The JCAF is for anyone who wants to level up their foundational audio storytelling skill set, and push the boundaries of telling stories in sound. We’re looking for applicants who can demonstrate a commitment to the spirit of the kind of work that Jesse Cox produced and championed. You can listen to some of his work here and here and read about some of his approach to sound here.

You can also familiarise yourself with past JCAF fellows Patrick Abboud, who produced The Greatest Menace, Jay Ooi and his podcast You Have Been Told a Lie, and Christine Kix Mwaturura’s fiction podcast Private Affairs. While these producers are more established in their careers than the cohort we are pitching to, the values underpinning their work are the same values and spirit we’re hoping to see from JCAF applicants in 2025.

• Be an emerging audio storyteller / producer / artist / journalist / practitioner
• Have a connection to Australia
• Pitch us a 25 minute audio feature that is risky, brave and innovative
• Provide a 5 minute audio showreel demonstrating your audio language and skills

It means you’re not a household name. Yet.

It doesn’t mean young in years, but rather young in experience. But not too young in experience – you’ll already have basic audio production skills, and hopefully you’ve had a go at audio documentary / sound art / radio journalism and are obsessed like us and want to learn everything you can about the form.

Maybe it means you already made a story with us, but have an even more ambitious idea for a sound work that we can support more fully with structured learning. You’re not a total newbie, but you also don’t have an established ‘career’ (whatever that means) either.

We’re happy to receive applications from people outside Australia, but you should still be able to demonstrate some link to Australia. That link can be pretty tenuous. You don’t need Australian citizenship to apply.

It’s going to depend on the cohort. But basically each Fellow will be paired with a mentor based on their story and learning aspirations. Your mentor will provide you with feedback and tailored guidance on your story, learning needs and creative practice. We expect mentorship will take the form of 6x 1 hour sessions over six months, which you and your mentor will structure and agree on based on your needs and aspirations.

You’ll also be invited to participate in monthly workshops which will be tailored to the cohort and facilitated by industry and audio guest speakers. There will also be the option for regular and informal online group working sessions to build peer relationships and networks.

Making an audio feature is a lot of work, particularly the kind of crafted audio stories we obsess over at All The Best. There’s story production, interviewing, recording, scripting, editing, sound design and mixing involved. And then there’s rounds of feedback that might send you back to any of these stages depending how the production process unfolds and any barriers or ethical concerns that might arise along the way. It’s a real journey.

Absolutely. But for full transparency, the fee paid and mentorship provided will only be per Fellowship. So if you are successful as a group, you will be paid the same as if you applied as an individual, and as a group you will receive a single mentor to help you produce your story.

It’s really up to you to interpret by showcasing work you are proud of or excited by, but as a rough guide:

• We want to hear you and your sound world and language
• We want to hear how you translate an idea or concept into audio
• We want to hear how you tell a story, or use moments or surprise
• We want to hear how you write for the ear, or script for radio
• We want to hear how you handle other peoples’ stories and voices with care and sensitivity
• We want to hear how you communicate feeling with sound, pauses and aural tension

Your idea doesn’t need to be 100% locked in, but it should be able to demonstrate that you’ve spent time thinking creatively, logistically and ethically about the piece you want to make.

You should be able to tell us a rough narrative or conceptual structure, tell us why this story needs to be heard, be able to identify the voices we will hear and why, and be able to walk us through what, in your radio fantasy dreams, your listener will hear. You’ll also have a realistic idea about how you’ll approach any logistical or ethical barriers you expect to encounter.

Yes please! As long as you can show awareness of your audience and are committed to working creatively in audio, we’d love to explore the possibilities with you.

Email us at phoebe@allthebestradio.com or em@allthebestradio.com and we’ll get back to you pronto.