Manhattan Theatre Club (MTC) has named Tony Award nominee Samuel D. Hunter the recipient of its 2026-2027 Judith Champion Playwriting Fellowship. The fellowship, awarded annually, is fully supported by its namesake, the late philanthropist and former MTC patron Judith Champion.
As part of the fellowship, MTC will commission Hunter to write and develop a new play while in residence. In addition to the commission, MTC provides fellows with artistic and financial resources, including a living allowance, access to office and rehearsal space, a ticket stipend and a developmental workshop of one play during their fellowship. Hunter succeeds previous fellows Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winner Bess Wohl, Pulitzer winnerEboni Booth, Pulitzer winner Sanaz Toossi and Pulitzer finalist Zora Howard.
Hunter is the author of the Drama Desk and Lucille Lortel Award-winning play “The Whale.” He also penned the screenplay for the 2022 film adaptation, directed by Darren Aronofsky. Hunter made his Broadway debut in 2025 with the Tony-nominated play “Little Bear Ridge Road.” His other writing credits include “A Bright New Boise,” “A Case for the Existence of God” and “Grangeville.”
“The Judith Champion Fellowship exists to give writers the time and space to take real creative risks, and Sam Hunter is exactly the kind of playwright this Fellowship was made for,” said MTC’s artistic director Nicki Hunter (no relation) in a statement. “His work poses profound questions about the American experience that — while from a perspective that is unique and personal to him — feel richly human and utterly universal. I am so looking forward to spending this valuable time with Sam this season.”
Led by artistic director Nicki Hunter and executive director Chris Jennings, MTC is a nonprofit theater company producing plays and musicals at its Broadway and Off-Broadway venues. Its slate for the 2026-2027 season includes Broadway productions of “School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play” and “The Unbelievers.”
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