The nine winners of The Windham-Campbell Prizes at Yale University have been announced; each is the recipient of $150,000 for his or her accomplishments or potential in the worlds of literature and theatre. The Drama prizes were awarded to playwrights Branden Jacobs-Jenkins (United States), Hannah Moscovitch (Canada) and Abbie Spallen (Ireland.)

The prizes have no submission process, meaning writers are judged anonymously and unaware that they are in the running or a recipient until they receive the phone call from Michael Kelleher, director of the prize.

American playwright Jacobs-Jenkins was also the recipient of the 2015 Steinberg Playwright Award and is a current resident playwright at the Signature Theatre. He is an Obie winner whose Off-Broadway works have garnered critical acclaim in recent years. They include Soho Rep's An Octoroon, the Vineyard's recent staging of Gloria and Appropriate. His play War will be produced at Lincoln Center Theater as an LCT3-commissioned work.

“Jacobs-Jenkins is one of America's most exciting and talented young playwrights," said Paige Evans, artistic director at LCT3, in an earlier press statement. "Branden’s plays are fiercely intelligent, ambitious, and boldly theatrical. They challenge, entertain, and unsettle audiences, making us laugh, gasp, and think deeply about race, class, personal ambition, and other complex issues.”

The Windham-Campbell Prize winners for fiction include Tessa Hadley (United Kingdom), C. E. Morgan (United States) and Jerry Pinto (India); and in nonfiction, Hilton Als (United States), Stanley Crouch (United States) and Helen Garner (Australia). Established in 2013 with a gift from the late novelist Donald Windham in memory of his partner of 40 years, Sandy M. Campbell, the prizes recognize writers from any country who write in English.

For more information visit windhamcampbell.org.