Award Eligibility and Criteria for Entry

The winning writer will receive £3,000 and a 9-month mentoring programme with a leading Black British playwright.

The competition is open to any playwright of Caribbean or African descent, resident in the UK, for the best original, new stage play in English.  Entrants must confirm on their CV that that they are of African and Caribbean descent.

Entrants must be 25 years or under at the time of submission.  The AFA reserves the right to disqualify any entry that does not meet the age criteria at the time of submission.

The play does not need to have been produced.  However, if it has, only plays produced since August 2023 will be considered.

Each entrant can submit only one play. A play may also be nominated by a third party with the writer’s consent (e.g. via an agent).

Plays must be typed, full length and presented as double-spaced, single-sided, in Times New Roman, font 12pt and be a minimum of 40 pages and submitted as a .doc file or.pdf file (Word or PDF).  Manuscripts cannot be altered after entry.

Television, radio plays and film scripts will not be considered.

Entries are online only and must be received not later than 5pm, Wednesday, 31 July 2024. 

To find out more and apply: Mustapha Matura Award 2024 – Alfred Fagon Award