Rae Benjamin, co-producer of “The Witcher” season five, will receive the Starz #TakeTheLead Award at next month’s Humanitas Prizes event, presented by Russell T Davies. The award recognises mid-career writers whose work amplifies stories about and for women and underrepresented audiences, and highlights Benjamin’s writing and support for emerging talent through her organisation, In The Cut.

Benjamin will receive $10,000 and mentorship from Starz executives, with the funding intended to support a short film about Black maternal health. Humanitas also named Winnie Holzman as recipient of the Kieser Award, selected five 2026–27 New Voices Fellows who will receive six months of mentoring and $7,500 stipends, and awarded $20,000 college screenwriting prizes to Omid Iranikhah and Lauryn Bedford; the fellowship has also begun an educational partnership with Echo Lake Entertainment.