The Max Afford Playwrights’ Award

The Max Afford Playwrights’ Award is a biennial award dedicated to supporting young playwrights aged between 18 and 40.

An initiative of the late Thelma May Afford in memory of her husband, playwright and novelist Max Afford the award was established to:

Help and give incentive to young playwrights
Provide funds to enable young playwrights to further their education in the field of drama;
Improve creative writing
Improve the general publics appreciation of Australian drama and playwrights

Administered by Australian Plays Transform, and managed by Perpetual Limited as Trustee, the award invites playwrights to submit a full length, unproduced play to be considered. The play judged to have the highest merit is awarded a cash prize and supported play development, produced by APT.

Submissions are now open for 2026.

The Max Afford Playwrights’ Award 2026

SUBMISSIONS OPEN: Friday, 6 February 2026
SUBMISSIONS CLOSE: 11:59pm AWST, Monday 23 March, 2026

In 2026, the biennial Award will be worth $33,000, split between a $15,500 cash prize for the winning playwright and a creative development in 2026, produced by APT.

Playwright Eligibility:

Individuals between the ages of 18 and 40 at the close of entry date
A resident of Australia during the four (4) years prior to the closing date for entries
Based in Australia and available to undertake a development with APT before the end of 2026

Scripts must be:

Of an original nature
A full length play of no less than one (1) hour duration
Written in the last three (3) years
Uperformed, not have been previously produced or had a public reading. This rule will apply up to the time of the creative development with APT.
Not be scheduled for publication, development or production before December 2026.

What do I need to submit?

A brief biography (200 words max)
A brief synopsis of the play (250 words max)
A named PDF of your play with your details included (name, contact details)
An anonymous PDF of your play (on which your name, contact details, or agents detailed MUST NOT appear anywhere)
A statement on what you hope to achieve through a creative development of your play
Other play, project and playwright details