"We were struck by Amy Herzog's mastery of every element of good drama," said Sylviane Gold, selection committee chair, in a statement. "After the Revolution has vivid dialogue, nuanced characters and an engrossing plot."

"For this award, I am indebted to my extended family, on which After the Revolution is based. I’m still amazed at my relatives’ support, and maybe more importantly, their sense of humor," added playwright Herzog. "I am deeply grateful to The New York Times for the recognition and encouragement."

The award will be presented on April 29, 2013, at a ceremony held at TheTimesCenter in Manhattan.

In addition to Gold, the members of this year's selection committee included Pulitzer Prize-winning playwrights Edward Albee, James Lapine and Lynn Nottage, Pulitzer finalist Richard Greenberg, New York Times theatre and books editor Scott Heller and former New York Times Arts editor Andrea Stevens.

The New York Times Outstanding Playwright Award was created in 2009 "to encourage and support an American playwright whose work recently received its professional debut in New York." The past winners are Tarell Alvin McCraney for The Brothers Size, Dan LeFranc for Sixty Miles to Silver Lake and Kristoffer Diaz for The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity.

Herzog's latest work, The Great God Pan, is now in previews and will open Dec. 18 in New York at Playwrights Horizons, where After the Revolution had its Off-Broadway premiere.