About the Awards

The APAs, sponsored by Audible, are returning for their 15th year. Celebrating the people both behind the scenes and in front of the mic, they are the awards ceremony which celebrates audio right across the board – from podcasts to radio, audiobooks to sound design, production to presenting.

There are 23 categories this year ranging from production excellence across Comedy, Factual/Documentary, Drama & Fiction, Arts, Music, Entertainment, Lifestyle & Society, Audiobooks, Sound Design and more, plus a variety of on-mic and emerging talent awards. There will also be the coveted awards for Production Company of the Year, Publisher or Network of the Year and Producer of the Year.

The Little Ears category which made its debut in 2024 will return, celebrating the explosion of audio being created for younger audiences. And this year, this category will be judged by its target audience – kids! There are also 3 new categories for 2025. True Crime has been added to recognise the plethora of content in this extremely popular genre. There is also Branded Content for producers making exceptional content for brands that really resonates with their audience. And the Changemaker Award for an individual, production team or company, network, publisher or community-based organisation that is really making a difference.

And a crucial difference this year is that most of the categories will be open to individual producers as well as teams of producers working closely together for the first time. This is in recognition that many productions cannot be narrowed down to the work of a single producer. Entrants are encouraged to read the category citations for the full entry guidelines.

Entry Information

Entry Window

The Awards are open for an extra week this year so applicants will have 13 weeks to enter. The deadline for submissions is Wednesday 17th September 2025 at 2.00pm.

What content can be entered?

The awards are open to ALL audio content including:

⭐️ Podcasts
⭐️ Audiobooks
⭐️ Radio
⭐️ Sound design
⭐️ Presenting and voice work

Who can enter?

The APAs are open to ALL – from major platforms to independents, established networks to solo creators.

We welcome entries from production and presenting talent from podcasters, audiobooks, BBC, commercial radio, community stations, sound designers, as well as production companies, and more!

Early Bird entry fee for AudioUK members is £45+VAT and £55+VAT for non members and will run for an extended period of 10 weeks until 31st August. From then on, the standard entry fee will be £55+VAT for AudioUK Members and £65+VAT for non-members until the final deadline on Wednesday 17th September at 2pm (please note: there will be no late extension to the entry deadline).

Pay What You Can Scheme

With the excellent support from Amazon Music and Wondery, AudioUK will be running the Pay What You Can scheme for a third year, offering discounted entry rates and tickets for those under financial constraints, who would otherwise be unable to enter and attend the Awards. Please email katie@audioproductionawards.co.uk to access the scheme.

TO ENTER plus all category descriptions, eligibility criteria, and further details, click here to go directly to the Awards website: https://tinyurl.com/APAs-2025

Key Dates:

• Entry opens: Monday 16th June 12PM (12 weeks)

• Early Bird entry fee: Mon 16th June – Sunday 31st August Midnight (10 weeks)

• Standard entry fee from Monday 1st September

• Final deadline: Wednesday 17th September 2PM. (Please note there will be no extension of the entry deadline)

• Shortlist announced & event tickets on sale: Monday 27th October

• Awards Ceremony at the BFI, London, Southbank: Thursday 27th November

• Winners Published: Thursday 28th November

The APAs – Categories for 2025:

INDIVIDUAL OR TEAM OF PRODUCERS WORKING CLOSELY TOGETHER:

1. Arts & Culture
2. Audiobook
3. Branded Content
4. Comedy
5. Drama & Fiction
6. Entertainment
7. Factual/Documentary
8. Lifestyle & Society
9. Little Ears
10. Music
11. News/Politics
12. Sound Design
13. Sport
14. True Crime

INDIVIDUAL AWARDS:

15. Narrator
16. New Producer
17. New Voice
18. Presenter/Host
19. Producer of the Year

OTHER

20. Ensemble Cast/Presenting Team
21. Changemaker Award
22. Network of Publisher of the Year
23. Production Company of the Year

All category descriptions and eligibility criteria can be found here:

https://tinyurl.com/APAs-2025

If you have any questions about entering please just get in touch with me at katie@audioproductionawards.co.uk

You can follow all the awards updates on our social channels – LinkedIn and Instagram. Or you can sign up to the mailing list for awards updates here.

We look forward to listening to all of this year’s brilliant entries!