The Ryan Hudak LGBTQ+ Dramatic Writing Award
The Ryan Hudak LGBTQ+ Dramatic Writing Award is an $8,000 cash grant to be awarded to one (1) New York State-based playwright or screenwriter who self-identifies as LGBTQ+.
The Award honors the life and work of Ryan Hudak. Ryan was a gay playwright, theater maker, filmmaker, and a valued member of NYFA’s staff who served on the executive and development teams. Tragically, Ryan passed away in May 2022 after a long battle with Leukemia at the age of 32. The Award is open to playwrights and screenwriters who live in New York State, including those who live within the five boroughs of New York City.
Funding for this award is generously provided by Ryan’s parents, Pat and Tom Hudak; individual donors; and the philanthropic community. Those interested in contributing funds to this annual award may donate below.
Timeline
*Please note that the application form on Submittable will automatically close and stop accepting applications at this time.
The Ryan Hudak LGBTQ+ Dramatic Writing Award is open to New York State playwrights and screenwriters, including those who live within the five boroughs of New York City.
Applicants must:
- Be a working playwright or screenwriter. Acceptable forms of playwriting or screenwriting include stageplays, screenplays, teleplays, libretti, radioplays, audiodramas, puppet plays, and experimental web series. While librettists may apply, audiotapes are not eligible.
- Self-identify as LGBTQ+.
- Be a current full-time resident of New York State for a minimum of 12 months at the time the application closes.
- Be the originators of the work, i.e. screenwriters or playwrights, not interpretive artists such as actors. Collaborations are not eligible.
- Be at least 25 years of age at the time the application closes.
- Not be enrolled in a degree-seeking program of any kind.
- Not have received The Ryan Hudak LGBTQ+ Dramatic Writing Award previously. Past recipients of other NYFA grant programs are eligible to apply.
- Not be a NYFA employee, members of the NYFA Board of Trustees or Artists’ Advisory Committee, and/or an immediate family member of any of the above.
1. Work Samples
Work samples are a representation of your artistic work created within the last five years. This is the most important part of your application, as it will be the primary point of review. Keep in mind the panel reviews a large volume of material in quick succession; therefore, it is very important that you present your work clearly.
This is not a project grant; therefore you should be submitting work that is completed, or is a completed piece of an ongoing/continuing body of work.
TIP: Work samples produced in the past five years are highly recommended. If you submit older work samples, consider providing an explanation as to why you chose the older work samples in the metadata section.
What to Submit:
Applicants must submit 1 PDF, up to 20 pages in maximum length, plus an additional title page (21 total pages).
- Your PDF can consist of a singular stage play or screenplay, or excerpts of multiple bodies of work.
- If your writing sample includes a combination of excerpts from larger works, you are strongly advised to include substantial portions from each larger work, rather than small fragments.
- Do not include publication and/or production information anywhere on your PDF. Materials can be previously published or not. If published, scanned excerpts from books or periodicals, in published form, will be ineligible.
- Do not include your artistic résumé or bio in your PDF.
- Writing Samples must be in English, or can be translated into English by someone other than the artist.
Note: Panelists are instructed not to review any materials beyond the maximum number of pages allowed (21 pages).
Formats Accepted
- PDF Document Only
- Language: English
- 12-point font
- One page title page with the title of the work(s), and year(s) of completion.
Required, 150-Words Max
Provide a synopsis for your work sample.
- The synopsis should offer a clear and concise summary of your writing sample.
- If submitting multiple excerpts within your writing sample, you can itemize each excerpt and talk about them individually.
- This statement can also explain how the excerpted writing sample(s) relate to the entire original piece.
Optional, 150-Words Max
A supplemental description of relevant character’s personalities, as they relate to the Work Sample.
- Include their role, appearance, motivations, conflicts, relationships, and significance to the story.
- Aim to capture the essence of each character in a few lines.
2. Support Statements
Support statements are to be submitted directly to the application form in the corresponding textboxes. We recommend writing your statements in Microsoft Word or Google Docs and pasting them to Submittable.
What to Submit:
Required, 250-Words Max: A concise statement giving an overview of your artistic practice.
- This statement should give a brief introduction to ideas, themes, and methods in your practice (i.e. how you make what you make, and/or why you make what you make).
- This statement should also specifically reflect the ideas and inspiration relevant to your submitted work samples.
- Use this statement to highlight your role in creating/executing the work, as well as describing the key technical aspects of the work.
- This is not an Artist Bio.
Required, 250-words Max
A statement describing how this Award will impact your career and/or creative practice.
NYFA regularly revisits its grant guidelines and eligibility requirements to improve clarity and accessibility and reduce unintentional bias. We invite feedback and suggestions that we can consider within the parameters of the program funder’s goals and NYFA’s required processes.
Applications are reviewed over the course of 3 elimination rounds.
- Rounds 1 & 2: The panel will carefully review and score assigned applications independently. The highest scoring applications will move forward into the next round of review.
- Round 3: The panel will meet as a group and collectively discuss the applications that have made it into this round, and conclude by recommending the recipient and finalists for selection.
Applications should demonstrate creativity through their work samples, articulate the potential impact of receiving this award, and provide supporting statements that effectively convey their artistic vision.
Peer review panelists will assess eligible applications according to the following evaluation criteria:
1. Artistic Merit:
- A competitive application’s artistic merit, originality, and creativity are clearly presented in the submitted work sample.
- Quality of the writing, depth of themes explored, and innovation in storytelling will be considered.
2. Potential Impact of the Award:
- A competitive application should clearly articulate how receiving this award will significantly contribute to your artistic practice and/or career progression as a playwright or screenwriter in the Impact Statement.
3. Clarity of Supporting Statements:
- A competitive application ensures that your supporting statements are clear, concise, and compelling.
- Your Artist Statement should provide insight into your artistic vision, motivations, and creative process.
- If providing a Synopsis or Character Sheet, ensure they succinctly convey the essence of your work and characters.
Submit your application
We only accept applications via Submittable. First-time users will need to register with the free Submittable platform to access the application portal.
Applications submitted after the deadline will not be accepted, and no exceptions will be made. We strongly recommend that applicants complete their applications in advance of the deadline to avoid potential technical problems.
Applicants will receive an automatic response from Submittable once their application has been successfully received.
The NYFA Grants team hosted a live, virtual information session over Zoom designed to help applicants build a strong application. The one-hour session included an overview of the program, a summary of eligibility requirements, tips for filling out the application, and a Q&A.
Please see below for the recorded info session.
ELIGIBILITY
Yes. All previous applicants and recipients of NYFA awards, except for previous recipients of the Ryan Hudak LGBTQ+ Award, are eligible to apply for this award.
Yes. This Award is open to New York State playwrights and screenwriters, including those who live within the five boroughs of New York City.
Yes. The Award is not a project grant which means that if awarded, funds do not need to be used on a specific project. Applicants should be applying with completed works.
We ask applicants to only submit completed work samples in their applications. The Ryan Hudak LGBTQ+ Dramatic Writing Award is not a project grant, and is intended to fund an artist’s vision as displayed across their work. Applicants should not submit project proposals or works they are in the process of completing. However, if your work is ongoing, participatory, or ever-evolving, you are welcome to submit it as a work sample. Please be sure to indicate this in the description section of your work sample.
REVIEW & SELECTION PROCESS
All applicants will receive notification on the outcome of their application in Fall 2026. Please do not email us regarding the status of your application.
Applications are first reviewed for eligibility, and then all eligible applications are reviewed by panelists through elimination rounds, producing a smaller pool for each round. An artist’s advancement is a product of the collective vote of the panel. A single panelist cannot ensure an applicant’s success or failure. Panelists will use the Evaluation Criteria listed in the Application Requirements to review and score each application.
Funding for this award is generously provided by Ryan’s parents, Pat and Tom Hudak; individual donors; and the philanthropic community. Those interested in contributing funds to this annual award may donate here.
HOW TO APPLY
All applications must be submitted through the Submittable platform. All open applications can be found on Submittable.
If you haven’t already, you will need to create a free Submittable account to be able to access the application. Visit Submittable to start a free account.
Step-by-step guidance for using the Submittable platform and setting up a free account is available here.
Yes. To save your application as a draft, scroll to the bottom of your working application and select “Save Draft.” Sign in to your submittable account to view your draft applications. You can also sign in via the direct link to saved drafts here.
No. All applications must be submitted online through Submittable to be considered for review.
For assistance in applying, please reach out through our Contact Page. We ask that requests for assistance be made as soon as possible, and at least two weeks prior to the deadline to allow adequate time for staff to support you in submitting an application on time.
This free online tool can help you convert to a wide variety of file types. Accepted file types are listed directly on the application.
You have the option of including notes and comments about your work samples in the metadata field. Once you have selected and uploaded your file on Submittable, an additional metadata field will appear in the application form. Please include additional information about the work samples there.
We highly suggest using a laptop or desktop computer to complete your application on the platform, rather than a mobile device or tablet. Free access to these types of computers are available at most public library branches throughout New York City. For a smoother performance, we recommend using either Firefox or Chrome as your browser. If you’re already using Chrome, please clear the browser cache and cookies. Additionally, please make sure you are using the most up to date version of your browser.
If you are still running into technical issues, you can reach out to Submittable’s Support team directly via the contact form, Submitter Support, or via the support email address submittersupport@submittable.com so that they can troubleshoot directly.
NYFA staff do not have access to your Submittable account.
To preview your submitted application, please sign in to your Submittable account. If you continue having issues viewing your submission, please reach out to submittersupport@submittable.com for further assistance.
Note: Submitted applications should only be previewed using the link above. You may not be able to preview your submitted application by signing in through the same portal link you used to apply.
No. All applications must be submitted by the deadline. Please note that the application form will automatically close and stop accepting applications at the deadline time of 5:00 PM ET, regardless of whether you still have a draft application open on your browser. We strongly encourage you to submit your application at least 24-48 hours before the deadline date to allow time to address any technical issues. NYFA cannot extend the deadline regardless of the cause of the problem you may have encountered.
By completing this information you are helping NYFA secure future funding, collect general information about our audience, and properly assess our effectiveness in serving the creative community. Your responses will remain anonymous and any personally identifying data will be removed prior to sharing the demographic data with third parties.
Any questions?