John Patrick Shanley is an American playwright and screenwriter. His plays include Doubt: A Parable (winner of the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award for Best Play), Outside Mullingar (Tony Award Nomination for Best Play), Danny and the Deep Blue Sea, Beggars in the House of Plenty, Dirty Story, Where’s My Money?, Four Dogs and a Bone, Defiance and Storefront Church.
He received an Emmy nomination for his television screenplay Live from Baghdad (HBO).
His screenplay for the feature film Moonstruck garnered him an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. He wrote and directed the films of both Joe Versus the Volcano and Doubt; the latter earned five Oscar nominations, including Best Adapted Screenplay. In 2008, the Writers Guild of America recognised his contribution to film with a Lifetime Achievement Award.