Please note that in response to the current COVID-19 situation, all AWG staff are working remotely. Please direct all messages to admin@awg.com.au as the AWG phone line is currently unattended. For more information, read here.
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Matt Ford (Love Child, House Husbands, Satisfaction) has been named as the winner of the inaugural Hothouse Drama Program established to cultivate original projects, generated by writers, for Australian television.
Our industry feels like it’s in a constant state of flux as the media landscape continues to change, with added ferocity over the last two decades as screening models make the leap from free-to-air television to online streaming services.
The Senate Inquiry into Australian Content and Broadcast, Radio and Streaming Services has sought to explore these changing times for the industry and come up with recommendations for its healthy future.
The Australian Writers’ Guild and Australian Writers’ Guild Authorship Collecting Society (AWGACS) commend the European Parliament on their vote last week to adopt the EU Copyright Directive, a move that will see the rights of authors, artists and composers to receive proportionate remuneration for the use of their work defined under European copyright law
MoreThe Australian International Screen Forum and Australia’s Scripted Ink and Pathways Showcase have announced the judges that are participating in the inaugural Pitch Royale competition as part of the 2019 industry events at Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center at Film Society of Lincoln Center from March 20-22.
MoreThe Australian Writers' Guild congratulates long-standing AWG member Patricia Cornelius on winning the 2019 Windham-Campbell Prize for Drama, announced last week in London.
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20 March 2020 Australian screen industry bands together to seek Government support
19 March 2020 COVID-19 update for members: Your Guild is here for you
16 March 2020 Temporary shutdown of AWG and AWGACS office space in response to COVID-19
27 February 2020 AWG response to REĂ consulting review
26 February 2020 $35k in script development for winners of Australia’s top awards for unproduced scripts
18 February 2020 PWA Board releases REĂ consulting review
13 February 2020 High-quality television concepts dominate shortlist for premier awards for emerging writers
11 February 2020 Turn Your Idea into a Screenplay with AACTA Pitch: Regional Landscapes in partnership with Screenworks
13 January 2020 2020 minimum rates and contracts now available on AWG website
11 December 2019 Industry guilds decry government snub to arts and fear further funding cuts
7 December 2019 Significant restructure to the Department of Communications and the Arts
22 November 2019 David Williamson Prize-supported Packer & Sons opens at Belvoir
20 November 2019 Award-winning multilinear narrative experience Eleven Eleven takes home Australia’s richest sci-fi screenwriting prize
15 November 2019 Powerhouse screenwriting projects to be showcased at inaugural industry mixer
14 November 2019 AWGACS Members re-elected to Screenrights Board
1 October 2019 Scripted Ink injects $35k in script development funding into annual Monte Miller Awards
17 September 2019 Screen creatives on both sides of camera call for action on local content
9 July 2019 Entries open for Australia’s richest sci-fi screenwriting award
6 May 2019 Make It Australian welcomes Labor on the way forward
2 May 2019 Talent Camp opens for submissions
15 April 2019 Make it Australian responds to Government extending offsets to streaming services
12 April 2019 Matt Ford wins inaugural Hothouse Drama Program
5 April 2019 Will writers be better off after the Senate Inquiry?
4 April 2019 EU Parliament passes Copyright Directive acknowledging rights of creators to proportionate remuneration
20 March 2019 Judges announced for final Pitch Royale competition at the 2019 Australian International Screen Forum
19 March 2019 Patricia Cornelius wins $234,000 Windham-Campbell prize
15 March 2019 Scripted Ink showcasing Australian writers in the USA
11 March 2019 There is no such thing as a free lunch
7 March 2019 Actors run away with hard-earned Credit
27 February 2019 Winners announced in premier Awards for future of Australian screenwriting
12 February 2019 Diversity dominates shortlist for annual comp charged with unearthing future of screenwriting
11 February 2019 AWG member Tony McNamara wins Original Screenplay BAFTA
30 January 2019 AWG and AWGACS Board welcomes and farewells
24 January 2019 Internationally renowned showrunner Shane Brennan elected Australian Writers’ Guild President
23 January 2019 Aussie screenwriter Tony McNamara picks up Oscar Best Screenplay nomination
19 December 2018 Victorian Screenwriter Meegan May wins coveted RMIT’s McCraith House Writer’s Residency
6 November 2018 AWGACS, AWG and Screenrights agree settlement of dispute
1 November 2018 Sci-fi at its thrilling best: 2018 John Hinde Award winner announced
23 October 2018 Shortlist for sci-fi screenwriting award pushes exciting genre boundaries
18 September 2018 Australia's premier awards for unproduced scripts open for entries
30 August 2018 More than words: dialogue-free animate short film Lost & Found takes home AWG's Major Award for writing
30 August 2018 'Making the ordinary extraordinary': Australian screenwriter Sue Smith honoured with top industry Award
21 August 2018 Australia's queen of comedy (and the jungle) Fiona O'Loughlin to host 51st Annual AWGIE Awards
26 July 2018 AWG welcomes Event Cinemas as a major sponsor for 51st Annual AWGIE Awards
11 July 2018 Participants selected for Australia's first Diversity Showcase
6 July 2018 AWG Members Take ‘Make it Australian’ to Parliament House
5 July 2018 Seeking endless possibilities: $10,000 on offer for top sci-fi script
28 June 2018 AWGIE Award nominees showcase diversity of voices currently soaring in industry
26 June 2018 Vale Hugh Stuckey, a tribute by Patrick Edgeworth
26 June 2018 Politicians hold the key to the survival of Australian screen stories
6 June 2018Vale Tony Morphett, a tribute by Stephen Measday
6 June 2018 Applications open for Talent LA 2018
24 April 2018 Vale Mary Wright, a tribute by Carolyn Gould
10 April 2018 AWG report: More Australian works in 2018, but original voices at a standstill
5 April 2018 Laughs aplenty in sophisticated script from next-big-thing screenwriter
27 March 2018 Big names call for action to protect Australia’s screen culture
1 March 2018 Writers’ big bash finish falls short as actors reclaim Credit
28 February 2018 Australia’s Screenwriting Future: 2017 Monte Miller Award winners announced in Melbourne
26 February 2018 Far Out, Brussel Sprouts!
22 February 2018 Scripted Ink. supporting Pathways Prime writers Ellie Beaumont and Judi McCrossin in MediaXchange Showrunner Week
6 February 2018 Shortlist for premier awards for unproduced Australian screenplays
16 November 2017 AWG announces new online portal to showcase world-class projects to producers
1 November 2017 Rising star of Australia’s sci-fi scene takes home 2017 John Hinde Award for Best Unproduced Script
1 November 2017 Cris Jones, screenwriter of The Death and Life of Otto Bloom, posthumously awarded top sci-fi screenwriting prize
18 October 2017 Make it Australian campaign takes its fight to Canberra
9 October 2017 Vale Moya Wood, a tribute by Peter Kinloch
9 October 2017 Opportunity at just the right moment: Adelaide Film Festival and AWG announce 2017 winner of prestigious INSITE Award
19 September 2017 Make it Australian campaign launches around the country
23 August 2017 100K for Australian theatre: David Williamson Prize set to become one of Australia’s richest literary awards
17 August 2017 Screenwriter Jacklyn Bassanelli wins two-week residency at RMIT’s McCraith House to develop ship-fi series Evergreen
10 August 2017 ‘Voice of Australia’ on our screens: screenwriter Andrew Knight to receive screen industry top honour
25 July 2017 Screen and Entertainment Industry unites to respond to broadcasters’ call to abolish Australian Kids’ TV
4 July 2017 $10,000 on offer for top Sci-Fi script, as new era of popular sci-fi is heralded
23 May 2017 Australian Writers’ Guild congratulates Leah Purcell and Shelley Birse on NSW Premier’s Literary Award wins
22 May 2017 New AWG WA branch office now open in East Perth’s Fielder St Creative Hub
5 April 2017 Australian Writers’ Guild and Adelaide Film Festival launch INSITE Award
28 February 2017 Australian Writers’ Guild announces winner of South Australian What’s the Story? competition
10 February 2017 Former Machine Gun Fellatio frontman takes out Australian Writers’ Guild’s Prime Time screenwriting competition
9 February 2017 Australian Writers’ Guild supports campaign by writingWA to push for greater funding for the literary arts
2 February 2017 Entries open for Australian Writers’ Guild’s 50th Annual AWGIE Awards
19 December 2016 Winners of AWG / Open Channel New Writers’ Script Competition
12 December 2016 AWG Report: More Australian plays being staged, but female writers continue to miss out
30 November 2016 AWG and Scripted Ink. receive Screen Australia Enterprise funding to develop new generation of Australian screenwriters and showrunners
18 November 2016 Australian Writers’ Guild and Open Channel announce shortlist for New Writers’ Script Competition
17 November 2016 Prime Time competition heats up
11 November 2016 AWG congratulates playwright Joanna Murray-Smith following inaugural Mona Brand writing award win
9 November 2016 Screenwriter of acclaimed Indigenous superhero series Cleverman wins 2016 John Hinde Award for Science Fiction
14 October 2016Writers of The Code, Ali’s Wedding, Jasper Jones, Barracuda and Please Like Me among winners at 49th Annual AWGIE Awards
14 October 2016Angus Cerini wins $60,000 Award for Excellence in Australian Theatre at the 49th Annual AWGIE Awards for The Bleeding Tree
14 October 2016 Internationally famous screenwriter Craig Pearce wins Lifetime Achievement Award at 49th Annual AWGIE Award
11 October 2016 Pathways writer C.S. McMullen wins International Emmy Foundation Award
30 August 2016 New multi-million dollar initiative to help develop world-class Australian film and TV scripts
25 August 2016 Agency head slams copyright changes as idealogical and unsound
8 August 2016 AWG works with major theatre companies to strike deal for playwrights
27 July 2016 Australian writers called to help in protecting copyright in Europe
14 July 2016 New $40,000 award celebrates female stage and screen writers
14 July 2016 Screen NSW launches first Amplifier initiative
5 July 2016 Scriptwriters’ fight over unpaid royalties to go to mediation
24 June 2016 Writers & Directors Worldwide pledge support for Australian Screenwriters
30 May 2016 Writers urged to defend copyright
27 May 2016 AWG President pledges fight will continue
27 May 2016 AWGACS celebrates ‘best year ever’
27 May 2016 Boards welcome and farewell
27 May 2016 Pollies under the spotlight in National Arts Debate
20 May 2016 AWG vs. Screenrights legal case update
20 May 2016 New AWG committee starts building bridges
20 May 2016 AWG empowering young screenwriters
If broadcasters get what they want in the budget, Australian television is doomed
Sydney Morning Herald – 11 April 2018
The Mix – Australian theatre
ABC – 30 March 2018
Gillian Armstrong lends her voice to campaign to save Australian screen content
Sydney Morning Herald – 17 September 2017
Industry rallies to support the Make it Australian campaign
IF – 7 September 2017
Atomic detonates at the AWGIE Awards
Broadway World – 4 September 2017
Is the tide turning for Australian sci-fi on the small screen
The Conversation – 29 August 2017
2017 AWGIES – Leah Purcell honoured by writing community
Screenhub – 29 August 2017
Australian Writers’ Guild 50th AWGIE 2017 winners
Mediaweek – 28 August 2017
AWGIE Awards 2017: Winners
TV Tonight – 26 August 2017
ABC Radio Sydney Weekend Mornings interview with Andrew Knight
ABC Radio Sydney – 26 August 2017
AWGIEs Wrote This: Winners Announced
FilmInk – 26 August 2017
Hacksaw Ridge and Lion win but Leah Purcell’s The Drover’s Wife dominates AWGIES
Sydney Morning Herald – 26 August 2017
Hacksaw Ridge wins AWGIE writing award
The Australian – 26 August 2017
‘Lion’, ‘Hacksaw Ridge’, top the AWGIE Awards
IF – 25 August 2017
Andrew Knight: A Rake Among Screenwriters
FilmInk – 11 August 2017
AWG honours Andrew Knight with Lifetime Achievement Award
IF – 11 August 2017
Andrew Knight to receive AWG Lifetime Achievement Award
TV Tonight – 11 August 2017
Screenwriter Andrew Knight to receive industry top honour
FilmInk – 10 August 2017
Australian producers reach a ‘tipping point’
IF – 26 July 2017
Children’s TV – the industry response
ArtsHub – 21 July 2017
Commercial broadcasters under fire over children’s TV quotas
IF – 21 July 2017
AWG awards nominations pitches veteran against the new
ScreenHub – 23 June 2017
Nominees announced for 50th AWGIE Awards
ArtsHub – 21 June 2017
Josh Thomas, Luke McGregor, Celia Pacquola and Anne Edmonds pick up AWGIE Award nominations
Comedy.com.au – 20 June 2017
Gibson’s Hacksaw Ridge in running for award
Sky News – 20 June 2017
AWGIE Awards 2017: nominees
TV Tonight – 20 June 2017
‘Hounds of Love’ and ‘Hacksaw Ridge’ to vie for key AWGIE Award
IF – 20 June 2017
The AWGIE Award Nominations Are In
FilmInk – 20 June 2017
From 526 to one, Writers Guild sifts hopes to find a Shining Light
ArtsHub – 10 February 2017
Best and worst companies for gender parity
ArtsHub – 13 December 2016
Male writers dominate Australian theatre, with Melbourne Theatre Company the exception
The Age – 13 December 2016
Male writers dominate Australian theatre
News.com – 12 December 2016
Male playwrights dominate Australian theatre
Sky News – 12 December 2016
Playwright gender parity missing at some companies
Sydney Morning Herald – 12 December 2016
Australian Writers’ Guild and Scripted Ink. receive Screen Australia Enterprise Funding for new screenwriting development initiative
The Iris – 1 December 2016
Cleverman scribe wins 2016 John Hinde Award for Science Fiction
IF – 10 November 2016
Cleverman picks up the John Hinde Award for Science Fiction
FilmInk – 10 November 2016
The Code award winner
Coffs Coast Advocate – 22 October 2016
AWGIES honour writers who pounced on new opportunities
Screenhub
2016 Australian Writers’ Guild Lifetime Achievement Award goes to Screenwriter Craig Pearce
ABC Radio National – 13 October 2016
Baz Luhrmann co-creator Craig Pearce ‘invisible’ no longer
The Australian – 13 October 2016
Agency to assist scriptwriters
The Australian – 31 August 2016
Shane Brennan donates $1m for screenwriting initiative
TV Tonight – 31 August 2016
Scripted Ink: A shot in the arm for Australian screen industry
ABC Radio PM – 30 August 2016
Writer/Producer Shane Brennan stumps up $1million to fix Australian television
Sydney Morning Herald – 30 August 2016
‘My money where my mouth is’ Scriptwriter Shane Brennan puts $1m into Australian writers
ABC – 30 August 2016
Shane Brennan launches Scripted Ink. in Australia
Filmink – 26 August 2016
NCIS: Los Angeles creator Shane Brennan commits $1m per year to Aussie talent
The Daily Telegraph – 6 August 2016
Theatre needs quotes to address ‘deliberate and shocking discrimination’ against women
Sydney Morning Herald – 31 March 2016
Australian Writers’ Guild taking legal action to recover royalty payments from Screenrights
ABC – 7 March 2016
Scriptwriters battle Screenrights for ‘tens of millions of dollars’ in royalties
Sydney Morning Herald – 7 March 2016
Australian Writers’ Guild launches multi-million dollar Federal Court action
IF – 6 March 2016
