12th Writers Guild of America Awards


The 12th Writers Guild of America Awards honored the best film writers and television writers of 1959. Winners were announced in 1960.

Winners and nominees

Film

Winners are listed first highlighted in boldface.
The Five Pennies, Screenplay by Melville Shavelson and Jack Rose; Story by Robert Smith
The Diary of Anne Frank, Screenplay by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett; Based on the book The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
  • * Anatomy of a Murder, Screenplay by Wendell Mayes; Based on the novel by John D. Voelker
  • * Ben-Hur, Screenplay by Karl Tunberg; Based on the novel by Lew Wallace
  • * Compulsion, Screenplay by Richard Murphy; Based on the novel by Richard Murphy
  • * The Nun's Story, Screenplay by Robert Anderson; Based on the book by Kathryn Hulme
  • Some Like It Hot, Screenplay by Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond; Story by Robert Thoeren and Michael Logan
  • * A Hole in the Head, Screenplay by Arnold Schulman; Based on the play
  • * North by Northwest, Screenplay by Ernest Lehman
  • * Operation Petticoat, Screenplay by Stanley Shapiro and Maurice Richlin; Story by Paul King and Joseph Stone
  • * Pillow Talk, Screenplay by Stanley Shapiro and Maurice Richlin; Story by Russell Rouse and Clarence Greene