Our playwriting competition has almost come full circle! It has been an exciting period for me to have participated in this amazing project and to have taken on the role of a playwriting judge for the first time in my life. Thank you to all of the artists who submitted a play to our Seven Dictators Playwriting Competition. After reviewing your submissions, the Forgotten Writers Foundation from Alexandria, Egypt and Democracy Chronicles from New York would like to thank you all for working together on this international project and are more than proud to announce the winners:

The choice was difficult, but in the end, the overall winner of the competition is a play by Ashley Ford from Lowestoft, England called “A Powerful Madness“. The playwright expertly explores the mental gymnastics that could possibly be behind the actions of the most infamous dictators of our time and shows that behind these unusual characters are human personalities that we might recognize from our own lives and experiences.

On top of this, the three following plays are recognized for their outstanding contribution to this contest by the Forgotten Writers Foundation and Democracy Chronicles. These plays each receive a Seven Dictators Playwriting Competition Outstanding Achievement Award:

• World Peace by Klara Wojtkowska
• 7 Dictator$ by Charles Awouzouba
• The Devil’s Debating Chamber by Paul Howard

Keep an eye out for more information over the next few weeks as we prepare to announce the final details of the book publishing!

A special thanks to Tiffany Williams who posted our competition on her popular theater blog and Jonathan Dorf of LA Playwrights too. Other announcements were posted at the Dramatists Guild, NYC Playwrights, Drama Groups, and in the Insights for Playwrights newsletter. Thanks to everyone who has been involved!

We are more than impressed by the high level of creativity and professionalism shown in the plays we have seen in this competition. If you weren’t able to compete in this challenge, don’t worry, there are similar projects and contests in the design phase. Stay tuned to Democracy Chronicles and the Forgotten Writers Foundation for more!