At a ceremony in New York earlier on this week, The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize announced the 2025 award has been given to U.S. playwright a.k. payne for their play Furlough’s Paradise. Awarded annually since 1978, the prestigious international Prize is the largest and oldest award recognizing women+ who have written works of outstanding quality for the English-speaking theatre.
On March 10, the Prize hosted theatre artists and leaders at NYC’s Playwrights Horizons to honor and celebrate payne and a cohort of 8 Finalists. Payne received a cash prize of $25,000, and a signed print by renowned artist Willem de Kooning, created especially for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize.
