Suzan Zeder

Internationally recognized as a significant playwright for young audiences, Suzan Zeder has won numerous awards for her work. She has received the Distinguished Play Award six times as well as the Helen Hayes Award for her musical Wiley and the Hairy Man. Zeder is an educational professional and advocate. She taught at The University of Texas at Austin, leading the playwriting program for 23 years. She also brought together students to create a playwriting festival to honor her former colleague: The Cohen New Works Festival.

In addition to her plays, Zeder (along with her husband Jim Hancock) wrote Spaces of Creation: The Creative Process of Playwriting. She still writes and teaches in workshops around the country.