The Australian Writers’ Guild congratulates screenwriters Sam Meikle and Jeremy Brull who have been announced as the winners of the 2026 John Hinde Award. Writer and creator Sam Meikle was awarded in the Unproduced category for his television pilot Hypersomnia. Described as ‘a story of first contact, alien infiltration, conquest and colonisation that hits us where we’re most vulnerable: in our sleep’, the script was praised…
Continue readingThe Australian Writers’ Guild congratulates playwright Anna Lyon and screenwriter Patrick George, who have been announced as the winners of the 2026 Emerging Writers’ Awards. The Awards were announced tonight to a packed room of senior writers, producers, industry folk and Guild members, who spent the evening mixing with the talented cohort of winning and shortlisted writers. Playwright Anna Lyon took home the Long Form award for her play Gravida Five, a tragicomedy…
Continue readingIt is with great sadness that the Guild writes of the recent passing of writer, director, author, industry advocate, and a long-time active Victorian AWG member, Mark Poole. Mark filled many Guild roles over some four decades, including Victorian Committee member; Victorian Chair; Victorian rep on the then Management Committee; Victorian Vice-President on the NEC; and…
Continue readingWednesday 15 July 2026 – The Australian Writers’ Guild (AWG) and Authorship Collecting Society Australia Aotearoa (ACSAA) welcome today’s speech from Prime Minister Albanese re-affirming the Government’s position that Australia’s creators, and the laws that support us, are a key part of our nation’s future. A new Office of AI and Australian Standards can build on the…
Continue readingFriday 3 July 2026 – The Australian Writers’ Guild is aware of a number of generative artificial intelligence (AI) script coverage services claiming to offer fast feedback and analysis of scripts for a fee. These services do not employ script assessors. Seeking feedback on a script is a necessary and valuable part of the writing process….
Continue readingEight outstanding scripts by 14 writers have been selected from over 200 entries in the 2026 John Hinde Award. In the Unproduced category, two television pilots and two feature films have been shortlisted, while in Produced, episodes of NCIS: Sydney and Zip and the Tiny Sprouts compete with feature film Cooee and short film Self Love. The winners will be announced at an industry event in…
Continue readingTwelve exciting new projects by 14 emerging writers have been shortlisted for the Australian Writers’ Guild’s 2026 Emerging Writers’ Awards. Included on the shortlist are two stage plays, multiple television pilots, feature films and a short film from some of Australia’s best up-and-coming writing talent, selected from over 500 entries. The winning writers in both categories will be announced at…
Continue readingThe Australian Writers’ Guild has received reports of production companies using generative artificial intelligence (AI) technology to take notes in writers’ rooms, replacing note-takers. Note-taking allows a new writer to contribute to a show and learn from experienced writers. It is a pathway to writing the crucial first script. Automated note-taking risks eliminating one of the few possible…
Continue readingAs part of the AWG’s ongoing work on Artificial Intelligence (AI), we’re looking into how much of our members’ work may have been used to train AI data sets. To assist us in this work, we encourage members to take a look at this tool published by The Atlantic, and search the LibGen data set to see if your works appear…
Continue readingWednesday 22 April: The Australian Writers’ Guild is pleased to announce the 15 screenwriters who have been selected to participate in First Break NSW, a unique professional development program designed to give talented, aspiring screenwriters a leg up in the industry through practical training in note-taking and script coordinating. Delivered with support from Screen NSW, the three-day…
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