling festival, just like they do with their film festival. You can’t launch the show until after you’re notified. 

Fees and Other Costs

Another aspect to consider when exploring competitions and awards is whether they charge a fee to apply. How does the fee measure up to your other podcasting expenses? For many competitions, the earlier you submit your application, the lower your fee, and fees increase with later deadlines.

Some organizations use fees to make sure that only companies above a certain income level can apply. For example, in the case of the 2018 Webby awards, entry fees ranged from $175 to $475 per entry. This relatively high price knocks most independent podcasters out of the competition.

Sometimes, the competition’s organizers require that the nominees be present at the award ceremony to win. Recently, this sparked controversy when the British Podcasting Awards changed ticket prices for their awards ceremony, starting at £295. 

These ticket prices would make it difficult for anyone to attend unless they represented one of the corporations for whom podcasting is a side venture.  Fortunately, the BPAs saw the light and instituted a tiered pricing system to accommodate podcasting companies with more modest funding. 

The fees pay for resources to make the award or competition happen, such as a per diem for evaluators, or a website. Personally, I compare a competition’s fee to my monthly media hosting expense because that number stays the same for years at a time. I’m more likely to apply if the fee is equivalent to less than a month of media hosting. If the fee amounts to more than a month of hosting, I take a tough look at any possible benefit of applying. 

Is This Award a Good Fit for Your Podcast?

Podcasting awards and competitions all have different reasons for existing. Some are simply a way for a media company to promote itself. Other competitions want to aid in the discovery of new and exciting content, raise professional standards, or celebrate the medium. You need to ask yourself if this is the kind of organization you wish to associate your brand with: Do they make the kind of show you make? 

Take time to find out who or what podcasts won in the past. Do they have the same kind of resources and audience that you have? Technically, my podcast is eligible for a Peabody Award. But, most Peabody winners have full-time teams working on every aspect of production. My show doesn’t. In my case, applying for the Peabodys might not be worth it. That’s not a pejorative view of my show or the award, merely a description.

You also want to look at the prize. Is it money, production, training, or credit toward a company’s goods and services? What about the second prize or finalist level? Is this tier’s prize something that raises your podcast’s profile?

Beware of vampire award systems. Check the organization’s mission statement or “about” page. Some competitions are so new they don’t know what podcasters really need in a prize. If they offer “exposure,” remember, you can always expose yourself.

Others are flat-out scams. Fiction writers and essayists have been a target of contest scams for much longer than podcasting has existed. Fortunately, they share valuable intel. It’s worth your time to read Victoria Strauss’ Awards Profiteers: How Writers Can Recognize Them and Why They Should Avoid Them, and Anne R. Allen’s Beware Bogus Writing Contests! Look For These 8 Red Flags. These blog posts show a lot of the tactics that people use to make and promote predatory contests to people in any creative field.

Be sure you’re not being drawn into something that costs you money and doesn’t benefit you much.

Good Reasons to Apply to a Podcast Award or Competition, Even if You Don’t Win

If the application doesn’t take time and effort away from your podcasting workflow, the fee is manageable, and if the prize helps your podcast to gain an audience, then you should apply. It’s good PR for your podcast, and deadlines are motivating. For example, applying to a competition is a great way to set yourself up to achieve a SMART goal. It never hurts to light a fire underneath your own cooking pot. Some people need deadlines to be more productive. 

If the podcast award or competition is connected to a conference or festival, applying raises the stakes for attending. You’re not just there for the show; you’re invested. Award ceremonies can help you meet new people, go places, and have interesting experiences. Despite the added expense, it can be fun.

If it inspires you to improve your work, motivates your progress, and helps you share your work with the world, it’s good. But, if the application process requires you to put more into the award or competition than you get out of it, put that time and energy into something else for your podcast.  

Second Place Isn’t a Bad Place

Moreover, even if you don’t win, you may be able to use the festival in your media kit (i.e., saying it’s a finalist or second-rounder). I have sent scripts to the Eugene O’Neill National Playwrights Conference twice, and the script made it to the finalist level both times. Including this in any description of those scripts shows people that an independent, unbiased expert gave them a seal of approval. 

High-profile competitions may have so many applications that, even if you don’t win, being a finalist is a big deal. Philip Thorne and Øystein Brager sent The Amelia Project to The Austin Film Festival in 2017 and reached the finalist level. Thorne said this experience “gave us that extra push we needed to launch our show. We learnt from some of the most innovative audio dramatists out there, workshopped our script and our pitch, and had BBQ and beers with like-minded and inspiring people.”

For Thorne and Brager, the finalist level fueled them to make The Amelia Project one of the most enduring and engaging podcasts today.

One More Great Podcasting Opportunity

All Hear, The Everything List for Audio Opportunities, is a monthly newsletter that curates and shares an exhaustive list of opportunities for audio creators. I’m not exaggerating. The master list includes grants, education, accelerators, residencies, competitions, and more. Some opportunities are national, others local, so make sure you read the fine print.

Thinking of applying to any podcast awards or competitions? Tell us all about it in the IndiePod Community.