ATCA to Open Applications for Fifth Annual Edward Medina Prize for Critics
The $1,500 prize supports U.S. theater critics from under-represented groups writing about arts and culture.
The American Theatre Critics/Journalists Association (ATCA) has announced that applications open July 1 for the fifth annual Edward Medina Prize for Excellence in Cultural Criticism.The application deadline is Friday, August 15 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time.
The Edward Medina Prize for Excellence in Cultural Criticism awards theater critics and journalists in the United States from under-represented groups who write about the arts and its role in highlighting people from various cultures, backgrounds and experiences.
All applicants will be notified of the status of their applications by October. The Eddie will be presented in November at the ATCA New York convening.
The purposes of the prize are to (1) cultivate relationships between ATCA and diverse critics, (2) encourage increased readership of cultural criticism composed by diverse writers, and (3) offer monetary support for critics from under-represented groups.
The honor includes a $1,500 cash prize, one free year of membership to ATCA, and a travel stipend to help offset costs to the ATCA November event.
The Edward Medina Prize is sponsored in part by Foundation ATCA, a charitable foundation founded in 1991 that provides educational and other support to theater critics, and by Critical Minded, an initiative that invests in cultural critics of color cofounded in 2017 by The Nathan Cummings Foundation and The Ford Foundation.
The short application asks for a brief bio, a personal statement, and up to three writing samples, which can be op-eds, long-form reviews, essays, or feature articles. A link to that application is available on ATCA's website.
The judges for the 2026 prize represent theater, journalism, and communications professionals, including Diep Tran (she/her), editor-in-chief of Playbill; Andrea Henderson (she/her), journalist at St. Louis Public Radio; PennyMaria Jackson (she/her), director of marketing & PR at Steppenwolf Theatre; Naveen Kumar (he/him), former theater critic at the Washington Post and National Critics Institute program director; and Wei-Huan Chen (he/him), former theater critic at the Houston Chronicle.
ATCA has awarded four Edward Medina Prizes for Excellence in Cultural Criticism. The 2022 award went to Brittani Samuel (she/her), a Caribbean-American arts journalist, theater critic, and co-editor of 3Views on Theater. The 2023 award went to Gloria Oladipo (she/her), a freelance journalist for The Guardian and playwright who hails from Chicago. New York-based critic and journalist Christian Lewis (they/them) received the award in 2024. The 2025 award was presented to Lali Pizarro, a New York-based writer and theater producer.
Medina (he/him) emphasized the need for increasing diversity within theatrical production and criticism and sought to provide fresh opportunities and support for new critics finding their calling to this vital field. To learn more about Edward Medina, please visit his website.
