Image – iStockphoto: Paul Campbell

By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson

‘First Wave’ Deadline is July 15

Submissions are due July 15 for titles published between November 1 of last year and August 31. A second wave of submissions, covering titles published in September and October of this year will be due October 2.

Guidance from the APA assures publishers of the organization’s leniency and understanding of production and distribution challenges.

“We know that not every title will be ready for distribution by the first submission deadline,” the APA staff writes. “This is okay. Please do your best to submit titles by each deadline, but know that we will be lenient in imposing the late fee for titles published after the submission deadline No. 1 but before the beginning of the second entry period.”

There are no rule changes from the 2018 Audie Awards guidelines, and those entering will find full information here. Once more, for example, titles can be submitted in only one category with the exception of narrator categories and for the Audiobook of the Year award. An Audiobook of the Year award requires submission of a supplemental form (provided on the site) for use by jurors. That form is due October 31.

As with the change in timing that occurred this year, the 2020 Audies will again not be awarded during BookExpo but instead will be presented at a gala on March 2 in New York City.

Finalists are to be notified in January so that there’s time for extensive visibility to the news media and industry prior to the awards announcements through an extensive display on the APA site.

Categories of Entry

The Audie Awards are a large competition, with 24 categories, which is one reason that the program is considered by many to be the leading competition in the field. The descriptive notes on these categories are written by the APA.

• Fiction: For excellence in narration, production, and content of a fiction audiobook. This category is for titles that do not fit into specific fiction categories.
• Literary Fiction and Classics: For excellence in narration, production, and content of an audiobook of literary fiction or a classic.
• Mystery: For excellence in narration, production, and content of a mystery audiobook, usually featuring a protagonist trying to solve a crime, such as murder, committed early in the story.
• Thriller and Suspense: For excellence in narration, production, and content of a thriller/suspense audiobook, usually featuring a hero racing to stop a catastrophe.
• Science Fiction: For excellence in narration, production, and content of a science fiction audiobook, involving an alternate reality based on possible science (however far-fetched).
• Fantasy: For excellence in narration, production, and content of a fantasy or paranormal audiobook, involving a world of magic and fantastical creatures brought to life. For example, the story may contain fairies, wizards, vampires, zombies, ghosts, werewolves, etc.
• Romance: For excellence in narration, production, and content of an audiobook of romance, including romantic suspense, historical romance, erotica, etc.
• Nonfiction: For excellence in narration, production, and content of a non-fiction audiobook. This category is for those titles that do not fit into the specific non-fiction categories 9-11 below.
• History and Biography: For excellence in narration, production, and content of a historical or biographical audiobook (these two categories are combined since a biography is an account or history of a person’s life).
• Autobiography and Memoir: For excellence in narration, production, and content of an autobiography or a memoir. Both of these are an author’s account of their own life, whether straightforward (autobiography) or as a literary story drawn from the person’s life (memoir).
• Business and Personal Development: For excellence in narration, production, and content of a personal development or motivational audiobook.
• Faith-Based Fiction and Nonfiction: For excellence in narration, production, and content of a spiritual or faith-based audiobook.
• Humor: For excellence in narration, production, and content of a humorous audiobook.
• Short Stories and Collections: For excellence in narration, production, and content of an audiobook that consists of stories, essays, anecdotes, or other short prose or poetry elements.
• Original Work: For excellence in narration, production, and content of an audiobook that is not based on a print work.
• Young Listeners: For excellence in narration, production, and content of a children’s audiobook for ages up to 8, including audiobook + book sets.
• Middle Grade: For excellence in narration, production, and content of a children’s audiobook intended for middle readers, ages 8-12.
• Young Adult: For excellence in narration, production, and content of a teen audiobook, ages 13-18.
• Best Female Narrator: For excellence in the solo reading of an audiobook by a female, any category.
• Best Male Narrator: For excellence in the solo reading of an audiobook by a male, any category.
• Narration by the Author(s): For excellence in the reading of an audiobook by the author or authors of that audiobook, any category.
• Multi-Voiced Performance: For excellence in a multi-voiced performance of an audiobook, which includes multiple readers with little to no interaction, any category.
• Audio Drama: For excellence in a dramatic audio performance that includes actors portraying one or more fully voiced characters and uses interaction and dialogue as key elements.
• Audiobook of the Year: This award recognizes a title with high-quality content and production values, standing as a benchmark of excellence for the industry. The Audiobook of the Year should serve as a worthy ambassador to new and current listeners, and be a paragon of audiobook art. Additional items considered by the jury include success of marketing and publicity, visibility, impact, commercial success, and recruitment of new listeners to the format. Submission must include an Audiobook of the Year supplemental form (due no later than October 31), which will aid the judges in determining finalists. The winner will be chosen by a panel of celebrity authors.

Judging Notes

The judging process for the Audie Awards goes in stages.

The initial stage is a qualifying round in which at least 30 minutes of each submission is listened to by judges, who then recommend whether the entry should move forward. The recommendations of several judges are compiled and titles are moved forward or not based on those aggregate recommendations.

In the second round, new judges listen to complete audiobooks submitted and then rank the titles they’re hearing.

A third set of judges then score the titles ranked for performance, direction, production, and content.

“Judges,” the program writes, “are selected from a wide variety of listeners, which includes audiobook fans and experienced evaluators, whose common enthusiasm for the format results in selecting the best productions that meet the organization’s four criteria: performance, direction, production, and content.

Audies judges are required to keep their judging assignments confidential.

Full information and instructions can be found here.

More from Publishing Perspectives on the Audio Publishers Association is here, more from us on audiobooks is here, and more on publishing awards programs is here.