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: Laurel Award for TV Writing Achievement Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement
Categories (As of 2023)
Film Best Adapted Screenplay Best Original Screenplay Best Documentary Screenplay
Television Comedy Series Drama Series Episodic Comedy Episodic Drama Long Form – Adapted Long Form – Original Short Form New Media New Series Animation Comedy/Variety Talk Series Comedy/Variety – Sketch Series Best Comedy/Variety – Specials Daytime Serials Children's Script Best Quiz and Audience Documentary Script – Current Events Documentary Script – Other Than Current Events
News TV News Script – Regularly Scheduled, Bulletin, or Breaking Report TV News Script – Analysis, Feature, or Commentary Digital News Radio Radio News Script – Regularly Scheduled, Bulletin, or Breaking Report Radio News Script – Analysis, Feature or Commentary 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 Musical (1949–1969) Best Written Western (1949–1951) Best Written Film Concerning American Scene (1949–1952) 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
1st Writers Guild of America Awards 2nd Writers Guild of America Awards 3rd Writers Guild of America Awards 4th Writers Guild of America Awards 5th Writers Guild of America Awards 6th Writers Guild of America Awards 7th Writers Guild of America Awards 8th Writers Guild of America Awards 9th Writers Guild of America Awards 10th Writers Guild of America Awards 11th Writers Guild of America Awards 12th Writers Guild of America Awards 13th Writers Guild of America Awards 14th Writers Guild of America Awards 15th Writers Guild of America Awards 16th Writers Guild of America Awards 17th Writers Guild of America Awards 18th Writers Guild of America Awards 19th Writers Guild of America Awards 20th Writers Guild of America Awards
21st Writers Guild of America Awards 22nd Writers Guild of America Awards 23rd Writers Guild of America Awards 24th Writers Guild of America Awards 25th Writers Guild of America Awards 26th Writers Guild of America Awards 27th Writers Guild of America Awards 28th Writers Guild of America Awards 29th Writers Guild of America Awards 30th Writers Guild of America Awards 31st Writers Guild of America Awards 32nd Writers Guild of America Awards 33rd Writers Guild of America Awards 34th Writers Guild of America Awards 35th Writers Guild of America Awards 36th Writers Guild of America Awards 37th Writers Guild of America Awards 38th Writers Guild of America Awards 39th Writers Guild of America Awards 40th Writers Guild of America Awards
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Winners A * denotes a film that also went on to win an Academy Award.
Films
Best Original Screenplay 1967: Bonnie and Clyde – David Newman and Robert Benton 1968: The Producers – Mel Brooks * 1984: Broadway Danny Rose – Woody Allen 1985: Witness – Pamela Wallace, William Kelley, and Earl W. Wallace * 1986: Hannah and Her Sisters – Woody Allen * 1987: Moonstruck – John Patrick Shanley * 1988: Bull Durham – Ron Shelton 1989: Crimes and Misdemeanors – Woody Allen 1990: Avalon – Barry Levinson 1991: Thelma & Louise – Callie Khouri * 1992: The Crying Game – Neil Jordan * 1993: The Piano – Jane Campion * 1994: Four Weddings and a Funeral – Richard Curtis 1995: Braveheart – Randall Wallace 1996: Fargo – Joel Coen and Ethan Coen * 1997: As Good as It Gets – Mark Andrus and James L. Brooks 1998: Shakespeare in Love – Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard * 1999: American Beauty – Alan Ball * 2000: You Can Count on Me – Kenneth Lonergan 2001: Gosford Park – Julian Fellowes * 2002: Bowling for Columbine – Michael Moore 2003: Lost in Translation – Sofia Coppola * 2004: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind – Charlie Kaufman, Michael Gondry, and Pierre Bismuth * 2005: Crash – Paul Haggis and Bobby Moresco * 2006: Little Miss Sunshine – Michael Arndt * 2007: Juno – Diablo Cody * 2008: Milk – Dustin Lance Black * 2009: The Hurt Locker – Mark Boal * 2010: Inception – Christopher Nolan 2011: Midnight in Paris – Woody Allen * 2012: Zero Dark Thirty – Mark Boal 2013: Her – Spike Jonze * 2014: The Grand Budapest Hotel – Wes Anderson and Hugo Guinness 2015: Spotlight – Tom McCarthy and Josh Singer * 2016: Moonlight – Barry Jenkins; story by Tarell Alvin McCraney * 2017: Get Out – Jordan Peele * 2018: Eighth Grade – Bo Burnham 2019: Parasite – Bong Joon-ho and Han Jin-won; story by Bong Joon-ho * 2020: Promising Young Woman — Emerald Fennell * 2021: Don't Look Up — Adam McKay and David Sirota 2022: Everything Everywhere All at Once — Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert * 2023: The Holdovers — David Hemingson 2024: Anora — Sean Baker * 2025: Sinners — Ryan Coogler * Best Adapted Screenplay 1984: The Killing Fields – Bruce Robinson 1985: Prizzi's Honor – Richard Condon and Janet Roach 1986: A Room with a View – Ruth Prawer Jhabvala * 1987: Roxanne – Steve Martin 1988: Dangerous Liaisons – Christopher Hampton * 1989: Driving Miss Daisy – Alfred Uhry * 1990: Dances with Wolves – Michael Blake * 1991: The Silence of the Lambs – Ted Tally * 1992: The Player – Michael Tolkin 1993: Schindler's List – Steven Zaillian * 1994: Forrest Gump – Eric Roth * 1995: Sense and Sensibility – Emma Thompson * 1996: Sling Blade – Billy Bob Thornton * 1997: L.A. Confidential – Brian Helgeland and Curtis Hanson * 1998: Out of Sight – Scott Frank 1999: Election – Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor 2000: Traffic – Stephen Gaghan * 2001: A Beautiful Mind – Akiva Goldsman * 2002: The Hours – David Hare 2003: American Splendor – Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini 2004: Sideways – Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor * 2005: Brokeback Mountain – Larry McMurty and Diana Ossana * 2006: The Departed – William Monahan * 2007: No Country for Old Men – Joel Coen and Ethan Coen * 2008: Slumdog Millionaire – Simon Beaufoy * 2009: Up in the Air – Jason Reitman 2010: The Social Network – Aaron Sorkin * 2011: The Descendants – Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, and Jim Rash * 2012: Argo – Chris Terrio * 2013: Captain Phillips – Billy Ray 2014: The Imitation Game – Graham Moore * 2015: The Big Short – Adam McKay and Charles Randolph * 2016: Arrival – Eric Heisserer 2017: Call Me by Your Name — James Ivory * 2018: Can You Ever Forgive Me? – Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty 2019: Jojo Rabbit – Taika Waititi * 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 2021: CODA – Sian Heder * 2022: Women Talking – Sarah Polley * 2023: American Fiction – Cord Jefferson * 2024: Nickel Boys – RaMell Ross and Joslyn Barnes 2025: One Battle After Another — Paul Thomas Anderson * Best Documentary Screenplay 2004: Super Size Me – Morgan Spurlock 2005: Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room – Alex Gibney 2006: Deliver Us from Evil – Amy J. Berg 2007: Taxi to the Dark Side – Alex Gibney 2008: Waltz with Bashir – Ari Folman 2009: The Cove – Mark Monroe 2010: Inside Job – Charles Ferguson; co-written by Chad Beck and Adam Bolt 2011: Better This World – Katie Galloway and Kelly Duane de la Vega 2012: Searching for Sugar Man – Malik Bendjelloul 2013: Stories We Tell – Sarah Polley 2014: The Internet's Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz – Brian Knappenberger 2015: Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief – Alex Gibney 2016: Command and Control – Robert Kenner, Brian Pearle, Kim Roberts, and Eric Schlosser 2017: Jane – Brett Morgen 2018: Bathtubs Over Broadway – Ozzy Inguanzo and Dava Whisenant 2019: The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley – Alex Gibney 2020: The Dissident — Mark Monroe and Bryan Fogel 2021: Exposing Muybridge – Marc Shaffer 2022: Moonage Daydream – Brett Morgen 2023: The Pigeon Tunnel – Errol Morris 2024: Jim Henson Idea Man – Mark Monroe 2025: 2000 Meters to Andriivka — Mstyslav Chernov
Discontinued categories
Best Written Drama 1949: The Snake Pit – Frank Partos and Millen Brand 1950: All the King's Men – Robert Rossen 1951: Sunset Boulevard – Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder, and D. M. Marshman Jr. * 1952: A Place in the Sun – Michael Wilson and Harry Brown * 1953: High Noon – Carl Foreman 1954: From Here to Eternity – Daniel Taradash * 1955: On the Waterfront – Budd Schulberg * 1956: Marty – Paddy Chayefsky * 1957: Friendly Persuasion – Michael Wilson 1958: 12 Angry Men – Reginald Rose 1959: The Defiant Ones – Nedrick Young and Harold Jacob Smith * 1960: The Diary of Anne Frank – Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett 1961: Elmer Gantry – Richard Brooks * 1962: The Hustler – Sidney Carroll and Robert Rossen 1963: To Kill a Mockingbird – Horton Foote * 1964: Hud – Harriet Frank Jr. and Irving Ravetch 1965: Becket – Edward Anhalt *