The winner of the Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting 2015 was announced on Tuesday 17 November, with the award going to first-time writer Katherine Soper for her debut play Wish List.

Katherine, who wrote the play for her dissertation while studying at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, receives £16,000, a professional production at the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, and publication by Nick Hern Books.

Four other playwrights also received Judges' Awards, the first time in the Prize's history the number has been increased from three. The recipients, and their plays, were:

• Almighty Sometimes by Kendall Feaver
• Parliament Square by James Fritz
• How My Light is Spent by Alan Harris
• Sound of Silence by Chloe Todd Fordham

All entries to the Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting are submitted anonymously, with the writers' identities not known until the final prizewinners have been selected.

The winners were selected from more than 1,900 entrants by judges from across the theatre industry, including former National Theatre director Nicholas Hytner, actor and playwright Meera Syal and Royal Exchange artistic director Sarah Frankcom.

Previous winners of the Bruntwood Prize published by NHB include Anna Jordan, Janice Okoh, Vivienne Franzmann and Ben Musgrave. 

Celebrating ten years of the Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting

2015 marks the tenth anniversary of the Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting, which has grown from being a regional competition to become the UK's biggest national competition for playwriting.

Nick Hern Books has been a proud partner of the Prize since its inception in 2005, publishing a dozen prizewinners to date, plus subsequent plays at the Royal Court, Soho Theatre, Hampstead Theatre and elsewhere.

To celebrate the occasion, NHB founder Nick Hern reflects on a decade of the Prize on our blog here, and we've teamed up with Exeunt Magazine to offer an inside look at the Prize in the podcast below. Presenter Tim Bano speaks to previous winner Anna Jordan, judges and readers to explore how the process works.