10 Best Podcast Awards in 2024

You know who should apply for podcast awards? You! 🤩

Like many other areas of life, too many times some of the most skilled and creative podcasters shy away from the spotlight.

Well consider this your pep talk or your divine signal: More of the world needs to know about your series! You deserve a nice little ceremony! Go for it and submit an entry! 💪

Use this 10 Best Podcast Awards list to do three things:

Submit an entry for yourself
Nominate a fellow podcaster
Check out the latest and greatest work being done by others

This is going to be a fun read… let’s go! 🚀

10 Best podcast awards for 2024

Sonic Bloom Awards 🌺

This is the newest awards program on the scene. The podcast agencies She Podcasts and KaSa Media just started it this year.

They launched it because they “learned that over 70% of podcasters in the US are men….and an even larger percent are white, we knew we had to do something to encourage new people and perspectives into the industry as well as recognize those who are currently working to achieve this same goal.”

That is why the awards are for “cis and trans women, non-binary individuals and anyone who identifies as gender-fabulous.”

They say that “We don’t need to wait for anyone to recognize and celebrate us – we’re happy to provide that for each other.”

The Ambies 🏆

You’ve heard of EGOT, but get ready for EGOTA: Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony, and AMBY. The Podcast Academy started the Ambies in 2021 and have worked hard to frame it as THE awards program for podcasts, including attracting big name superstars from across media industries.

Categories

The categories are divided into two main groups: show awards and talent awards. Sometimes the Podcast Academy also awards The Governors Award and/or The Impact Award.

Show Categories
- Podcast of The Year
- Indie
- Business
- Comedy
- Documentary
- Entertainment
- Fiction
- History
- Interview
- For Kids
- Knowledge, Science or Tech
- News
- Personal Growth / Spirituality
- Politics or Opinion
- Sports
- Society and Culture
- True Crime
- Wellness or Relationships
- Best DIY Podcast (Special category for 2023!) – for any podcast with a budget of $3,000 or less (USD or equivalent) per episode.

Black Podcasting Awards 👑

According to the Black Podcasting Awards’ website, it all started with a tweet on February 2020 by Tracy Clayton: “f** it, let’s start our own black podcasting awards. nobody sees us til it benefits them, so hell w/ them!”

And thus it was born an awards program that aims to be “a celebration of the ownership and creation of content for the Black experience in the world of podcasting” and “to elevate Black voices... that may not receive the recognition they deserve, in a marketplace that often overlooks the candor of Black digital expressionists.”

AAP’s Golden Crane Podcast Awards 🦢

The AAPA is the Asian American Podcasters Association. It describes its award program: “While the purpose is to recognize and increase visibility of Asian and Asian American podcasters, winning a GOLDEN CRANE also encourages under-represented showrunners to further strengthen their voices and highlight their work. All are welcome to apply.”

Categories

The AAPA award categories are organized by podcast topics, though two are for technical aspects: The Production Award and The Sound Design Award. Plus, they have a wonderful Student-Age-Hosted Podcast (Ages 8 to 17) Award too.

The topical categories are:

Audio Drama
Business/Finance
Entertainment/TV/Film
Mental Health
Society & Culture
Wellness/Self-Improvement
Sports/Hobby (Special Interest)
Asian Culture: Stories and Experiences

Latin Podcast Awards (Premios Latin Podcast) 🙌

According to the hosting organization, “The mission of the Latin Podcast Awards (LPA) is to honor the Hispanic / Latino and Non-Latino podcaster. We also celebrate the work of other Latino and non-Latino members of the podcasting community who have made a significant contribution to the Latinx podcasting industry.”

Categories

The Latin Podcast Awards are divided into four categories: Location, Topic, Demographic, and New Podcasts. They also have a specific award for Mejor (Best) Video Podcast and Voto Popular (People’s Choice).

Location
- Argentina
- Costa Rica
- España
- Honduras
- México
- Puerto Rico
- República Dominicana
- Estados Unidos
- Internacional
- Multinacional
Topic
- Artes
- Ciencia Ficción
- Comedia
- Comedia Ficcion
- Crimen Verdadero
- Deportes y Ocio
- Drama
- Educación
- Ficción
- Libros
- Mejoramiento Personal
- Negocios
- Historia
- Noticias y política
- Religión y Espiritualidad
- Salud y estado físico
- Sexualidad
- Sin fines de lucro
- Cultura y Sociedad
- Bilingüe
Demographic
- Mejor Podcast Masculino
- Mejor Podcast Femenino
- Mejor Podcast LGBTQ+
New Podcasts
- Revelación España
- Revelación Estados Unidos
- Revelación Internacional
- Revelación Educación
- Revelación Ficción
- Revelación Mejoramiento Personal
- Revelación del Año

International Women’s Podcast Awards 💃

The International Women’s Podcast Awards are put on by The Skylark Collective and Amazon Music (specifically Amazon’s podcast production arm, Wondery).

The collaborative describes its awards program: “The joy of podcasting lies in its intimacy. In the atmosphere created between the host, guest and listener. In the moments of incredible sensitivity, humour or honesty that keep people engrossed. The International Women’s Podcast Awards celebrate these intimate moments of podcasting brilliance, and the women and non-binary folk that make them happen.“

Categories

The IWPA does not do categories! They only look for “exceptional moments of audio brilliance.” They award about ten podcast winners every year.

African Podcasts and Voice Awards 🌍

The African Podcasts and Voice Awards are given by the Association of African Podcasters and Voice Artists. The Association say the awards help “discover Africa’s unique voices by recognizing Africans deserving of being showcased for the rest of the world to appreciate.”

Categories

While the association also gives awards for voice-over and spoken word artists, we will only list the podcast specific awards here.

General
- Podcast of the Year
- Podcast Cover Art of the Year
- Rising Talent of the Year – Podcast category
- Diasporan Podcast of the Year
Genre
- Lifestyle
- Health/Wellness
- Comedy
- Fiction
- Crime
- Sports
- News
- Society and Culture
- Politics
- Beauty
- Finance
- Music
- Relationships
- Art
- Current Affairs
- Education
- Entertainment
- Entrepreneurship
- Personal Development
- Science
- Spirituality
- Advocacy
- Technology/Innovation

The Third Coast/Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Competition 🪶

Started in 2001 and handing out their first podcast-specific award in 2011, this is one of the longest running competitions of its kind. In the audiofestival’s own words: “We take particular pride in recognizing work through our Competition that complicates or questions what has come before, and pushes the medium forward.

People’s Choice Podcast Awards 👍

Started in 2005, The People’s Choice Podcast Awards is the longest running podcast-only awards program open to podcasts around the world. Shows must register to be able to be nominated, but fans must nominate them. The top ten most nominated shows are then listed for each category. From there, one winner in each category is elected by fans and some podcasters.

Discover Pods Awards 🔍

DiscoverPods, a podcast review site, started this awards program in 2017. Winners are decided purely by popular vote so fans have all the power in this one!

Closing Note on Podcast Awards

We hope that reading through these lists inspires you to keep creating! If you do want to nominate yourself or another podcaster, be sure to check out each program’s details like requirements and entry fees. ✍️

Do not let the entry fees scare you though, many programs have a sliding scale or may be able to help find support for you.

To help you think through if your show is ready for the limelight, check out our blog post on how to measure podcast success.

Even if you are not ready to submit an entry, we highly recommend getting in the habit of voting in any of the popular vote awards. Your voice helps build the strength of the community. Plus, you can see how other podcasts take on the process so you are prepared for when it is your turn. 🧑‍🚀