About the Deadline Awards.
The Anna Ats Deadline Awards were created by a team of working audiobook narrators who wanted to fill a gap in the audiobook awards landscape. At the creation of the Deadline Awards, there were no other programs that offered cash awards to narrators. We also believe in several precedents set by other awards including submissions always being free and trophies being delivered at no cost to winners. This award wanted to carve out a space and try to find narrators who weren't already celebrated in key industry awards circuit, as well as find gems among new narrators arriving on the scene.
Who Are We?
The coordinators and donors behind the Anna Ats Deadline Awards are a team of working, decorated narrators who love audiobook narration and narrators and are committed to elevating the craft. The team has one public facing member, André Santana. Additionally, our program badges were created by narrator Stacey Lind.
What do winners get?
We've mentioned a cash award and trophy for the winners of our two primary awards, the Innovator and Pathfinder awards. Vanguard and Trailblazer recipients are eligible for free coaching and guidance, resources throughout the year, and occasional marketing support to audiobook production companies. Our hope is to continue supporting winners and help them move their careers forward.
Rules
The full rules of the program are available below.
Submissions:
All submissions are free. All candidates will be reviewed, and the committee retains the right to determine which award the candidate is a best fit for. The committee will also do independent research to find potential narrators for the awards.
Award Rules:
1) To be eligible for the Innovator, Vanguard, and Pathfinder awards, narrators must have released at least one title in the respective eligibility year (e.g., 2025 release for the 2026 award year). Trailblazer recipients may be considered with no releases so long as the team is able to review a substantive amount of alternative samples, such as audiobook demos.
2) The narrator must primarily narrate in English—or—have projects narrated in English and available for sale in The United States. (For example, if you mostly narrate in Spanish but released at least one English language audiobook available in the U.S., you're eligible to submit).
3) No artificially generated performances will be considered.
4) To win the Innovator or Pathfinder award, a narrator must be based within one of the 200+ countries where PayPal operates. For U.S. winners, Venmo and Zelle are available, and the award will be issued as 1099-NEC income. There may be international shipping limitations for the trophy. However, anyone across the world with English-language audiobooks available in the U.S. can be submitted and considered for the Trailblazer and Vanguard Awards.
5) The team will search for narrators throughout the industry, but narrators who submit themselves to the awards are given greater consideration.
Innovator and Vanguard Awards:
The Innovator and Vanguard Awards aim to celebrate performances that show the vivid artistry of audiobooks. We will select one narrator to receive The Innovator Award who delivers landmark performances, shows innovative commitment to the craft, and remind us of the power of storytelling. The team may select as many recipients for the Vanguard Award who could similarly contend for the Innovator Award as the team deems fit.
The winner of the Innovator Award will receive a $1000 prize and a trophy.
Narrators selected for the Vanguard Award will receive one year of marketing support.
Pathfinder and Trailblazer Awards:
The Pathfinder and Trailblazer Awards aims to celebrate a newer underrepresented narrators with 1-10 titles who have shown great potential for their future audiobook work. The team may select as many recipients for the Trailblazer Award who could similarly contend for the Pathfinder Award as the team deems fit.
The winner of the Pathfinder Award will receive a $1000 prize, a trophy, and a year of marketing support.
Narrators selected for the Trailblazer Award will receive a free audiobook consultation and one year of marketing support.
Winner Eligibility in Future Years:
Winners of the Innovator award are ineligible to win another Deadline Award in future years.
Winners of the Pathfinder and Trailblazer awards must wait one year in order to be considered for the Vanguard or Innovator awards, and are ineligible for the Pathfinder or Trailblazer awards in future years.
Winners of the Vanguard Award must wait one year in order to be considered for the Innovator Award, and are ineligible for the Vanguard, Trailblazer, and Pathfinder awards in future years.