Award winners will receive:

• A complimentary full conference registration for the 2025 Annual Conference & Stage Expo
• Two complimentary hotel nights
• $2,000 Award

Books are eligible for a three-year period from date of publication.

Books can be nominated more than once, provided they are still within the three year eligibility requirement.

Books must be nominated by a current USITT member.

Nominations Open: July 1, 2024

Nominations Close: June 30, 2025 (11:59 PM EDT)

Review Period: July 1, 2024-October 30,2025

Award Notifications: December 2025

Award Presentation: March 6, 2025

Read all guidelines carefully before submitting your nomination.

All nominations must be submitted via the USITT Awards Portal to be considered. The nomination form is linked at the top of this page.

Only current USITT members may nominate books. Your Membership number can be found by logging into your profile

Required information:

• Book title
• Author
• Author’s Email Address
• Publisher
• Publication Date
• ISBN Number
• Author’s Email Address
• Where this book can be purchased
• Point of Contact to obtain review copies
• Narrative: description of book and reason for nominating

All USITT award nominees are required to submit a Professional Conduct Disclosure Form. This form will not be visible to the award jury and will only be reviewed by the USITT Ethics Officer.

This form is part of the submission and your submission will not be considered complete if it has not been submitted.

A link to this form will be emailed to the nominee upon submission of the nomination form. This email will NOT disclose which honor they have been nominated for.

For more information, please review the USITT Honors and Awards Policy.

All nominations for the Golden Pen Award will be reviewed by selected members of the USITT Publications Committee. This panel consists of USITT members from a variety of professional backgrounds with different areas of expertise.

No current USITT staff member may serve as a juror. Any reviewer with a conflict of interest is required to recuse themselves.

All submissions will be scored on a scale of 1-10 using the following criteria:

• Critical Thinking
• Inclusivity and Intersectionality
• Presentation of the work and methodology (of exceptional practitioners for theatrical arts and/or crafts)
• Description of the methods, skills and technology involved in creating works of design and/or crafts
• Scholarly Research

Judging process is overseen by the USITT Awards Committee and results are approved by the Board of Directors.