About The Sarah Awards

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.

About Sarah Lawrence College

Founded in 1926, Sarah Lawrence College is a prestigious, coeducational liberal arts college. Consistently ranked among the leading liberal arts colleges in the country, Sarah Lawrence is known for its pioneering approach to education, for its long history of impassioned, intellectual engagement, and for its vibrant, successful alumni. For more information, please visit www.sarahlawrence.edu.

Founder Ann Heppermann

Ann Heppermann is a documentary artist, reporter, and educator. Her Peabody award winning work has aired on numerous public radio shows including This American Life, 99% Invisible, and Radiolab. In 2011 she was named a United States Artists Rockefeller Fellow. She teaches audio fiction and narrative journalism at Sarah Lawrence College in its writing program. Bitch Magazine once called her a “sort of Goddess of podcasting.” She lives in New York. Email her at Ann@thesarahawards.com.

Co-Founder Martin Johnson

Martin Johnson is the creative director at Ljudbang productions in Stockholm and a radio producer, journalist, sound designer and author. In 2008 he won Prix Italia for his documentary “My Father Takes a Vacation.” His work has been broadcast around the world in England, Canada, USA, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Finland, Norway and Ireland. His collection of essays called “The Ocean” was published in 2012 with much critical acclaim and is translated into several Languages. He has written several radio drama plays, including this inspiration story for The Sarahs’ website launch. Email him at Martin@thesarahawards.com.

Writer Devon Taylor

Devon Taylor is an independent writer and producer living in New York City. She has written extensively about podcasts and audio storytelling, including for The Atlantic and The Radio Journal, as well as for The Timbre, where she served as the editor in chief. She currently works for Radiotopia's Millennial and The Allusionist and is producing a podcast series for The Guardian. She holds a law degree from Rutgers University and a Master of Fine Arts in creative nonfiction from The University of Memphis, where she was the senior nonfiction editor of The Pinch.