Vision, Mission, and Values

Photo by Leah Ryan

Our Vision

Ideally, we’d live in a world free from white supremacy, patriarchy, and exploitation by capitalism. The reality is that we don’t. And unfortunately, writers, too, are not immune to structural oppression.

Our Mission

The Leah Ryan Fund helps sustain and support writers facing individual challenges and systemic oppression so they can keep writing, connecting, creating, and thriving.

Our Values

The Leah Ryan Fund reflects the values that Leah herself possessed:

  • We believe in fierce artistic integrity, resilience of spirit, and authenticity of voice.
  • We reward excellence as expressed through the mastery of form.
  • We embrace the world with outrage, humor, and compassion.
  • We acknowledge our complicity in the systems of oppression and resist injustice.
  • We practice direct and honest communication.

The Leah Ryan Fund was established in 2008 to honor the memory of Leah Ryan, a woman of letters who wrote plays, poetry, essays, lyrics, adaptations, and collaborated with performance artists. The Fund currently offers an annual playwriting prize (The Leah), an annual award for writers facing a serious illness (The Vladimir), and a newly created commission (The Boost.)