You can watch the live ceremony event here.
The Sarah Lawrence College International Audio Fiction Award, aka The Sarahs, celebrates the best audio fiction currently being made around the world. Every year, our judges will choose three winners. The winners will receive cash prizes—1st place $2,000, 2nd place, $1,000, 3rd place $500 and Best New Artist $250—at the award ceremony and be featured on our Serendipity podcast.
The award is sponsored by Sarah Lawrence College, an academic institution that fosters experimentation and playful creativity. Sarah Lawrence College has cultivated the talent of visionaries like Yoko Ono, Meredith Monk, J.J. Abrams, Alice Walker, and many others. The Sarahs —like The Oscars, The Tonys, The Bessies—honor the best of the best. It’s time for audio fiction to have its own red carpet.
This year, the awards ceremony will be virtual, and accompanied by a performance from Kaitlin and Natalie Prest! With captioning and ASL interpretation!
For more information, please visit: thesarahawards.com
You might know Kaitlin Prest as the creator of two critically acclaimed podcasts The Heart, and The Shadows. You might know her from the uncritically acclaimed fuck-you-in-the-face radio show and podcast Audio Smut. You might know her from falling asleep to a dreamscape in an opera house in Amsterdam, or a shadow puppet play at the AGO in Toronto, or a bath you took in Copenhagen. You might not know Kaitlin at all. Kaitlin is an artist who decided to start a company. She is the director of the audio arts company MERMAID PALACE.
Natalie Prest
You might know Natalie Prest as the singer who moved to Toronto to study Jazz at Humber College. You might know her as Natalie Presty, the frequent opener at the longest running monthly Burlesque show in Canada – Reveal Me @ the Rivoli. You might know her from the Barbershop Inspired Sweet Singing Trio – The Vinyl Vixens. You might know her from her performance as a shadow puppet, or the backstage serenades at The Mermaid Palace Launch Party in Los Angeles. This might be your first introduction to Natalie. Natalie is a talented musician and maker of magic who decided to use her talents to support her sister’s art while indulging in her love for the creative arts by working at MERMAID PALACE.
Ann Heppermann
Serendipity; The Sarah Awards
Ann Heppermann is the founder of The Sarah Awards which celebrates and rewards radio drama for the 21st century. Likened to the Oscars by The New York Times, the Sarah Awards encourages producers to push the boundaries of audio fiction. She’s worked in audio for nearly 20 years and received numerous awards, including a Peabody. In 2011 she was named a United States Artists Rockefeller Fellow. A dedicated educator, she has been teaching audio fiction at Sarah Lawrence College in its writing program since 2011. She’s also hosted the fiction podcast Serendipity and is currently an executive producer for Audible. Bitch Magazine called her a “sort of Goddess of podcasting,” which pleases her very much.