Playwrights Guild of Canada (PGC) is excited to announce a new sponsorship for The Sharon Enkin Plays for Young People Award. Last year, PGC presented a Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA) Award for Playwrights for the first time. The Sharon Enkin Plays for Young People Award will support the continuation of this award for three years, honouring TYA playwrights at the Tom Hendry Awards, PGC’s annual award ceremony for Canadian playwrights.

The Sharon Enkin Plays for Young People Award will be presented to a playwright who has written a recently premiered (in the last year) or new play that is intended for young audiences. This award is worth $5000 and is open to members of Playwrights Guild of Canada. A shortlist of the best three entries will be announced in September 2019. The winner will be announced during the Tom Hendry Awards in October 2019.

Last year’s winner of the Theatre for Young Audience Award, Christine Quintana, says, “Receiving the first ever TYA Award at the Tom Hendry Awards is a true honour. Some of our country’s riskiest, most innovative, and most impactful playwriting happens within TYA, and an award like this sends the message that our work matters.”  

Submissions for The Sharon Enkin Award for Plays for Young People open today, January 16th, 2019. As well, the Carol Bolt Award, Stage West Comedy Award, Stage West Musical Award, and Robert Beardsley Award have opened up for submissions on the Playwrights Guild of Canada’s website. 

More information on submissions and awards can be found on the PGC website.