Sabi Arts Playwright Prize 2026: Win ₦1 Million and Get Your Play Professionally Produced

The inaugural Sabi Arts Playwright Prize is now open to Nigerian playwrights aged 18 and above, offering a top prize of ₦1,000,000, a professional production of the winning play, and other opportunities for emerging playwrights.

The annual prize celebrates new Nigerian playwriting across genres, themes and theatrical styles. There is no submission fee, and submissions close on December 20, 2026.

 

Sabi Arts Playwright Prize Details

The Sabi Arts Playwright Prize is open to Nigerian citizens aged 18 and above, including Nigerians living outside the country.

Each writer may submit one play only. Co-authored plays are not eligible.

The competition welcomes original full-length plays in any genre or style, including comedy, tragedy, realism, experimental theatre, musicals, verse drama and one-person plays. There is no prescribed theme.

To be eligible, the play must be an original work that has not been professionally produced or published. Adaptations of previously published or produced works are also not eligible.

For writers looking to strengthen their dramatic writing, Creative Writing News offers tips on how to get your characters to pause effectively.

 

Prizes

The Grand Prize winner will receive:

• ₦1,000,000
• A professional production of the winning play by Sabi Arts
• VIP access to all Sabi Arts productions for one year
• A guaranteed place in the next Sabi Arts Writers’ Residency

The Runner-Up will receive:

• ₦200,000
• VIP access to all Sabi Arts productions for one year
• A guaranteed place in the next Sabi Arts Writers’ Residency

The Julie Okoh Prize offers ₦200,000 to the best eligible play written by a woman that centres the lives and experiences of women. The recipient will also receive:

• A staged reading by Sabi Arts
• Mentorship with Ibi Kontein
• VIP access to all Sabi Arts productions for one year
• A guaranteed place in the next Sabi Arts Writers’ Residency

Women playwrights remain eligible for the Grand Prize and Runner-Up. The Julie Okoh Prize is an additional recognition rather than a separate competition, and no writer can receive more than one prize in the same edition.

 

Submission Requirements for the Sabi Arts Playwright Prize

Plays must be:

• Written in English
• No more than 75 pages, including the title page, character list and stage directions
• Submitted as a PDF
• Clearly legible with numbered pages
• Original and unpublished
• Professionally unproduced
• Words or phrases in other languages may be included, but they must be translated in a glossary at the end of the script. The glossary does not count towards the 75-page limit.
• The prize uses an anonymous review process. Writers must not include their name, biography, email address, social media handle or other identifying information anywhere in the manuscript.
• The PDF filename must also not contain the writer’s name. Applicants should use only the title of the play as the filename.
• AI-generated dramatic content is not permitted. While standard proofreading and spelling tools may be used, the creative content—including the story, dialogue, characters, structure and dramatic writing—must be the playwright’s own work.

Important Dates

• Submissions open: October 1, 2026
• Submission deadline: December 20, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. WAT
• Longlist announced: January 31, 2027
• Shortlist announced: February 28, 2027
• Winners announced: March 31, 2027

 

How to Apply

There is no submission fee. Writers should submit their manuscript through the official Sabi Arts Playwright Prize application portal before the December 20 deadline.

Apply for the Sabi Arts Playwright Prize