The Women’s Prize for Playwriting has announced its shortlist for the 2025 awards.
Launched in 2019, the Prize champions female and non-binary playwrights, and campaigns for their plays to be presented on national stages in the UK and Ireland.
From a total of 1,275 submissions, 20 plays have been shortlisted for the Prize, which is organised by Ellie Keel Productions and Paines Plough.
The First Prize winner receives £20,000 alongside an option for Ellie Keel Productions, Paines Plough, and Sheffield Theatres to co-produce the work. The prize is sponsored by Samuel French Ltd, a Concord Theatricals company, the official publishing partner of the prize.
The finalist plays will be announced in December, and the winners will be revealed at a ceremony at @SohoPlace Theatre in London on 9 February 2026.
This year’s judging panel is chaired by Indhu Rubasingham, Director and Co-Chief Executive of the National Theatre, and includes Literary & Development Associate at Wessex Grove Kat Pierce, directors Milli Bhatia and Alice Hamilton, actress Romola Garai, Literary Agent Mel Kenyon, playwright Morgan Lloyd Malcolm, Artistic Director of Bristol Old Vic Nancy Medina, the National Theatre’s Director of New Work Nina Steiger, and Guardian Editor-in-Chief Katharine Viner.
Previous winners of the Prize include Amy Trigg (Reasons You Should(n’t) Love Me), Ahlam (You Bury Me), and Karis Kelly (Consumed).
The Women’s Prize for Playwriting 2025 – Shortlist
- Weeping Woman by Ellen Bannerman
- The Fingerprint Bureau by Sonali Bhattacharyya
- HIDE AND SEEK WITH JIMMY LING by Naomi Sumner Chan
- I LOVE STRANGERS by Nurit Chinn
- Sapling by Georgina Duncan
- The (Yellow) Wallpaper by Phoebe Eclair-Powell
- F**king Jane Austen by Billie Esplen
- A Patent Lie by Sarah Jane Gordon
- Three Boys by Danielle James
- Witch Play by Cordelia Lynn
- We’re Gonna Kill Billy by Alex Medland
- A to B by Tia-Renee Mullings
- Yes Chef by Laurie Ogden
- Przewalski’s Horses by Silva Semerciyan
- A Search for the End by Stef Smith
- Belongings by Jane Upton
- Up in the Mango Trees by Britny Virginia
- The Room by Manjinder Virk
- The Children of Glyndwr by Emily White
- Down Side Up by Mei Leng Yew
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