a.k. payne Wins 2025 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize for 'Furlough’s Paradise'

The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize for 2025 has been awarded to U.S. playwright a.k. payne for their play, Furlough’s Paradise. The prestigious international award, which is the oldest and largest prize recognizing women, trans, and non-binary writers for outstanding works in English-speaking theatre, includes a $25,000 cash prize and a signed print by artist Willem de Kooning.

About the Winning Play

Furlough’s Paradise centers on two cousins—one on a three-day leave (furlough) from prison and the other taking a break from her technology career—who reunite for the funeral of their mother and aunt, respectively.

The play was produced at the Alliance Theatre in 2024 and is scheduled to begin performances at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles next month. Both productions are directed by Alliance co-artistic director Tinashe Kajese-Bolden.

The play has been critically acclaimed, previously winning the Alliance/Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Competition and the National Theatre Conference’s Stavis Playwriting Award. Tarell Alvin McCraney, Artistic Director of the Geffen Playhouse and payne's former professor at Yale School of Drama, described the work as "poetic and funny," and praised its ability to "charting what it means to try to find a utopia in a world that has a criminal justice system that is far from perfect."

Prize Significance and Commendations

Established in 1978, the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize is awarded annually. Executive Director Leslie Swackhamer underscored the significance of the award at this time, stating, "We must remind ourselves of the power of our voices, and the special magic we create when we lift them at the theatre."

In addition to the main award, the judges exercised their discretion to grant two Special Commendations of $10,000 each:

• 49 Days by Haruna Lee (Taiwan-Japan-U.S.), submitted by Playwrights Horizons.

• An Oxford Man by Else Went (U.S.), submitted by South Coast Repertory.

a.k. payne expressed deep gratitude, noting that receiving the award places them alongside writers whose work and mentorship—including Katori Hall, Lynn Nottage, and Paula Vogel—have profoundly shaped their understanding of the world and their own writing.

2025 Finalists and Jury

The cohort from which payne was selected included eight finalists, each of whom received a $5,000 prize:

• Chris Bush (U.K.) for Otherland

• Carys Coburn (Ireland) for BÁN

• Keiko Green (U.S.) for You Are Cordially Invited to the End of the World

• Isobel McArthur (U.K.-Scotland) for The Fair Maid of the West

• Suzie Miller (Australia-U.K.) for Inter Alia

• Anna Ziegler (U.S.) for The Janeiad

The 2025 jury included Linda Cho, Jennifer Ehle, Nancy Medina, Mark Ravenhill, George Strus, and Indira Varma.