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 MEET THE FINALISTS & SEMI-FINALISTS

We received more than 950 open submissions for the 2026 Conference, and we read each and every one cover-to-cover! We were thrilled to read so many wonderful plays written by talented playwrights from across the country. We invite you to learn more about our amazing 2026 Finalists and Semi-finalists: 

Finalists 

• Avery Deutsch - Pleasers
• Benjamin Benne - Leviathan
• Caroline V. McGraw - 1983
• Cusi Charlotte Cram - The Benefits of Being an Octopus
• Denmo Ibrahim - A Country Made of Salt
• DJ Hills - The Caelumids
• dominic finocchiaro - halfs 
• Drew Paryzer - Offshoot
• Gloria Bond Glunie - Santa’s Boots
• Hanna Kime - Next Door
• Ida Esmaeili - Shahdokht
• m.d. schaffer - Unbroken
• Mallory Jane Weiss - R.I.P. Lunch: the last male white rhino at the zoo
• Mashuq Mushtaq Deen - The Betterment Society
• Natalie Grace Lambert - BAD BREATH the stink inside me
• Rachel Borders - Death Doula
• Rhiana Yazzie - The Nut, The Hermit, The Crow, and The Monk 
• Sierra Rosetta - A Century of Sparrows

​Semi-Finalists 

• Alexis Roblan - brb
• Allison Keller - Blood/Sweat/Tears
• Amy Berryman - The Treatment
• Ayibatari Owei - Born All Wrong 
• Baylee Schlichtman - How The League of Evil Cowboy Clows Took Down The Flapman for Good
• Bella Poynton - The Appliance Department 
• Blake Edwards - Things Fall Apart
• Blake Edwards - The One and Only Sarah Stonely
• Bob Canning - Skating on Thin Ice 
• Brook Bethel - The Joint on Highway 2
• Caity-Shea Violette - paper cuts
• Cambria Kylinn Martin - The Other in the Room
• Danielle Frimer - Conversation Design 
• David Davila - The Capitalist and the Factory Worker
• Desi Moreno-Penson - El Bacalao: The Catfish Man
• Dylan Malloy - The Synergists
• Elise Forier Edie - John Dillinger Gets a Manicure
• Ellie Melick - Edge Call
• Emmett M. Schaffer - Earth, I Want to Stay
• Fernando Dovalina - The Sanctity of Our Home
• Francisco Mendoza - KinkMates
• Genevieve Simon - Punch Back
• Gina Femia - That Time Terri and Lily took a Road Trip to See the Laura Ingalls Wilder House
• Jaymes Sanchez - Skull Rack
• Jenna Jane - Bionic 
• Jessica Fisher - Syndication 
• Jesús Valles - Llermo! or My Big Fat Mexican Apotheosis, with Sincerest Gratitude to L*rca
• John Anthony Loffredo - the freedom from everything rotten
• Katherine Gwynn - Everything Devoured
• Kelly Trumbull - Parental Consent
• Laura Winters - The Starters
• Lila Becker - Flatbush Lysistrata 
• Lisa Lewis - This Should End Well
• Lori Felipe-Barkin - Flor Underwater 
• Maddie Easley - The Man Came Down
• Marissa Joyce Stamps - St. Nicholas' Annual Walk-Bike-Skate-a-Thon
• Mark Gardner - Nan
• Matthew Paul Olmos - Richie never slept, was always up, moving around at night
• Nicholas Pilapil - Luca & Uri 
• Paris Crayton - Chasing Gods
• Peter Pasco - Yoli, Alfredo, Y La Vida
• Rob Ulin - Fake Laughter 
• Sara Jean Accuardi - PULL
• Sarah Cuneo - Trad
• Savannah Reich - The Groundhog
• Stephanie Fybel - Threshold
• tanner forbes - You're a shitty person, tabitha
• Tira Palmquist - Tiny Edens
• TJ Young - Employee of the Year