Nick Hern Books is the NDFA Principal Partner for the 2025/26 festival season.
Did you know the last four winners of the ‘National Drama Festival’ were published and licensed by Nick Hern Books?
The last four winners of the ‘British Final of One-Act Plays’ were too!
If you’re looking to set your group up for festival victory, a Nick Hern Books play is clearly an excellent place to start!
We’ve teamed up with publishers and performing rights agents Nick Hern Books as the NDFA Principal Partner this year to provide you with suggestions for selecting your plays, give you guidance on negotiating script cuts, and support you with one-on-one support with any questions you may have during your play selection process.
They’re also offering discounts for script purchases for the 2025/26 festival season.
You’ll see below what we’ve put together with Nick Hern Books to help you choose your perfect play for the 2025/26 festival season.
(Oh, and it helps if you’re entering a play into one of our NDFA-affiliated festivals but it’s not essential)
An insight into license applications and cuts
A step-by-step guide on the NDFA website for requesting cuts written by Tamara von Werthern – Performing Rights Manager at Nick Hern Books
A curated set of one-act plays for festivals
An initial selection of over 60 plays suitable for festivals. They include short and one-act plays plus full-length plays which have previously been adapted for festival performance
Free ‘inspection copies’ of scripts
Take a closer look at a script before you choose. See how you can request up to three plays at any one time, with the scripts available for you to read for up to 30 days
(Ts and Cs apply)
A 30% discount on script purchases
Groups who purchase their cast set of scripts direct from the NHB website can save 30% by entering discount code NDFA30 at checkout.
(Ts and Cs apply)
Free script delivery on orders over £40
Festival scripts you purchase will be delivered free within the UK for orders over £40.
Ongoing support to help you choose the script that suits you
Tamara von Werthern and others from NHB will help you until you’ve found the script you need and received your copies. Watch the short video in which Tamara explains more