We’re proud to introduce Nick Hern Books Playscript Subscriptions: a new way to keep up to date with the most exciting contemporary plays by today’s top writers, from the UK’s leading theatre publisher.

Each month we'll send you (or your chosen recipient) one newly published NHB playscript selected by our expert team. It could be a major premiere from a big-name playwright, a timely new version of a classic, or a fresh and exciting work by a talented, up-and-coming writer – all hot off the press, and straight from the UK and Ireland’s most renowned stages.

Nick Hern Books Playscript Subscriptions come in 6-Month or 12-Month packages, and are available to purchase now. For more information, visit our Subscriptions page.

'Tis the season to grab bargains: our Winter Sale now on! Whether you're looking for a great theatre read, an exciting new play by one of today's top writers, a book to help you develop your skills and advance your career, or the perfect gift for a theatre-lover, we've got the right deal for you.

From now until Thursday 28 November, all NHB-published titles* are available at HALF PRICE via our website, for 24 hours only.

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

Head to our Winter Sale page to get inspired with some of our most recent highlights - and happy bargain-hunting!

The winners of the Evening Standard Theatre Awards 2019 were announced on Sunday (24 November), with Sweat by Lynn Nottage taking home the prize for Best Play.

Nottage's topical drama, an examination of the American Dream focusing on struggling factory workers in one of the poorest cities in the US - had its UK premiere at the Donmar Warehouse, London, before transferring to the West End. Praised by Time Out as 'one of the great American plays', Sweat had previously won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize.

Sweat won from an-all NHB shortlist, which also featured Downstate by Bruce Norris, ear for eye by debbie tucker green and Glass. Kill. Bluebeard. Imp. by Caryl Churchill.

Elsewhere, legendary director and NHB author Peter Brook was named as the recipient of the Lebedev Award, given for his outstanding contribution to British theatre.

See the full list of winners at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards here.

Our new initiative Multiplay Drama has been shortlisted for Outstanding Drama Education Resource at the Music and Drama Education Awards.

Multiplay Drama is an exciting new series of large-cast plays, specifically written to be performed by and appeal to older teenagers and young adults.

Commissioned by some of the UK’s leading youth theatres and drama schools, and written by a mix of established writers and distinctive new voices, the plays explore a wide range of contemporary themes and theatrical styles, offering fascinating, complex perspectives on some of the most urgent issues facing our world today.

Ten Multiplay Drama plays are currently available, and extracts of all ten can be read for free via the Multiplay Drama website.

The annual Music and Drama Education Awards celebrate the extraordinary contribution made by professionals, companies, charities, schools and other organisations to the lives of others through the medium of these two key performing arts. The winners of the 2020 awards will be announced on 4 March.

The winner of the Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting 2019 was announced today (4 November), with NHB author Phoebe Eclair-Powell winning the top award for her play Shed: Exploded View.

Described by the writer as an “explosion in action”, Shed: Exploded View spans 30 years and sees three couples navigate family life, complex relationships and loss. As well as receiving £16,000, Eclair-Powell will work with the Royal Exchange Theatre’s creative team to develop the script.

There was also success for fellow NHB writer Stuart Slade, who won the Judges' Award for his script Glee & Me – a funny, honest, deeply moving monologue in which 16-year-old Lola charts her journey after being diagnosed with a rare, degenerative neurological condition.

The Bruntwood Prize is the biggest playwriting prize in Europe and offers the opportunity to writers of any background and experience to enter unperformed plays. Run in collaboration with the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester, the biennial competition was launched in 2005 and has awarded more than £250,000 in prize money to 28 writers. 2019 saw the introduction of two new categories: the Original New Voice Award, a prize for debut plays; and the International Award, open to writers in Australia, Canada and the USA.

We're proud to have been the official Publishing Partners of the Bruntwood Prize since its inception in 2005. To date, we've published 13 former winners of the Prize, going on to ensure the plays have a life well beyond their original production.

PLEASE NOTE: applications for this role have now closed.

We're currently seeking a Designer and Production Editor to join the exciting, fast-moving production department of the UK’s leading independent publisher of plays and theatre books.

Applications are now open until 9 October. See more, visit our Jobs page.

In our new video, eight peers, friends and former students pay tribute to Stephen Jeffreys, his passion and knowledge, and the impact of his new book Playwriting.

Watch the video below. Thanks so much to our contributors – Simon Stephens, Annabel Arden, Roy Williams, Maeve McKeown, Alia Bano, April De Angelis, Molly Williams and Brad Birch – videographer Ben Hewis, and Casarotto Ramsay & Associates and the Royal Court Theatre for their assistance.

Less than a month after the conclusion of its critically acclaimed run in London’s West End, performing rights agents Nick Hern Books have today announced that hit play Emilia by Morgan Lloyd Malcolm is immediately available for performance by educational institutions.

First seen at Shakespeare’s Globe, Emilia is a passionate, riotous telling – performed by an all-female-identifying cast – of the story of 16^th century poet Emilia Bassano, and her struggle to be heard. It was praised by The Times as ‘a firecracker of a play… a clever mix of history and revolution’ and described by the Guardian as ‘a highly theatrical piece brimming with wit and rage’.

Educational institutions interested in performing Emilia are invited to submit their application to the Performing Rights department at Nick Hern Books via rights@nickhernbooks.co.uk, or by calling 020 8749 4953. Amateur theatre groups are invited to register their interest for future productions, and will be notified when these rights become available.

Morgan Lloyd Malcolm, writer of Emilia:

‘I am so excited that the Nick Hern team have joined the Emilia familia! I can't wait to hear about and hopefully see some of the wonderful productions of our play all around the country. Emilia's joy and fire is for everyone; enjoy it!’

Tamara von Werthern, Performing Rights Manager at Nick Hern Books:

‘We’re absolutely delighted that Emilia is now available for educational performance. This play not only offers an exciting opportunity for students to immerse themselves in a brilliant, fun and empowering production, but also has an inspiring, important message about women in history that is bound to stimulate fascinating discussions in the classroom.’

The winner of the Theatre Book Prize 2019 was announced today (11 June), with Year of the Mad King: The Lear Diaries by Antony Sher named as this year's recipient.

Year of the Mad King is Antony Sher's fascinating first-hand account of researching, rehearsing and performing what is arguably Shakespeare's most challenging role, in a major RSC production. Also included is a selection of his paintings and sketches, many reproduced in full colour.

Administered by the Society of Theatre Research, the Theatre Book Prize is presented annually for a book on British or British related theatre which an independent panel of judges considers to be the best published during the previous year. See more information on the STR's website.

The nominees for the 73rd annual Tony Awards were announced today (9 June), with The Ferryman by Jez Butterworth picking up a fantastic four awards, making it the biggest winner of any play.

The Ferryman is up for categories including Best Play and Best Direction of a Play (Sam Mendes). This family epic, set in Northern Ireland in 1981, was first seen at the Royal Court before transferring for a twice-extended run at the Gielgud Theatre in London's West End, and then to the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre on Broadway in October 2018, where it will run until July 2019. The play has already won numerous UK prizes including Olivier, Evening Standard, WhatsOnStage and Critics' Circle Awards.

Elsewhere, the Broadway revival of The Waverly Gallery by Kenneth Lonergan won Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play (Elaine May). Originally seen in 2000, the play was previously a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2001.

To see the full list of winners, visit the Tony Awards website.