Writers Tricks of the Trade Issue 2 Volume 9 | Page 39

A UDIO P UBLISHERS A SSOCIATION C ALLS FOR
2020 A UDIE A WARDS E NTRIES
A
lthough the July 15 deadline issued by
Audio Publishers
Association (APA)
for titles pub-
lished between
November 1 of
last year and Au-
gust
31,
as
the“first wave” of submissions to its high
profile Audie Awards, 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 pub-
lishers of the organization’s leniency and
understanding of production and distribu-
tion challenges.
“We know that not every title will be
ready for distribution by the first submis-
sion deadline,” the APA staff writes. “This is
okay. Please do your best to submit titles by
each deadline, but know that we will be le-
nient in imposing the late fee for titles pub-
lished after the first submission deadline
but before the beginning of the second en-
try 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 sub-
mitted in only one category with the excep-
tion of narrator categories and for the Au-
diobook of the Year award. An Audiobook
of the Year award requires submission of a
supplemental form (provided on the site)
W RITERS ’ T RICKS OF THE T RADE
for use by jurors. That form is due October
31.
As with the change in timing that oc-
curred this year, the 2020 Audies will again
not be awarded during BookExpo but in-
stead 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 exten-
sive display on the APA site.
C ATEGORIES OF E NTRY
The Audie Awards are a large competi-
tion, with 24 categories, which is one rea-
son that the program is considered by
many to be the leading competition in the
field. The descriptive notes on these cate-
gories are written by the APA.
Fiction: For excellence in narration,
production, and content of a fiction audio-
book. This category is for titles that do not
fit into specific fiction categories.
Literary Fiction and Classics: For ex-
cellence in narration, production, and con-
tent of an audiobook of literary fiction or a
classic.
Mystery: For excellence in narration,
production, and content of a mystery audi-
obook, usually featuring a protagonist try-
ing to solve a crime, such as murder, com-
mitted early in the story.
Thriller and Suspense: For excellence
in narration, production, and content of a
P AGE 34
S UMMER 2019