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$60,000 Shane & Cathryn Brennan Prize for Playwriting Winners Announced


Thirteen new Australian plays from a mix of emerging and established writers have been celebrated today with the announcement of the $60,000 Shane & Cathryn Brennan Prize for Playwriting.

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First Break WA launches today: Presented by the Australian Writers' Guild and Screenwest


​The Australian Writers’ Guild and Screenwest​ are pleased to launch First Break in Western Australia - a unique professional development program designed to give talented, aspiring WA screenwriters the opportunity to gain in-demand and practical skills, develop their understanding of the screen sector, and build industry connections.

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AWG announces First Break Victoria participants


Successful applicants have been announced in the Australian Writers’ Guild’s First Break Victoria program. The program, supported by VicScreen, is a unique professional development program designed to give talented, aspiring screenwriters the opportunity to gain in-demand and practical skills, develop their understanding of the industry, and build industry connections.

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AWG welcomes appointment of new Minister for the Arts Tony Burke MP


The Australian Writers’ Guild welcomes the appointment of Tony Burke MP as Minister for the Arts and Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations.

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Animated series Space Nova wins prestigious $10,000 prize for Australian sci-fi screenwriting


AWGIE Award-winning screenwriter Thomas Duncan-Watt has taken home the 2021 John Hinde Award for Excellence in Science-Fiction writing with Episode 11 of the animated series Space Nova.

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Media Releases

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2022

1 October 2022 Vale Peter Yeldham, a tribute by Roger Simpson with Angela Wales and Geoffrey Atherden

29 September 2022 Writers of The Newsreader, Heartbreak High, Playing Beatie Bow, Fires, The Drover’s Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson, Ithaka, and Little J & Big Cuz among nominees for the 55th Annual AWGIE Awards

26 September 2022 NCIS: Sydney S1 to welcome emerging screenwriters as part of new Screen Australia initiative

20 September 2022 David Williamson Prize-supported play Jailbaby announced for Griffin's 2023 season

7 September 2022 AWG announces First Break WA participants

12 August 2022 Dystopic thriller Kin wins top Australian sci-fi screenwriting award

11 August 2022 Vale Philip Dalkin

11 August 2022 NZ Screen Industry Workers Bill

4 August 2022 National Cultural Policy - Have Your Say

12 July 2022 $60,000 Shane & Cathryn Brennan Prize for Playwriting Winners Announced

4 July 2022 First Break WA launches: Presented by the Australian Writers' Guild and Screenwest

16 June 2022 AWG announces First Break Victoria participants

1 June 2022 AWG welcomes appointment of new Minister for the Arts Tony Burke MP

16 May 2022 Animated series Space Nova wins prestigious $10,000 prize for Australian sci-fi screenwriting

6 May 2022 Australian Writers' Guild criticises Government delay, lack of vision in its submission to the Streaming Services Reporting and Investment Scheme discussion paper

6 May 2022 Australian Screen Industry Group Submission to the Streaming Services Reporting and Investment Scheme discussion paper

4 May 2022 AWG announces First Break NSW Participants

29 April 2022 Update on the Streaming Services Reporting and Investment Scheme discussion paper

26 April 2022 SBS Emerging Writers' Incubator returns, supporting greater diversity in Australian screenwriting

30 March 2022 Vale Alan Hopgood: A tribute by Judith Colquhoun

2 March 2022 First Break: Presented by AWG and Screen NSW

7 February 2022 Government TV proposal falls short

2 February 2022 Hollywood breakthrough program UNTAPPED 22 announced

28 January 2022 COVID-safe writers' rooms and your right to a safe workplace

2021

15 December 2021 Vale Chrissy Sharp: A tribute by Ian David

15 December 2021 Vale Doug MacLeod: A tribute by Mark O'Toole

8 December 2021 Writers of Cursed!, The Dry, New Gold Mountain, The Great and Nitram among winners at the 54th Annual AWGIE Awards

2 December 2021 Success: TV Producer Offset

26 October 2021 Writers of The Dry, Nitram, Wakefield, The Great, New Gold Mountain, Cursed! and Here Out West among nominees for the 54th Annual AWGIE Awards

19 October 2021 AWG announces Claire Pullen as Executive Director

28 September 2021 Six emerging screen creatives announced for 2021 Emerging Writers’ Incubator initiative

22 September 2021 Screen Australia and Australians in Film announce recipients of inaugural Talent Gateway and Global Producers Exchange initiatives

25 August 2021 Minimum Rates for Freelance Narrative Designer - Games and Interactive

4 August 2021 Entries open for Australia's richest sci-fi screenwriting award

13 July 2021 AWG farewells Group CEO Jacqueline Elaine

11 May 2021 Screen Australian and Australians in Film launch Talent Gateway and Global Producers Exchange

21 April 2021 Monte Miller Awards announced: Exceptional craft on display

12 April 2021 Win! Producer offset for feature film is retained

25 March 2021AWG at Parliament House

16 March 2021 Screen creatives visit Canberra to call for action on local content

17 February 2021SBS Emerging Screenwriters Incubator

19 January 2021 Calling on all Game Developers. Help us to raise your game

18 January 2021 2021 minimum rates and contracts now available on AWG website

2020

18 December 2020 Season's Greetings from the Australian Writers' Guild

8 December 2020 Writers of Prima Facie, Hearts and Bones, Penguin Bloom, The Hunting and Total Control among winners at the 53rd Annual AWGIE Awards

8 December 2020 Vale Cliff Green: A tribute by Mac Gudgeon and Roger Simpson

4 December 2020 You're invited to the 53rd Annual AWGIE Awards

3 December 2020 Climate Fiction series The Commons takes home $10,000 prize for Australian Sci-Fi screenwriting

1 December 2020 AWG responds to release of Media Reform Green Paper

23 October 2020 2020 Monte Miller Awards Open for Entries

30 September 2020 AWG responds to Government’s screen content announcement

29 September 2020 David Williamson Prize-Supported Wonnangatta Opens At Sydney Theatre Company To Impressive Reviews

25 September 2020 Writers of Hearts and Bones, Acute Misfortune, Stateless, Total Control, The Heights, Prima Facie and Content among nominees for the 53rd Annual AWGIE Awards

15 September 2020 Outstanding mix of Audio projects announced as winners of $20,000 Podcast Writing Competition

29 July 2020 The spirit of Perseverance: Entries open for Australia’s richest sci-fi screenwriting award

16 July 2020 Vale Ken Shadie: A tribute by the Australian Writers' Guild and Paul Hogan

3 July 2020 AWG submission to the Supporting Australian Stories on our Screens Options Paper

3 July 2020 Screen groups present collaborative vision for the future

25 June 2020 AWG addresses Government’s $250m Arts and Entertainment package

10 June 2020 Vale Jock Blair, a tribute by Tom Hegarty

8 June 2020 Oscar-nominated screenwriter Jan Sardi recognised as part of Queen’s Birthday Honours

6 May 2020 Australian Writers’ Guild and Audible announce $20,000 podcast writing competition

6 May 2020 What's Australia's most bingeworthy homegrown film or TV show?

5 May 2020 Vale Ken Methold, a tribute by Linda Aronson

24 April 2020 AWG Theatre Streaming Guidelines

15 April 2020 AWG on quotas, SVODs and the Arts crisis

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

2019

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

22 August 2019 Writers of The Harp in the South, The Favourite, True History of the Kelly Gang, and The Cry among winners at the 52nd Annual AWGIE Awards

12 July 2019 Writers of The Favourite, Hotel Mumbai, The Cry, Rosehaven and The Harp in the South among nominees for 52nd Annual AWGIE Awards

9 July 2019 Entries open for Australia’s richest sci-fi screenwriting award

25 June 2019 NCIS Showrunner Shane Brennan’s screen development company Scripted Ink set up Hollywood base and launch screenwriter platform Showcase

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

2018

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

2017

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

26 August 2017 Writers in the spotlight: AWG honours writers of The Drover’s Wife, Lion, Hacksaw Ridge, Rosehaven, Deep Water and more at 50th Annual AWGIE Awards

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

20 June 2017 Writers of Hacksaw Ridge, Hounds of Love, The Wrong Girl, Seven Types of Ambiguity and multi award-winning The Drover’s Wife among nominees for the 50th Annual AWGIE Awards

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

2016

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

14 October 2016 Internationally acclaimed comedian Barry Humphries wins Fred Parsons Award for Outstanding Contribution to Australian Comedy 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

1 August 2016 Writers of Cleverman, Barracuda, Wolf Creek, Jasper Jones and Helpmann Winner, The Bleeding Tree nominated for the 49th Annual AWGIE Awards

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

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