Australian Writers' Guild

AWG
Australian Writers' Guild
Founded1962
HeadquartersChippendale, Sydney
Location
  • Australia
Key people
Shane Brennan, president
AffiliationsACTU
Websitewww.awg.com.au

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, the Monte Miller Awards since 1972, and the John Hinde Award since 2008.[1]

The Australian Writers' Guild has been representing Australian screenwriters, playwrights, radio writers, comedy writers and digital media writers since 1962. It was created for writers by writers, with the council consisting of members within their respective performative industries. It aims to promote the Australian cultural voice within the arts.[1] The guild recognises through their mission statement that performance writing and performance writers "thrive as a dynamic and integral part of Australian storytelling, shaping, reflecting and enhancing the Australian cultural voice in all its diversity." This is exemplified through AWG's work as a political voice through lobbying the Australian Government on issues such as funding and copyright protection in order to protect Australian content.[2] The AWG is a member of the Australian Council of Trade Unions.[3]

The AWG is a democratically run association,[4] run by the members of the guild. Each year, the members elect the National Executive Council alongside Branch Committees that represent each Australian state. Membership is an essential aspect of the Guild as they dictate the leadership, action and fund distribution of the association. Shane Brennan, an Australian writer and producer, was elected president of the National Executive Committee in 2019.[5]

As of 2019, The Australian Writers Guild is supported financially by the Australian Film Commission, Screen Australia, Scripted Ink, Film Finance Corporation Australia, Screenwest, Screen NSW, Screenrights, Media Super, and the South Australian Film Corporation. The AWG also receives assistance from the Literature Fund of the Australia Council.

  1. ^ a b "Austlit — Australian Writers' Guild". Austlit. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
  2. ^ "Industry hub (online). Inside Film: If, No. 169". Inside Film: 6–7. February 2016. ISSN 1447-2252. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  3. ^ Hooton, J.; Andrews, B.; Wilde, W. (2006). The Oxford Companion To Australian Literature. 2nd ed. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0-19-553381-1. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  4. ^ Jones, Mike (December 2013). "The ancient and universal in interactive narratives. First published in 'Storyline', Journal of the Australian Writers Guild (online)". Metaphor (4): 3–5. ISSN 1440-0022. Retrieved 12 October 2020..
  5. ^ "AWG. Internationally renowned showrunner Shane Brennan elected Australian Writers' Guild President". FilmInk. 25 January 2019.