UK's Audio Production Awards goes online for 2020

AudioUK has announced that the winners of this year’s Audio Production Awards (APAs) will be announced online on Thursday 26th November.

All of the usual 20 awards will be included, plus an additional category to recognise content produced in reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The APAs, organised by AudioUK, celebrate the craft skills behind radio, podcast, and audiobook production, with a ceremony normally taking place on London’s South Bank. Due to ongoing uncertainties resulting from the coronavirus pandemic, this year’s APAs will be adapted for an online celebration.

As always there will be awards for the best producer in comedy, arts, factual, podcasts, audiobooks as well as a range of best presenter/narrator awards, plus the special Gold award and the ‘Production Company of the Year’. Once again, the ‘Grassroots Production’ category will celebrate producers, teams and organisations working close to their communities, and this category will be free to enter, recognising the particular challenges faced in that part of the sector.

In addition there will be a new ‘Life in Lockdown Award’, for innovative and/or creative production during the UK’s official COVID-19 lockdown period from 23 March to 10 May 2020. Unless specifically stated otherwise, every category is open to all forms of audio, which includes radio (broadcast via airwaves or online) and all podcast/downloadable/non-broadcast audio.

The APAs, which will accept entries from today until noon on Friday 18 September, are open to production talent from across the whole of the UK, with the entry fee frozen again at 2018’s price of £35+VAT for AudioUK members and £45+VAT for non-members.

Full details are at https://audioproductionawards.awardstage.com

Kellie While, Chair of AudioUK and Head of 7digital Creative, said: “We’re really pleased to be able to still produce the awards in a year in which production teams and individuals have used their skills to continue to provide high-quality audio content to audiences. While it’s not clear how things will look in November, we don’t want anyone to feel excluded, so we have decided to put the awards announcement online. We really look forward to being able to celebrate the very best in audio production over the last year”.