Clare Slater and Alice Hamilton among Olwen Wymark winners

HighTide artistic director Clare Slater and Hampstead Theatre associate director Alice Hamilton are among the 10 winners of the 19th Olwen Wymark Theatre Encouragement Awards.

The awards, presented by the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain, honour people who have supported writers.

Hamilton was recognised for her support in developing the work of playwright Barney Norris, a year after Hampstead suffered a 100% cut in its Arts Council England funding, which put its commitment to new writing under threat.

Norris credited Hamilton with the "most significant influence" on his work, adding: "A fastidious developer of new plays, she has always held true to the idea that nothing should ’be enough’, and that a writer like myself will, in the end, be grateful for having been pushed to realise their full potential."

Slater was meanwhile nominated for her "exceptional support" of Nicola Werenowska during Werenowska’s time as playwright-in-residence at writer-centred company HighTide. The playwright said: "Clare understands the challenges disabled writers face and she has helped me to build my confidence in overcoming continuing barriers. She champions my work, believes in me and is committed to supporting my writing journey."

Other prize-winners of the awards, named in honour of playwright and former WGGB theatre committee chair Olwen Wymark, include actor Bhasker Patel and writer and producer Lisa Holdsworth.

Holdsworth, former chair of the WGGB, was nominated by Alice Barber for her mentorship and support for her play The V Word, while Patel was nominated alongside director Breman Rajkumar by Sarah Isaac, who said: "Both Breman and Bhasker have nurtured me as a writer to make work that has longevity as well as quality."

The Olwen Wymark awards were founded by playwrights Mark Ravenhill and David James. James, also a former chair of the WGGB theatre committee, said: "Writing thrives when it is encouraged and, as our theatres continue to face challenging times, encouraging writers has never been more important. In the 19th year of the awards, we are pleased to celebrated 10 nominees who have all provided steadfast support through difficult times."

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