Academy of Judges - NYC Podcast Awards
Academy of Judges

Viva Audio!

You have been invited to join the Academy of Judges for the 2nd Annual NYC Podcast Awards. Thank you for your contributions to audio and audio storytelling. See below for more info and to join.

Academy of Judges FAQ

Questions, answered.

How many podcasts do I listen to?

You can choose between 10, 20, or 30 podcasts, or a full category (this will often be fewer than 20 and likely fewer than 10).

You can still enter / conflicts of interest

Judging does not disqualify your own podcast from the 2nd Annual NYC Podcast Awards. You'll be recused from your own category and from anything you flag as a conflict, and the recusals happen before assignments go out.

Judging Academy members are highlighted

We supply a social media toolkit for each judge, and we highlight Judging Academy members' good work on our website and in press releases.

Nov 15 – Jan 10

Entries close and screening runs. Nothing needed from you yet.

Early January

Your assignments and screening portal access arrive by email, along with the rating sheet.

January & February

The listening window, running across both months. This is the part that takes real hours. Scores are due Feb 28.

March 12

The ceremony, where the winners are revealed. Judges are invited and celebrated.

Confirmed

Welcome to the Judging Academy.

We've got everything we need for now. A confirmation is on its way to your inbox.

Your judge badge

Make it official. In the badge toolkit, choose Judge Highlight, click "Have an access code?" and enter NYCPA_JUDGE. Add your photo or show art and download it in every size — feed, square, landscape, and story. It all renders in your browser, so nothing you upload is stored or sent anywhere.

Open the badge toolkit

Your assignments and portal access will arrive by email in early January. Until then there's nothing you need to do. If anything changes, or you need to adjust your tier, write to contact@silversound.us.

See the 2026 winners gallery →

Judging Academy form.

Please fill out this form and submit to be added to our Judging Academy.

Invited judges only

This page is for people who received a personal invitation. Enter the invitation code you were given below — if you followed the link in your invitation email, it is already filled in for you. Don't have a code? Email contact@silversound.us.

1Who you are

The code you were given by the festival.

Helps us schedule deliberation calls across time zones.

Name and title exactly as you'd like it printed.

For the judges section of the site. You can send this later if you'd rather.

Optional. A direct, publicly accessible link.

2Judging scope — please select one *
3Requested categories

How we use this

Tell us where you'd like to judge and you will be strongly considered for it. We can't guarantee specific categories — final assignments depend on how many entries land in each one, how many judges request it, and any conflicts you flag — but this is the single biggest factor in what you're given.

Pick as many as genuinely apply. These are requests, not assignments — we match as closely as the entry pool allows.

Subjects or formats you'd prefer to skip. No explanation needed.

4Conflicts of interest

Why this matters

We promise every entrant that judges recuse themselves from work they're connected to. For now we only need to know whether you're entering — we'll come back to you for the fuller picture closer to the listening window, once we know which categories you're in.

This does not affect your place. It only affects which categories you're assigned.

5The agreement