Page 73 Productions in New York has named John J. Caswell Jr. the 2017 Playwriting Fellow. Selected from over 400 applicants, Caswell will receive a $10,000 award and additional $10,000 budgeted for developing new works over the course of the year.

“John distinguished himself from this year’s crowded pool of talented writers with his rich and surprising plays. We’re delighted to spend the year working with him as he further develops pieces and begins new projects,” said Producing Artistic Director Michael Walkup. “John has self-produced his work for years, and we are proud to now provide him with financial and institutional support to allow him greater freedom to pursue his playwriting.”

Caswell will spend part of his year developing his multimedia play Cake, about a reality show that takes over a bakery that refuses to sell a cake for a gay wedding.

Awarded annually to a playwright who has yet to receive a professional premiere in New York City, the P73 Playwriting Fellowship is now in its 14th year. Past recipients include Pulitzer Prize winner Quiara Alegría Hudes, Obie winners Kirsten Greenidge, Heidi Schreck, and Clare Barron, and, most recently, Hansol Jung.

Page 73 has also named playwrights Caswell, Cat Crowley, Keelay Gipson, Kristine Haruna Lee, Molly Beach Murphy, Gabrielle Reisman, Sarah Sander, and Susan Stanton as members of the 2017 Interstate 73 Writers Group. The program offers writers a year of bimonthly meetings to share new pages of works-in-progress, along with a stipend, and a staged reading during Page 73’s 2017-18 Off-Broadway season.

Applications for Page 73's 2018 development programs are now available online at Page73.org, and are due April 2, 2017. There is no fee to apply.