Eight 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 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…
Continue reading10 April 2026 – Writers who are engaged by production companies to write scripts are entitled to superannuation under the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992 (Cth) (the Act). Section 12(3) of the Act states that if a person works under a contract that is “wholly or principally for the labour of the person” then that person is an employee of the other…
Continue reading8 April 2026 – The Australian Writers’ Guild is preparing its submission to the federal government’s development of a new National Cultural Policy to shape the future direction of the creative and cultural industries. To help us consolidate our position, we invite members to contribute thoughts on how to improve our nation’s arts, entertainment and cultural sector. The policy will continue to be structured around the…
Continue reading24 March 2026 – The Australian Writers’ Guild’s First Break program, delivered in partnership with Screen NSW, is an opportunity for aspiring NSW screenwriters to build skills as note-takers and script coordinators. Applications for the next round of First Break NSW are now open with 15 places on offer via competitive application. Working as a note-taker and/or script…
Continue readingJoint statement from AMPAL, APRA AMCOS, ARIA PPCA, Australian Publishers Association, Australian Society of Authors, Australian Writers’ Guild, AWG Authorship Collecting Society, Copyright Agency and Screenrights The Copyright Advisory Group (CAG) is seeking concessions that go significantly further than what the Australian Government consulted introduced into Parliament. Friday 20 March 2026 – Australian authors, songwriters, recording artists, visual artists, photographers,…
Continue readingCalling all science-fiction screenwriters! Entries for the John Hinde Award for Excellence in Science-Fiction Writing are now open, recognising the best sci-fi scripts across feature film, television, web series, audio and interactive media. Winning writers will share in a $10,000 prize pool, funded by a bequest from the late Australian film critic John Hinde. There are two categories…
Continue readingDedicated to uncovering the hottest new scripts and writing talent across Australia, the Emerging Writers’ Awards are a purpose-built and industry-recognised opportunity for AWG Associate and Student members to have their unproduced work showcased directly to industry decision-makers. These awards are open to emerging writers with an unproduced script of any genre across film, television, theatre, stage, audio and interactive. Winning writers will share in $10,000 prize money. All…
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