The British Podcast Awards return for 2019

• The British Podcast Awards returns on the evening of Saturday 18th May 2019

• Writer and critic Miranda Sawyer announced as Chair of Judges

• Entries open today for 15 categories, including the new Acast Moment of the Year

• All category winners will qualify for the Audioboom Podcast of the Year award

The annual British Podcast Awards returns on the evening of Saturday 18th May at Kings Place, London and today opens for submissions from UK podcasters.

Over 6 million people in the UK listen to podcasts each week, making it the fastest growing new medium. Podcasts have the ability to tell a story, to live through someone else’s experiences, help solve crimes and change the way we think. Its intimacy can often provoke the strongest of emotions and the deepest of connections for the listener.

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The calibre of podcasting in the last 12 months means the 2019's Awards will be bigger and better than ever before, celebrating the best of the best; from comedy to factual, the tear-jerking to the downright scary, history to health, science to sport and in-depth interviews.

Entering its third year, the 2019 British Podcast Awards sees brand new categories including Acast Moment of the Year, Best Sex and Relationships podcast and the Bullseye Award supported by Podiant, alongside returning categories True Crime, Entertainment, Interview, Fiction and Current Affairs.

Acast Moment of the Year is a brand new award that will recognise the podcast that has made a massive impact, resonated with listeners, united or introduced people to the medium; it’s awarded to the podcast that has got the nation talking.

The Bullseye Award, supported by Podiant, will honour the podcasts that are producing exceptional listening experiences for niche audiences and those under-represented in other British media.

Podcasters - big and small - can enter the awards from today (5th February) by visiting britishpodcastawards.com.

Amongst the special awards of the night is the Audioboom Podcast of the Year, chosen from the winners of the other categories, and the Listeners’ Choice Award which is voted for by the public. Last year saw over 110,000 votes cast for the most popular British podcasts.

Any podcast creator can enter the awards, with the shortlist created by over fifty expert judges. Overseeing the process as Chair of Judges is Miranda Sawyer, Radio Critic for The Observer, providing guidance and advice on what makes a podcast great.

Miranda says: “I am delighted to be the Chair of Judges for this year’s British Podcast Awards. Podcasts have changed my life (NB for the better), and I can’t wait to listen to this year’s entries. I’m also thrilled that so many brilliant podcast creators and fans are going to join me on the judging panel. As the Observer’s audio reviewer, I get sick of my own opinions, so it’s great to have other gobby pod-connoisseurs to argue with.”

Organiser Matt Hill says: “2018 was a fantastic year for podcasts and we think this year will be our biggest yet. We’re over the moon to announce today support from Acast, Audioboom, Radioplayer and Podiant with more announcements due soon”.

Last year saw Cariad Lloyd become one of the biggest winners of the awards so far with her podcast Griefcast; Simon Mayo and Mark Kermode won the prestigious Listeners’ Choice Award for Kermode & Mayo’s Film Review; and long-time podcaster Helen Zaltzman was crowned Podcast Champion.

While Fearne Cotton presented the first award of the night, the 2018 Awards was attended by some of the the biggest names in audio such as Simon Mayo, Mark Kermode, Jake Wood, Fi Glover, Josh Widdicombe and Evanna Lynch.

CATEGORIES

BULLSEYE AWARD

ACAST MOMENT OF THE YEAR

BEST FAMILY

BEST ARTS & CULTURE PODCAST

BEST BRANDED CONTENT

BEST TRUE CRIME

BEST COMEDY

ENTERTAINMENT

BEST FICTION

SMARTEST PODCAST

BEST RADIO PODCAST

BEST NEW PODCAST

BEST SPORT

BEST INTERVIEW

BEST CURRENT AFFAIRS

BEST SEX AND RELATIONSHIPS

SPECIAL AWARDS…

AUDIOBOOM PODCAST OF THE YEAR

PODCAST CHAMPION

LISTENERS’ CHOICE

(Voting closes Friday 1st March with nominees being announced Tuesday 9th April)