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The Dramatists Guild of America has announced Bess Wohl, Kimber Lee, Lisa Kron, Victor I. Cazares, Joy Huerta, and Benjamin Velez as recipients of the Guild’s 2026 Awards, with Migdalia Cruz set to receive the Guild’s Lifetime Achievement Award. The Annual Dramatists Legal Defense Fund Defender Award will also be presented to Maggie Marie Lawson and Liberty Welch for their advocacy on behalf of artistic freedom after their university cancelled Boy My Greatness by Zoe Senese-Grossberg.
The honors will be presented at the Guild’s annual awards ceremony on Monday, April 27 in New York City. The evening is invitation only.
Bess Wohl will receive the Hull-Warriner Award for Liberation. Presented annually by the Dramatists Guild Council, the Hull-Warriner Award honors an author in recognition of a play or musical dealing with controversial subjects involving the political, religious, or social mores of the times.
Victor I. Cazares will receive the Lanford Wilson Award, established by the estate of Lanford Wilson and given to a dramatist based primarily on their work as an early career or “emerging” playwright.
Joy Huerta and Benjamin Velez will receive the Frederick Loewe Award for their score for Real Women Have Curves, presented annually by the Dramatists Guild Council in recognition of achievement in a theatrical score presented in the previous calendar year.
Kimber Lee will receive the Horton Foote Playwriting Award, presented to a dramatist whose work seeks to explore the nature of human experience.
Lisa Kron will be honored with the Flora Roberts Award, administered by the Dramatists Guild Foundation and presented to a theatre professional in recognition of distinguished work in the field.
Migdalia Cruz will receive the Dramatists Guild Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of her body of work in theatrical writing.
DRAMATISTS LEGAL DEFENSE FUND DEFENDER AWARD
The DLDF Defender Award, selected by the Dramatists Legal Defense Fund Committee, will be presented to Maggie Marie Lawson and Liberty Welch for their advocacy on behalf of free expression in the dramatic arts. After their university cancelled Boy My Greatness, a student production they had been set to direct, they independently produced the work, securing rights and funding to present it outside the institution.
ABOUT THE DRAMATISTS GUILD OF AMERICA
Since its inception in 1919, the Dramatists Guild of America has served as the professional association for playwrights, librettists, lyricists, and composers writing for the American stage. With over 9,000 members worldwide, the Guild provides advocacy, resources, and support to protect the rights and creative work of dramatists.
