The WNYC Podcast Accelerator wants your podcast pitches!

your pugcast idea had better be good. via flickr user zoomar — Your ~~pugcast~~ ahem, podcast idea, had better be good. via flickr user zoomar

We’re at it again, helping you make a podcast. But this time it’s not just about quality, it’s about opportunity. WNYC has just announced its search for the next great podcast idea! Is it yours?

The famed radio station is going about their search in a very America’s Got Talent-esque way: the WNYC Podcast Accelerator program “will give both established talent and up-and-coming storytellers the opportunity to pitch their big podcast idea” to WNYC and the Online News Association (ONA). The winning pitch will have its pilot episode produced by a WNYC producer! How do you like that?

The Accelerator program has multiple heats. First, the applicant pool will be narrowed down to just 5 pitches. Those pitches will be workshopped alongside WNYC producers—from shows like Death, Sex & Money and Freakonomics—throughout the summer, in order to flesh out their central elements like storyline, character, sound, voice texture et al. Then on September 25, at the Online News Association Conference (ONA) in Los Angeles, those five finalized pitches will come before a panel of judges made up of WNYC staff. A single winner will be selected.

Thinking of submitting? Make sure to read up on the rules. Pitches will be evaluated on creativity, diversity, originality, durability (min. 5-episode potential) and viability. The application questions are pretty standard fare, like “What’s the one-line elevator pitch?” and “What does the show sound and feel like?” Make those answers good because, who knows, you might end up making it to the finals and elevator-pitching left and right to podcast moguls at the ONA conference.

Some important dates to keep in mind if you want to apply: submissions are open from today through Wednesday, July 15 at midnight (or 11:59pm, for you sticklers). In order to be eligible, you must be able to physically attend the ONA Conference on September 25, so mark off your calendar right now if you’re planning on pitching.

Happy podcast contest! Just don’t forget us when you get famous, okay?

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