“My So Called Life” creator and “Wicked” screenwriter Winnie Holzman has been named the recipient of Humanitas’ Keizer Prize, and author and comedian Ashley Nicole Black has been named host of this year’s Humanitas Awards Show & Toast, the organization announced Monday.
Also on Monday, Humanitas announced the nominees for this year’s 10 Humanitas Awards and revealed that Starz has returned as a major sponsor of the awards show.
The awards ceremony, which will also announce the 2026 New Voices Fellows, University Screenplay Award and Starz #TakeTheLead Award, will be held on September 9th at Avalon Hollywood.
The Humanitas Prize “recognizes film and television screenwriters whose work explores the human condition in subtle and meaningful ways. The awards are presented at an annual event, with winners receiving trophies and cash prizes.” This year’s nominees are:
drama tv
“Chicago Med” (“The Book of Charles”): Allen McDonald
“Grey’s Anatomy” (“Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child”): Jess Righthand
“Paradise” (“Graceland”): Dan Fogelman, Eric Wen
“The Testament” (“Stadium”): Janna Sobol
comedy tv show
“Abbott Elementary School” (“Goof Girl”): Justin Tan
“Long Story Short” (“Yoshi Bar Mitzvah”): Raphael Bob-Waksberg
“Resident Alien” (“The End Is Here”): Chris Sheridan
“Shrinking” (“My Bad”): Brian Gallivan
limited series tv play
“Beef” (“Oh, comfort, indescribable comfort”): Lee Sung-jin, Madeline Prong
“DTF St. Louis” (“No one is normal. They just look that way from across the street”): Stephen Conrad
“Hal & Harper” (“Are You Watching?”): Cooper Ruff
“Washington Black” (“The Flying Man and the Musician”): Selwyn Hines
children’s tv shows
“EB White’s Charlotte’s Web” (“Part 3”): Levi Abrino
“My Brother the Minotaur” (“Lunacy and Lorcan”): Mark B. Hodkinson
“The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder” (“The Shade of It All”): Tiffany Thomas
“Tab Time” (“When We Lose Someone”): Sean Pleasant
Drama special feature
“All That’s Left of You”: Sherian Davis
“Preparing for the next life”: Martina Majok
“Son San Bleu”: Craig Brewer
“Train Dreams”: Clint Bentley, Greg Kweder
Comedy feature
“Nice Indian Boy”: Eric Randall
“Rental Family”: Hikari, Stephen Brahut
“The Invite”: Will McCormack, Rashida Jones
“The Baltimorons”: Jay Duplass, Michael Strassner
Family special feature
“Elio”: Julia Cho, Mark Hammer, Mike Jones, Adrian Molina, Madeleine Sharafian, Domy Cee
“Grow”: Nick Guthe, Christos N. Gage, Ruth Fletcher Gage
“Hoppers”: Jesse Andrews, Daniel Chong
“KPop Demon Hunter”: Maggie Kang, Chris Appelhans, Danya Jimenez, Hannah McMeachan
short film
“Beyond Unstoppable”: Valerie Alexander
“Double Happiness”: Shari Albert, Laura Lehrn
“Birthday Gift”: Stephanie Allison Walker, Paula Pizzi
“Vital”: Amir Zargala, Gabe Berry
Documentary (feature)
“Come See Me in the Good Light”: Ryan White, Jessica Hargrave, Tig Notaro, Steph Willen
“The Story of Sirian”: Tamara Kotevska
“Life After”: Reed Davenport, Colleen Cassingham
“Shuffle”: Benjamin Flaherty
Documentary (documentary, single episode)
“Billy Joel: And It Goes” (“Part 2”): Susan Lacey, Jessica Levin
“Katrina: Come Hell and High Water” (“Shelter of Last Resort”): Samantha Knowles
“Mel Brooks: A 99-Year-Old Man!” (“Part 2”): Judd Apatow, Michael Bonfiglio, Joe Beshenkowski
“Rise of the 49ers” (“We Built This City”): Ryan Kelly, Nick Mascolo
For Holzman, the Kieser Award “honors those who have dedicated their significant talent, work, and resources to creating transformative stories that celebrate our common humanity.” Past winners include Greg Berlanti, Marta Kaufman, John Thacklet Young, John Ridley, Jason Katims, Faye Kanin, and Bill Moyers.
Besides “My So-Called Life” and “Wicked,” Holtzman’s other credits include “Thirtysomething,” “Once and Again,” and “Huge.” As an actor, she has appeared in “Jerry Maguire,” “Curve Your Enthusiasm,” “The Comeback,” and “A Man on the Inside.” Most recently, she co-wrote both scripts for the film adaptation of “Wicked.”
“Winnie has consistently explored the complexities of the human condition with compassion, intelligence, and emotional honesty. Winnie’s work has made a generation grappling with growth and identity feel seen,” said Michelle Franke, executive director of Humanitas. “We admire her steadfast commitment to mentoring and developing writers, as we saw up close when she twice served as a mentor in the New Voices Fellowship program. We are honored to recognize her this September with our highest honor, the Keyser Award.”
As for the Starz #TakeTheLead Award, the honor is aimed at “amplifying stories by, about, and for women and underrepresented audiences.”
“Starz’s generosity has had a profound impact on Humanitas’ work over the past four years, particularly in providing support for the New Voices Fellowship,” Franke said. “In 2026, we are delighted to once again be offering the #TakeTheLead Award. We will share application details through our website in the coming weeks and program details at the Humanitas Awards event this fall.”
Additionally, the 2026 New Voices Fellowship, David and Lynne Angell College Comedy Award, and Carol Mendelsohn College Drama Award winners will be announced during the Show & Toast at the Humanitas Awards Ceremony.
“While the New Voices Fellowship is a six-month mentorship program, the College Screenwriting Award comes with a professional commitment and a significant cash prize. A list of New Voices Fellowship and College Screenwriting Award semifinalists is available on the organization’s website.”
In addition to being the culminating event of the annual awards program, the Humanitas Awards Show & Toast raises financial support for programs such as the New Voices Fellowship, the College Screenwriting Award, the Industry 101 Event Series and the Writer’s Room Program for high school students.
As for Black, the writer and comedian is working on “Ted Lasso” and “Shrinking,” where she will also appear again. Her other credits include “Bad Monkey” and “Full Frontal with Samantha Bee.”
