AWGIE Awards


The AWGIE Awards are annual awards given by the Australian Writers' Guild, 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 was guest of honour at the event held at the Wentworth Hotel in Sydney on 22 March 1968, Also in attendance was Sir Robert Madgwick, chairman of the ABC. There were 250 guests in attendance, only 35 of whom were AWG members.
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; Ken Hall; Fred Schepisi; Tom Keneally; Gough Whitlam; Paul Keating; and Roy and HG.
It was held in Melbourne 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.

Categories

There is a large number of categories, as well as some special awards and industry fellowships. The awards are given specifically for the writing of the scripts and not the finished product.
The Major AWGIE Award is awarded to the outstanding script of that year across all categories.
As of 2024, the award categories are:
  • Feature film
  • * Original
  • * Adaptation
  • Short Film
  • Documentary
  • *Public Broadcast or Exhibition
  • *Community, Educational and Training
  • Television Drama
  • *Serial
  • *Series
  • *Limited Series or Telemovie
  • Children's Television
  • *Pre-school
  • *Children's
  • Comedy
  • * Situation or Narrative
  • * Sketch or Light Entertainment
  • Audio
  • *Fiction
  • *Non-Fiction
  • Theatre
  • *Stage – Original
  • *Stage – Adapted
  • *Community and Youth Theatre
  • *Theatre for Young Audiences
  • *Music Theatre
  • Interactive Media & Gaming
  • Animation
  • Web series

    Named awards and fellowships

Current

David Williamson Prize

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