NORTH HAVEN — Tom Emerson has won the Virginia B. Toulmin Prize with his original, full-length play, “House of Broken Ships.”

The work, selected by a panel of judges, will be produced this summer, the North Haven Arts & Enrichment at Waterman’s Community Center announced.

Emerson, 25, is a North Haven Community School and Hampshire College graduate, where he majored in ancient history and film. Currently, he is a graduate student at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, where he is studying maritime history.

“House of Broken Ships,” set in the early part of the last century, is a gothic play in two acts. It is the dramatic story of a family and the remote island home whose tragic legacy burdens them. It is both a mystery and a social commentary on close-knit island life. 

The philanthropic Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation granted North Haven Arts & Enrichment $25,000 to be used in the creation and production of an original theatrical work. Submissions were required to involve the theme of small community life.