SAM CARNER is a New York bookwriter / lyricist. He won the $100,000 Kleban Prize for librettists, the Richard Rodgers Award, and the John Wallowitch Award for songwriters under 40. He and Derek Gregor were among Playbill.com’s 12 “Contemporary Musical Theatre Songwriters You Should Know,” and 13 of their songs have been nominated for MAC Awards. Their musical UNLOCK’D played and extended Off-Broadway run at the Duke Theater and was produced at Houston’s Queensbury Theatre. His musical ISLAND SONG has had over 50 productions internationally, including at the Adirondack Theatre Festival, London’s Stratford Circus, Vanderbilt University, etc. His show SECOND LINE was the 2020 Pace New Musical, having had readings at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, NC State, and more. Sam taught musical theater writing and analysis courses at Yale, NYU, and Temple University.