Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center Announces 2026 National Playwrights Conference Finalists

We’re excited to celebrate an exceptional cohort of writers selected as finalists for the 2026 National Playwrights Conference!

Uplifted by enthusiastic support of both our first-and second-round readers, these playwrights represent just 5% of the 1,650 scripts submitted this year. Their work reflects a bold range of voices and a deep commitment to craft, imagination, and perspective in contemporary storytelling.

We invite you to explore their work and join us in anticipation as we prepare to announce which of these remarkable plays will be developed at this summer’s conference!

The Annunciation by T. Adamson

rachel, nevada by jose sebastian alberdi

Heathcliff!! by Jaclyn Backhaus

Flatbush Lysistrata by Lila Rachel Becker

Leviathan by Benjamin Benne

Yankees by Serena Berman

CHRCH by Kev Berry

The Treatment by Amy Berryman

At the Liberty Inn by Emily Bice

FIRST BORN by Karina Billini

Crushed Bones (And Other Vices) by Kamila Boga

Mabel's Mine by Lyndsey Bourne

Family Weekend by Jake Brasch

The Care and Keeping of You, Pages 76-77 by Emily Breeze

free kids by Xavier Clark

The Pretentious Maidens by Benjamin Connor

URGENT CARE by Milo Cramer

Episodes by Kallan Dana 

[Home]going by Zola Dee

Horse Boy by Maddie Dennis-Yates

Zionista Rising by Alexa Derman 

Pleasers by Avery Deutsch

VIAL MAN (The Apothecary's Story) by Steven Dietz

ĂN CHƠI // EAT. PLAY. RAGE. by Carolina Đỗ

The Man Came Down by Madeline Easley

Fountains of Youth by Kareem Fahmy

halfs by Dominic Finocchiaro

Devil Girl by Claire Soleil Gardner

Keeping Bodies Apart by Maximillian Gill

Estate Sale by Keelay Gipson

Uncommon Birds by Lauren M. Gunderson

The Unwell by Patty Kim Hamilton

The Bees Call Me Eva by Miz Hashimoto

Jerry Day by Daniel Holzman

A Country Made of Salt by Denmo Ibrahim

Do You Think I'm Annoying? by Jesse Jae Hoon

This Is How You Capture the Light by Kandace James

obit, or no more dead dogs by Mik Johnson

Cabin 6 Is Not Okay by Abe Johnson

Hut, Hut, Hike by Kenneth Jones

The Plagues: A Comedy by Sam Kebede

FAMISHED [갈망] by Zoë Kim

SeaFarm by Ryan Ryan King

Advanced Persistent Teenagers by Deepak Kumar

The Wilderness by Philippa Lawford

oracle by Kimber Lee

Alpha Asians by Mike Lew

LOUDUN, 1632 by Alex Lin

Stupid Little Fire by Yilong Liu

Dictionary of the Unsaid by Ethan Luk

It won't be long now by Diana Ly

Possessed (or, "the Crazy African Girl" Play) by Gloria Majule

Ms. Cleary's Last Supper by R. Forest Malley

The Good Guys by Sarah Mantell

Nazi Mind by Regan Moro

Langstrom by Gregory S. Moss

Is Cry You Cry'n? by Dhari Noel

seven stage circle by Zharia O'Neal

I Wanna Kill, Annie G by Gloria Oladipo

TRUE / STORY, based on a true story by A. Rey Pamatmat

IDLE EYES by kanishk pandey

Mortals by J.C. Pankratz

Offshoot by Drew Paryzer

The Choir Invisible by Jonathan Payne

Mouth of the Mississippi by a.k. payne 

Choreomania 1518 by Malena Pennycook

Melvil Dewey Messed Me Up by Eric Pfeffinger

Cactus Queen by Doug Robinson

Lux & Rex Are The Brightest Things In This Forsaken World by Esperanza Rosales Balcárcel

Unaccompanied Minors by Jan Rosenberg

Destiny by Edwin Sanchez

How to Kill a Goat by Mireya Sánchez-Maes

Incels and Other Myths by Ally Sass

PIGEONHOLE by Jasmine Sharma

The Last Nun at Lake Leaf Monastery by Mat Smart

KNIVES by Caitlin Saylor Stephens

Little Beings by Ariel Stess

Choke by KJ Stewart

The Secret History of the Mahulley Monster (or the Cryptid Play) by Chelsea Sutton

DEEP SALMON by Elinor T Vanderburg

The Rink at the End of the World by Megan Tabaque

Linguicide by Ali Viterbi

The Empty Plate of Our Father by Kenndall Wallace

This House is for Laughing by Sam Walsh

Crush/Slash by Madison Wetzell

Jake by Susan Yassky