Samuel D. Hunter

Samuel D. Hunter (born 1981) is an American playwright living in New York City.

Hunter was born in Pullman, Washington and raised in Moscow, Idaho. He is best known for plays A Bright New Boise, which won the 2011 Obie Award for playwriting, and The Whale, which won the 2013 Drama Desk Award and the 2013 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Play. He is also the recipient of a 2014 MacArthur Fellowship. He has also been a guest lecturer at Rutgers University–New Brunswick, Fordham University, and other universities. In 2026, Hunter received his first nomination for the Tony Award for Best Play for Little Bear Ridge Road, which ran on Broadway in 2025 starring Laurie Metcalf.

Hunter is also a writer and producer for the television show Baskets. A film adaptation of The Whale, written by Hunter and directed by Darren Aronofsky, was released in December 2022 and received two Academy Awards.

Personal life Hunter was forced to leave his Christian school after being outed as gay. He has a daughter with his husband, John Baker.

Produced plays I Am Montana (2009) Five Genocides (2010) Jack's Precious Moment (2010) A Bright New Boise (2010) Norway (2011) A Permanent Image (2011) The Whale (2012) Pocatello (2014) The Few (2014) A Great Wilderness (2014) Rest (2014) Clarkston (2015) Lewiston (2016) The Healing (2016) The Harvest (2016) Lewiston/Clarkston (2018) Greater Clements (2019) A Case for the Existence of God (2022) Online version is titled "Mottled morals and a fight for justice in 'Golden Shield'", but also reviews 'A Case for the Existence of God'. Little Bear Ridge Road (2024) Grangeville (2025)

Awards and honors Hunter was named Resident Playwright at at New Dramatists from 2013-2020, and Arena Stage in 2013. He also received an honorary Doctorate degree in Humane Letters from the University of Idaho in 2015. He has also been named Premiere Writer-in-Residence at Signature Theatre Company in New York City. Year Award Category Work Result Ref. 2008–2009 Lark Play Development Center Playwrights of New York Fellowship 2011 Drama Desk Award Outstanding PlayA Bright New Boise Obie Award Playwriting 2012Whiting Award 2013 GLAAD Media Award Outstanding New York Theatre (Broadway and Off-Broadway)The Whale Drama Desk Award Special Award Lucille Lortel Award Outstanding Play 2014MacArthur Fellowship 2019 Drama Desk Award Outstanding PlayLewiston/Clarkston Outer Critics Circle AwardOutstanding New Off-Broadway Play 2020 Drama Desk Award Outstanding PlayGreater Clements 2022 New York Drama Critics' Circle Best PlayA Case for the Existence of God 2023 Critics Choice Awards Best Adapted ScreenplayThe Whale BAFTA Awards Best Adapted Screenplay Dramatists Guild of America Hull-Warriner AwardA Case for the Existence of God Lucille Lortel AwardOutstanding Play2025Outer Critics Circle AwardOutstanding New Off-Broadway PlayGrangevilleDrama Desk AwardOutstanding PlayDorian AwardOutstanding Off-Broadway ProductionOutstanding LGBTQ Off-Broadway Production2026Tony AwardBest PlayLittle Bear Ridge RoadOuter Critics Circle AwardOutstanding New Broadway PlayNew York Drama Critics Circle AwardBest Play

Samuel D. Hunter

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