Josiah Thomas Turner
Biography & Awards
“I believe in comedy and laughter and the power of joy to edify, enlighten and heal;
especially in the face of rising fascism.”
Josiah Thomas Turner is a queer, Black artist, musician, and theater-maker born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He earned his MFA in Playwriting from the University of Texas at Austin.
Turner’s work has been developed with and seen at Fade To Black Theatre Fest, Wild Winds Texas, the constructivists, Breaking & Entering, The Fled, and The Kennedy Center. Turner was a finalist for Magic in Rough Spaces at Rorschach Theatre, winner of the Kennedy Center’s Planet Earth Prize, Ken Ludwig Playwriting Scholarship, and National Undergraduate Theatre award as well as being a Semi-Finalist for the Bay Area Playwrights Festival, The O’Neill Theatre Center’s National Playwright’s Conference, and the Playwright’s Realm’s Scratchpad Series.
He was a 2023-2025 Many Voices Fellow at the Playwrights’ Center and is a 2026 Creative Capital Awardee.