Charles Parker Prize
The Charles Parker Prize is awarded each year for the best student audio feature. The prize is open to any student at UK Further or Higher Education establishments and also those who have attended an accredited media training course.
Entries for the 2026 Prize are now closed
Celebrating the next generation of storytellers
The Charles Parker Prize celebrates the best student audio features in the UK. Named after one of radio’s great innovators, it honours powerful, creative storytelling that brings real voices and experiences to life. Each year, a panel of leading radio professionals selects the winning features, which are then broadcast across the country on BBC Radio 4’s New Storytellers, introducing audiences to the next generation of great audio producers.
The deadline for the 2026 Charles Parker Prize was 23 March, so entries are now closed. See below for what happens next.
The Legacy of Charles Parker
Named in honour of one of radio’s greatest documentary pioneers, the Charles Parker Prize celebrates the spirit of originality that Parker brought to his work - especially his groundbreaking Radio Ballads created with Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger in the 1950s and 60s.
These programmes - including The Ballad of John Axon and Singing the Fishing - captured the language, songs and rhythms of working life, giving ordinary people a voice on national radio for the first time.
That legacy continues today as students across the UK use sound to tell stories that move, surprise and connect us.
2026 Judges
Chaired by Simon Elmes, the 2026 panel draws on a broad range of experience from across broadcasting, production and the wider audio industry.
Simon Elmes - Former Creative Director, BBC Radio Features (Chair of Judging Panel)
Talia Augustidis - Audio Producer and Gold Charles Parker Prize Winner (2022)
Stephanie Billen - Radio Previewer, The Observer
Mel Harris - Managing Director, Sparklab Productions
Hugh Levinson - Commissioning Editor, BBC Radio 4
Khaliq Meer - BBC Commissioning Executive & Head of Audio Lab
A shortlist of 10 nominees will be announced at the end of April 2026.
2026 Prize: Key Dates
1.
Listening and Shortlisting
April 2026
Once entries close, every feature is listened to in full by a panel of professional audio makers and reviewers, chaired by Simon Elmes, former BBC Creative Director.
The shortlist of nominees will be announced on the Charles Parker Prize website and shared directly with entrants.
2.
Final Judging
End of April 2026
These finalists are then auditioned by Hugh Levinson, BBC Radio 4 Commissioning Editor, who will select the five features for broadcast in the network’s New Storytellers series, to include the Charles Parker Gold Award for Student Feature as chosen by the judging panel
3.
Charles Parker Day & Awards
08 May 2026
All the nominees are invited to the annual Charles Parker Day at the University of Salford, MediaCityUK - a national celebration of the audio feature, past, present and future. The day includes listening sessions, guest speakers, networking and the announcement of the Gold Award winner and the four other features also commissioned by Radio 4.
4.
Broadcast & Mentorship
Summer 2026
The features selected for broadcast in BBC Radio 4’s New Storytellers and produced through Soundscape Productions. Each winner works alongside a professional mentor and studio engineer to refine their feature for national broadcast.
Previous Prize Winners
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In Living Memory - Shadé Joseph - 2025 Gold Winner
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Ukraine to Scotland: A Musical Journey - Sofiia Fylypiv - 2025 Prize Winner
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The T-Shirt - Jenny Davies - 2025 Prize Winner
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Life in Numbers - Sarah Warren - 2025 Prize Winner
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My Toy Soldier - Kieran Callaghan - 2025 Prize Winner
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The Outcast Dead and Alive - Grace Reeve - 2024 Gold Winner
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Fight Fair - Libby Liburd - 2024 Prize Winner
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Friends of the Wall - Evan Green - 2024 Prize Winner
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Full Circle - Amy Bartlett - 2024 Prize Winner
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The National Language of Nowhere - Naomi Bloomstein - 2024 Prize Winner
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Our Dad - Thea Rickard - 2023 Gold Winner
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The Final Fanfayre - Dom Brown - 2023 Prize Winner
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Disappearing Birds - Petra Robyn Jones - 2023 Prize Winner
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Harassment Architecture - George Ruskin - 2023 Prize Winner
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Out at Sea, Out of Mind - Lottie Steele - 2023 Prize Winner
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All Prize Winners
