“A handful of works in history have had a direct impact on social policy: one or two works of Dickens, some of Zola, 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' and, in modern drama, Larry Kramer's 'The Normal Heart.'”

American playwright, author, and screenwriter

Tony Kushner is an American playwright, author, and screenwriter. He is best known for Angels in America, the stage work that brought him both a Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award, and later became an acclaimed HBO miniseries. His career also includes a series of film collaborations with Steven Spielberg at the turn of the 21st century. In 2013, he received the National Medal of Arts from President Barack Obama. He is also among the few writers to have been nominated for an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Award.