The AuDIAs

The Audio Drama Indie Awards.

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Notice

The mods of the AuDIAs are incredibly grateful for the support and enthusiasm we’ve seen for this event over the last week since opening nominations – you all are absolutely wonderful, we’ve been amazed at the number of submissions received! That said, we’ve already had to make some tough calls and wish to be as transparent as possible, along with ensuring that we’re all on the same page, going forward.

Within the week, we’ve had to close five of our seven nomination categories. While we understand this may be frustrating for those who were initially unaware of the event and who may now feel as if they’re being disallowed from participating, we want to remind everyone that this is a free awards project created by a team of three, who are working on this in our spare time. The audio drama community is wonderful and dedicated, but we will be adjusting our internal qualifications and culling nominations down to a manageable number, which means that not every submitted show will be eligible.

While we know (and agree) that nearly every podcast can qualify as indie, these awards were created hoping to highlight hidden gems specifically within audio drama, and is the reason we’re changing our eligibility requirements. We love this community, and we know that everyone is small compared to relative giants in the space, but, first and foremost, we’re aiming to uplift the hidden gems and give the shows you’ve never heard of before a chance to shine.

Thank you again for all the support, and if you have any questions, feel free to reach out anytime at support@audias.org. We hope this event helps you all to find some new shows to check out, and meet our goal of really celebrating the unheard-of shows out there in this community!

What are the rules?

For a podcast to qualify…

• At least one episode must have been released in the year 2024.
• It must be available in audio-only format.
• It must be available for free.
• It must be fictional.
• It must have some measure of acting. Actual Plays and other improvisational works are allowed.
• It must be an independent production.

You may nominate a show you are affiliated with, or one you are just a fan of. Please do not nominate a show for more than 5 categories.

Both creators and listeners are allowed to nominate and to vote.

There’s no hard and fast rule for how small a podcast must be, but we encourage you to nominate your favorite lesser-known podcasts; this awards show is for the hidden gems out there!

Once the nomination submission deadline passes, review teams of 2-5 judges per category will listen to the first episode of each submission (up to 40 submissions per category) and decide on which shows to nominate for the awards. If you’d like to be on one of those review teams, you can fill out this form. (Don’t worry, reviewers cannot judge for categories for which their own shows have been submitted.)

After a couple of months to give the review team time to make their decisions and us time to contact nominees, nominations will be announced and public voting will commence.

What are the categories?

There are 10 categories: 7 genre categories, 2 aspect categories, and an overall best. Only the Review Team can nominate for Best Writing, Best Sound Design, and Overall Best, picking from the submissions for the other categories.

• Best Horror
• Best Comedy
• Best Sci-fi
• Best Fantasy
• Best Slice of Life
• Best D&D Actual Play
• Best Non-D&D Actual Play
• Best Writing
• Best Sound Design
• Overall Best Audio Drama of 2024

What do the winners get?

The winners will be shouted out on all of the AuDIAs socials. They’ll also receive winner graphics to display on their websites, as well as a physical sticker in the mail. There’s no monetary reward, but we’ll do our best to get your show out to more ears if you win!

Who runs this thing?

The awards are run by Haven, Finch, and Kaylie. You can find out more about us below!

Okay, so, when does it happen?

We’re glad you asked! Here’s the plan.

FAQs

• What are the AuDIAs?
  • The Audio Drama Indie Awards is a volunteer-run award show designed to help highlight Hidden Gems in audio drama – the new, the undiscovered, and the underpraised. Submissions will be curated by volunteer judges and winners will be chosen by popular vote among the finalists.
• Who is the team behind the AuDIAs?
  • You can learn a little more about us here!
• Why are a select few of the submission forms already closed?
  • Due to the high volume of submissions, we’ve had to close certain categories early. Next year we’ll know what to expect!
• Why can’t I nominate a show outside the existing genre categories?
  • This is a first-time event, so we’re feeling things out as we go. We hope to have more categories in future years, but for now, our resources are limited.
• Does nominating a show multiple times increase its chances of winning?
  • No. Each show, assuming it meets the eligibility requirements, is reviewed by the Review Team. They decide which shows go on to be finalists.
• What qualifies as a ‘Hidden Gem’?
  • That’s a difficult question, we know! We’re working hard to find an answer that feels fair while also upholding our original goal of spotlighting the smaller shows. For now, just submit whatever shows you like best, and we’ll do the hard part of figuring out whether they’re eligible.
• How are voting finalists picked from the nomination pool?
  • The Review Team will judge each submitted show according to a generalized rubric. The highest-scoring shows of each category will go on to be finalists.
• How do I get involved?
  • You can apply to be on the Review Team by filling out this form.
• Will the awards happen again next year?
  • We sure hope so! This year we’re really just testing the waters, but with the support we’ve gotten, it seems very likely that we’ll do this again next year.
• What if I have a question not answered here?
  • You can email us at support@audias.org with any questions you may have.