Wishing you a very Happy New Year! We hope 2018 will be good to you. As the confetti settles, the Playwriting Australia team are gearing up for a big year. 2018 will be bursting at the seams with opportunities for playwrights, theatre companies and creative artists. We are especially excited about our National Play Festival this March (in T minus 75 days, but whose counting). We are also looking forward to announcing the 2018 Max Afford Playwrights' Award winner shortly! This year, 16 PWA supported plays with be gracing our stages. We are so proud to have developed these plays for audiences across Australia to savour.

As we set our sights on the months ahead, we hope you enjoy reading reflections from 2017.

Best wishes

The PWA Team

Each year Playwriting Australia invests in the development of exceptional new Australian plays. We love nothing more than seeing playwrights and their plays we have supported, blossom from simple pages to must-see productions. 2018, is no exception. There is a great selection of PWA supported plays in production, from Perth to Adelaide to the Illawarra. Check out the plays gracing our country's stages that you can’t miss.

In November last year, one of our new programs PAGE TO STAGE concluded with an afternoon of public play readings. PAGE TO STAGE, was created in partnership with the National Theatre of Parramatta. Check out some photos capturing the public showcase performed at Riverside Theatre.

It can be tough getting your playwriting career going if you live outside of the capital cities; as opportunities to engage with the theatre industry are rare and expensive. The Erin Thomas Playwright Fund is a playwright travel bursary created in memory of playwright, Erin Thomas. The Erin Thomas Playwright Fund supports emerging playwrights from regional or remote areas to attend opportunities or events that would help them develop their careers.

Nicholas Tan is a recent recipient, who travelled from his regional town of Mandurah, Western Australia to Newcastle, New South Wales to see his play, MELTED BUTTER performed at Tantrum Youth Arts’ short plays festival, Hissyfest. Read all about his experience

In November, we developed Nick Brown's TANTRA 2 - as part our 2017 National Script Workshop. The National Script Workshop is one of our development pathways for new plays. It involves an intensive creative development process complete with actors, dramaturg and director. We asked Nick about his play, read all about it on our blog

Subtlenuance have announced entries are open for the 2018 SILVER GULL PLAY AWARD.This Award recognises an outstanding play by a local writer that explores philosophical or political themes. The total prize money is $5000, the winning playwright will receive $3000 and the remainder of the prize pool will be split evenly between the shortlisted writers. For more info click here  Entries close 30 April 2018, so get writing!

The Last Great Hunt & Griffin Theatre Company present FAG/STAG by Chris Isaacs and Jeffrey Jay Fowler — a multi award-winning, hilarious, brutally honest exploration of contemporary masculinity. Performaces are from 10 - 27 January 2018 at SBW Stables. To celebrate Griffin Theatre are giving our subscribers the chance to WIN A FREE DOUBLE PASS to the Wednesday 10 January performance at 7pm. To enter send your name and contact details with PWA in the subject line to, winners@griffintheatre.com.au