Humanitas Prize

The Humanitas Prize is an American award for film and television writing, presented to writers whose work explores the human condition in a nuanced and meaningful manner. It began in 1974 with Father Ellwood "Bud" Kieser—also the founder of Paulist Productions—but is generally not seen as specifically directed toward religious cinema or TV. The prize is distinguished from similar honors for screenwriters in that a cash award, ranging from $10,000 to $25,000, accompanies each prize. Journalist Barbara Walters once said, "What the Nobel Prize is to literature and the Pulitzer Prize is to journalism, the Humanitas Prize has become to American television."

The Humanitas Prizes are presented annually by the nonprofit organization Humanitas, which also operates a range of other programs, including the New Voices Fellowship, the Humanitas College Screenwriting Awards, and other public event programming.