For the purposes of these awards, a podcast is considered independent if it is produced without the financial support of a large organisation such as a publishing company, or brand, and is not fronted by high profile celebrities for whom this is one of many revenue streams.

Independent productions of all sizes are welcome, and our awards seek to highlight those that demonstrate independent spirit.

Podcasts that have had high profile guests do qualify for the awards.

To be eligible for entry you'd ideally have released at least 10 episodes of your podcast in the last 12 months OR it's a contained mini-series, OR you've been podcasting for a while and have a notable back catalogue but have been a bit sporadic in the last 12 months. New for 2026, we also have a Limited Series category, for those that have created a short but perfectly formed podcast series. 

Episodes entered must be from the last 12 months, which for the purposes of these awards runs from 1st June 2025 to 31st May 2026.

Currently only podcasters that are based in the UK or Ireland are eligible to enter the awards. If 50% of your team is based in the UK or Ireland then you also qualify. 

As long as your podcast is regularly hosted by at least 50% of people based in the UK/Ireland, your podcast qualifies as a British/Irish podcast.

The closing date for entries is Friday 5th June 2026 at 5pm. 

It costs £35 for your first entry, and then £5 for each subsequent entry. We do have two free to enter categories too, Best Podcast Jingle, Best Podcast Artwork and Best Video Podcast, but you can only enter these if you have submitted a paid for entry too. 

All payments must be done via credit/debit card. Our payment provider is Stripe, a secure platform. Payments will appear on your statement as whynow, our parent company, rather than the Independent Podcast Awards. 

Once you've created your entries you'll go through to the basket where there is a box called VOUCHER, pop your code in there and click apply and it should add the discount to your basket. If there's any issues just get in touch! 

Check out our helpful hints and tips on what to include in your entry on the How To Enter page. 

Once you've entered at least one of the paid for categories and the transaction has gone through you will be emailed a link to access these categories. If the email doesn't come through, and you can't find it in your junk/spam folder then please get in touch with Emma. 

Yes! If you feel your podcast straddles more than one genre then you are welcome to enter it multiple times. You will have to pay £35 for your first entry, and each one is charged at £5 after that. 

For the first time this year we are limiting you to enter up to three different categories + the free to enter categories. Be sure to think carefully about which categories you're entering and make sure they're really relevant to your show. 

Please note that the overall Independent Podcast of the Year is not self entered but will be chosen from the winners of the other categories.

We have a huge team of amazing people from across the podcasting world that give up their time to judge the awards. Without them, we couldn't put the event on as it takes many hours to listen to all of the wonderful podcasts that are submitted. You can take a look at who was involved last year here. 

If you want to get involved with judging then get in touch with Emma who will be happy to hear from you. 

We’ll email all those that entered as soon as the shortlist is available.

We’ll announce the winners at an awards event on Wednesday 4th November at Kings Place, Kings Cross, London.

It will be a night to celebrate independent podcasters, and our industry, and encourage as many people to come along as possible, even if you're not shortlisted. Last year's attendees loved meeting other independent podcasters, and celebrating the success of the industry and the people in it. 

Bookings for the event will open in July 2026, tickets will be available to purchase directly from the Kings Place box office. 

Everyone that attends will need to purchase a ticket to the event. Sadly we're not able to offer free tickets to nominees. 

Tickets costs will be kept to a minimum. We're hopeful we'll be able to freeze them at the 2025 price of £49 but we will update on this as soon as possible. 

For any queries relating to entering the awards, attending the event, or would like to get involved in judging contact Emma Turner on emma@whynow.co.uk.

For commercial opportunities contact Adam McDonnell on adam@whynow.co.uk.