Max Yu is the first to admit: He’s not very good at entering contests. The prize, created several years ago to honor the actor Philip Seymour Hoffman, includes $45,000 and staged readings of the winning play at theaters across the country. Yu was in Shanghai, where he works as an English teacher, when he learned that he won. (Submissions are judged in a blind selection; to date the prize has never gone to a white man.) “Part of me is like, I don’t deserve to win this award,” Yu, who graduated in June, said by phone.

Source: International New York Times December 24, 2019 22:40 UTC