Manhattan Theatre Club has named Samuel D. Hunter the recipient of its Judith Champion Playwriting Fellowship for the 2026-2027 season. The program will see the Little Bear Ridge Road playwright commissioned to create a new work, also receiving use of office and rehearsal space, a stipend for theatre tickets, and a developmental workshop.
Previous fellows include Bess Wohl, Eboni Booth, Sanaz Toosi, and Zora Howard.
“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,” says MTC Artistic Director Nicki Hunter 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.”
“We are thrilled to have the wonderful Samuel D. Hunter in residence with us this season through the Judith Champion Playwriting Fellowship,” adds Associate Artistic Director Scott Kaplan. “We have long been admirers of Sam’s singular voice and extraordinary theatrical gifts, and we couldn’t be happier at the prospect of embarking on a year of close collaboration with this talented artist.”
Hunter made his Broadway debut with Little Bear Ridge Road last season, and a simultaneous West End debut with Clarkston. His plays also include The Whale, A Case for the Existence of God, A Bright New Boise, Greater Clements, Lewiston/Clarkston, and Grangeville. He adapted his The Whale for a 2022 film adaptation starring Brendan Fraser, and has also written for FX’s Baskets.
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