Since its inception in 2002, the Queensland Premier’s Drama Award (QPDA) has carved out a unique place in Australia’s cultural landscape.

Jointly presented by Queensland Theatre and the Queensland Government with support from Griffith University, the biennial prize is the only national playwriting award to guarantee its winner a full professional production by a major theatre company. As such, it represents professional validation while serving as a powerful catalyst for new ideas.

Submissions are now open for the 2026 award. You have until 9am on 1 October to enter the competition which sees the winner receive $30,000, a full commission fee to develop the play and a world premiere production in Queensland Theatre’s 2027 Season – including box office royalties.

Playwright Ryan Ennis’s QPDA Award winner Drizzle Boy at Queensland Theatre. Photo © Ivy PR

Over more than two decades, the award has launched the careers of emerging voices, spotlighted diverse perspectives and added a string of acclaimed new Australian works to the stage.

The list of past winners reads like a roll-call of significant contemporary theatre-makers. Sven Swenson inaugurated the award in 2002 with Road to the She-Devil’s Salon.

Later recipients include...