Foster and Martin crowned SoA audio drama winners

Poet and pub singer Vicky Foster and comedy writer Ian Martin are the winners of this year’s Society of Authors audio drama prizes.

Presented at the BBC Audio Drama Awards on Sunday evening (2nd February) by playwright, producer, and director Patricia Cumper, Foster was crowned the winner of the Imison Award for best original script by a writer new to radio for Bathwater, while Martin took home the Tinniswood Award for best original audio drama script for his play "The Hartlepool Spy".

Foster's winning script was deemed a "mesmerising ‚Ķ powerful, gripping‚Äô exploration of domestic violence" by the judges, all of whom are members of the Society of Authors‚Äô Scriptwriters Group (Stefan Buczacki, Jamila Gavin, Nell Leyshon, David Morley, Barney Norris, Hannah Silva, Sean Grundy and Elizabeth-Anne Wheal). The prize of £3,000 is sponsored by The Peggy Ramsay Foundation.

Martin ‚Äì known for his comedy writing on such shows as "The Thick of It" ‚Äì was praised by judges Patricia Cumper, Robert Bathurst and Rhiannon Tise for his winning play they said was a "hilariously, delicately told ... tale of moral corruption". The prize, also worth £3,000, is sponsored by the Authors‚Äô Licensing & Collecting Society.