Audible Originals docudrama series THE SPACE RACE, a co-production between B7 Media and Boffin Media, and presented by actress and former Star Trek captain Kate Mulgrew, has won the top honour (Gold) in the ‘Space & Technology’ category of the 2020 New York Festivals® Radio Awards.

The New York Festivals’ International Radio Program Awards for the World’s Best Radio Programs honours radio programming and promotions in all lengths and formats, entered by radio stations, networks and independent producers from around the globe. The international Grand Jury evaluated entries submitted from over 30 countries around the globe and selected Finalists based on production values, organization, presentation of information, creativity and use of the medium. In previous years B7 Media won ‘Best Digital Drama’ Gold for its acclaimed audio reinvention of the comic-book space hero, DAN DARE, along with the ‘Best Director’ Gold for its dramatization of Isaac Asimov’s seminal novel I, ROBOT.

THE SPACE RACE combines Boffin Media’s award-winning expertise in space and science journalism and B7 Media’s audio drama specialism and trademark immersive sound design, to tell the story of human spaceflight in a vivid and exciting way and deliver the ultimate guide to spaceflight history and beyond.

The finalists in the Space & Technology category were;

• B7 Media/Boffin Media (UK) for THE SPACE RACE – Audible’s landmark 10-episode audio docudrama “The Space Race”, combining extensive worldwide interviews with dramatic reconstructions, soundscapes and archive, presented by actress Kate Mulgrew.
• CBC Radio and Audio (Canada) for WOMEN IN SCIENCE – Why science has done women wrong.
• CBS News Radio (USA) for DEAD SOUND.
• Radio Bremen (Germany) for THE APOLLO TAPES – Everyday life in the moon capsule.

For more information about the New York Festivals® Radio Awards and a full list of the winners, click here.

Narrated by Kate Mulgrew (Golden Globe-nominee, Emmy-nominee, Orange Is the New Black, Star Trek: Voyager) THE SPACE RACE was produced for Audible to mark the 50th anniversary of the 1969 moon landing. This major 10-part docudrama series crossed three continents in the making and uses archive, original interviews, dramatic reconstructions and first-hand accounts to tell the story of mankind’s first amazing steps off our world towards the future of our civilisation.

With unprecedented access THE SPACE RACE gives listeners access to Virgin Galactic’s space programme in the Mojave Desert, features conversations with Buzz Aldrin, Gene Cernan, Sergei Krikalev, Tim Peake and numerous key players at mission control, and pulls back the curtain on untold aspects of the space-exploration story. The result is a compelling, entertaining, surprising and enlightening journey across 60 years of space history and the story of humanity’s past, present and potential future off-world.

Series Producer/Director, Andrew Mark Sewell, says of the nomination; “Ever since I watched the Apollo 11 Moon landing as a child I’ve been inspired and fascinated by humankind’s exploration of space. Making the docudrama series ‘The Space Race’ was a long-held ambition and one that wouldn’t have been possible without the commitment of our fellow producers Richard Hollingham and Sue Nelson at Boffin Media. It was a truly Herculean team effort co-ordinated by our very own Mission Control, series line producer, Helen Quigley. Winning this accolade from the New York Radio Festival is a tribute to the incredible creativity and dedication of the B7/Boffin team and of course the generosity of everyone who gave up their valuable time to contribute to the series.”

Richard Hollingham, director of Boffin Media and series producer of The Space Race, says: “I couldn’t be more delighted with the programme winning this prestigious award, it reflects the huge team effort that went into the production. I’m really proud of the programmes we made, the stories we’ve revealed and the way we told them.

“The series was the most full-on production I’ve ever worked on and tough at times, although I somewhat miss the daily late night calls with the sound designers to discuss the interior ambience of various models of spacecraft or the exact sound of the Apollo 13 alarm (in the end, we asked the NASA engineer who was responsible for it and he sent us an audio file).

“I’m delighted for the whole team that we’ve won this prestigious award. I’d also like to thank the incredible people we featured in the programme – from astronauts to engineers, historians, mission controllers and medics, the only woman in Apollo 11 launch control to the man responsible to the alarm system on Apollo 13 – who all gave their time to tell their stories. It’s pleasing that they all enjoyed listening to the end result!”

LISTEN to the series on Audible >>>