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#wggbawards THE WRITERS’ GUILD AWARDS PROGRAMME THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS 11 St Andrews Place, Regent’s Park, London NW1 4LE MONDAY 15 JANUARY 2018 The Writers’ Guild of Great Britain is a trade union registered at 134 Tooley Street, London SE1 2TU @TheWritersGuild www.writersguild.org.uk PRESIDENT’S WELCOME THE WRITERS’ GUILD AWARDS Welcome to the Writers’ Guild Awards 2018. Photo: Robert Taylor Photography Isn’t it great to be in a roomful of achievement to be on the shortlist, let alone your peers? To a man and woman, to win. Congratulations to you and thanks to professional liars. And in a post-truth all our juries who have laboured mightily to world, is it any surprise that we are pick the best of the best. in a golden age of writing? The more Making this evening possible is a group of life outside is disappointing, the more spectacular organisations and companies who beautiful and necessary the cabaret work with writers year round but have given becomes. This year we have games that us their support tonight to honour you, the model mental illness, radio plays that give writers. Huge thanks to our lead sponsor LEAD SPONSOR voice to the voiceless, television shows ALCS, to major sponsors ITV, BBC Drama and that examine painfully buried secrets BBC Worldwide, to Company Pictures, Silver and offer surprising new visions of the Reel, Nick Hern Books and Lionsgate. If you past. We have a revived Best First Novel meet a sponsor tonight please praise them, Award and an entirely new category, Best love them – in a non-threatening, appropriate Online Comedy, a welcome recognition manner – appreciate them as best you can. THANK YOU TO ALL OUR SPONSORS that great talent doesn’t wait for permission. Have a wonderful evening. In every category the number of potential Olivia Hetreed worthy nominees has been almost WGGB President overwhelming, so it really is a tremendous HISTORY OF THE AWARDS Since they were established in 1961, the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain Awards have been honouring the cream of British writers and writing. The Awards also recognise the importance of our work in preserving freedom of speech, and championing writing as an essential part of our national and international culture. Previous winners include: Danny Boyle Jimmy McGovern Alan Bennett Richard Curtis Lynda La Plante Tom Stoppard Jo Brand Anthony Minghella Steve McQueen Matthew Vaughn Roddy Doyle Kay Mellor Dawn French Jennifer Saunders Russell T. Davies THE WRITERS’ GUILD AWARDS @TheWritersGuild #wggbawards @TheWritersGuild #wggbawards THE WRITERS’ GUILD AWARDS PROGRAMME OF EVENTS 6.30pm Champagne and canapés reception 7.00pm Welcome by WGGB President Olivia Hetreed THE WGGB 2018 AWARDS CEREMONY Hosted by Vicki Pepperdine Best Online Comedy Best Long Running TV Series Best Writing in a Video Game Best Children’s TV Episode Best Radio Comedy Best Long Form TV Drama Best First Novel Best First Screenplay Remembering WGGB members Best Radio Drama Best Play for Young Audiences Best Play Best Screenplay Best TV Situation Comedy Best Short Form TV Drama Outstanding Contribution to Writing 9.00pm Celebration drinks and canapés 11.00pm Bar close & carriages THE WRITERS’ GUILD AWARDS @TheWritersGuild #wggbawards ABOUT WGGB The Writers’ Guild of Great Britain (WGGB) is the TUC-affiliated trade union representing professional writers in TV, film, theatre, radio, books, poetry, comedy, The Future of UK Television Writing in Leeds was just one of many events organised by WGGB in 2017 animation and videogames. Photo: Paul Harness Photography Our members also include emerging and aspiring writers (known as our Candidate Members). “ We have been negotiating better pay and working conditions for writers since Perhaps the best example of reach into the new economy is the 1959. The national agreements we have in place cover key employers, including well-established Writers’ Guild of Great Britain which goes some the BBC, ITV, National Theatre, Royal Court and Royal Shakespeare Company. way to bringing worker representation to the expanding online world, “ We have attracted high-profile members throughout our 58-year history, videogames and creative content of all sorts.” and continue to do so today. Their names include, among many others: screenwriters Steven Moffat, Mike Leigh, Kay Mellor, Emma Thompson Journalist, academic, banker and former Blair and Paul Laverty; playwrights Tom Stoppard, April De Angelis, Laura Wade speechwriter Philip Collins, writing on ‘tomorrow’s and Mike Bartlett; authors Tony Robinson, Stella Duffy, Sandi Toksvig trade unions’ in ideas magazine Prospect and David Nicholls. We lobby and campaign on behalf of writers, to ensure their voices are heard in a rapidly changing digital landscape, and we wield influence over politicians in Westminster, Brussels, Holyrood, Cardiff Bay and beyond. BECOME A MEMBER We offer a range of benefits to our members, including free training, contract vetting, a pension scheme, Welfare Fund, entry to our Find A We welcome all professional writers working in the fields we represent, Writer directory, a weekly ebulletin, plus member-only events and discounts. and have a variety of membership options, including one for aspiring/ emerging writers (Candidate Members) and Affiliate Members. You can join online at www.writersguild.org.uk or by phoning our membership team on 0207 833 0777 THE WRITERS’ GUILD AWARDS @TheWritersGuild #wggbawards @TheWritersGuild #wggbawards THE WRITERS’ GUILD AWARDS ACHIEVEMENTS IN 2017 IN FILM... IN BOOKS... We have gained funding for a major survey Our Books Committee represents poets on gender equality in the film and TV and non-fiction writers as well as writers industries, which will form the basis of of prose and deals with various issues of a campaign. relevance to them. We have run a series of free, exclusive We have supported libraries, museums and WGGB member film screenings, and galleries against devastating cuts. offered members the chance to attend film We have launched the new Best First Novel premieres, including Q&As with writers, Writers’ Guild Award. directors and leading cast members. We have started work on revising our film agreement with Pact. IN ANIMATION... WGGB continues to offer its members free screenings of current and upcoming film releases Photo: shutterstock.com/KEN226 Our ‘locked box’ deal with the British Film We have revised our Guidelines for Institute (BFI) ensures that writers now get Animation Writers and have produced a share (alongside producers and directors) a best-practice guide for industry We have been working across all our craft areas to protect writers’ of recouped income from feature films professionals in collaboration with the rights during the Brexit negotiations. supported with Lottery Funding through the Personal Managers’ Association. BFI Film Fund (and held in a ‘locked box’ for reinvestment in the British film industry). Children’s animation scriptwriters are now IN TELEVISION... Alongside sister unions BECTU and eligible for the WGGB pension. the NUJ, we have boycotted the Writers Digital Payments, set up by broadcasters’ Project Diamond diversity WGGB and the Personal Managers’ IN RADIO... initiative, until the broadcasters release IN VIDEOGAMES… Association, ensures writers get paid programme-level data. We have negotiated special fees for the whenever their work is shown online. Home Front Radio 4 drama serial. We hold events, including an annual panel Since the scheme was established in 2015, IN THEATRE... event with the International Game Writers Digital Payments has paid out over We meet regularly with the BBC to raise Developers Association. We negotiate fee increases for playwrights £2 million to writers whose work has been issues on pay and conditions for radio working under our agreements with the shown on BBC iPlayer and ITV Player. writers, which are enshrined in our Independent Theatre Council, UK Theatre national agreements. We negotiate regular fee increases for and TNC (Royal Court, Royal Shakespeare IN COMEDY… writers working under our national Company and National Theatre). We launched a new series of Radio Drama The newly formed Comedy Committee agreements with the BBC, ITV and Pact. Roadshows around the UK. We organise the annual Olwen Wymark has launched the Best Online Comedy We work collectively with other Theatre Encouragement Awards. We organise the annual Tinniswood audio Writers’ Guild Award and held an event unions to combat bullying, harassment drama script award, alongside the Society on sitcom writing with comedy legends We organise an annual Literary Managers’ by managers and colleagues as part of the of Authors, which is presented at the BBC Marks and Gran. Forum to discuss issues directly with Creating Without Conflict campaign. Audio Drama Awards. theatres and touring companies. Our Free is NOT an Option campaign tackles the issue of unpaid development Our Welsh branch has called on the Arts work in film and TV. Council of Wales to carry out a full review of the lack of opportunities for playwrights working in the Welsh language. THE WRITERS’ GUILD AWARDS @TheWritersGuild #wggbawards @TheWritersGuild #wggbawards THE WRITERS’ GUILD AWARDS BEST ONLINE COMEDY BEST LONG RUNNING TV SERIES A HARD BREXIT CORONATION Barney Fishwick and STREET, Will Hislop EPISODE 9251 Damon Alexis-Rochefort MEET THE CITY BOYS EMMERDALE, SECRETLY VOTING EPISODE 7699 FOR CORBYN! “INSIDE THE MIND OF DEMENTIA” Gabriel Bisset-Smith Maxine Alderton SHOWREEL FOR HOLBY CITY, ONE WORD OR SERIES 19, EPISODE 2 LESS PARTS “RoCKET