Professor and playwright Lynn Nottage, the first and only woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama twice, has been elected to the Pulitzer Prize Board. As a member of the board, Nottage will take part in the judging process determining the finalists and winners for the Pulitzer Prize in all of its categories in both Journalism, Books, Drama, and Music.
Nottage won her first Pulitzer for Ruined in 2009 and again in 2017 for Sweat. She’s a three-time Tony Award nominee for Sweat, Clyde’s, and the book for the Michael Jackson bio-musical MJ. Her other theatrical writing credits include Intimate Apparel (2003), By the Way, Meet Vera Stark (2011), Mlima's Tale (2018), and Fabulation, or the Re-Education of Undine (2004). Nottage is the co-founder of the production company Market Road Films, responsible for the Peabody Award-nominated podcast Unfinished: Deep South. Nottage worked as a writer and producer on Spike Lee’s series She’s Gotta Have It for Netflix.
The Pulitzer Prize board is composed of 20 leading journalists, news executives from media outlets across the US, and the president of Columbia University, as well as five academics or persons in the arts. “Winning the Pulitzer Prize was a transformative and monumental moment in my career as a playwright,” said Nottage in a statement. “I am truly honored to be elected to the board and join this esteemed group of thinkers.”
Nottage has taught at Columbia since 2014. At Columbia, Nottage is known for a course titled American Spectacle where she takes first-year playwriting students to a variety performance venues and types around the city as inspiration and prompts for writing assignments including a trip to the Circus Sideshow at Coney Island. She was honored with the 2026 Lenfest Distinguished Faculty Award this past March.
Nottage’s upcoming projects include the new musical Imitation of Life with composer John Legend, set to premiere Off-Broadway at the Shed this November.
