The Manhattan Association of Cabarets Songwriting Awards Now Open for Submissions

The Manhattan Association of Cabarets (MAC) is now accepting submissions for its annual songwriting honors: the Dottie Burman Award and the John Wallowitch Award. Both awards recognize original songs by emerging songwriters and songwriting teams, with a $500 prize awarded in each category. Submissions are due by Tuesday, July 8, 2025. There is no fee to apply, and submitters do not need to be MAC members.

To qualify, each applicant must submit three original songs that, in their own view, best represent their writing style and strengths. Songs can be written at any time. Judging will take place throughout July and August, with winners announced in September. Questions can be directed to cabaretmacnyc@gmail.com.

The main eligibility difference between the awards is age: the Dottie Burman Award is for songwriters aged 40 and over, and the John Wallowitch Award is for songwriters aged 39 and under.

The Dottie Burman Award is open to songwriters or songwriting teams age 40 or older who have not previously received significant industry recognition. Applicants may not have won major awards such as a Grammy or achieved national name recognition outside the songwriting community. They must not have previously won a MAC Award for songwriting, and may not submit any song that previously won a MAC Award or was nominated in the last three years. Past recipients of the John Wallowitch Award are ineligible. Songs must be submitted without any identifying information in the audio or lyric sheets, as judging is conducted blind. Collaborations are eligible as long as all team members meet eligibility requirements and submit work as a consistent team. Applicants should submit three mp3 files (titled with the song name only) and three lyric documents in Word format (also titled with the song name only). The submission should be emailed to BurmanAward@gmail.com with all six attachments, or sent as three emails with one song and lyric per message. The body of the email should include the songwriter’s name, phone number, and email, and the same contact information for collaborators if applicable. All submissions must be received by July 8, 2025.

The John Wallowitch Award follows the same submission process and criteria as the Burman Award, but is open to songwriters or songwriting teams age 39 or younger. Submitters must not have previously received major recognition in the industry or won a MAC Award. Songs previously nominated for a MAC Award within the last three years are also ineligible. Submissions must include three songs in mp3 format and three corresponding Word documents containing lyrics. No names may appear in the song files or lyric sheets, and judging is blind. Collaborators must meet the age and eligibility criteria and submit as a team only. Submissions should be sent to WallowitchAward@gmail.com with all required materials and contact details included.

John Wallowitch and Dottie Burman were influential songwriters in the cabaret world. Burman’s estate established a fund with MAC to support the Dottie Burman Award, while the MAC Board created the companion John Wallowitch Award to honor younger writers. Finalists are selected by a judging panel, with a celebrity judge from the cabaret community making the final decision. Past judges have included John McDaniel, Joe Iconis, Barb Jungr, Lauren Molina, Ann Hampton Callaway, Karen Mason, and Sharon McNight. Previous winners have included Shaina Taub, Joe Iconis, Adam Gwon, Sam Willmott, Sonya Hayden, and others.