Yes! And they will maintain the same level of quality as always: including our annual digital showcase of the most extraordinary audio works from around the world.

Oh, yes! We think it’s essential to lift up more outstanding work from the field, which is why we now name Finalists every Competition cycle. This is a program we’re hopeful about expanding in the future: we want to expand the spotlight that Third Coast can shine on underrepresented talent in the field.

The broad eligibility window for this year’s Competition is April 9, 2021 - March 20, 2025 for Audio Unbound entries, and April 9, 2022 - March 20, 2025 for all other categories. This window is slightly longer than our previous windows, to accommodate for the delay in opening this year’s Call for Entries!

Our goal is to maintain categories that welcome the most diverse range of narrative audio work from around the world, in any language. We want to hear your narrative audio works in documentary, non-fiction, fiction, sound art, oral history, audio walks, speculative fiction, audio theater, and audio experiments that have no formal genre. Please check out our Competition Categories, and don’t hesitate to write to us if you have questions: competition@thirdcoastfestival.org.

Definitely. The Collective Pricing Model (allowing you to choose the rate that best fits your needs) is core to the independent Third Coast Competition, and all of Third Coast programming. We’re fiercely committed to maintaining low fees for self-paid entrants and encouraging a culture of access within the audio industry that pairs rates with the We'll announce this year’s Entry Rates when we launch.

Yes, and we’re excited to make this virtual cohort even more international and diverse each year. You can check out last year’s Final Round Judges here.

For now, not much: Our goal is to maintain the excellence of the Third Coast Award-Winners, Finalists & Judging Process. But going independent also means that we have a lot more freedom. And that’s really important to us.

For years, we’ve worked with a Third Coast Listening Team to review every single entry we receive, taking careful notes about you and your work, compiling a database of entries and entrants. We’re also constantly adding questions to our entry form to better understand you and the work you do, and how we can support you throughout your career.

We’re working toward a model where this process is a powerful engine for field building programs that we can offer to as many entrants as possible. This includes: residencies, feedback opportunities, mentorship programs, more collective pricing options, maker sessions. We see the Call for Entries as an entry point to a robust, year-round dialogue with all entrants, who we hope to support over the arc of their careers.

Enter your work! And consider partnering with Third Coast! We’re looking for institutional partners and individual supporters. If you’d like to be one of them, get in touch: info@thirdcoastfestival.org.