Jen Silverman

Jen Silverman is an American playwright, TV writer, poet, and novelist. Silverman's work frequently explores legacies of power and violence, how individuals navigate complex dynamics and social contracts in community, and how people seek to transform by rewriting their personal, familial, or political histories. Silverman works across a wide range of genres and styles, with some plays operating within the rules of absurdism and others working inside realism. As a queer person themself, Silverman frequently writes about sexuality and gender expression in their works. They have spoken openly about how their investment in creating rich nuanced characters, many of whom are queer and female, but whose queerness or gender are not solely representational aspects.

Silverman has many accolades from their published works including: Yale Drama Series Award, Lilly Award, the Helen Merrill Fund Award in 2015, the PoNY Fellowship (2016-2017), New York Foundation for the Arts fellowship, the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council fellowship, the Guggenheim, and Silverman is a Scholar of Note at The American Library in Paris.