Georgina Duncan has won the 2025 Women’s Prize for Playwriting for her full-length play Sapling, announced at a ceremony marking a record-breaking year for the prize. The award highlights outstanding female and non-binary playwrights and offers substantial industry support.

The Women’s Prize for Playwriting revealed this year’s winner as Sapling by Georgina Duncan, selected from a record 1,275 script submissions in 2025. Sapling is set in 1990s Belfast during the final years of The Troubles and explores the story of teenage Gerry, who is grieving his brother’s death at the hands of another child.

The prize is awarded annually to a full-length play over 60 minutes in duration and includes a £20,000 award in respect of an option for Ellie Keel Productions, Paines Plough, and Sheffield Theatres to co-produce the play. The prize is sponsored by Samuel French Ltd, the official publishing partner.

This year’s judging panel was chaired by National Theatre director Indhu Rubasingham and included notable theatre figures such as actress Romola Garai, playwright Morgan Lloyd Malcolm, and Guardian editor-in-chief Katharine Viner. The panel faced particularly rigorous discussions reflecting the high standard of submissions.

Forty-one longlisted playwrights will receive one-on-one dramaturgical support, workshops, and a “Futures Day” hosted by Future Light, a new talent development initiative linked to the prize. Previous winners include Amy Trigg, Ahlam, Karis Kelly, and most recently Sarah Grochala, whose winning play Intelligence is now in development.

Ellie Keel, founder director of the Women’s Prize for Playwriting, praised Duncan’s Sapling as “gripping, fearless, and profoundly moving” with “heart and vivid energy.” She emphasised the prize’s mission to champion female and non-binary playwrights often overlooked by traditional gatekeepers.

Co-artistic directors of Paines Plough, involved in producing winning plays, highlighted the competition’s increasing strength. They described Sapling as a “deeply assured piece of storytelling” portraying family and community grappling with grief with care and skill.

At the same ceremony, Kristin Scott Thomas received the Women’s Prize for Playwriting’s inaugural Leading Light award, a lifetime achievement honour recognising exceptional contribution to culture and the arts. This new award complements the prize’s ongoing commitment to celebrating women’s impact in theatre.