top of page

Holiday Playwright Contest
Submissions open until November 15, 2024

Chrismas Playwright Stage_548981677.jpeg

We are looking for holiday scripts for our upcoming collection Holiday Plays for Cultures Worldwide. Submissions should include one-act shorts with themes of holidays, especially from BIPOC and underrepresented cultures. Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, New Year’s Day, Chinese New Year, and Easter. Scripts must be original, unpublished works in English, ideal for families and low-budget organizations. Shorts should be between 10 and 20 pages with less than 6 main characters. Winning scripts receive up to $500 USD and publication. No fees required. Submissions open until November 15, 2024. 

Selected submissions will be published on the Kinsman Quarterly website and promoted on its social media sites and printed advertisements. Copyrights of the individual submissions remain with the authors. Kinsman Avenue Publishing, Inc owns the copyrights to the collection as a unit. 

 

Simultaneous submissions are accepted, however submissions should be withdrawn if accepted elsewhere. To ensure that we are able to publish the unpublished work, winning contestants and finalists are asked to wait a full year after publication before they republish the work themselves or with another organization.

​

Those Eligible

  • individuals 18 years or older

  • authors of BIPOC and underrepresented communities preferred, but not restrictive

  • must be able to receive award payment through Paypal 

 

Contest Guidelines

  • Each entry should be an original, unpublished work by the submitting author, which does not infringe upon the copyrights of another individual or entity. 

  • Scripts should be between 10 and 20 pages with less than 6 main characters.

  • Submissions must be received by November 15, 2024 at 11:59pm EST.

  • Submissions should feature holiday themes with rich cultural content

  • Participants may enter more than one submission.

  • Changes to the competition entry cannot be made once a work is submitted. However, a revised version may be resubmitted. In such cases, include the word "revision" in the file name. 

 

Formatting Guidelines (MUST READ) 

  • Submission files must be named by Title_AuthorName. Example: "Missing Diamonds_DoeJohn".

  • All entries must be submitted as an MS Word doc/docx or .pdf file. 

  • All entries must be in 12-point courier font for in a standard play format. 

  • Be sure to remove all track changes from edited text. 

  • Entries that do not adhere to guidelines will not be considered. 

​

Prizes

  • Grand Prize = $500 cash prize and publication in the collection "Holiday Plays for Cultures Worldwide" and as individual scripts on the Kinsman Quarterly website. 

  • 1st Runner Up = $250 cash prize and publication in the collection "Holiday Plays for Cultures Worldwide" and as individual scripts on the Kinsman Quarterly website. 

  • 2nd Runner Up = $150 cash prize and publication in the collection "Holiday Plays for Cultures Worldwide" and as individual scripts on the Kinsman Quarterly website. 

  • Top 6 Finalists receive a $50 Amazon gift card and publication in the collection "Holiday Plays for Cultures Worldwide" and as individual scripts on the Kinsman Quarterly website. 

 

Announcements are scheduled for October 15, 2024. Kinsman Quarterly reserves the right to extend this deadline and announcements for up to 30 days.

Holiday Playwright Contest

The following survey provides demographic details that enables Kinsman Quarterly to measure its efforts to provide opportunities to underrepresented authors. It does not impact eligibility.

Ethnic origin. Check all that apply:
Check all that apply:

All contest entrants will be automatically subscribed to our mailing list and free newsletter for updates on winners and upcoming contests. Subscription is free. Your personal information will not be given or sold to an outside party under any circumstance. You may cancel subscription at any time. 

​

Entries that do not meet the required criteria will be disqualified without notice. Only one entry can be made per submission form. No alterations can be made to the document or artwork once submissions are received. You may, however, submit a revision in a second form, stating so in the title (example: Lord of the Bears.(revised). Top winners will be published by Kinsman Avenue Publishing Inc. Authors will be notified of acceptance by December 31, 2024. BE SURE TO TITLE YOUR FILE ACCORDING TO THE GUIDELINES ABOVE. Note that you will be directed to upload your file through Submittable. If you do not have a Submittable account, you may create one in a few easy steps.  

Proceed below to upload on Submittable.
Note that you will need a Submittable account to submit your file.

bottom of page