INDIANAPOLIS: Indiana Humanities and Glick Philanthropies announced the 8 recipients of the 2020 Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana Authors Awards. The awards, which recognize authors with a connection to Indiana, and were announced in the fall.

Each winner received a $5,000 cash prize, a hand-crafted limestone award, and the opportunity to make a $500 donation to an Indiana library of their choice. In the drama category, playwright James Still was awarded for The Jack Plays.

“By creating the Indiana Authors Awards, my parents sought not only to honor authors for significant works, but also to champion Indiana literature to a wider audience,” said Marianne Glick, chair of the Glick Family Foundation, in a statement. “These winners represent the diversity of literature created in Indiana—from the people who create it to the stories brought to life, they reflect Indiana’s literary abundance.”

The Jack Plays is series of three plays featuring members of the same family across three geographies. Still served as playwright-in-residence at the Indiana Repertory Theatre for 20 seasons. His credits include April 4, 1968: Before We Forgot How to Dream (Indiana Repertory Theatre); The Widow Lincoln and The Heavens Are Hung in Black (Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C.); I Love to Eat (Portland Center Stage); Looking Over the President’s Shoulder; and And Then They Came for Me: Remembering the World of Anne Frank at theatres around the world. A five-time Emmy nominee, Still received the Otis Guernsey New Voices Award from the William Inge Theatre Festival and the Todd McNerney National Playwriting Prize from the Piccolo Spoleto Festival.

“Indiana has a rich literary tradition, and this class of Indiana Authors Award winners shows that the legacy is alive and growing,” said Indiana Humanities President and CEO Keira Amstutz in a statement. “We are honored to partner with Glick Philanthropies to raise awareness about these books not only in Indiana, but among readers across the nation.”