Boards welcome and farewell

27 May, 2016

The annual general meetings of the AWG and AWGACS saw changes on the boards of both bodies. 

On the National Executive Committee of the AWG, Kelly Lefever has come to the end of her term and Peter Mattessi was elected to the vacancy. 

At the AWGACS annual meeting that followed, Kym Goldsworthy stepped down from the society’s board and Kristen Dunphy was elected.

Kelly was described by AWG President Jan Sardi as “an absolute warrior, fighting the good fight for writers continuously for well over two decades now”.

She started with the Victorian committee in the early 1990s, became chair then joined the NEC in 2005. She has been a vice president of the Guild as well as the chair of the flagship National Screenwriters Conference.

“The AWG never lets you go far, or for that long and we know she’ll be back,” said Jan. “Kelly was recently appointed to the board of Film Victoria where she will no doubt continue to be the valuable and vital voice for writers at the table we’ve always known her to be.”

AWGACS chair Tim Pye paid tribute to Kym Goldsworthy, who had served on the society’s board since 2010.“I’d also like to acknowledge Kym’s service as a member of the Australian Writers Foundation board from 2006 to 2011 and a member of the AWG National Executive Council from 2006 to 2009,” he told the AWGACS annual meeting. “He has been and remains, a great advocate for writers and an asset to the guild and its causes.”

Peter Mattessi has written television drama in both Britain and Australia. In the UK, he has worked on Holby City, Waterloo Road and Eastenders, including its teen-based spinoff, Eastenders: E20. In Australia, he has written for all the soaps, currently writes for Neighbours and has written children’s shows such as Worst Year of My Life Again and Specky Magee.

Kristen Dunphy has 25 years’ experience writing, story producing and script editing Australian television drama. In 2012 she was awarded the Foxtel Fellowship for her significant contribution to Australian screenwriting. She has received three AWGIE Awards for The Straits, East West 101 and White Collar Blue and has been nominated for numerous other awards, including two NSW Literary Awards and two AFIs for screenwriting. Among her many other credits are Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, Wildside, Something in the Air, G.P., Heartland, Heartbreak High and the internationally acclaimed mini-series The Principal.