10:4 TENN Playwright Contest

Ponder Review, in partnership with the Tennessee Williams Tribute Festival, is launching our sixth annual 10:4 Tenn Playwright Contest! This competition seeks to recognize and honor the Southern experience and the legacy of Columbus’s native son, Tennessee Williams through the craft of playwriting. The top three playwrights will receive a cash prize, a festival pass, and have their 10-minute plays produced and performed in front of a live audience at the Tennessee Williams Tribute Festival. Directors and actors will be students from the Mississippi University for Women theatre department. Each play will be read by the staff of Ponder Review for the first round, then after carefully making their selections, the finalists will be sent off to the final judge who will decide the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners. The guest judge for Year 6 is Elyzabeth Gregory Wilder, a 2024 Tennessee Arts Commission Fellow who is an Assistant Professor of Creative Writing at Sewanee: The University of the South where she teaches playwriting. Her plays include Gee's Bend, Fresh Kills, Provenance, and Everything That’s Beautiful, among others. Her works have been produced at the Royal Court (London), Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Denver Center, Cleveland Play House, to name a few. Most recently, her solo piece, Zelda in the Backyard, had its world premiere at Alabama Shakespeare Festival in the summer of 2024. Her play, Looks Like Pretty was a co-commission by the Geva Theatre and Sloan Foundation and was featured on the prestigious Kilroy's List. Her short play, All Dressed Up and Nowhere to Go, won the 2023 10:4 TENN contest. Winners of the sixth annual 10:4 Tenn Playwright Contest will be announced Spring 2026. 1st place winner will be awarded a $200 cash prize as well as publication in the Fall Ponder Review issue. 2nd place will be awarded a $150 cash prize, and 3rd place will be awarded a $100 cash prize.