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Monday, October 27, 2014

PEN/Laura Pels International Foundation for Theater Awards

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PEN/Laura Pels International Foundation for Theater Awards for Master American Dramatist, Playwright in Mid-Career, and Emerging Playwright ($7,500 and $2,500)

Three awards from PEN and the Laura Pels International Foundation for Theater honor a Grand Master of American Theater, a mid-career playwright with an outstanding voice, and an emerging playwright who demonstrates great promise.

Three playwrights are selected for the following honors: a specially commissioned art object will be presented to a master American dramatist, in recognition of his or her body of work; a cash prize of $7,500 will be awarded to an American playwright in mid-career, whose literary achievements are vividly apparent in the rich and striking language of his or her work; and a cash prize of $2,500 will be awarded to an emerging American playwright whose work to date has demonstrated initial critical success and poses great promise of further dramatic achievement.

In all three cases, PEN/Laura Pels International Foundation for Theater honorees are writers working indisputably at the highest level of achievement. The awards were developed to reflect Laura Pels’s dedication to supporting excellence in American theatre as well as PEN’s commitment to recognizing and rewarding the playwright’s literary accomplishment.

Eligibility and Nominations for the 2015 Awards

Deadline:
Submissions are now open. Nominations for the 2015 Awards will be accepted between September 1, 2014 and October 31, 2014.

Who is eligible:
Award for Master American Dramatist: candidates are proposed by the judges. Nominations are not accepted.

Award for an American Playwright in Mid-career ($7,500): candidates must be playwrights writing in English who have had a professional production of at least two full-length works mounted in a theatre of at least 299 seats and contracted specifically for either limited or open runs. Authors who have written only one-acts or books for musicals, or who have only translated the works of others for English-language audiences, will not be considered. The work of writers produced by regional theaters across the United States will be given consideration equal to work produced in major metropolitan centers.
Award for an Emerging American Playwright ($2,500): candidates must be playwrights writing in English who have had a professional production of at least one full-length work contracted specifically for either limited or open runs. Authors who have written only one-acts or books for musicals, or who have only translated the works of others for English-language audiences, will not be considered. The work of writers produced by regional theaters across the United States will be given consideration equal to work produced in major metropolitan centers.

How to submit a nomination:
Award for Master American Dramatist: candidates are proposed by the judges. Nominations are not accepted.
Award for an American Playwright in Mid-Career: Playwrights may not apply on their own behalf. They must be nominated by their peers—producers, agents, critics, or other playwrights—who are expected to write a letter of support, describing in some detail the literary character of the candidate’s work, accompanied by a list of the candidate’s produced work.
Award for an Emerging American Playwright: Playwrights may not apply on their own behalf. They must be nominated by their peers—producers, agents, critics, or other playwrights—who are expected to write a letter of support, describing in some detail the literary character of the candidate’s work, accompanied by a list of the candidate’s produced work. Electronic copies of the playwright's work may be requested by the judges.

Please send nominations to:

PEN/Laura Pels Intl Foundation for Theater Awards
PEN American Center
588 Broadway, Suite 303
New York, NY 10012

For more information, please contact awards@pen.org.

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