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Wikipedia / Writers Guild of America Awards

The Writers Guild of America Awards is an award for film, television, and radio writing including both fiction and non-fiction categories given by the Writers Guild of America East and Writers Guild of America West since 1949.

Eligibility

The screen awards are for films that were exhibited theatrically during the preceding calendar year. The television awards are for series that were produced and aired between December 1 and November 30, regardless of how many episodes aired during this time period.

Additionally, scripts must be produced under the jurisdiction of the WGA or under a collective bargaining agreement in Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, or the United Kingdom.

Lifetime achievement awards

Each year at the awards, two lifetime achievement awards are presented. One is for screenwriting, and the other is for TV writing:

Categories

(As of 2023)

  1. Film

  2. Best Adapted Screenplay

  3. Best Original Screenplay

  4. Best Documentary Screenplay

  5. Television

  6. Comedy Series

  7. Drama Series

  8. Episodic Comedy

  9. Episodic Drama

  10. Long Form – Adapted

  11. Long Form – Original

  12. Short Form New Media

  13. New Series

  14. Animation

  15. Comedy/Variety Talk Series

  16. Comedy/Variety – Sketch Series

  17. Best Comedy/Variety – Specials

  18. Daytime Serials

  19. Children's Script

  20. Best Quiz and Audience

  21. Documentary Script – Current Events

  22. Documentary Script – Other Than Current Events

  23. News

  24. TV News Script – Regularly Scheduled, Bulletin, or Breaking Report

  25. TV News Script – Analysis, Feature, or Commentary

  26. Digital News

  27. Radio

  28. Radio News Script – Regularly Scheduled, Bulletin, or Breaking Report

  29. Radio News Script – Analysis, Feature or Commentary

  30. Radio Documentary

History

In 2004, the awards show was broadcast on television for the first time.

In the years 2008 through 2018, the awards also included video game writing.

In February 2026, the staff of the Writers Guild of America West, who have been bargaining with Guild Management over a first union contract, went on strike. On February 24, Guild Management threatened to shut down the awards show the following month if the staff union did not accept their last, best, and final offer by February 27.

Discontinued categories

Best Written Drama (1949–1969)

  • Best Drama Written Directly for the Screenplay (1970–1984)

  • Best Drama Adapted from Another Media (1970–1984)

Best Written Comedy (1949–1969)

  • Best Comedy Written Directly for the Screenplay (1970–1984)

  • Best Comedy Adapted from Another Media (1970–1984)

  • Best Videogame Writing (2008–2018)

Ceremonies

Winners

A * denotes a film that also went on to win an Academy Award.

Films

  1. Best Original Screenplay

  2. 1967: Bonnie and Clyde – David Newman and Robert Benton

  3. 1968: The Producers – Mel Brooks *

  4. 1984: Broadway Danny Rose – Woody Allen

  5. 1985: Witness – Pamela Wallace, William Kelley, and Earl W. Wallace *

  6. 1986: Hannah and Her Sisters – Woody Allen *

  7. 1987: Moonstruck – John Patrick Shanley *

  8. 1988: Bull Durham – Ron Shelton

  9. 1989: Crimes and Misdemeanors – Woody Allen

  10. 1990: Avalon – Barry Levinson

  11. 1991: Thelma & Louise – Callie Khouri *

  12. 1992: The Crying Game – Neil Jordan *

  13. 1993: The Piano – Jane Campion *

  14. 1994: Four Weddings and a Funeral – Richard Curtis

  15. 1995: Braveheart – Randall Wallace

  16. 1996: Fargo – Joel Coen and Ethan Coen *

  17. 1997: As Good as It Gets – Mark Andrus and James L. Brooks

  18. 1998: Shakespeare in Love – Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard *

  19. 1999: American Beauty – Alan Ball *

  20. 2000: You Can Count on Me – Kenneth Lonergan

  21. 2001: Gosford Park – Julian Fellowes *

  22. 2002: Bowling for Columbine – Michael Moore

  23. 2003: Lost in Translation – Sofia Coppola *

  24. 2004: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind – Charlie Kaufman, Michael Gondry, and Pierre Bismuth *

  25. 2005: Crash – Paul Haggis and Bobby Moresco *

  26. 2006: Little Miss Sunshine – Michael Arndt *

  27. 2007: Juno – Diablo Cody *

  28. 2008: Milk – Dustin Lance Black *

  29. 2009: The Hurt Locker – Mark Boal *

  30. 2010: Inception – Christopher Nolan

  31. 2011: Midnight in Paris – Woody Allen *

  32. 2012: Zero Dark Thirty – Mark Boal

  33. 2013: Her – Spike Jonze *

  34. 2014: The Grand Budapest Hotel – Wes Anderson and Hugo Guinness

  35. 2015: Spotlight – Tom McCarthy and Josh Singer *

  36. 2016: Moonlight – Barry Jenkins; story by Tarell Alvin McCraney *

  37. 2017: Get Out – Jordan Peele *

  38. 2018: Eighth Grade – Bo Burnham

  39. 2019: Parasite – Bong Joon-ho and Han Jin-won; story by Bong Joon-ho *

  40. 2020: Promising Young Woman — Emerald Fennell *

  41. 2021: Don't Look Up — Adam McKay and David Sirota

  42. 2022: Everything Everywhere All at Once — Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert *

  43. 2023: The Holdovers — David Hemingson

  44. 2024: Anora — Sean Baker *

  45. 2025: Sinners — Ryan Coogler *

  46. Best Adapted Screenplay

  47. 1984: The Killing Fields – Bruce Robinson

  48. 1985: Prizzi's Honor – Richard Condon and Janet Roach

  49. 1986: A Room with a View – Ruth Prawer Jhabvala *

  50. 1987: Roxanne – Steve Martin

  51. 1988: Dangerous Liaisons – Christopher Hampton *

  52. 1989: Driving Miss Daisy – Alfred Uhry *

  53. 1990: Dances with Wolves – Michael Blake *

  54. 1991: The Silence of the Lambs – Ted Tally *

  55. 1992: The Player – Michael Tolkin

  56. 1993: Schindler's List – Steven Zaillian *

  57. 1994: Forrest Gump – Eric Roth *

  58. 1995: Sense and Sensibility – Emma Thompson *

  59. 1996: Sling Blade – Billy Bob Thornton *

  60. 1997: L.A. Confidential – Brian Helgeland and Curtis Hanson *

  61. 1998: Out of Sight – Scott Frank

  62. 1999: Election – Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor

  63. 2000: Traffic – Stephen Gaghan *

  64. 2001: A Beautiful Mind – Akiva Goldsman *

  65. 2002: The Hours – David Hare

  66. 2003: American Splendor – Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini

  67. 2004: Sideways – Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor *

  68. 2005: Brokeback Mountain – Larry McMurty and Diana Ossana *

  69. 2006: The Departed – William Monahan *

  70. 2007: No Country for Old Men – Joel Coen and Ethan Coen *

  71. 2008: Slumdog Millionaire – Simon Beaufoy *

  72. 2009: Up in the Air – Jason Reitman

  73. 2010: The Social Network – Aaron Sorkin *

  74. 2011: The Descendants – Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, and Jim Rash *

  75. 2012: Argo – Chris Terrio *

  76. 2013: Captain Phillips – Billy Ray

  77. 2014: The Imitation Game – Graham Moore *

  78. 2015: The Big Short – Adam McKay and Charles Randolph *

  79. 2016: Arrival – Eric Heisserer

  80. 2017: Call Me by Your Name — James Ivory *

  81. 2018: Can You Ever Forgive Me? – Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty

  82. 2019: Jojo Rabbit – Taika Waititi *

  83. 2020: Borat Subsequent Moviefilm – Screenplay by Sacha Baron Cohen, Anthony Hines, Dan Swimer, Peter Baynham, Erica Rivinoja, Dan Mazer, Jena Friedman, and Lee Kern; story by Baron Cohen, Hines, Swimer, and Nina Pedrad

  84. 2021: CODA – Sian Heder *

  85. 2022: Women Talking – Sarah Polley *

  86. 2023: American Fiction – Cord Jefferson *

  87. 2024: Nickel Boys – RaMell Ross and Joslyn Barnes

  88. 2025: One Battle After Another — Paul Thomas Anderson *

  89. Best Documentary Screenplay

  90. 2004: Super Size Me – Morgan Spurlock

  91. 2005: Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room – Alex Gibney

  92. 2006: Deliver Us from Evil – Amy J. Berg

  93. 2007: Taxi to the Dark Side – Alex Gibney

  94. 2008: Waltz with Bashir – Ari Folman

  95. 2009: The Cove – Mark Monroe

  96. 2010: Inside Job – Charles Ferguson; co-written by Chad Beck and Adam Bolt

  97. 2011: Better This World – Katie Galloway and Kelly Duane de la Vega

  98. 2012: Searching for Sugar Man – Malik Bendjelloul

  99. 2013: Stories We Tell – Sarah Polley

  100. 2014: The Internet's Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz – Brian Knappenberger

  101. 2015: Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief – Alex Gibney

  102. 2016: Command and Control – Robert Kenner, Brian Pearle, Kim Roberts, and Eric Schlosser

  103. 2017: Jane – Brett Morgen

  104. 2018: Bathtubs Over Broadway – Ozzy Inguanzo and Dava Whisenant

  105. 2019: The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley – Alex Gibney

  106. 2020: The Dissident — Mark Monroe and Bryan Fogel

  107. 2021: Exposing Muybridge – Marc Shaffer

  108. 2022: Moonage Daydream – Brett Morgen

  109. 2023: The Pigeon Tunnel – Errol Morris

  110. 2024: Jim Henson Idea Man – Mark Monroe

  111. 2025: 2000 Meters to Andriivka — Mstyslav Chernov

Discontinued categories

  1. Best Written Drama

  2. 1949: The Snake Pit – Frank Partos and Millen Brand

  3. 1950: All the King's Men – Robert Rossen

  4. 1951: Sunset Boulevard – Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder, and D. M. Marshman Jr. *

  5. 1952: A Place in the Sun – Michael Wilson and Harry Brown *

  6. 1953: High Noon – Carl Foreman

  7. 1954: From Here to Eternity – Daniel Taradash *

  8. 1955: On the Waterfront – Budd Schulberg *

  9. 1956: Marty – Paddy Chayefsky *

  10. 1957: Friendly Persuasion – Michael Wilson

  11. 1958: 12 Angry Men – Reginald Rose

  12. 1959: The Defiant Ones – Nedrick Young and Harold Jacob Smith *

  13. 1960: The Diary of Anne Frank – Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett

  14. 1961: Elmer Gantry – Richard Brooks *

  15. 1962: The Hustler – Sidney Carroll and Robert Rossen

  16. 1963: To Kill a Mockingbird – Horton Foote *

  17. 1964: Hud – Harriet Frank Jr. and Irving Ravetch

  18. 1965: Becket – Edward Anhalt *

  19. 1966: The Pawnbroker – Edward Lewis Wallant, Morton Fine, and David Friedkin

  20. 1967: Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? – Ernest Lehman

  21. 1968: Bonnie and Clyde – David Newman and Robert Benton

  22. 1969: The Lion in Winter – James Goldman *

  23. Best Original Drama

  24. 1970: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid – William Goldman *

  25. 1971: Patton – Francis Ford Coppola and Edmund H. North *

  26. 1972: Sunday Bloody Sunday – Penelope Gilliatt

  27. 1973: The Candidate – Jeremy Larner *

  28. 1974: Save the Tiger – Steve Shagan

  29. 1975: Chinatown – Robert Towne *

  30. 1976: Dog Day Afternoon – Frank Pierson *

  31. 1977: Network – Paddy Chayefsky *

  32. 1978: The Turning Point – Arthur Laurents

  33. 1979: Coming Home – Nancy Dowd, Robert C. Jones, and Waldo Salt *

  34. 1980: The China Syndrome – Mike Gray, T. S. Cook and James Bridges

  35. 1981: Melvin and Howard – Bo Goldman *

  36. 1982: Reds – Warren Beatty and Trevor Griffiths

  37. 1983: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial – Melissa Mathison

  38. 1984: Tender Mercies – Horton Foote *

  39. Best Adapted Drama

  40. 1970: Midnight Cowboy – Waldo Salt *

  41. 1971: I Never Sang for My Father – Robert Anderson

  42. 1972: The French Connection – Ernest Tidyman *

  43. 1973: The Godfather – Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola *

  44. 1974: Serpico – Waldo Salt and Norman Wexler

  45. 1975: The Godfather Part II – Francis Ford Coppola and Mario Puzo *

  46. 1976: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest – Bo Goldman and Lawrence Hauben *

  47. 1977: All the President's Men – William Goldman *

  48. 1978: Islands in the Stream – Denne Bart Petitclerc

  49. 1979: Midnight Express – Oliver Stone *

  50. 1980: Kramer vs. Kramer – Robert Benton *

  51. 1981: Ordinary People – Alvin Sargent *

  52. 1982: On Golden Pond – Ernest Thompson *

  53. 1983: Missing – Costa-Gavras and Donald E. Stewart *

  54. 1984: Reuben, Reuben – Julius J. Epstein

  55. Best Written Comedy

  56. 1949: Sitting Pretty – F. Hugh Herbert

  57. 1950: A Letter to Three Wives – Joseph L. Mankiewicz *

  58. 1951: All About Eve – Joseph L. Mankiewicz *

  59. 1952: Father's Little Dividend – Albert Hackett and Frances Goodrich

  60. 1953: The Quiet Man – Frank Nugent

  61. 1954: Roman Holiday – Ian McLellan Hunter, Dalton Trumbo, and John Dighton *

  62. 1955: Sabrina – Billy Wilder, Samuel Taylor, and Ernest Lehman

  63. 1956: Mister Roberts – Joshua Logan and Frank Nugent

  64. 1957: Around the World in 80 Days – James Poe, John Farrow, and S. J. Perelman *

  65. 1958: Love in the Afternoon – Billy Wilder and I. A. L. Diamond

  66. 1959: Me and the Colonel – S. N. Behrman and George Froeschel

  67. 1960: Some Like It Hot – Billy Wilder and I. A. L. Diamond

  68. 1961: The Apartment – Billy Wilder and I. A. L. Diamond *

  69. 1962: Breakfast at Tiffany's – George Axelrod

  70. 1963: That Touch of Mink – Stanley Shapiro and Nate Monastar

  71. 1964: Lilies of the Field – James Poe

  72. 1965: Dr. Strangelove – Stanley Kubrick, Terry Southern, and Peter George

  73. 1966: A Thousand Clowns – Herb Gardner

  74. 1967: The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming – William Rose

  75. 1968: The Graduate – Calder Willingham and Buck Henry

  76. 1969: The Odd Couple – Neil Simon

  77. Best Original Comedy

  78. 1970: Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice – Paul Mazursky and Larry Tucker

  79. 1971: The Out-of-Towners – Neil Simon

  80. 1972: The Hospital – Paddy Chayefsky *

  81. 1973: What's Up, Doc? – Peter Bogdanovich, Buck Henry, David Newman, and Robert Benton

  82. 1974: A Touch of Class – Melvin Frank and Jack Rose

  83. 1975: Blazing Saddles – Mel Brooks, Norman Steinberg, Andrew Bergman, Richard Pryor, and Alan Uger

  84. 1976: Shampoo – Robert Towne and Warren Beatty

  85. 1977: The Bad News Bears – Bill Lancaster

  86. 1978: Annie Hall – Woody Allen and Marshall Brickman *

  87. 1979: Movie Movie – Larry Gelbart and Sheldon Keller

  88. 1980: Breaking Away – Steve Tesich *

  89. 1981: Private Benjamin – Nancy Meyers, Harvey Miller, and Charles Shyer

  90. 1982: Arthur – Steve Gordon

  91. 1983: Tootsie – Don McGuire, Larry Gelbart and Murray Schisgal

  92. 1984: The Big Chill – Lawrence Kasdan and Barbara Benedek

  93. Best Adapted Comedy

  94. 1970: Goodbye, Columbus – Arnold Schulman

  95. 1971: MASH – Ring Lardner Jr. *

  96. 1972: Kotch – John Paxton

  97. 1973: Cabaret – Jay Presson Allen

  98. 1974: Paper Moon – Alvin Sargent

  99. 1975: The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz – Lionel Chetwynd and Mordecai Richler

  100. 1976: The Sunshine Boys – Neil Simon

  101. 1977: The Pink Panther Strikes Again – Blake Edwards and Frank Waldman

  102. 1978: Oh, God! – Larry Gelbart

  103. 1979: Heaven Can Wait – Elaine May and Warren Beatty and Same Time, Next Year – Bernard Slade

  104. 1980: Being There – Jerzy Kosiński

  105. 1981: Airplane! – Jim Abrahams, David Zucker and Jerry Zucker

  106. 1982: Rich and Famous – Gerard Ayres

  107. 1983: Victor/Victoria – Blake Edwards

  108. 1984: Terms of Endearment – James L. Brooks *

  109. Best Written Musical

  110. 1949: Easter Parade – Frances Goodrich, Albert Hackett, and Sidney Sheldon

  111. 1950: On the Town – Adolph Green and Betty Comden

  112. 1951: Annie Get Your Gun – Sidney Sheldon

  113. 1952: An American in Paris – Alan Jay Lerner *

  114. 1953: Singin' in the Rain – Betty Comden and Adolph Green

  115. 1954: Lili – Helen Deutsch and Paul Gallico

  116. 1955: Seven Brides for Seven Brothers – Albert Hackett, Frances Goodrich, and Dorothy Kingsley

  117. 1956: Love Me or Leave Me – Daniel Fuchs and Isobel Lennart *

  118. 1957: The King and I – Ernest Lehman

  119. 1958: Les Girls – Vera Caspary and John Patrick

  120. 1959: Gigi – Alan Jay Lerner *

  121. 1960: The Five Pennies – Robert Smith, Jack Rose, and Melville Shavelson

  122. 1961: Bells Are Ringing – Betty Comden and Adolph Green

  123. 1962: West Side Story – Ernest Lehman

  124. 1963: The Music Man – Meredith Willson, Franklin Lacey, and Marion Hargrove

  125. 1964: Not awarded

  126. 1965: Mary Poppins – Bill Walsh and Don DaGradi

  127. 1966: The Sound of Music – Maria Augusta Trapp, Howard Lindsay, Russel Crouse, and Ernest Lehman

  128. 1967: Not awarded

  129. 1968: Thoroughly Modern Millie – Richard Morris

  130. 1969: Funny Girl – Isobel Lennart

  131. Best Written Film Concerning Problems with the American Scene

  132. 1949: The Snake Pit – Frank Partos and Millen Brand

  133. 1950: All the King's Men – Robert Rossen

  134. 1951: The Men – Carl Foreman

  135. 1952: Bright Victory – Robert Buckner

  136. Best Written Western

  137. 1949: The Treasure of the Sierra Madre – John Huston *

  138. 1950: Yellow Sky – W. R. Burnett and Lamar Trotti

  139. 1951: Broken Arrow – Albert Maltz

Television

Dramatic Series

Comedy Series

New Series

Episodic Drama

Episodic Comedy

TV & New Media Motion Pictures

Limited Series

Animation

Comedy-Variety Talk Series

Best Comedy/Variety – Specials

Video games

The video game category was first added in 2008, but discontinued after the 2019 awards.

  1. Outstanding Achievement in Video Game Writing

  2. 2008: Dead Head Fred – Dave Ellis and Adam Cogan

  3. 2009: Star Wars: The Force Unleashed – Haden Blackman, Shawn Pitman, John Stafford, and Cameron Suey

  4. 2010: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves – Amy Hennig

  5. 2011: Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood – Patrice Désilets, Jeffrey Yohalem, and Corey May

  6. 2012: Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception – Amy Hennig

  7. 2013: Assassin's Creed III: Liberation – Richard Farrese and Jill Murray

  8. 2014: The Last of Us – Neil Druckmann

  9. 2015: The Last of Us: Left Behind – Neil Druckmann

  10. 2016: Rise of the Tomb Raider – John Stafford, Cameron Suey, Rhianna Pratchett, and Philip Gelatt

  11. 2017: Uncharted 4: A Thief's End – Neil Druckmann, Josh Scherr, Tom Bissell, and Ryan James

  12. 2018: Horizon Zero Dawn – John Gonzalez, Benjamin McCaw, Ben Schroder, Anne Toole, Dee Warrick, and Meg Jayanth

  13. 2019: God of War – Matt Sophos, Richard Zangrande Gaubert, and Cory Barlog

See also

References