The prize is a partnership between EKP and Paines Plough. It was launched at the National Theatre in November 2019.

In its first year the prize attracted 1,163 entries. Two First Prizes of £12,000 were awarded, to Amy Trigg for Reasons You Should(n’t) Love Me and to Ahlam for You Bury Me – read full article by The Guardian. The judging panel for the 2020 prize was Adjoa Andoh, Monica Dolan, Sarah Frankcom, Ella Hickson, Mel Kenyon (Chair), Kate Pakenham, Maxine Peake, and Indhu Rubasingham.

In 2022, Reasons toured the UK with Paines Plough and returned to Kiln Theatre for a three-week revival run. In the meantime, You Bury Me had three staged readings at the Edinburgh International Festival and was developed for a major production in early 2023 at the Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, Bristol Old Vic and the Orange Tree Theatre, directed by Katie Posner and co-produced with WPP, Paines Plough and 45North. Within six months, Reasons had premiered at London’s Kiln Theatre, directed by Charlotte Bennett and co-produced by the Prize, Kiln Theatre, Paines Plough and 45North. It played a critically-acclaimed run and was subsequently made into an audio production by Audible with Ellie Keel Productions. It was also published by Concord Theatricals as part of our Publishing Partnership.

2025 Prize:

The winner of the 2025 Prize, Sapling by Georgina Duncan, was selected from 1275 submissions by a judging panel chaired by Indhu Rubasingham and including directors Milli Bhatia and Alice Hamilton, actress Romola Garai, playwright Morgan Lloyd Malcolm, Head of the Theatre Department at Casarotto Ramsay & Associates Mel Kenyon, Artistic Director of Bristol Old Vic Nancy Medina, Literary & Development Associate at Wessex Grove Kat Pierce, dramaturg Nina Steiger, and Editor-in-Chief of The Guardian Katharine Viner. The play will be staged at Sheffield Theatres.

2023 Prize:

The winner of the 2023 Prize, Intelligence by Sarah Grochala, was selected from 1002 submissions by a judging panel chaired by Indhu Rubasingham and including the actor Noma Dumezweni, the playwrights April de Angelis and Chris Bush, the journalists Katharine Viner and Samira Ahmed, the critic Anya Ryan, the dramaturg Nina Steiger and the agent Mel Kenyon. Grochala was awarded the £12,000 Prize in a ceremony at the London Library, and her play is currently in development for production.

2021 Prize:

The winner of the 2021 Prize, Consumed by Karis Kelly, was selected from 850 submissions by a judging panel chaired by Mel Kenyon and including the actors Nicola Walker and Jodie Whittaker, playwrights Lucy Kirkwood and Winsome Pinnock, the critic Arifa Akbar, dramaturg Nina Steiger and directors Jenny Sealey and Indhu Rubasingham. Kelly was awarded the £12,000 Prize in a ceremony at the London Library. Consumed opened at the Edinburgh Fringe in July 2025 before embarking on a UK tour in a production directed by Katie Posner (★★★★★ – Edinburgh Reviews, ★★★★ – WhatsOnStage, ★★★★ – The Herald). The production reopens this Spring at the Lyric Theatre Belfast and Park Theatre, London.