The prize, produced by Ellie Keel Productions and Paines Plough has announced the 41 longlisted scripts for its 2025 award.
Selected from 1,275 submissions, the prize celebrates and supports exceptional female and non-binary playwrights, and campaigns for their plays to be presented on national stages in the UK and Ireland.
The prize is awarded to a full-length play – defined as over 60 minutes in duration – written in English. The First Prize-winning play receives £20,000 in respect of an option for Ellie Keel Productions, Paines Plough, and Sheffield Theatres to co-produce the play. The Women’s Prize for Playwriting is sponsored by Samuel French Ltd, a Concord Theatricals company, the official publishing partner of the prize.
The 2025 winner will be decided by a judging panel chaired by Director of the National Theatre, Indhu Rubasingham, and will be announced at a ceremony in London in February 2026.
This year’s longlist of plays is as follows:
Wold Meteor by Kate Attwell
Weeping Woman by Ellen Bannerman
The Fingerprint Bureau by Sonali Bhattacharyya
while we burn by Olga Braga
An Effigy Burningin the Arctic by Mareth Burns
HIDE AND SEEK WITH JIMMY LING by Naomi Sumner Chan
Ordinary Time by Evie Chandler
I LOVE STRANGERSby Nurit Chinn
Heftedby Eireann Devlin
Saplingby Georgina Duncan
THE (YELLOW) WALLPAPER by Phoebe Eclair-Powell
Fucking Jane Austen by Billie Esplen
Froggy by Sasha Frost
A Patent Lie by Sarah Jane Gordon
Exceptional by Afsaneh Gray
First Gravedigger by Kayleigh Mai Hinsley
THREE BOYS by Danielle James
Unbirthby Christy Ku
Down Side Up by Mei Leng Yew
Northern Folkby Natalia Lewis
Witch Play by Cordelia Lynn
A Straw Houseby Jane McCarthy
Car Crash by Sarah Ann McCay
Am I Next?by Rachel McKay
We’re Gonna Kill Billy by Alex Medland
To The Earth You Shall Return by Hannah Mirsky
A to B by Tia-Renee Mullings
Yes Chefby Laurie Ogden
If The Sea Should Partby Chloe Palmer
VENUS: The Bodyby Sadie Pearson
A Bit Salty by Mwansa Phiri
CROSSINGSby Hannah Salt
Przewalski’s Horses by Silva Semerciyan
A Search for the End by Stef Smith
WHAT I THINK OF MY HUSBAND by Amy Tobias
Slime by Rachel Tookey
Belongings by Jane Upton
Up in the Mango Trees by Britny Virginia
THE ROOMby Manjinder Virk
Wide Open Spaces by Jane Wainwright
The Children of Glyndwr by Emily White
Meanwhile, the prize also launches Future Light, a new talent development programme designed to support the longlisted playwrights on their creative journeys. Future Light offers longlisted playwrights one-on-one dramaturgical support, writing workshops led by leading UK playwrights, and a dedicated Futures Day of industry-focused sessions in Spring 2026.
Talking about the news, Ellie Keel, Founder Director of the Women’s Prize for Playwriting and Charlie Coulthard, Literary Manager of the Women’s Prize for Playwriting today said, “These 41 exceptional plays represent the top 3% of a record-breaking 1,275 submissions — our highest number to date. We are deeply impressed by their extraordinary range, level of craft, and ambitious scope, which reflect the remarkable talent within this year’s cohort.”
To find out more visit: https://womensprizeforplaywriting.co.uk/