The New Zealand Writers Guild (NZWG) is a

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

which represents writers in the fields of film, television, radio, theatre, video and multi-media. The guild's name in

Māori language Māori (; endonym: 'the Māori language', commonly shortened to ) is an Eastern Polynesian languages, Eastern Polynesian language and the language of the Māori people, the indigenous population of mainland New Zealand. The southernmost membe ...

is Puni Taatuhi o Aotearoa. It provides services, events, networks, lobbying, and legal advice to writers mostly in the film and television industry. The Guild is affiliated to three major union organisations, the

New Zealand Council of Trade Unions The New Zealand Council of Trade Unions (NZCTU or CTU; ) is a national trade union centre in New Zealand. The NZCTU represents 360,000 workers, and is the largest democratic organisation in New Zealand. History It was formed in 1987 by the m ...

, the

International Affiliation of Writers Guilds The International Affiliation of Writers Guilds is an international trade union federation representing guilds of professional screenwriters and playwrights. Some affiliates also belong to national trade union federations. Activities The IAWG str ...

and the

Union Network International UNI Global Union, formally Union Network International (UNI), is a global union federation for the skills and services sectors, uniting national and regional trade unions. It has affiliated unions in 150 countries representing 20 million workers ...

Description

The Guild's members include most of the professional script writers working in New Zealand. There were 517 registered members of the Guild as of 2 November 2016. The Guild was founded in 1975. It was initially established to set minimum rates and conditions for writers working in television. It has expanded to encompass all script writing fields. The NZWG lobbies government to improve conditions for writers, comments about matters relevant to writers and represents the interests of writers when dealing with funding bodies and other industry organisations. The guild also publishes and provides information and advice to writers. Some of the services offered include negotiating on script credits, advice fo
contracts
with producers
minimum rates for writers
and
script registration service
to help writers to protect their ideas. The NZWG provides members with a weekly e-bulletin. Members are also provided with access to th
NZWG library
which includes film and television scripts, books on screen writing and industry publications from around the world. Full members host their profiles on the NZWG website (updated from Dec 2016).
Script to Screen
emerged from the guild and now operates as an independent entity. Recent successful initiatives include NZWG Seed Grants - providing NZ writers with support to develop scripts, and the annua
SWANZ Awards.
The SWANZ Awards, which began in 2010, support writers at all stages of their careers, with support coming from major government and private players in Aotearoa New Zealand's cultural endeavors, e.g., the

New Zealand Film Commission The New Zealand Film Commission (NZFC; ) is a New Zealand government agency formed to assist with creating and promoting New Zealand films. It was established under the New Zealand Film Commission Act 1978 (as amended in 1981, 1985, 1988, 1994 a ...

NZ on Air NZ On Air (NZOA; ), formally the Broadcasting Commission, is an Crown entity, autonomous Crown entity and commission of the New Zealand Government responsible for providing funding for broadcasting and creative works. The commission operates l ...

, and

South Pacific Pictures South Pacific Pictures is a New Zealand television production company. The company produces drama series, mini-series, telemovies and feature films for the domestic market and international market. SPP's largest property is ''Shortland Street' ...

, as well as extensive participation by members of other related professional associations, such as Women in Film and Television-New Zealand ( WIFT-NZ). WIFT members have been active in selecting award-winners as well as being among the winners, e.g., Jessica Charlton, along with her co-writer Juliet Bergh, in 2012.

Governance and office

The NZWG board is made up of several screenwriters working in the NZ entertainment industry. Board members have included: Pip Hall, Steve Barr, Allan Baddock, Alan Brash, Kathryn Burnett, Andrew Gunn, Fiona Samuel, Peter Cox, Caroline Grose, Benedict Reid, Alison Davie, Barry Duffield, Roseanne Liang, Mark Prebble, Mike Riddell, D F Mamea, Sean Molloy, and Athina Tsoulis. Executive directors have included: Alice Shearman, Steven Gannaway, Philippa Boyens, Dominic Sheehan and Susy Pointon. The main office for the NZWG is located in the

Grey Lynn Grey Lynn is an inner suburb of Auckland, New Zealand, located to the west of the city centre. Originally a separate borough, Grey Lynn amalgamated with Auckland City in 1914. Grey Lynn is centred on Grey Lynn Park, which was not part of t ...

area of Auckland.

References

External links

NZWG
official site. {{Authority control New Zealand Council of Trade Unions International Affiliation of Writers Guilds Trade unions in New Zealand Scriptwriters' trade unions New Zealand writers' organisations Trade unions established in 1979 Guilds in New Zealand