60th Annual Alberta Playwriting Competition (2025) -winner and shortlist announced
The Alberta Playwriting Competition Grand Prize:
THE SHARON POLLOCK AWARD
Dedicated June 25, 2021
The Alberta Playwriting Competition, presented in association with Theatre Alberta, is the longest running provincial playwriting competition and offers the largest cash prize of any playwriting contest in Canada. We are happy to announce that with the blessing of the Pollock family, we are renaming the “Grand Prize” to “The Sharon Pollock Award” - in recognition of the Most Outstanding Un-produced Play written by an Alberta Playwright. Sharon was a great champion of Alberta Playwrights’ Network and anyone who devoted themselves to the craft of playmaking.
Sharon was a gift to Alberta Playwrights’ Network that kept on giving. In the late 90s she took over as board president and then stepped into the role of Executive Director. During that time, the organization was challenged by a lack of funding and Sharon worked diligently, and in some cases for free, to make sure that the bulk of funding that the organization received was spent on the development of playwrights and their work. She taught classes, oversaw Playwrights’ Circles, and helped anybody and everybody no matter their experience. She was instrumental in creating Fresh Ink, a conference about all things playwriting that brought together writers and artists from all over Alberta. Over the past 7 years, Sharon was a mentor in our RBC Mentorship Program and she loved nothing better than working with emerging writers and providing all of her talent and wisdom towards their growth. It would be impossible to count the number of plays, playwrights, and artists that Sharon had a hand in developing, but we know she left a swath as wide as Alberta.
2025 Alberta Playwriting Competition
SHARON POLLOCK PRIZE winner
On Friday, June 6, the recipient of the Sharon Pollock Prize (presented in association with Theatre Alberta) was announced at the Alberta Literary Awards Gala in Calgary.
The recipient of the Sharon Pollock Prize for the most outstanding un-produced play by an Alberta writer went to Hayley Moorehouse for her play Tough Guy.
The jury had this to say about Moorehouse’s play: Juror #2 “This script grabbed me by the stomach as it took me to the scene of a tragedy. Tough Guy is an unapologetic look at queerness in all its joy, grief, love and rage. It forces you to excavate the source of what fuels your survival after your world gets rocked, and while it is specific to the queer experience any audience will be moved to tears.”
The Shortlisted plays for 2025:
“Marv n’ Ev” by Jason Long (Calgary)
Juror #1 “The jury, including myself, was charmed by this delightful play. The characters are very compelling and charming in their inimitable, at times grumpy manner. I found this to be a very readable play, and hope that it will find a home for production sometime in the not-too-distant future.”“Please Return to Empire Video” by James Odin Wade (Calgary)
Juror #3 “A thoughtful, sensitive work, featuring rich, delicately rendered relationships and crisp, crackling dialogue. In a brief time, it expresses something deep about friendship, growing up, and the power of films.”
Congratulations also to the 2025 Novitiate Prize Winner - Danielle LaRose for her play "The Poisoner's Daughter"
The Alberta Playwriting Competition is presented by APN in association with Theatre Alberta.
Alberta Playwrights' Network acknowledges the many First Nations, Metis, and Inuit people who are the original storytellers and knowledge keepers of this land.
APN is a signatory to the 35/50 Initiative and is committed to those principles and goals in the work we do now and our work in the future.