Podcast Awards in 2026: Where to Enter & Is It Worth It?
🟢 Summary: Podcast Awards in 2026
Podcast awards vary in value, so podcasters should weigh effort versus reward. Eligibility, fees, and hidden costs can limit access, while some awards offer real benefits like funding or exposure. Even without winning, being a finalist can boost credibility and open doors. Apply if it supports your growth, but avoid competitions that take more than they give.
A List of Podcast Awards and Competitions in 2026
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. For the 2026 awards, the fees ranged from $150 to $325. Members of The Podcast Academy get a discount.
- Deadline: The 2026 Ambies submission period ran from August through November, 2025. 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 2025, fees ranged from £45+VAT to £65+VAT. Audio UK members get a discount.
- Deadline: TBA. Typically, the APA’s submission window is in the summer.
The Austin Film Festival Script Competition
A favorite among audio drama and fiction podcasters, applying to The Austin Film Festival Script Competition includes the opportunity to get reader feedback on your script. Yes, it’s an additional fee, but few (if any) competitions provide this service. Additionally, attendees of the Austin Film Festival speak highly of the panels, workshops, and other educational opportunities.
- Fees: $40-$50
- Deadlines: Early Bird, March 26, Regular Deadline, April 24, Late Deadline, May 27, 2026.
The Gracies
The Gracies are international awards for or about women in television, radio, and digital media. They have select categories for non-English programmes and creators, with English transcripts required.
- Fees: Range from $75 to $325.
- Deadline: January 22, 2026.
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. In 2025, an applicant’s first entry cost £35, and subsequent entries cost £5 each.
- Deadline: TBA, typically in early summer.
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: TBA. For 2025, the fees ranged from £30 to £65.
- Deadline: TBA. The 2025 deadline was in March, so stay tuned.
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 their ideas to us. 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: TBA
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. Work from any platform is eligible.
- Fees: $40 for SPJ members, $60 for non-members
- Deadline: March 11, 2026, 11:59 p.m. ET.
New Jersey Web Festival
NJ Web Fest says, “Submissions from all over the world, and from every genre, are welcome. 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: $62- $80, depending on category and deadline.
- Deadlines: Early Bird, Jan 12, 2026, Regular Deadline, March 16, 2025 and June 19, 2026 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: TBA.
The Podcasting, Seriously Awards Fund
This award differs from the others; it’s worth noting because it covers fees for podcasters who may 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., Canadian, and Australian audio professionals to submit their work to competitions and attend them.
- Fees: None.
- Deadline: Rolling! The Fund accepts applications year-round.
The Pulitzer Prize for Journalism
Yes, you can apply for a Pulitzer Prize. You don’t have to be a Vanderbilt or part of a major network. The Audio Reporting category seeks “deep and revelatory reporting in the public interest” across all forms of audio storytelling, from podcasts to radio broadcasts. The application is open to independent American producers and U.S. broadcast outlets.
- Fee: $75.
- Deadline: January 26, 2026.
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, most recently $195 to $705
- Deadline: TBA. Most recently, the submission window ran from March through August.
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: TBA. In 2025, the fee was $50.
- Deadline: TBA. In 2025, the deadline was Feb 28.
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: $25- $75, depending on the genre and submission date.
- Deadlines: The submission window opens on January 12, 2026. The Early Bird Deadline is February 28, the Regular Deadline is May 15, and the Late Deadline is June 6, 2026.
Tribeca Audio Storytelling
Deep in the Tribeca Festival is Tribeca Podcasts. “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 14. The extended deadline is February 11.
The U.K. International Radio Drama Festival
The UK International Radio Drama Festival is based in Canterbury, Kent, and offers everyone the opportunity to celebrate radio drama through open access to live listening sessions, in person and online. Organised by International Arts Partnership, the festival aims to bring diverse work from across the world, introducing a UK audience to the European tradition of audio drama, often anchored in soundscape, whilst celebrating our own more text-based tradition.
- Fees: None!
- Deadline: 17 January, 2026.
The Whickers Podcast Pitch Competition
The Podcast Pitch follows the growing global trend towards solo, episodic listening to factual audio on the move. 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 the 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 toward 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: 27th February 2026 (23:59 GMT)
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 podcasting is so new, there’s little 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 the effort required for the application process against the benefits it’ll yield. 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 entering any podcast awards or competitions, the first thing to check is whether your show is eligible.
Region or country of residence, creator demographics, podcast category, and production timeframe can all affect eligibility. If the award is annual, your podcast must have published episodes within the most recent year or season to be eligible.
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 must remain under wraps 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 its Audio Storytelling festival, just as it does with its film festival. You can’t launch the show until after everyone has been 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 only companies with a certain income level can apply. For example, in the case ofthe 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 nominees to be present at the award ceremony to win. 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 a long 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 that 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 targets of contest scams for much longer than podcasting has existed. Fortunately, they share valuable intel. It’s worth your time to read these cautionary resources:
- Victoria Strauss’ Awards Profiteers: How Writers Can Recognize Them and Why They Should Avoid Them,
- 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 submitted scripts to the Eugene O’Neill National Playwrights Conference twice, and both were selected as finalists. Including this in any description of those scripts shows 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.
Attention to detail makes a big difference in all areas of podcasting. That’s just one of the reasons we created The Podcraft Academy. Our courses, checklists, and other resources can help you start a great podcast or take your podcast from good to great. And, in this case, the only deadlines you’ll face are the ones you set for yourself.
