Audio Storytellers Fellowship

Applications open December 11th, 2023 - March 8, 2024 11:59pm Eastern Time.

Training Schedule

• April 9, 2024 - May 16, 2024 | Tuesdays & Thursdays | 6:30pm - 9:30pm

Mentorship Schedule

• May 23, 2024 - October 24, 2024 | Thursdays (virtual) | 6pm - 8pm

Lab Schedule

• June 1, 2024 - November 2, 2024 | Saturdays (in-person) | 10am - 2pm

This program is open to all beginner-level to mid-career audio creatives interested in joining a network of independent creatives. Basic podcasting experience is highly recommended before applying. We encourage you to attend one of our upcoming podcasting classes before applying for this program.

Basic requirements:

• Must be 18 years of age or older
• Must be based in the New York City area during the entire fellowship period (9 months)
• Must have a unique and interesting story idea

One of our missions is to bring creatives from a broad array of social, ethnic, and economic backgrounds into audio storytelling, including African Americans, Indigenous, other people of color, women, LGBTQ people, and people with disabilities. We are committed to diversity and especially encourage members of underrepresented communities to apply.

Before you apply, please listen to sample audio stories below and view an overview of the types of audio stories we're seeking for this fellowship program.

• Community Stories
  • Documentary-style stories that highlight people, places, and events that are important to the community.
  • Examples: The Moth, Infamous: The Tekashi 6ix9ine Story
• Investigative Stories
  • Documentary-style stories that pursue the answer to a question through interviews and research.
  • Examples: Winds of Change, Serial
• Narrative Stories
  • A fictional or non-fictional story presented in an audio format with a narrator and/or voice actors performing roles.
  • Examples: Case 63, Quiet Part Loud

Note: We are not admitting talk-based, conversational, interview-style podcasts for this program.

There is no application or program fee associated with this fellowship. You will be required to provide your own access to housing and transportation to our facilities. 

This is not a paid fellowship program. We provide free access to training, equipment and mentorship. 

All in-person sessions are held at our Hudson Yards facility located at 509 W. 38th Street, 3rd floor. 

You must be at least 18 years of age or older to be accepted into this fellowship. 

While there are some sessions that will be held online, you must be able to attend all in-person sessions.

One of the primary benefits of this program is that participants will have access to professional podcast studios (at either our Hudson Yards or East Harlem) facilities. You will also have access to professional field podcast recorders and microphones. You will need to supply your own SD cards and headphones. 

Please submit a clear and detailed application. Avoid single sentence responses. Please provide details about your theme and anyone participating in your episodes. For interview-based serial podcasts, there should be a clear theme and confirmed access to proposed guests. We are not looking for talk/conversational podcasts centered around recurring hosts.

If you submit an application or your application is accepted but you are no longer interested or able to participate, we ask that you notify us as soon as possible. We will have a few applicants on stand-by for last-minute cancellations but please CONTACT US so we can notify someone that a spot has opened up. Failure to notify us could result in not being eligible to apply for future fellowship programs. 

Yes, if you would like to preview and prepare your answers offline, please see the linked PDF file below: 

Note: Please do not submit this file via email. All applications must be submitted online.