The Journey of Allison Cossitt

It can look like creators arrive fully formed. The reality is usually far less glamorous and far more useful. Allison Cossitt’s story is the kind that actually teaches you something. Talent may show up early, but the real momentum comes from stubborn follow-through and the willingness to keep improving.

Allison is a theater-trained performer (SUNY Buffalo, BA in Theater) who took a winding route through puppeteering, teaching, travel, escape-room design, and even running live-action mystery events. Eventually, she circled back to voiceover and made the decision to commit. The consistent theme was not a straight line. Her journey reflects persistence, curiosity, and the choice to keep building even when the path was unclear.

That return to voice acting did not stop at performing. It grew into building a full audio drama production pipeline: writing, directing, performing, and handling sound design and editing. Out of that came an original folk-horror audio drama, Partial Veil.

Crafting Partial Veil

In Allison’s own words, Partial Veil is an “unsettling, atmospheric, eldritch folk horror” story featuring a missing person, a body in the woods, FBI involvement, and a North Dakota town with something deeply wrong in the forest. She cites inspirations like Twin Peaks, Fargo, and The X-Files, not as copies, but as tonal north stars. The vibe is unsettling, character-forward, and simmering with dread.

In the competitive world of Audio Drama, few stories resonate like that of Allison Cossitt and her groundbreaking series Partial Veil. With over 200,000 downloads and prestigious accolades, her journey is a testament to creativity and resilience. Allison’s own words, Partial Veil is an “unsettling, atmospheric, eldritch folk horror” story featuring a missing person, a body in the woods, FBI involvement, and a North Dakota town with something deeply wrong in the forest. She cites inspirations like Twin Peaks, Fargo, and The X-Files, not as copies, but as tonal north stars. The vibe is unsettling, character-forward, and simmering with dread.

Behind the Scenes (and the surprises)

In our conversation, Allison kept coming back to the same reality. The first big project is often less like a sprint and more like crossing a desert with a candle in your hand. You learn the most by doing, and by continuing anyway when it’s frustrating, expensive, or just plain exhausting.

A few behind-the-scenes notes from her workflow:

• DAW: Reaper

• Visuals: Canva for layered graphics

• Community and process: She values live sessions and building real community around the work, not just posting and hoping. 

She also treats feedback as part of the process instead of something that arrives at the end. The goal is not to win the first draft. The goal is to improve the work.

Her best advice for anyone trying to do this for real was to be blunt and honest with yourself. “Develop your ear” by listening widely and go listen to other people's work. Expect setbacks, and importantly, learn from them, and then keep going anyway.

NJ WebFest 2025: Nominations and wins, and why it matters

The New Jersey Web Festival (NJ WebFest) launched in 2018 and is now entering its eighth year. For audio fiction, NJ WebFest welcomes international submissions and emphasizes that quality is the only criterion, with entries accepted as a full episode, an excerpt, or a highlight reel.

The headline wins
At NJ WebFest 2025, Partial Veil won Outstanding Horror/Thriller Scripted Audio Fiction. That category had eight nominated projects total, meaning Partial Veil beat out seven other nominees in its genre bracket.

Partial Veil also picked up additional nominations, including:

• Nominee: Best Leading Performance in Scripted Audio Fiction (Allison Cossitt, Partial Veil)

• Nominee: Best Chemistry (Allison Cossitt, Peter Wicks, Partial Veil)

• Nominee: Best Supporting Performance (Reny Amoros, Partial Veil)

Howl: Best of the Best
Allison also took home several awards that night for her standalone audio drama Howl

• WINNER: Best Editing of a Scripted Audio Fiction (Allison Cossitt, Howl)

• WINNER: Best Chemistry (Chloe Elmore, Allison Cossitt, Howl)

• WINNER: Outstanding Fantasy Scripted Audio Fiction (Howl)

Overall top prize

WINNER: Best of the Best Audio Fiction

Near Future

Allison was selected to be a speaker at One Voice UK: The 8th annual One Voice Conference, home to voiceover talent and voice actors since 2018. Check out the details in the link.

The Future

With Allison Cossitt running her Production Company, Ylem Media, Partial Veil in its second season going strong, and stand-alone Audio Dramas such as Howl & Mend. The future is clearly going to have amazing cinematic Audio Dramas!

Check out the links below, including the Kickstarter, which is there not only to fund the production for season 2 but also to give back to the season 1 cast members.

Check out everything Allison Cossitt at her website:

Check out Ylem Media website

My final thoughts

During our interview, it was clear that Allison, like every creator, faces real hopes and real doubts. Partial Veil showcases how commitment transforms vision into reality.  As she advises, “Embrace feedback and persist in the face of challenges.” Such insight demonstrates that true progress lies not in the absence of doubt, but in the courage to push through. 

This is not a genius on a pedestal story. It’s a reminder of humanity, how good work actually gets made. Ultimately, we are the ones who create the projects and do the things. Still, the work gets better when you deliberately lean on people who will tell you the truth, then have the humility to use that feedback instead of defending the thing you ask questions.

Allison’s story is less about success and more about a reminder that creativity thrives not in perfection but in embracing vulnerability and learning from every experience.