PEN America and the Laura Pels International Foundation for Theater awards an American Playwright in mid-career with an outstanding voice working indisputably at the highest level of achievement. The award was developed to reflect Laura Pels’s dedication to supporting excellence in American theater as well as PEN America’s commitment to recognizing and rewarding the playwright’s literary accomplishment.
Larissa FastHorse, 2019 AMERICAN PLAYWRIGHT IN MID-CAREER
Judges: Craig Lucas, Jacob G. Padron, Condola Rashad
From the judges’ citation: “One of the remarkable things about Larissa FastHorse’s work includes her prolific output—17 plays in a little over a decade—as well as the range of her tales in contrasting tones and affect. Her abiding theme appears to be the making of modern families, bridging divergent communities, histories, languages, cultures. . . . FastHorse educates, tweaks, embraces, outrages and dances, sometimes all in a single scene. . . . She deserves to be much more widely known.”
Read a transcript of Larissa FastHorse’s acceptance speech »
History
Previous Winners
2019 Larissa FastHorse2018 Sibyl Kempson2017 Tarell Alvin McCraney2016 Young Jean Lee2015 Anne Washburn2014 Donald Marguiles2013 Kirsten Greenidge2012 Will Eno and Adam Rapp2011 Marcus Gardley2010 Theresa Rebeck2009 Nilo Cruz2008 Sarah Ruhl2007 Naomi Iizuka2006 Stephen Adly Guirgis2005 Dael Orlandersmith2004 Lynn Nottage2003 Craig Lucas2002 Tony Kushner2001 Charles Mee, Jr.2000 Suzan-Lori Parks1999 Paula Vogel1998 Richard Greenberg
Selection Process
Please note that any playwright, writer, or member of the theater community may submit a nomination for a Mid-career Playwright.