The AWGIE Awards are annual awards given by the

Australian Writers' Guild The Australian Writers' Guild (AWG) is the professional association for Australian performance writers for film, television, radio, theatre, video, and new media. The AWG was established in 1962, and has conferred the AWGIE Awards since 1968, ...

(AWG), for excellence in screen, television, stage, and radio writing.

History

The AWGIE awards were conceived in 1967, with the first event being held in 1968. Bettina Gorton the wife of prime minister

John Gorton Sir John Grey Gorton (9 September 1911 – 19 May 2002) was an Australian politician, farmer and airman who served as the 19th Prime Minister of Australia, prime minister of Australia from 1968 to 1971. He held office as the leader of the leade ...

was guest of honour at the event held at the Wentworth Hotel in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

on 22 March 1968, Also in attendance was Sir Robert Madgwick, chairman of the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

. There were 250 guests in attendance, only 35 of whom were AWG members. Note: This source appears to list the year of the first awards The AWGIES awards ceremony has become a prominent industry event, and has featured many well-known guests of honour and speakers in the past, including:

Manning Clark Charles Manning Hope Clark, (3 March 1915 – 23 May 1991) was an Australian historian and the author of the best-known general history of Australia, his six-volume ''A History of Australia'', published between 1962 and 1987. He has been descri ...

; Ken Hall;

Fred Schepisi Frederic Alan Schepisi ( ;Pauline Kael, Kael, Pauline (1984). ''Taking It All In''. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. p. 55. born 26 December 1939) is an Australian film director, producer, and screenwriter. His credits include ''The Cha ...

;

Tom Keneally Thomas Michael Keneally, AO (born 7 October 1935) is an Australian novelist, playwright, essayist, and actor. He is best known for his historical fiction novel '' Schindler's Ark'', the story of Oskar Schindler's rescue of Jews during the Hol ...

;

Gough Whitlam Edward Gough Whitlam (11 July 191621 October 2014) was the 21st prime minister of Australia, serving from December 1972 to November 1975. To date the longest-serving federal leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), he was notable for being ...

;

Paul Keating Paul John Keating (born 18 January 1944) is an Australian former politician and trade unionist who served as the 24th prime minister of Australia from 1991 to 1996. He held office as the leader of the Labor Party (ALP), having previously ser ...

; and

Roy and HG Roy and HG are an Australian comedy duo, comprising Greig Pickhaver in the role of "H. G. Nelson" and John Doyle as "'Rampaging' Roy Slaven". Their act is an affectionate but irreverent parody of Australia's obsession with sport. Their characte ...

. It was held in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

for some years,

Current/upcoming awards

The 56th Annual AWGIE Awards event is being held on 15 February 2024 at the National Institute of Dramatic Arts in Sydney. In most categories, the awards are given for works for which principal photography, production, or recording was completed in the 2022 calendar year. Stage productions must have had their first professional production in this year, while interactive media or gaming must have been commercially released in this year.

Description

The awards are given annually at an awards event by the AWG for excellence in screen, television, stage, and radio writing.

Named awards and fellowships

Current

David Williamson Prize

The David Williamson Prize for Excellence in Writing for Australian Theatre, named after playwright

David Williamson David Keith Williamson (born 1942) is an Australian playwright, who has also written screenplays and teleplays. He became known in the early 1970s with his political comic drama '' Don's Party'', and other well-known plays include '' The Clu ...

, was established in 2013. The annual prize is sponsored by David and Kristin Williamson, and Shane and Cathryn Brennan, and awarded "to the most outstanding script selected from the winners of each of the theatre categories at the AWGIE Awards". The purpose of the fund is "to encourage theatre companies to commission, develop and program a new Australian work". From 2017, the value of the prize was increased to , with $20,000 awarded to the playwright, and $80,000 to the theatre company that commissioned and staged the prizewinning play, "when they commission and program a new work by an Australian playwright within the following 12 months". Winners include: * Alana Valentine for ''Grounded'' (2013) * Andrew Bovell for ''

The Secret River ''The Secret River'' is a 2005 historical novel by Kate Grenville about an early 19th-century Englishman transported to Australia for theft. The story explores what might have happened when Europeans colonised land already inhabited by Aborigi ...

'' (2014) * Finegan Kruckemeyer for ''The Boy at the Edge of Everything'' (2015) * Angus Cerini for '' The Bleeding Tree'' (2016) *

Leah Purcell Leah Maree Purcell (born 14 August 1970) is an Aboriginal Australian stage and film actress, playwright, film director, and novelist. She made her film debut in 1999, appearing in Paul Fenech's ''Somewhere in the Darkness'', which led to rol ...

for '' The Drover's Wife'' (2017) *

P.J. Hogan Paul John Hogan (born 30 November 1962) is an Australian film director and screenwriter. He is best known for directing the films '' Muriel's Wedding'' (1994), '' My Best Friend's Wedding'' (1997), '' Peter Pan'' (2003) and '' Confessions of a ...

with Kate Miller-Heidke and Keir Nuttall for '' Muriel's Wedding the Musical'' (2018) *

Kate Mulvany Kate Maree Mulvany (born 1977) is an Australian actress, playwright and screenwriter. She works in theatre, television and film, with roles in ''Hunters'' (2020–2023), ''The Great Gatsby'' (2013), '' Griff the Invisible'' (2010) and '' The F ...

for her stage adaptation of the

Ruth Park Rosina Ruth Lucia Park AM (24 August 191714 December 2010) was a New Zealand–born Australian author. Her best known works are the novels '' The Harp in the South'' (1948) and '' Playing Beatie Bow'' (1980), and the children's radio serial '' ...

novel ''

The Harp in the South ''The Harp in the South'' is the debut novel by New Zealand-born Australian author Ruth Park. Published in 1948, it portrays the life of a Catholic Irish Australian family living in the Sydney suburb of Surry Hills, which was at that time an i ...

'' (2019) *

Suzie Miller Susan "Suzie" Miller (born ) is an Australian playwright, librettist, screenwriter, and lawyer. She has written over 40 plays, first coming to notice in 2008 for ''Reasonable Doubt'', which premiered at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Her best-k ...

for ''

Prima Facie ''Prima facie'' (; ) is a Latin expression meaning "at first sight", or "based on first impression". The literal translation would be "at first face" or "at first appearance", from the feminine forms of ' ("first") and ' ("face"), both in the a ...

'' (2020) * Ellen Graham and Jamie Hornsby for ''Claire Della the Moon'' (2021) * Maxine Mellor, for ''Horizon'', with $80 000 going to Playlab Theatre in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

Other named awards

: * Dorothy Crawford Award – for Outstanding Contribution to the Profession and the Industry (1984–) (after Dorothy Crawford) * Hector Crawford Award – for Outstanding Contribution to the Craft as a Script Producer, Editor or Dramaturg (1991-) (after Hector Crawford; not awarded every year) * Fred Parsons Award – for Outstanding Contribution to Australian Comedy(1988-) * Australian Writers' Guild Life Membership

Past

* Richard Lane Award (1988–2019), for an outstanding contribution to the AWG (after Richard Lane (1918–2008), who received the inaugural award) * Kit Denton Fellowship – For Courage and Excellence in Performance Writing (2007–2012) * Ian Reed Award for Best Script by a First-Time Radio Writer (1998 and 2000 only ) *

Foxtel NXE Australia Pty Ltd, trading as the Foxtel Group, is an Australian pay television company that operates cable television, direct-broadcast satellite, direct broadcast satellite television, and IPTV streaming services. It was formed in April ...

Fellowship - In Recognition of a Significant and Impressive Body of Work (2007–2013; recipients included

Mac Gudgeon Mac Gudgeon (2 March 1949 – 25 May 2023) was an Australian film and television screenwriter. Biography Career Gudgeon was perhaps best known for writing the television mini-series'' Waterfront'', '' The Petrov Affair'', '' Killing Time'' and ...

, Susan Smith, Kristen Dunphy, Jacquelin Perske); Foxtel Fellowship - In Recognition of an Outstanding and Significant Body of Work in Television (2014, final one) * Richard Wherrett Prize – Recognising Excellence in Australian Playwriting (selected from the winners from all theatre categories, 2007 & 2009 only) * CAL Peer Recognition Prize, awarded to the winner of the Major AWGIE Award (2008–2010 only) * Lifetime Achievement Award (2015: Laura Jones; 2016:

Craig Pearce Craig Pearce is an Australian screenwriter and actor. Early life Pearce was educated at Narrabeen Sports High School with Baz Luhrmann and is a graduate of National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA). Career Pearce's acting credits include re ...

; 2017: Andrew Knight; 2018: Sue Smith) * Australian Writers Foundation Playwrights Fellowship (2014: Katherine Thomson and Sue Smith)

Notable winners

* Richard Lane, who won four AWGIES * Cliff Green - Medal of the Order of Australia (June 2009) *

Geoffrey Atherden Geoffrey John Atherden , credited also as Geoff Atherden, is an Australian television screenwriter and playwright, especially of comedy. He is best known for creating the sitcom '' Mother and Son''. Early life and education Atherden attended the ...

- Member of the Order Of Australia (Jan 2009) *Nick Pearce - ''

The Forgotten City ''The Forgotten City'' is a mystery adventure role-playing game developed by Australian developer Modern Storyteller and published by Dear Villagers with additional support from Film Victoria. It is a full game adaptation of the critically ac ...

'' - First

video game mod Video game modding (short for "modifying") is the process of alteration by players or fans of one or more aspects of a video game, such as how it looks or behaves, and is a sub-discipline of general ''modding''. A set of modifications, commonly c ...

to have received a screenwriters award

Footnotes

References

{{reflist

External links

Australian Writers' Guild Awards, 1997–2016
on Australian Television Information Archive Australian literary awards Australian film awards Awards established in 1968