The award, created in 2009, was established "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 and Dan LeFranc for Sixty Miles to Silver Lake.
Here's a look at the presentation:
Diaz said in a statement, "It's an incredible honor to receive this year's New York Times Outstanding Playwright Award. I'm joining some awfully good company in Tarell McCraney and Dan LeFranc. I've been blessed with great good fortune and support throughout the Chad Deity process, and being recognized by The Times is a humbling continuation of a wild ride."