Letters to a Young Playwright: Practical and Impractical Advice on the Art of Playwriting

Adam Szymkowicz is that rarest of things: a working playwright. At a time when the entire business model of American theatre seems on the verge of implosion--and most dramatists survive only through soul-sucking day jobs, the largesse of patrons or their own families, or writing for television--Szymkowicz has carved out a distinctive niche for himself without relying on big institutions or the brass ring of a Broadway production. Each year, his body of work--over 20 sharp, funny, pop-culture-inflected plays animated by an unabashed romanticism--is staged everywhere from major urban theatres to colleges and high schools.

In Letters to a Young Playwright, Szymkowicz dispenses hard-earned, unsentimental, and entertaining advice to early-career dramatists. Modeled on Rilke’s Letters to a Young Poet, it covers topics like writer’s block, self-promotion, and the pluses and minuses of pivoting to Hollywood in insightful and digestible short essays. Perfect for beginning playwrights as well as mid-career writers looking to reinvigorate their craft and career, it contains endlessly useful advice and reflections from one of the most-produced living playwrights in America.

The plays of Adam Szymkowicz have been produced throughout the U.S., and in Canada, the U.K., The Netherlands, New Zealand, Australia, Germany, Greece, Mexico, Turkey, South Korea, Thailand, Sweden, Slovenia and Lithuania. His work has been presented or developed at such places as Portland Center Stage, MCC Theater, Ars Nova, Playwrights Horizons, LAByrinth Theater Company, The Lark, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, Primary Stages and The New Group, among others. He has received commissions from South Coast Rep, Rising Phoenix Rep, Texas State University, and the NOLA Project.