The New York Festivals 2027 Radio Awards competition is now open for entries as the organization celebrates 70 years of honoring audio content.
This year’s competition spans 14 category groups covering news programs, documentaries, talk shows, on-air talent, production craft and entertainment.
Terrestial and streaming radio stations are eligible, organizers told Radio World.
The awards expanded this year with two new categories — “Crime Drama Podcast” and “Kids and Family Podcast” — along with two updated categories: “Kids and Family Audio Book” and “Kids and Family Program.”
Professionals from six continents will be evaluating this year’s submissions. Entries will be evaluated on creativity, production quality, writing, direction, content presentation, effectiveness and audience relevance, NYF said in a release.
In the 2026 competition, NYF honored three Grand Tower Award winners for excellence in audio storytelling: “Sea of Lies” (CBC/What’s the Story Sounds) for narrative/documentary podcast; “Uncuffed Season 4” (KALW Public Media) for social issues documentary; and “Wolf Valley” (Almost Tangible) for drama program.
The 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award went to Stephen Capus, president of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and former president of NBC News.
To be eligible for the 2027 competition, entries must have been produced, released, aired, published or streamed between Jan. 1, 2026, and the deadline of Jan. 31, 2027, and cannot have won a trophy for the same episode in the 2026 competition.
A complete list of categories, rules and submission details can be found on the New York Festivals Radio Awards website.
