Michael R. Jackson and Nathan Alan Davis Win Windham-Campbell Prizes

Theater writers Michael R. Jackson and Nathan Alan Davis have been named winners of the Windham-Campbell Prize, celebrating extraordinary literary achievement. Each prize comes with an unrestricted grant of $165,000 to support their writing and allow them to focus on their work independent of financial concerns.

Jackson and Davis are two of eight writers awarded this year, with Jackson being the prize's first musical-theater recipient. The prize is administered by Yale University's Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

Jackson is the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning musical A Strange Loop, as well as White Girl in Danger and Teeth. He said in a statement, "Words cannot adequately express what an honor and thrill it is to be the first musical theater writer recipient of the prestigious Windham Campbell Prize. In a culture preoccupied with 'representation' and 'content creation,' this award feels like a validation of my preoccupation with pushing the boundaries of form as I attempt to untangle some of the deeper questions and contradictions of our rapidly changing world."

Davis, the author of The Refuge Plays, Nat Turner in Jerusalem, and Dontrell Who Kissed the Sea, said, "This is a truly life changing moment and an incalculable blessing. To have my work thought of and honored in this way means more than I can say."