We're delighted to announce that Nick Hern Books is to publish an anthology of the three winning plays in the inaugural Heretic Voices competition.

The Heretic Voices competition searched for the best new writing in monologue form – the winners, revealed today (28 November) by organisers Heretic Productions, are:

Woman Caught Unaware by Annie Fox – a searing and bleakly funny debut play which examines of the culture of body shaming

Dean McBride by Sonya Hale – a vivid and poetic story of loss and redemption set on a Croydon council estate

A Hundred Words for Snow from Tatty Hennessy – a thrilling and brave exploration of mortality, adolescence and the Arctic

The plays will be produced with leading actors and directors for performances at the Arcola Theatre from 9-13 January 2018, with all three monologues performed each evening.

Max Gill, Artistic Director of Heretic Productions: 'Our three winning plays stood out to the judges for the belief and conviction each writer showed in their own voice. Their writing is original, honest, and surprising and their handling of the monologue form highly sophisticated. Their words sing on the page but crucially the dramatic tension that thrives at the heart of each means they are begging to be performed. 

We’re thrilled that the remarkable work of these playwrights will be performed, and published by Nick Hern Books so that audiences can enjoy their work as much as we have.'

Matt Applewhite, Managing Director of Nick Hern Books: 'Writing a monologue is a unique challenge and opportunity: telling a story and holding an audience's attention with only a single performer's voice. We're delighted to collaborate with Heretic Productions in publishing these three fine, now award-winning examples of the form - and giving them a longer life in the future, on the printed page, in the audition room, and in production.'

Nick Hern Books is proud to support the first series of The Miniaturists Podcast – the new audio drama podcast from The Miniaturists, celebrated purveyors of acclaimed shortform drama since 2005.

Each season The Miniaturists will work with five exciting writers to develop a programme of short, stand-alone plays, that will embrace and celebrate shortform in the audio medium. The plays will be released weekly: Episode 1, Stanley Road by Al Smith, was released on 16 November, and is available to listen to via iTunes, SoundCloud and other podcast services.

The first series will also include plays from Camilla Whitehill, Isley Lynn, Phoebe Eclair-Powell and Vinay Patel. The Miniaturists Podcast is produced by Will Bourdillon & James Huntrods, and audio produced & edited by Andy Goddard.

Founded in 2005, The Miniaturists is a group of playwrights and other theatre workers interested in the possibilities of the short play. They stage a regular writer-led event dedicated to short but perfectly formed plays. Their next new writing night, Miniaturists 66, will be held at the Arcola Theatre on Sunday 26 November - see more and book tickets here.

The nominees for this year's Evening Standard Theatre Awards were announced today (Friday 17 November), with NHB plays and authors featured across the various categories.

Three NHB plays are included on the shortlist for Best Play. In the thought-provoking The Children by Lucy Kirkwood, two ageing nuclear scientists, living in an isolated cottage on the edge of a crumbling world, receive a frightening request from an old friend. The play received its premiere at the Royal Court in November 2016, and a New York transfer opens at the Manhattan Theatre Club on 28 November.

The Ferryman by Jez Butterworth is also shortlisted for Best Play. Set in County Armagh, Northern Ireland, in 1981, the Carney family's traditional harvest celebrations are interrupted by the arrival of a visitor, whose shocking news threatens to unravel all they've built. First seen at the Royal Court earlier this year, the play is currently running at the Gielgud Theatre, where it has recently extended until May 2018.

Also nominated for Best Play is Oslo by J. T. Rogers. This darkly funny political thriller about the unlikely forging of the Oslo Accords between Israel and Palestine won the Tony Award for Best New Play when it premiered in New York, and is now playing at the Harold Pinter Theatre in the West End following a short run at the National Theatre.

Elsewhere, two NHB authors are nominated for the Charles Wintour Award for Most Promising Playwright. Branden Jacobs-Jenkins is shortlisted for An Octoroon, his dazzlingly inventive comedy which draws on Dion Boucicault's 1859 original melodrama to explore issues about race and identity in America today. After receiving its European premiere at the Orange Tree Theatre, Richmond, An Octoroon will transfer to the National Theatre in 2018.

Also up for Most Promising Playwright is Katherine Soper for her hard-hitting drama Wish List. Winner of the 2015 Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting, this sensitive, delicate and powerful play, which asks what our labour is worth and how life can be lived when the system is stacked against you, premiered at the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, before transferring to the Royal Court.

NHB is represented in other categories, too. NHB author Dominic Cooke is shortlisted for Best Director for his hit production of Follies at the National Theatre – which is also up for Best Musical Performance (Janie Dee). Mike Bartlett's state-of-the-nation drama Albion is included on the shortlists for the Natasha Richardson Award for Best Actress (Victoria Hamilton) and Emerging Talent Award (Luke Thallon); both shortlists also include nods for The Ferryman, with Laura Donnelly and Tom Glynn-Carney nominated respectively.

Finally, Andrew Garfield is shortlisted for his performance as Prior Walter in the National Theatre's acclaimed revival of Tony Kushner's epic Angels in America, and Sheila Atim is nominated for the Emerging Talent Award for her role in Girl from the North Country, Conor McPherson's beautiful play built around the iconic songbook of Bob Dylan.

The winners of the Evening Standard Theatre Awards 2017 will be announced at a ceremony on Sunday 3 December, hosted by actor, Fleabag creator/star and NHB author Phoebe Waller-Bridge. To see the full shortlists, visit the Evening Standard website.

Here at Nick Hern Books, we really do love theatre. It's what we publish. And as our readers and followers, we reckon you do too. So as Wednesday 15 November marks #LoveTheatreDay 2017, we've put together a great offer to help you celebrate.

From 10:00 on Wednesday 15 November, all NHB-published titles* are available at 50% off via our website, for 24 hours only!

Whether you're searching for the perfect Christmas gift for someone special, a book to help you develop your skills and advance your career, or just a great read, then look no further.

And don't forget, you'll get free UK postage & packaging on all orders of £30 or over.

Our #LoveTheatreDay Sale ends at 10:00 GMT on Thursday 16 November. So don't miss your chance to grab a bargain – start looking now! For full information, and to get inspiration from some of this year's biggest titles, visit our Sale page here.

_{(*Excludes imports, pre-orders and signed copies.)}

Our theatres need you! Protecting auditoriums everywhere, West End Producer’s new Theatre Prefects are the guardians and enforcers of good audience behaviour – combating snorers, noisy eaters and latecomers wherever they find them. 

Order your copy of Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Going To The Theatre (But Were Too Sloshed To Ask, Dear) from this website and you’ll receive a free exclusive badge (available while stocks last), granting you official status as a Theatre Prefect. Here's WEP himself to tell you more...

My dear,

Thank you so much for your interest in my new little scheme: the Theatre Prefect Programme. 

As you’re no doubt aware, the Theatre Prefect Programme is sadly more essential than ever. Across our beloved West End and beyond, there is a worrying trend of annoying, rude and immature audience members – from the snorers and noisy eaters, to the eighteen-year-old A-level students high on Haribo and Um Bongo, to the horny couples partaking in their own private performance in the front row – who threaten our auditoriums, disrupt our casts, and scare my Jean Valjean teddy. After all, some of the audience have remortgaged their house for a ticket in the stalls, so surely the least they can expect is to enjoy the show in peace?

We’ve all felt the theatre rage that comes with witnessing poor audience behaviour – and now you have the chance to channel those feelings into something positive. Everyone who orders a copy of my new book directly from my lovely publishers Nick Hern Books automatically qualifies for the Programme as they have shown excellent initiative, judgement and taste.

Once you've been received your badge and been officially confirmed as a Theatre Prefect, you may consider yourself my official representative in any auditorium you find yourself in – and empowered accordingly. All venue managers and ushers will give you their full support in carrying out your essential duties.* The actors, the audience, the staff: everyone is relying on you to ensure the evening’s entertainment runs smoothly. So wear your badge with pride, and be sure to encourage others to enrol.

So thank you for your future service. Together, we can Make Theatre Great Again, dear.

With much love, thanks, and Dom-smelling kisses,

West End Producer

(* Disclaimer: West End Producer does not accept any responsibility for any drama, onstage or off, that may occur whilst carrying out your duties as a Theatre Prefect. Please don’t bother trying to sue me: my lawyer is very expensive, dear.)