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Playwrights receive significant fee rise and new digital rights as WGGB ITC Agreement gets major update

Published on: Monday June 2, 2025

Playwrights working in the UK independent theatre sector are to gain new rights for the digital exploitation of their work and a 24% uplift in minimum fees over three years, following a major update to the existing agreement between WGGB and the Independent Theatre Council (ITC), the management association and membership body representing 450 independent performing arts companies, venues and producers. The deal (effective from 1 June 2025) will s...

New TAC WGGB Agreement

Published on: Tuesday May 27, 2025

WGGB and Teledwyr Annibynnol Cymru (TAC), Welsh language independent TV producers, have signed off a new collective agreement for writers commissioned by TAC producers and the Welsh language broadcaster S4C. This agreement replaces the old TAC WGGB Agreement, and contains new terms for writers, including but not limited to: Linguistic adaptation for broadcast: The new agreement recognises that the writer of the Welsh language version of a script ...

Writers – have you been asked to work for free?

Published on: Tuesday May 20, 2025

Then join our call for evidence on the type and amount of free work that has been requested of you over the past 12 months. The call for evidence also includes work requested beyond the scope of your contract for no additional payment. All writers are eligible to take part – WGGB members and non-members alike. And we’re keen to hear from writers in all the craft areas we represent – TV, film, theatre, audio, books, comedy, animation and vide...

WGGB responds to Audible AI plans

Published on: Thursday May 15, 2025

Amazon-owned Audible announced this week that they are to use AI technology to produce audiobooks. Audible plans to use AI technology to narrate audiobooks, with AI translation to follow. The audiobook provider has said it will be making its AI production technology available to certain publishers via “select partnerships”. In response to the developments, WGGB Books Chair Simon Guerrier said: “AI narration and production of audiobooks means a wo...

Government must accept Lords transparency amendment to the Data Bill

Published on: Tuesday May 13, 2025

The Creative Rights in AI Coalition, of which WGGB is a member, has called on the Government to accept a transparency amendment to the Data Bill that would give rightsholders meaningful transparency over the use of their content by AI. The Lords backing for the amendment came yesterday (12 May 2025) and was won by 272 votes to 125. It followed an open letter to Prime Minister Keir Starmer on 10 May 2025, signed by hundreds of creatives and creati...

WGGB takes #MakeItFair message on AI to Parliament

Published on: Thursday May 8, 2025

On Wednesday 7 May 2025, WGGB Chair Emma Reeves, Treasurer Gail Renard and Senior Organiser John Sailing represented the WGGB to show support for amendments to the Data (Use and Access) Bill tabled by Victoria Collins MP and Alex Sobel MP. These amendments called for transparency measures to be implemented in relation to AI training and to protect creators’ rights. The event, opposite Parliament, was organised by UK Music as part of the Creative ...

Uplift in minimum fees for ITV writers

Published on: Wednesday May 7, 2025

The WGGB negotiating team has secured a 2% uplift on minimum fees paid under Schedule B of the ITV/STV/WGGB/PMA TV Agreement, effective from 1 May 2025. This means that the rate for a one-hour (slot length) original teleplay goes up to £16,137, with the rate for series/serials rising to £12,629. For long-running series, the minimum rate increases to £4,210 per half-hour slot length. Attendance fees rise to £137 per day. View the rate card ...

WGGB supports creative workers in the Midlands with landmark agreement

Published on: Tuesday April 15, 2025

WGGB is proud to have signed a landmark agreement with the West Midlands Combined Authority, alongside our sister creative unions, to support creative industry workers in the region. The agreement will seek to build on the region’s cultural and creative strengths, including its young and diverse workforce, and secure new jobs, fairer pay, and long-term career opportunities for local people. This agreement has grown out of earlier partnership work...

Olwen Wymark Awards 2025 – nominations now open

Published on: Tuesday April 15, 2025

Nominations are now open for our 21st Olwen Wymark Theatre Encouragement Awards. Any WGGB member may nominate anyone who has given them exceptional encouragement for theatre writing during the past year (1 May 2024 to 1 May 2025). This is an award for personal encouragement. It is not in recognition of broader, institutional contributions to the writing sector, no matter how well deserved. Other past winners have included mentors, theatre compani...

WGGB at TUC Black Workers’ Conference 2025

Published on: Monday April 14, 2025

WGGB delegates Bec Boey and Sian Robins-Grace were at TUC Black Workers’ Conference this year, which ran from 11-13 April 2025 at Congress House in London. Bec Boey (pictured above) moved WGGB’s motion (21) Diversity Monitoring, which was carried unanimously. The WGGB motion was seconded by Equity, with speeches in support from Unison and NASUWT. The motion was as follows: “Conference notes a report published by Creative Diversity Network which l...

#DoTheWriteThing day of action

Published on: Thursday April 3, 2025

Following the The Atlantic’s article, which revealed that many UK authors have had their work taken without consent as part of the Library Genesis ‘LibGen’ dataset and used by Meta to train AI, we immediately issued advice to our members. You can read that advice here. On 3 April 2025, the WGGB joined forces with the Society of Authors, ALCS and others to deliver a joint letter to Meta and make our voices heard. We encouraged our members to suppo...

BBC announces monthly 90-minute play slot on Radio 4, following campaign to Save Audio Drama at the BBC

Published on: Monday March 31, 2025

The BBC is launching a monthly 90-minute play slot starting later in the spring on BBC Radio 4, which will focus on new audio dramas and original adaptations of classic stage plays. These will sit alongside the very best of the recent archive. The news was announced at the annual BBC Audio Drama Awards ceremony at Broadcasting House in London last night (30 March 2025) by Chief Content Officer Charlotte Moore. It follows months of campaigning by ...

Edson Burton wins 2025 Tinniswood Award for ‘Man Friday’

Published on: Sunday March 30, 2025

Edson Burton has been announced as the winner of the 2025 Tinniswood Award, which is organised by WGGB and the Society of Authors to recognise the best audio drama script of the year. Burton received the accolade for Man Friday, a 57’ drama broadcast on BBC Radio 4 (directed by Mary Ward-Lowery for BBC Audio Wales and West). The audio drama centres on the re-imagining of Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe, from Man Friday’s point of view. Colonialism...

Save River City – write to your MP

Published on: Friday March 28, 2025

Following the BBC’s announcement earlier this month that they are cancelling the continuing drama River City, the petition has now reached over 11,000 signatures. Thanks to all our members who have signed! As part of our Save River City campaign, we are now calling on our members to write to their MP (especially if they represent a Scottish constituency) and raise your concerns about the loss of River City. Find out who your MP is and write to th...

Spring statement – our response

Published on: Wednesday March 26, 2025

Following the spring statement, delivered in the House of Commons today (26 March 2025) by Chancellor Rachel Reeves MP (pictured), WGGB issued the following statement: There was much talk in the spring statement about the Government’s mission to deliver security for working people, but sadly the experience of our members at the moment is the direct opposite of that. We are seeing cuts to audio drama and continuing drama (most recently River City)...

LibGen database – advice for authors

Published on: Thursday March 20, 2025

We have become aware that some of our members have found that their work has been used without their consent in LibGen, a pirated books database that Meta has used to train AI. The WGGB have been campaigning and lobbying for increased protection for writers, to stop companies from taking their work without permission or payment. To find out what we’ve been doing and what you can do to help the campaign, please check out our campaign page. What ca...

Save River City

Sign the petition here – Write to your MP here The BBC announced on March 18 2025 that they are cancelling the continuing drama River City from autumn 2026. This is devastating news for the writing community in Scotland and will result in a significant loss of writing hours, a huge blow to our members who write for River City, to loyal audiences, and another serious erosion of continuing drama, which provides a unique talent pipeline into an indu...

River City – our response

Published on: Tuesday March 18, 2025

In response to the news today that the BBC is cancelling the continuing drama River City from autumn 2026, WGGB Chair Emma Reeves said: “This is devastating news for the writing community, following so soon after the announcement of cuts to Emmerdale and Coronation Street, the axing of BBC Doctors last year and the cancellation of Holby before that. “While we welcome a commitment from BBC Scotland to invest in new drama production, these changes ...

Save Audio Drama at the BBC – write to Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy MP

Published on: Wednesday March 12, 2025

From April 2025 the BBC are making dramatic cuts to audio drama on Radio 3, completely eradicating audio drama from the channel. This change will not only see essential employment opportunities for writers and other creative workers slashed, but programming of new material will be completely gone. The BBC have made no formal commitment to saving audio drama and alongside Equity and the Society of Authors we have launched a campaign, calling ...

WGGB at TUC Women’s Conference 2025

Published on: Monday March 10, 2025

WGGB members Katharine Way and Aisha Josiah (pictured left and right) were representing the union at the TUC Women’s Conference 2025, on 5-7 March, at Congress House in London. Speaking in support of the motion on Women creative workers and generative AI, Josiah highlighted some of WGGB’s more specific recommendations, including: implementing a licensing model increasing transparency in AI use labelling AI-generated content and strengthening pen...

Sandi Toksvig: We must stand up to the Government and Big Tech on AI

Published on: Monday February 24, 2025

The consultation is now closed. Check our campaign page for further updates here By Sandi Toksvig OBE Who doesn’t want to hear about a success story? One of the UK’s biggest? It’s the creative industries which contribute a staggering £125 billion to our economy plus, of course, providing cultural discourse and enhancing the UK’s soft power abroad. What’s not to love? But all that risks being fundamentally undermined by the Government’s proposed c...

Tinniswood Award 2025 shortlist announced

Published on: Tuesday February 18, 2025

Edson Burton, Satinder Chohan, Robert Forrest and Dan Rebellato are the shortlisted writers for this year’s Tinniswood Award, which is organised by WGGB and the Society of Authors to recognise the best audio drama script of the year. A prize of £3,000 is generously sponsored by the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society and will be presented at the BBC Audio Drama Awards on 30 March 2025. The Tinniswood Award judges this year were Nicola Baldw...

Fight back against Government plans on copyright and AI

Published on: Monday February 17, 2025

The consultation is now closed. Please check our campaign page for further updates On 17 December the Government launched a consultation on AI and copyright. The Government’s proposed plans on AI and copyright will weaken your copyright protections and allow AI companies to use your work without permission or payment. But we are fighting back and we need our members to do the same. Please respond to the Government’s consultation on Copyright and ...

Recruit a fellow writer this #HeartUnions Week

Published on: Monday February 10, 2025

#HeartUnions Week is an annual celebration of the trade union movement and what we achieve for our members. It runs this week (from 10-16 February), and we are asking WGGB members to help make your union stronger by recruiting a friend or colleague. It’s only by joining together, and with strength in numbers, we can fight for better pay, terms and conditions, protect your copyright in an age of AI and campaign on the issues that matter to you. We...

Save Audio Drama on World Radio Day

Published on: Thursday February 6, 2025

On World Radio Day (13 February 2025) we asked our members and supporters to share a video on their social media channels, tagging the BBC to tell the broadcaster why audio drama is important to them, the wider UK drama ecosystem and why they oppose the cuts to audio drama at the BBC. Thanks to those who have shared their videos – you can see a selection below. You can also still sign the petition to Save Audio Drama at the BBC. To keep up-to-dat...

ITV soaps cuts – our response

Published on: Tuesday February 4, 2025

In response to the ITV announcement today (4 February 2025) that there would be a reduction of 52 episodes per year for Coronation Street and Emmerdale, WGGB Chair Emma Reeves said: “ITV’s announcement today of cuts to episode numbers on Coronation Street and Emmerdale is a real cause for concern, coming in the wake of the axing of BBC Doctors last year and the cancellation of Holby before that. “The reduction from six to five episodes per week o...

Writers Digital Payments pays out over £2 million to BBC screenwriters

Published on: Tuesday January 21, 2025

BBC screenwriters will have received over £2 million in payments for viewings of their work on BBC iPlayer during 2023, in the latest distribution by Writers Digital Payments (WDP). The not-for-profit scheme, set up by WGGB and the Personal Managers Association (PMA), completed its latest distribution to writers last week. Since the first WDP payments were made in 2015, over £14 million has hit the bank accounts of writers commissioned by the BBC...

Writers’ Guild Awards 2024-25

A decision was made to pause the Writers’ Guild Awards in 2024 while they underwent a review. In 2025 we awarded our Outstanding Contribution to Writing Award to Gwyneth Hughes and Gail Renard in the interim review period. ...

Writers’ Guild Awards 2021

The Writers’ Guild Awards took a pause this year because of the Covid pandemic and lockdowns ...

Save Audio Drama at the BBC

From April 2025 the BBC are making dramatic cuts to audio drama on Radio 3, completely eradicating audio drama from the channel. This change will not only see essential employment opportunities for writers and other creative workers slashed, but programming of new material will be completely gone. When the BBC announced these changes, they made no formal commitment to saving audio drama and alongside Equity and the Society of Authors we launch...

Save Audio Drama – sign the petition

Published on: Wednesday January 15, 2025

** Sign the petition to Save Audio Drama at the BBC here ** From April 2025 the BBC are making dramatic cuts to audio drama on Radio 3, completely eradicating audio drama from the channel. This change will not only see essential employment opportunities for writers and other creative workers slashed, but programming of new material will be completely gone. The BBC have made no formal commitment to saving audio drama and alongside Equity and the S...

WGGB honours Gwyneth Hughes and Gail Renard for Outstanding Contribution to Writing

Published on: Monday January 13, 2025

We are delighted to announce that we have today (13 January 2025) presented our Outstanding Contribution to Writing Award to Mr Bates vs The Post Office screenwriter Gwyneth Hughes and writer and WGGB Treasurer Gail Renard. The recipients received their awards at the Garden Museum in Lambeth, London, presented by WGGB Chair Emma Reeves (pictured above centre). The prestigious annual Writers’ Guild Awards, which celebrate the best of British writi...

Digital terms for playwrights enshrined in landmark WGGB and SSP UK Theatre Agreement

Published on: Wednesday December 18, 2024

Playwrights in the UK are to gain landmark new terms for the digital exploitation of their work, following a deal struck between WGGB, Scottish Society of Playwrights (SSP) and UK Theatre. The successful negotiations come in the wake of an explosion in streaming and other forms of online delivery of plays during and following the Covid pandemic. The new terms, which apply to all playwrights commissioned under WGGB’s UK Theatre Agreement, come int...

Copyright and Artificial Intelligence consultation – our response

Published on: Tuesday December 17, 2024

Today (17 December 2024), the Government launched its much anticipated consultation into Copyright and Artificial Intelligence. The full consultation can be found here. The Government is consulting on a range of proposals but favours an approach which would allow AI companies to use members’ copyrighted work without express permission being granted. This mirrors the approach taken by the EU and has drawn much criticism for being impractical, unwo...

Farewell 2024

Published on: Friday December 13, 2024

This past year has been another busy one for WGGB and we wanted to give you a round-up of what has happened and to thank our members and supporters for their activism, activity and achievements. Our office will close on 5pm, Friday 20 December, reopening with a skeleton service on 2 January 2025 and with full service on Monday 6 January 2025 ...

Olwen Wymark Award winners 2024

Published on: Friday November 29, 2024

WGGB presents its annual awards for the encouragement of new writing in London on Friday 29 November 2024. Founded by playwrights Mark Ravenhill and David James (former Chair of the WGGB Theatre Committee), the Olwen Wymark Awards were set up to give WGGB members the opportunity to publicly thank those who have given them a positive experience in new writing over the previous year. They are named in honour of playwright Olwen Wymark, passionate s...

Membership Renewal – Confirmation

Thank you for renewing your membership and continuing to pay by Direct Debit. Our membership team will email you shortly with a Direct Debit confirmation. If you change your bank account in future, please let us know by email: admin@writersguild.org.uk ...

Membership Renewal – Confirmation

Thank you for renewing your membership and switching your payment method to DD. In order to do so, please download the form below Download the Direct Debit Renewal Form Please send the completed form either by email to admin@writersguild.org.uk or alternatively you can print it out and post it to: Membership Manager WGGB 1st Floor, 134 Tooley Street London SE1 2TU Once we’ve processed your form our membership team will email you with a Direct Deb...

‘Hollywood AI Database’ – advice for UK scriptwriters

Published on: Tuesday November 19, 2024

We have become aware of a feature in The Atlantic yesterday (18 November 2024) which reported that dialogue from films and TV shows has been used by companies to train AI systems. We are also aware that some of our members have found their work in the searchable database tool that The Atlantic has published online. According to the Atlantic report, the files within this data set are subtitles taken from a website called OpenSubtitles.org You...

WGGB negotiates an above inflation fee rise for BBC audio drama writers

Published on: Friday November 15, 2024

Following further negotiations with the BBC, we have secured an additional 2.5% rise in minimum fees for audio drama writers, on top of the 1.5% rise we negotiated at the beginning of this year. You can view the new BBC radio drama rate card, which is effective from 11 November 2024, here. WGGB General Secretary Ellie Peers said: “Audio drama is a unique and beloved medium which all starts with the writer and their script, so I am delighted that ...

Autumn Budget 2024 – our response

Published on: Wednesday November 6, 2024

Following the Autumn Budget, presented in the Commons today (30 October 2024) by Chancellor Rachel Reeves MP, WGGB General Secretary Ellie Peers said: “A Budget focussed on economic stability and protecting working people is welcome, as is the recognition of our world-leading creative industries as one of the pillars of the Government’s industrial strategy, with a pledge of £15 billion in support over the next five years. We welcome the Governmen...

Equality Writes – tackling inequality in the screen industries

In 2018 WGGB launched a landmark report which showed that only 16% of working film writers in the UK were women, and only 14% of prime-time TV was written by women These were just two of the shocking findings revealed in the report Gender Inequality and Screenwriters, which was commissioned by WGGB, funded by the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS) and authored by Alexis Kreager with Stephen Follows. The report spanned a whole decade...

When we speak and who speaks for us

How we decide to comment and share We are regularly asked to comment publicly or release a statement about our position on a broad range of subjects. We are also regularly asked to share third-party information on behalf of other organisations or individuals. Deciding when and how to comment or share information publicly is not always clear cut and we take a number of factors into consideration. Some of these include: Our remit as a trade union,...

Writers and AI

Write to Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy MP here – Write to your MP here Recent developments in AI pose a significant threat to writers’ work and earnings and we have been working hard to stay ahead of rapidly changing developments to ensure writers’ rights are at the forefront of employers’ and policy-makers’ minds, and to provide guidance to our members Find out more about our work in this area below. We responded to the Government’s consultation...

WGGB’s policy work

Our policy work ensures that the views and experiences of working writers are shared with decision-makers across Government and the creative industries both nationally and internationally, supporting our campaigns to improve writers’ terms and conditions Our work includes: Undertaking and supporting research which provides detailed insights into the working lives of writers, helping us to produce detailed briefings on issues of concern. Producin...

ITV Head of Generative AI Innovation – our response

Published on: Monday October 21, 2024

In response to ITV’s recent job advert for a Head of Generative AI Innovation, whose role will include using technology to help create ‘shows, films and digital-first content’, WGGB General Secretary Ellie Peers said: “We were shocked to hear that ITV are intending to bring in an AI expert to replace writers and other creators. There’s no shortage of story ideas out there, though sadly there appears to be an unwillingness to pay for them. If the ...

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Employment Rights Bill – what does it mean for UK writers?

Published on: Thursday October 10, 2024

The Government has today published the Employment Rights Bill, legislation that stems from many years of work from the trade union movement around the New Deal for Working People As part of that movement, WGGB welcomes legislation that aims to end exploitative employment practices and improve workers’ rights. We also welcome the fact that this bill seeks to strengthen the powers of trade unions and repeal the pernicious anti-strike legislation of...

WGGB at BFI London Film Festival

Published on: Monday October 7, 2024

This Friday, WGGB is proudly supporting the Fade In: Emerging Writers in Conversation panel at the BFI London Film Festival 2024. Six writers from across the UK will will discuss their journey into feature screenwriting, their sources of inspiration and their writing processes ...

Writers gather in Galway

Published on: Monday September 30, 2024

Writers from around the globe have converged at the World Conference of Screenwriters in Galway, Ireland, which starts this week (2-3 October 2024). The conference takes the theme of ‘The Power of Stories and Stories of Power’ and a WGGB delegation will represent the union at the event ...

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Diamond: The seventh cut – our response

Published on: Friday September 13, 2024

For writers, there are some improvements in the data, but the devil is always in the detail and the detail reveals that there is still urgent work that needs to be done to tackle equality, diversity and inclusion in our television industry. We are disappointed that, yet again, women writers remain well underrepresented, accounting for just 36.9% of TV contributions, and that roles are generally highly gendered. While contributions by disabled wri...

WGGB AGM 2024

Published on: Thursday September 12, 2024

Writers from across the UK gathered at our fifth online AGM on Thursday 12 September 2024. The past year has been another busy one for union staff and activists, negotiating and campaigning for writers in TV, film, theatre, audio, books, animation, comedy and videogames. Read the full report ...

Creative Scotland reinstates Open Fund for Individuals

Published on: Thursday September 5, 2024

Creative Scotland will reopen its Open Fund for Individuals after the Scottish Government confirmed it would release £6.6 million of funding. Scotland’s first minister, John Swinney, announced the decision to provide the funding at Holyrood this week (4 September 2024), as he revealed the Scottish Government’s plans for the 2024/25 financial year, which also include a review of Creative Scotland’s role in supporting culture in the country. Last m...

TUC Congress 2024

Published on: Tuesday September 3, 2024

WGGB is once again at TUC Congress, taking place this year from 8-11 September in Brighton. WGGB General Secretary Ellie Peers seconded an NUJ motion on 10 September, ‘Restoring trust in the media’, which passed. She spoke about how Big Tech companies must be held to account – on disinformation and also AI and creators’ rights – and the importance of our public service broadcasters like the BBC. Congress is the policy-making body of the Trades Un...

Affiliate Membership Renewal Direct Debit

To set up a Direct Debit please download a DD form, fill it in online, save it to your computer and then email the completed form to admin@writersguild.org.uk. Please use this method as setting up a Direct Debit Instruction online is currently unavailable. If you would like to set up a Direct Debit by phone please call 0207 833 0777 (you can leave a message and we’ll get back to you ). Existing Direct Debit payers (renewals) – you do not need to ...

Candidate Membership Renewal Direct Debit form

To set up a Direct Debit please download a DD form, fill it in online, save it to your computer and then email the completed form to admin@writersguild.org.uk. Please use this method as setting up a Direct Debit Instruction online is currently unavailable. If you would like to set up a Direct Debit by phone please call 0207 833 0777 (you can leave a message and we’ll get back to you ). Existing Direct Debit payers (renewals) – you do not need to ...

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Full Membership Renewal direct debit form

To set up a Direct Debit, download a DD form, fill it in online, save it to your computer and then email the completed form to admin@writersguild.org.uk. Please use this method as setting up a Direct Debit online is currently not available. If you would like to set up a Direct Debit by phone please call 0207 833 0777 (you can leave a message and whttps://writersguild.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/WGGB-DD-Renewal-form.pdfe’ll get back to you )...

Contract vetting submission form

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Jude Tindall: 1964-2024

Published on: Friday August 23, 2024

By Dominique Moloney Jude Tindall, the much-loved writer and creator of The Sister Boniface Mysteries, has sadly passed away. She will also be remembered for co-creating Shakespeare and Hathaway: Private Investigators and her brilliant episodes of Father Brown. Jude penned many episodes of Sister Boniface, including the upcoming Christmas Special. She was passionate about her shows, and prolific in her writing – as well as countless scripts for F...

Scotland arts cuts – make your voice heard!

Published on: Friday August 23, 2024

This week Creative Scotland announced that it was closing the Open Fund for Individuals to new applications due to the Scottish Government being unable to confirm the release of £6.6 million Grant-in-Aid budget in the current financial year 2024-2025 (all currently submitted Open Fund for Individual applications will be processed as per the published Guidance). This is devastating news – the Open Fund for Individuals is one of Creative Scotland’s...

WGGB launches new guide on devised and collaborative theatre

Published on: Monday August 19, 2024

Theatre is a collaborative medium, with each creative – whether they be a playwright, an actor, a director, a designer or another role – playing an integral part in bringing both material and production together. This is particularly true for devised theatre, where many people may be taking on multiple roles, and it may not be obvious who the writer is, or if there is a writer at all. WGGB is aware that the nature of devising can leave people con...

Life Membership Renewal

By renewing we ensure that we have your correct address, email and other contact details (and Life Members will automatically receive a renewal form by email). Life Members are not required to pay subscriptions, if you wish to make a donation then please send a cheque or postal order made payable to Writers’ Guild of Great Britain, 1st Floor, 134 Tooley St, London, SE1 2TU. Alternatively email admin@writersguild.org.uk or call 0207 833 0777 ...

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Student Membership Renewal

Student Members who are not eligible for Full Membership can choose to upgrade to Candidate Membership which enables you to access our free contract vetting service, plus support and advice, on top of your existing package of benefits. Student Membership costs £30 per year, payable in one instalment. Candidate Membership costs £108 per year and can be paid in a single annual payment or by monthly Direct Debit (£9 per month). Please note: Student ...

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Renew your WGGB membership

Thank you for your continued support of your union. Every penny of subscriptions goes to support our vital work winning better pay and working conditions for writers and campaigning on issues that matter to them. Click on the relevant link below to renew your annual membership. If you wish to join WGGB as a new member go to our Join page ...

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WGGB joins union call to save Welsh culture

Published on: Thursday August 8, 2024

WGGB has joined creative unions in Wales (Bectu, Musicians’ Union, Equity and National Union of Journalists) to call for urgent action to address the current decimation of Welsh arts and culture. As Wales gathers in Pontypridd for this year’s Eisteddfod in celebration of Welsh culture and language, trade unions representing the country’s writers, musicians, performers and creative practitioners, journalists, crew, front of house and backstage med...

Unlawful use of creators’ content by Big Tech must end, says CRA

Published on: Wednesday August 7, 2024

The Creators’ Rights Alliance – of which WGGB is a member – has today (7 August 2024) written to a range of companies working in software development, including Microsoft, Google, OPENAI, Apple and META. The letter reaffirms that members of the Creators’ Rights Alliance and the 500,000 creators they represent do not authorise the use of any of their works protected by copyright and/or related rights (including performers’ rights) for the training...

Don’t let Grok use your data!

Published on: Tuesday August 6, 2024

X, formerly known as Twitter, has rolled out a change that automatically feeds users’ data to the company’s ChatGPT competitor Grok. It is easy to opt out of this so that Grok is not able to use your X posts or interactions. We would advise all writers to do this. Many writers build an online following to encourage and help people to engage with their work. This can include sharing text, pictures, videos or audio which contain writers’ intellectu...

WGGB statement on the recent far-right violence

Published on: Tuesday August 6, 2024

There is no place in our society for the violence and hate we have seen in recent days. We stand against racism, discrimination and hate in all its forms. We stand in solidarity with all communities affected by the violence and the tragic events of last week. Hope Not Hate and Stand Up To Racism have lots of useful info on their work in this area. If you are struggling with all that is going on right now you can talk to Samaritans free day or nig...

Our members

Here’s what some of our members have to say about their reasons for joining WGGB. ...

Alan Ayckbourn CBE

“I belong to the Writers’ Guild because it is important that new young writers have a voice that represents them and looks after their interests. Given my years of age and experience combined with a first class agent, my concerns are looked after – not so those writers who are entering the profession. Hence my membership and support of the Writers’ Guild. We cannot afford to lose it.” ...

Laura Wade

“I’m a member because I’m glad the Writers’ Guild exists, and its existence should be celebrated. The Guild continues to do hugely important work for all of us, and as a freelance worker, it’s very empowering to know you’ve got such a strong organisation behind you.” ...

Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti

“I believe in the union movement and the power of a collective voice to shout loudly for the good of all.” ...

Jack Thorne

“I’m proud to be a member of the Writers’ Guild, I consider it the greatest of clubs. One that seeks to represent not just one but all, and to further our interests as a collective.” ...

Creative industries crucial to growth says new Culture Secretary

Published on: Thursday August 1, 2024

Unlocking growth and opportunity in the UK’s £170 billion culture, media and sport sectors was a central part of the vision laid out by Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Lisa Nandy MP at an event in Manchester yesterday (31 July 2024), attended by 150 industry leaders including WGGB General Secretary Ellie Peers. The summit, at Manchester’s Science and Industry Museum, brought together organisations spanning the creative industries,...

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MPs say Free is NOT an Option

WGGB’s Free is NOT an Option campaign received a boost at Westminster on Monday 22 June 2015, when a number of MPs added their support to the campaign at an event organised by the Performers’ Alliance All-Party Parliamentary Group. The Free is NOT an Option campaign has already received the support of a number of independent production companies, international writers’ guilds and the Culture Minister Ed Vaizey, who pledged to work with the Perfor...

About this site

This website was launched in 2025 and replaces the previous version of the WGGB website which was online from 2015-2024 News content prior to 2021 is now held in our news archive. If you have any problems accessing content on this site, please contact WGGB Head Office ...

Cookies

Like most websites, we use cookies on our site to improve the user experience These include, for example, cookies for analytics that tell us how people are using the site to help us improve the information we provide. If you want to switch cookies off please be aware that this may mean there are some aspects of the website you may not be able to use fully. How to disable cookies This will very much depend on the browser you are using and the indi...

Save the date for our 2024 AGM

Published on: Wednesday July 24, 2024

All WGGB members are invited to our Annual General Meeting on Thursday 12 September 2024 from 10.30am. To maximise member participation, we are holding the AGM virtually once again ...

Our people

WGGB at Edinburgh Festival Fringe

Published on: Tuesday July 23, 2024

The 2024 Edinburgh Festival Fringe is nearly upon us. If you’re a writer taking a show to Edinburgh, or you’re attending as a visitor, we’ve got a programme of events coming up. With both virtual and in-person events throughout August, there’s something for everyone, and we look forward to seeing you. ...

King’s speech – our response

Published on: Wednesday July 17, 2024

There was much to welcome in the King’s Speech at the State Opening of Parliament on 17 July 2024. It is also vital that new laws protecting workers do not exclude freelancers, and the Government’s focus on growth includes our world-leading creative industries ...

A new government and UK writers

Published on: Monday July 15, 2024

Following the election of a new government, what does the future hold for writers? And what will WGGB be doing over the coming months to ensure writers’ voices are heard and to make new allies in Westminster? ...

General Election – our response

Published on: Friday July 5, 2024

WGGB General Secretary Ellie Peers said: “As the UK wakes up to a new government and chapter in our political history, we call for a better deal for UK writers, who have too often been underpaid, unprotected and overlooked, in an industry that is struggling to survive. “As we spell out in our manifesto, the new administration must protect, support and nurture UK writers by introducing protections on fair pay and fair treatment, ensure our creativ...

Putting writers at the heart of the story

Published on: Friday July 5, 2024

The UK creative industries are a success and writers are central to that. In the run up to the UK General Election, WGGB launched a manifesto which calls on the next Government to implement our recommendations around four key areas, which we believe will protect, nurture and support UK writers. Writers create the stories which form the bedrock of our world-leading creative industries, currently worth over £124 billion to the UK economy. Yet they ...

What writers need to know about Meta’s new privacy policy

Published on: Wednesday June 12, 2024

Meta, the owners of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, have recently updated their privacy policies so that they can use anything you post to develop its AI models. This change may have significant implications for users, especially writers and other authors and creators who share their works on these platforms. The updated privacy policy for Meta will come into effect on 26 June 2024. By agreeing to Meta’s terms and conditions (when you set up a ...

Fee rises for playwrights at Royal Court, RSC and National Theatre

Published on: Wednesday June 12, 2024

Playwrights working under our TNC Agreement will see a 4% uplift on minimum fees, thanks to WGGB’s negotiators. The new rates are backdated to 1 April 2024 and will see the total script fee rise to £14,615 (except for the Royal Court Upstairs, which rises to £11,439). View the full rate card here. This negotiating success follows the 6% increase agreed last year for the period from April 2023 (read more here). WGGB Deputy General Secretary Lesley...

WGGB Manifesto – Putting writers at the heart of the story

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General Election 2024 – what does it mean for your union?

Published on: Friday May 31, 2024

With a General Election fast-approaching on 4 July, we thought we’d answer a few questions we often get asked by our members. WGGB is a trade union NOT affiliated to a political party. This means we are strictly governed by Electoral Commission rules, and our own rulebook too. Our members have a broad range of views. We therefore cannot, and do not, seek to influence how our members vote or indeed support any specific political party. As a trad...

Stop the Arts Apocalypse

Published on: Monday May 13, 2024

WGGB has joined organisations and artists from across the arts and education sectors to raise the alarm on the decimation of the arts in our schools and colleges. The coalition has issued a joint statement to outline the scale and severity of the problem and offer policy solutions to help save the arts from catastrophe ...

Rates rises for ITV and BBC audio drama writers

Published on: Thursday May 2, 2024

Following negotiations with the BBC and ITV, we have secured a 3% rise in minimum fees for screenwriters under our ITV/STV/PMA agreement, and a 1.5% rise on minimum fees for audio writers under our BBC radio drama agreement. You can view the new ITV rate card here. You can view the new BBC radio drama rate card here. WGGB General Secretary Ellie Peers said: “We continue to work hard for writers across all our different craft areas and our negotia...

WGGB at TUC Black Workers Conference

Published on: Wednesday May 1, 2024

On Saturday 27 April 2024 the TUC Black Workers Conference unanimously passed our motion calling for greater diversity in TV commissioning, proposed by WGGB delegate Jenny Davis ...

Tinniswood Award 2025 open for entries

Published on: Tuesday April 30, 2024

Nominations are now open for the 2025 Tinniswood Award for original audio drama scripts broadcast (or made available online) between 1 October 2023 and 31 October 2024. Established by WGGB and Society of Authors in memory of the writer Peter Tinniswood, the award celebrates the very best in audio drama writing ...

WGGB Equality and Diversity Chairs

Report it! survey

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Olwen Wymark Awards 2024

Published on: Wednesday April 24, 2024

** NOMINATIONS ARE NOW CLOSED ** We are celebrating 20 years of our Olwen Wymark Theatre Encouragement Awards this year and nominations are now open! Any WGGB member may nominate anyone who has given them exceptional encouragement for theatre writing during the past year (1 May 2023 to 1 May 2024). This is an award for personal encouragement. It is not in recognition of broader, institutional contributions to the writing sector, no matter how wel...

HW Fisher free tax and accounting consultation

UK chartered accountancy firm HW Fisher is offering all WGBB members an initial free one-hour consultation to discuss their tax and accounting affairs. To book your consultation, please call 020 7874 7846 or email mediahelpline@hwfisher.co.uk and quote reference ‘WGGB’. ...

WGGB National and Regional Reps

WGGB Executive Council Officers

WGGB Craft Chairs

WGGB staff

Writers’ Guild Awards

Our Writers’ Guild Awards have been celebrating the cream of British writing for over 60 years The star-studded, red-carpet event has seen high-profile writers rub shoulders with emerging talent across all our different craft areas, and is unique in allowing writers to honour their peers. The ceremony has also been instrumental in shining a greater spotlight on the work of our union and raising awareness of the issues currently facing writers in ...

Tinniswood Award

The Tinniswood Award was established by the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain and Society of Authors in memory of novelist, dramatist, scriptwriter and journalist Peter Tinniswood (pictured left) as well as to celebrate and encourage high standards in radio drama. The Tinniswood Award is presented each year (at the BBC Audio Drama Awards) to the best original audio drama script of the year. We are grateful to the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting ...

Pensions options

Disclaimer: WGGB is not responsible for content or advice given on external websites linked to from this page. Content on external sites is subject to change. We regularly check and update the information in this section but we cannot take responsibility for any loss arising out of use of the information. Guidance is of a general nature only and professional advice from an independent financial adviser and/or accountant should always be sought a...

Cymraeg

Undeb lafur yw Undeb yr Ysgrifenwyr (Writers’ Guild of Great Britain). Mae’r undeb yn cynrychioli dros 3,000 o awduron sy’n ysgrifennu ar gyfer sawl cyfrwng gan gynnwys teledu, ffilm, radio, theatr, llyfrau a gemau cyfrifiadurol. Mae’r undeb yn negydu cytundebau a thelerau gyda darlledwyr a chyrff sy’n cynrychioli’r theatrau. Mae’r Undeb yn lobio ar nifer o faterion sydd o bwys i ysgrifenwyr yn y Cynulliad, San Steffan ac yn y Senedd Ewropiaidd. ...

Disclaimer

Information on the WGGB website pages may contain inaccuracies or typographical errors and may be changed or updated without notice. WGGB does its best to make sure information on this website is accurate and up-to-date, but we cannot take any responsibility for any loss arising out of use of the information on this site. The information is provided without warranty of any kind, either express or implied and the contributors do not accept any lia...

Accessibility

The Writers’ Guild of Great Britain is committed to providing a website that is usable by and accessible to as many people as possible. We are continually improving the user experience for everyone and applying the relevant accessibility standards. If you have any queries or are experiencing any issues with the website related to accessibility, you can email us on admin@writersguild.org.uk Please note that websites can appear differently in diffe...

Affiliate Membership

Affiliate Members of WGGB include agents, technical advisers, researchers or consultants engaged in a professional relationship with writers, plus Higher Educational professionals working in creative writing departments. The cost of Affiliate Membership is £300 per year. Please note: you can only pay in instalments by Direct Debit. To join by DD please download this form. Find out about Affiliate Member benefits here. JOIN (With ...

Student Membership

Student Membership is open to anyone aged 18 years or over studying for a course at BA level or below who has never previously been a member of WGGB. Students who are members of university or college writing clubs, groups or societies, but not studying for a degree or course in creative writing, are still eligible to join. The cost of Student Membership is at the discounted rate of £30 per year (compared to £198 per year for Full Membership) and...

Candidate Membership

Candidate Membership is open to any writer who has not yet had at least one professional contract for writing in terms at or above the WGGB minimum terms as outlined below. The cost of Candidate Membership is £108 per year. Please note: you can only pay in instalments by Direct Debit. To join by DD please download this form. If you are currently in education you may be eligible for Student Membership. Candidate Members are eligible to access our...

Full Membership

For the first year of Full Membership the subscription is £198, after which we have an earnings-based subscription banding system, subject to a minimum subscription of £198 and a maximum subscription of £2,000 per annum. JOIN (With Paypal or credit/debit card) Please note: you can only pay in instalments by Direct Debit. To join by DD please download this form. As well as the standard WGGB member benefits Full Me...

Save Channel 4

The Government’s announcement in April 2022 of its intention to push ahead with controversial plans to privatise Channel 4 resulted in a backlash from opposition parties, trade unions, industry professionals and even their own MPs When the plans were first announced in September 2021, we asked our members to write to their MPs and sign petitions to oppose the plans. We also continued to lobby the Government, responded to a Government consultation...

Join the WGGB

To join WGGB, please click on the correct membership level below ...

Campaigns

We’re a campaigning union and our members get involved to power change – to make the creative industries a better, fair place and to protect and boost the rights of writers Details of current and past campaigns we have been involved in follow, including how you can get involved, and you can also find out details of our policy and lobbying work ...

Free training for WGGB members

WGGB offers free online workshops for members to support their writing career Subjects range from building your brand as a writer, TikTok for writers, Storylining for television and First steps in Final Draft (view past and upcoming events below). If you are not a WGGB member and want to join to access free training and other benefits you can do so online. WGGB free training schedule – past and upcoming A beginner’s guide to understanding contra...

Getting involved survey

Step 1 of 10 10% The Writers’ Guild of Great Britain (WGGB) represents professional writers in TV, film, theatre, audio, books, comedy, poetry, animation and videogames. As a union member, you are part of a thriving, campaigning and growing community working to achieve better pay and working conditions for writers. If you are int...

WGGB member networks

Writers from under-represented writing groups can meet, network, share experiences and discuss issues relating to writing and the creative industries in a safe space, thanks to WGGB’s series of member networks The networks have been spearheaded by WGGB’s Equality and Diversity Committee and the issues raised may inform its work in future. The networks are not formal committees or subcommittees in themselves, and no notes or recordings are taken. ...

WGGB joins sister guilds across the globe in calling for ethical use of AI

Published on: Thursday April 11, 2024

As resolved at their annual general meetings in 2023, the members of the International Affiliation of Writers Guilds and Federation of European Screenwriters agree that, whether through collective bargaining, mandatory clauses in standard contracts, or through lobbying for regulation and legislation, the IAWG, FSE, and its member guilds will adhere to five point ...

Profile

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Pay rises for UK playwrights

Published on: Wednesday April 10, 2024

Playwrights working under WGGB’s UK Theatre and TNC agreements will see a significant uplift in their minimum fees following successful union negotiations ...

Using AI as a research and writing tool – the risks

Published on: Tuesday April 9, 2024

If you are intending to use AI as a writing or research tool, we’ve produced a guideline on the risks – to protect yourself and other creators’ rights, too ...

Add or update your Find A Writer profile

All fields marked * are required. When submitting photos the best format is JPEG/RGB and the optimum resolution is low (72 dpi). All the information you submit will be published on the WGGB website. If you do not want to make your email or other information public, please leave that field blank. If you want to be contactable via your agent only, please ensure you fill in your agent’s email address in the ‘contact email’ field. We advise that you ...

WGGB industry events

WGGB launched its free series of online events for writers during the pandemic and it has gone from strength to strength since then You can find details of upcoming sessions (and a selection of our most recent events) below, and also view videos (where we recorded sessions) of past events on our YouTube channel here. Closed captions are available for all our Zoom events. We do have occasional in-person events, and you can view upcoming events bel...

What member level am I?

Please see the different membership levels below. If you are unsure, please email admin@writersguild.org.uk or call 0207 833 0777 ...

WGGB Members’ Area

WGGB members can log into the Members’ area here New members are sent log in details to our Members’ Area when they join. If you have problems logging in please contact admin@writersguild.org.uk You can reset your Members’ Area password here In this exclusive area of our website you can: Find out how to redeem discounts and special offers Upload and update your Find A Writer profile View our weekly ebulletin archive Send us your contract to vet ...

Find A Writer directory

Find A Writer is our online directory of members who are professional writers It is available to Full Members, who upload, edit and update their profiles themselves (and WGGB is not responsible for the content of each entry). Not all Full Members choose to have a profile – it is their choice. The search facility allows those who are looking to employ or commission writers to search by name, genre or region, or submit a combined search of any comb...

Weekly ebulletin

Sent out every week to all members and affiliates of WGGB, this includes WGGB and industry news, WGGB and industry events, details of upcoming writers’ work, and lots of job, funding, course and competition opportunities for writers. You can also send details of your own work in for inclusion. ...

Welfare Fund

WGGB has a fund held in trust for helping Full Members who suffer urgent financial difficulties The money has been donated over many years by members and friends of WGGB, and an expert committee takes decisions on applications for help. Loans or grants are made to Full Members who cannot meet debt repayments or have no money to pay business costs, household expenses or their WGGB subscriptions. One recipient wrote: “My deepest thanks for the £500...

Member benefits chart

Membership Type: Full Members Candidate Members Student Members Affiliate Members Free contract vetting* Support and advice Weekly ebulletin Member discounts Member events WGGB pension scheme** Entry in the Find A Writer directory Members-only area of the WGGB website Free and discounted training Welfare Fund *Contract vetting may be subject to terms and conditions. **The WGGB ...

Member events

We offer our members a programme of events, including … Free online training workshops to help to support your writing career. If you’re interested in building your brand as a writer, honing your TikTok skills or getting to grips with your tax return, these are just some of the subjects we have covered Members are also able to take part in our Member Networks for under-represented writers And thanks to our links with the entertainment industry, ...

Free and discounted training

WGGB members can: Access our free online programme of member-only training workshops on a range of subjects, from building your brand as a writer, navigating TikTok, Final Draft or Canva, and much more! Members in Wales are eligible to apply for discounted training via CULT Cymru Despite a concerted campaign in the trade union movement, the Government made the decision in March 2021 to abolish the English Union Learning Fund, which funded FEU Tr...

Pension scheme

The WGGB pension scheme is open to Full Members writing in the areas of TV, radio and film If it is a BBC in-house contract, the percentages are applied to the actual writer’s fee (not including advances, attendance fees or format payments). There is a cap of £21,105, which could come into play if it is a single contract commissioning a highly paid writer to deliver several scripts. BBC Radio contributions are dependent on the amount of transmiss...

Support and advice

Writing can be an isolated profession As a WGGB member you will receive the full backing of a professionally run trade union, including advice from our experienced office staff, representatives and specialist media lawyers when required. Please note, support and advice is available to Full and Candidate Members – Student Members wishing to access this benefit can upgrade to Candidate Membership if they wish. ...

Browse special offers

General: Equipment & Software Hookmark app WGGB members are eligible for 20% off the Hookmark app for Mac users, which enables users to create links to files, emails, PDFs, notes, outlines, data files, figures etc, enabling friction-free research and drafting for writers. The discount applies to Hookmark Standard and Hookmark Pro. Follow this link and use WRITERS-GUILD-UK at checkout (Hookmark Standard and Pro can be used indefinitely. Software...

Exclusive discounts

We offer regular, one-off discounts to all our members through our weekly ebulletin We also have a number of longstanding discounts and special offers. These include … Membership offers Free lifetime membership of Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society. All Full WGGB members are entitled to pay no joining fee for the Writers Guild of America East or West (if they meet membership eligibility criteria). This also applies to the New Zealand and ...

Recruit a fellow writer

If you’re already a WGGB member, why not recommend a friend or colleague to join us? The more members we have, the stronger we are – and if every member refers a friend we would double our negotiating and campaigning power! We’ve made this easy for you by producing some template email text below which you can copy and paste into an email and send to a friend. Alternatively you can use our online tool below that which will automatically launch you...

Getting involved

Get active in your union

We are a member-led, democratic organisation and member activism is at the heart of what we do. Our members value being part of a vibrant community of fellow writers who work collectively to achieve change for the benefit of all UK writers Our governing body – our Executive Council – is made up of elected volunteer members just like you, who chair our national, regional, craft and equality and diversity committees. The Executive Council meets reg...

A-Z of useful links

WGGB is not responsible for content on external websites linked to from this page ...

Report It!

Have you experienced good practice, bad practice, discriminatory practice, bullying or harassment as a writer for TV, film, theatre, audio, in publishing, comedy, animation or videogames? Then we want to hear about your experiences, so we can build a comprehensive picture of contemporary practice, to help us in our vital work on behalf of writers. We have put together a short survey which will only take a few minutes of your time. All writers, ...

Contract vetting and casework

WGGB provides a contract vetting service for Full and Candidate Members. It is run by WGGB staff and outsourced to external contract vetters when necessary The WGGB contract vetting service covers: Contracts for freelance writers working in TV, film, theatre, audio, books, videogames, comedy, children’s and animation (in the UK only) Option agreements Agency agreements Collaborators’ agreements (ie between writing partners) In order for the WGG...

Rates and rights

About our agreements WGGB ‘minimum terms agreements’ cover writers’ rates and rights in TV, theatre, audio and some areas of film. These are the minimum terms writers are entitled to – but you or your agent can negotiate more. Below you will find our agreements and rate cards grouped by craft area (in alphabetical order, underneath ‘Across our craft areas’). You can also use the search below to search by a specific craft area. If you want to chec...

Our awards

Writers make a vital contribution to our creative industries, the UK economy and enrich the world in which we live. These are just some of the reasons why we believe that writers and the craft of writing should be celebrated We have run – and continue to run – a number of awards. You can find out them all below, plus details of our New Play Commission Scheme ...

WGGB wins for writers

Below are just some of our wins for writers in more recent years View our ‘history of the WGGB’ timeline We are working hard in the area of AI to ensure that writers’ pay and rights are protected. Our lobbying and campaigning work has included meeting with policy-makers, speaking on Parliament roundtables, publishing a policy position statement on AI and recommendations in our manifesto Putting writers at the heart of the story. We continue to s...

Top 10 reasons to join us

1. Pay WGGB negotiates agreements on pay with major industry bodies, including BBC, ITV, PACT and Netflix; the Royal Court, National Theatre and Royal Shakespeare Company. The more members we have, the stronger we are as a union, and the more we can push for improved deals. 2. Decent conditions WGGB agreements also cover writers’ working conditions, and the terms of their contracts. These include a wide range of issues – from bullying to rehears...

FAQs

These are the questions most frequently asked by people contacting the WGGB Head Office Disclaimer: WGGB is not responsible for content on external websites linked to from this page. Content on external sites is subject to change. If in doubt, contact the WGGB Head Office or seek other professional advice. [sg_faq name=”faqs” title=”0″] ...

Our history

Our union was established in 1959 and for over 65 years has been negotiating better pay and working conditions for writers and campaigning and lobbying to improve the industries in which they work Take a look at a whistlestop tour of our history since then (thank you to Nick Yapp, author of the WGGB history The Write Stuff, which inspired and informed the timeline below) ...

How we are governed

We are a member-led, democratic organisation and member activism is at the heart of our union. Our members value being part of a vibrant community of fellow writers who work collectively to achieve change for the benefit of all UK writers Our Executive Council is made up of elected volunteer members who chair our national, regional, craft and equality and diversity committees. The Executive Council meets regularly to vote on and set strategy for ...

What we believe in

Writers are at the centre of the creative industries – they form the stories, characters and worlds that breathe life into creative projects To nurture, support, protect and develop the UK’s writing community, we need: fair pay, fair treatment, a sustainable sector and a copyright system robust enough to face the challenges posed by recent developments in AI. Read our recommendations in these areas below and in our manifesto Putting writers at th...

What we do

We secure better pay and working conditions for writers via the national agreements we negotiate with employers and umbrella organisations – these include broadcasters like the BBC and ITV, theatre management bodies such as UK Theatre and ITC, and Pact, which represents the independent production sector We increasingly operate in the digital domain and our most recent agreement with Netflix covers writers’ pay on the streaming platform. Our agree...

Who we are

We’re the trade union for professional writers in the UK working in TV, film, theatre, audio, books, poetry, comedy, animation and videogames Our members also include emerging and aspiring writers, including students. If you’re a writer in the UK – whether you have professional credits or not – we’re your union! Our movement is growing and our community of writers is working collectively to campaign for a better, fairer industry and improve the p...

Upload or update your find a writer profile

Tony Robinson

“We writers tend to be rather solitary people, and it can be easy to rip us off. It makes sense that we have a unified voice and agreements that can protect our interests, particularly at this time of dizzyingly complex new technologies.” ...

Tinniswood Award 2024

Published on: Sunday March 24, 2024

Shôn Dale-Jones has been announced as the winner of the 2024 Tinniswood Award for ‘Cracking’. The award is organised by WGGB and The Society of Authors to celebrate the best audio drama script of the year ...

WGGB events

We run lots of free events for writers, many of them online and open to non-members too. Find out details and register for upcoming events, plus access videos of past events (where we have recorded them) too ...

Find A Writer

Find A Writer is our online directory of members who are professional writers Members upload, edit and update their profiles themselves (and WGGB is not responsible for the content of each entry). Only Full Members are eligible to have a Find A Writer profile, but not all our Full Members choose to do so. The search facility below will enable you to search by either name, genre or region, or submit a combined search of any combination of these. P...

Member benefits

We offer a range of benefits to our members, depending on your membership level Join your union and you will also help support our negotiating, campaigning and other work Join now See our member benefits chart Full Member benefits: Free contract vetting, support and advice, weekly ebulletin, member discounts, member events (including free screenings), WGGB pension scheme, entry in the Find A Writer directory, Members’ Area of the website, free...

Affiliations

We are a member of the Federation of Entertainment Unions We are also a member of the Filmmakers’ Alliance alongside Directors UK and Pact. The Performers’ Alliance All-Party Parliamentary Group brings together peers and MPs, and works closely with arts and entertainment unions WGGB, the Musicians’ Union and Equity. We are affiliated to: Trades Union Congress International Affiliation of Writers Guilds Federation of Screenwriters in Europe Union ...

WGGB Pension FAQs

Disclaimer: WGGB is not responsible for content or advice given on external websites linked to from this page. Content on external sites is subject to change. We regularly check and update the information in this section but we cannot take responsibility for any loss arising out of use of the information. Guidance is of a general nature only and professional advice from an independent financial adviser and/or accountant should always be sought ab...

Join WGGB – The union for writers

We are the trade union for writers in TV, film, theatre, audio, books, poetry, comedy, animation and videogames – whether you are an established professional writer with credits, or at the very beginning of your career We work to protect our members’ rights and campaign for a fairer industry (find out more about some of our recent wins here). Member benefits include: Free contract vetting and legal advice Access to the WGGB pension scheme (for ...

Members’ Area log in

Welcome to the Members’ Area log in. Please enter your email and password below to access the Members’ area content. ...

WGGB, Netflix UK and PMA sign deal

Published on: Tuesday March 12, 2024

Ellie Peers, WGGB General Secretary, said: “For the first time in the UK, writers working for a global streamer will have their rights enshrined in a collective trade union agreement and will enjoy improved terms and conditions. We are delighted to have reached this agreement with Netflix.” Read the joint statement ...

Members Area

Welcome to our Members’ Area In this section you can view our ebulletin archive, submit a contract to vet, add or update your Find a Writer profile if you’re eligible, view exclusive videos, find discount codes for special offers, and more. Your union thrives on members like you who get involved in a number of ways – from signing a petition, recruiting a fellow writer, joining a committee or standing for an elected position on our Executive Counc...

Spring Budget 2024 – our response

Published on: Wednesday March 6, 2024

Following the Spring Budget, presented in the Commons today (6 March 2024) by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, WGGB General Secretary Ellie Peers said: “There is good news for the creative industries in this Budget and we welcome measures to support them, including £1 billion in additional tax reliefs over five years, a new UK Independent Film Tax Credit, support with business rates for eligible film studios and permanent higher rates of tax reliefs for t...

Heart Unions Week competition winners

Published on: Tuesday March 5, 2024

Congratulations to all the winners, whose names were drawn by WGGB Chair Emma Reeves (pictured left), earlier this week. Doctor Who Christmas special script Signed by WGGB member Russell T Davies Won by Sorin Constantin Ilioaiei Saltburn poster Signed by WGGB member Emerald Fennell Won by Ella McConnell Roy Williams signed anthology Won by Ciara Robley Copy of Red Pitch Signed by WGGB member Tyrell Williams Won by Erin Craine Writers’ & Artists’...

Tinniswood Award 2024 shortlist

Published on: Monday March 4, 2024

We are delighted to announce the shortlist for this year’s Tinniswood Award, which is organised by WGGB and The Society of Authors to recognise the best audio drama script of the year. A prize of £3,000 is generously sponsored by the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society and will be presented at the BBC Audio Drama Awards (24 March 2024). The shortlisted plays are: Cracking by Shôn Dale-Jones Directed by John Norton, BBC Audio Drama Wales, BB...

Writers receive 10% pay rise and increased residuals as BBC agreement gets major update

Published on: Friday March 1, 2024

Writers commissioned by the BBC and BBC Studios will receive a significant increase on minimum fees and compensation for the commercial exploitation of their work across a number of new platforms, following the renegotiation of the BBC Script Agreement for Television and Online. The agreement was originally negotiated by WGGB and the Personal Managers’ Association (representing writers’ agents) in 2017. The newly renegotiated agreement establishe...

Royal Court Theatre: a statement

Published on: Wednesday February 7, 2024

Following the news that the Royal Court Theatre literary department may be at risk, WGGB General Secretary Ellie Peers said: “It is extremely troubling to hear that the literary department at the Royal Court may be at risk. While we are reassured to hear that the theatre remains committed to new writing via script submissions and writers’ programmes, this still raises some very serious questions. “Playwrights will rightly be asking, ‘where next f...

#HeartUnions competition – refer a friend

Published on: Monday February 5, 2024

#HeartUnions Week runs 12-18 February this year and we’re running a competition throughout February to celebrate! How to enter Join WGGB here Existing members: Get another writer to join the WGGB, as either a Full, Candidate or Student member (between 9am on 12 February 2024 and midnight on 29 February) Have them name you as the person who referred them Fill out this entry form. New members: Join the WGGB as either a Full, Candidate or Stu...

WGGB prize draw terms and conditions

The prize draw is open to all UK residents aged 18 years or over, except employees and elected officials of the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain (WGGB), their families, agents or any third party directly associated with administration of the prize draw. For New members upon successfully joining the WGGB and completing the entry form you will be automatically entered into the prize draw. For existing members, the prize draw is free and no purchase...

Writers Digital Payments pays out over £12 million to screenwriters

Published on: Wednesday January 31, 2024

UK screenwriters will have received a total of over £12 million in payments via the Writers Digital Payments (WDP) scheme, once the latest BBC distribution takes place on 1 February 2024. Screenwriters whose work has been shown on BBC iPlayer during 2022 will receive a share of £1,850,000 in the latest distribution. Writers Digital Payments (WDP), a not-for-profit scheme, was set up by WGGB and the Personal Managers’ Association (PMA) in 2012 and...

Celebrate LGBT+ History Month 2024

Published on: Monday January 29, 2024

**Registrations have now closed for both our LGBT+ History Month events ** We are running two special free online events during February. First up is The telling of LGBT+ history in fiction on Thursday 8 February (5-6pm on Zoom). BAFTA-winning trans queer writer and chair of our TV committee Sukey Venables-Fisher will be talking with playwright and academic Dr Stephen M Hornby about the depiction of LGBT+ history on screen, stage, audio and page....

Theatre funding crisis – ‘don’t blame the playwrights’

Published on: Wednesday January 24, 2024

The New Year has heralded a raft of bad news for the theatre sector in the UK. Severe financial pressures on local authorities have led to announcements like that by Suffolk County Council, of its plans to remove core funding for arts and culture, resulting in venues like Ipswich’s New Wolsey Theatre facing the complete axing of county funding. As an increasing number of local councils face bankruptcy, the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead ...

Oliver Emanuel (1980-2023)

Published on: Tuesday January 9, 2024

Oliver Emanuel was a deeply inventive writer for stage and radio, the plays filled both with a deep sense of emotional loss and exuberant creativity. It seems that his mother’s diagnosis of cancer in her forties, when Olly was in his twenties, propelled him forward in his writing. In 2003, his university friend Daniel Bye directed Iz, Olly’s play about three men grieving for a dead partner. Loss threads through the subsequent plays Dan and Olly w...

Protect the right to strike – join the march

Published on: Monday January 8, 2024

Today, those rights are under attack again via the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act, which received royal assent last summer. WGGB has supported the TUC against the legislation. The union movement is coming together in a march and rally led by PCS union South West branch in Cheltenham on Saturday 27 January, to commemorate the victory of the sacked GCHQ workers four decades ago and to oppose the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act, trade uni...

WGGB calls for release of Ahmed Tobasi, Mustafa Sheta and Jamal Abu Joas

Published on: Thursday December 14, 2023

WGGB is deeply concerned to hear that Ahmed Tobasi, the artistic director of West Bank-based The Freedom Theatre, Mustafa Sheta, The Freedom Theatre’s producer and general manager, and acting trainer and former student Jamal Abu Joas have been arrested by Israeli forces. At the recent WGGB AGM, the following resolution was passed, which directly referenced Freedom Theatre, a theatre and cultural centre in Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank, whic...

Farewell 2023

Published on: Monday December 11, 2023

This past year has been another busy one for our union and we wanted to give you a round-up of what has happened and to thank our members and supporters for their activism, activity and achievements. You can also find details of our Christmas office closure below, alongside sources of support over the holiday period. January: We kicked off the year in style with our Writers’ Guild Awards red-carpet ceremony where we honoured a stellar line-up of ...

19th Olwen Wymark Awards winners

Published on: Friday December 1, 2023

WGGB presents its annual awards for the encouragement of new writing in London on Friday 1 December 2023. Founded by playwrights Mark Ravenhill and David James (former Chair of the WGGB Theatre Committee), the Olwen Wymark Awards were set up to give WGGB members the opportunity to publicly thank those who have given them a positive experience in new writing over the previous year. They are named in honour of playwright Olwen Wymark, passionate su...

WGGB AGM 2023

Published on: Thursday November 30, 2023

Writers from across the UK gathered at our fourth online AGM on Wednesday 29 November 2023. The past year has been another busy one for union staff and activists, negotiating and campaigning for writers in TV, film, theatre, audio, books, animation, comedy and videogames. Issues that have dominated the agenda in 2023 have included a new policy position statement on AI, our solidarity with the WGA strike, a successful campaign to Save Channel 4, a...

WGGB calls for ‘complete reset’ following new diversity report

Published on: Thursday November 23, 2023

A new report from Creative Diversity Network, released today (23 November 2023) highlights the serious lack of progress being made by broadcasters to engage diverse creatives. Writers, Directors and Producer Directors: A six-year overview of Diamond data 2016/17 to 2021/22 revealed that In 2021/22 only 32.4% of TV shows were written by women, down from 42.8% in 2016/17 7.6% of TV shows were written by disabled writers, far behind the UK workforc...

Autumn statement 2023 – our response

Published on: Wednesday November 22, 2023

WGGB has responded to the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s Autumn statement in the House of Commons today (22 November 2023) Warm words from the Chancellor about the importance of our creative industries have done little to reassure writers that the sector will get the investment it needs. While it was gratifying to see the Chancellor acknowledge the £126 billion that our industry contributes to the UK economy, and commit to future reviews, we had hoped...

2023 AGM – registration now open

Published on: Monday November 20, 2023

All WGGB members are invited to our Annual General Meeting on Wednesday 29 November 2023 from 10.30am (virtual doors open at 10am). To maximise member participation, we are holding the AGM virtually. The online invites to the AGM have now been emailed to all members, alongside the final agenda and other papers. If you haven’t received your copy or have any other queries email admin@writersguild.org.uk Members will need to register for the AGM in ...

Creating Without Conflict

Creating Without Conflict is the Federation of Entertainment Unions’ campaign tackling bullying, harassment and discrimination in the media and entertainment industries. Find out what WGGB and the other unions have been doing around this important issue. ...

A statement from our Executive Council

Published on: Thursday November 9, 2023

Even as writers, it is difficult to find the language to express how we feel about the immense suffering of the past month in the Middle East. Instead, we add our voices to the many other voices calling for an end to the hostilities and for a lasting peace. And we turn for guidance to other writers – the writers of humanitarian law, of international human rights and other laws – in calling for an immediate ceasefire, the creation of humanitarian ...

Save BBC Doctors

The continuing drama series BBC Doctors is to close after 23 years – a terrible loss to the UK writing community and to audiences. ...

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Who are we? The Writers’ Guild of Great Britain (“WGGB”, “we”, “us”, “our”) is a trade union representing professional writers in TV, film, theatre, radio, books, comedy, poetry, animation and videogames. Our members also include emerging and aspiring writers. This notice reflects our duties under the Data Protection Act 2018 and the Privacy and Electronic Communication (EC Directive) Regulations 2003. It describes how we use personal data fairly...

BBC Doctors closure – our response

Published on: Wednesday October 18, 2023

Following the announcement from the BBC today, we have issued the following statement: WGGB General Secretary Ellie Peers said: “The closure of Doctors is a terrible loss to the UK writing community, and to audiences. Initially considered a ‘training’ show for creatives, it has long developed into a much-loved programme with fantastic stories written by dedicated teams of scriptwriters. “It is essential in an increasingly global market that the U...

Faber New Play Award winner

Published on: Friday October 6, 2023

The Faber New Play Award, which offers publication to coincide with the premiere, and a prize of £5,000, was granted under the NPCS – a response to the decline in new theatre commissions during the Covid-19 pandemic, which offered 18 commissions for playwrights across England in 2022. Under the scheme, And The Earth Opened Up Under Her has been commissioned by Pilot Theatre, York. The judges for the Faber New Play Award were playwrights Dipo Baru...

My book has been used to ‘train’ AI – what can I do?

Published on: Tuesday October 3, 2023

Thousands of books have been used without permission to develop AI systems. We’ve put together some joint guidance with the Society of Authors (SoA) so you know what to do if your works are among them, and what action you can take. In September, The Atlantic published a series of articles about Books3 – a vast, unlawfully obtained collection of books that have been used without permission to develop some of the most well-known artificial intellig...

New Play Commission Scheme

The landmark New Play Commission Scheme (NPCS), created by WGGB in partnership with HighTide Theatre, UK Theatre and the Independent Theatre Council, was a response to the decline in new play commissioning following the Covid-19 pandemic. The New Play Commission Scheme was supported using public funding by Arts Council England and by the Society of London Theatre and UK Theatre through the Theatre Development Trust. The scheme raised over £50,000...

WGA strike ends

Published on: Wednesday September 27, 2023

As of 8.01am BST today Wednesday 27 September, the WGA Strike has ended. UK writers are advised that Strike Rule 13 no longer applies and that they can return to working on projects within the jurisdiction of the WGA. You can find full details of the new WGA Minimum Basic Agreement (MBA) here. The WGA Negotiating Committee, Council and Board have voted in favour of recommending the agreement and the WGA membership will cast their vote next week. ...

John Stevenson: 1937-2023

Published on: Monday September 25, 2023

Back in the early 1980s the Observer Magazine ran a feature, “The Scriptwriter’s Scriptwriter”, where TV writers nominated the best in their field. John Stevenson – who died recently at the age of 86 – won the vote. It was no surprise: when it came to creating incredible soap characters, crafting dramatic and comic storylines, and dominating every writers’ room with charm, confidence and schoolboy glee, John was in a league of his own. Born in Ma...

WGA strike – update

Published on: Monday September 25, 2023

*** THE WGA STRIKE HAS NOW ENDED. READ THE UPDATE HERE *** The WGA has announced it has reached a tentative agreement with the AMPTP, subject to drafting final contract language. A vote of the WGA Negotiating Committee would then need to take place, followed by a vote by the Writers Guild of America West Board and Writers Guild of America East Council and a contract ratification vote by the membership. If that is approved, a further vote by the B...

Russell Brand allegations – a statement

Published on: Monday September 18, 2023

Following the Dispatches/Times allegations this weekend, WGGB Chair Lisa Holdsworth said: “The Dispatches broadcast and media around it were deeply distressing, and included allegations of a workplace culture at UK broadcasters and production companies where women who tried to raise concerns about their treatment, and the unacceptable behaviour of others, were ignored. “Despite some progress in recent years, the entertainment industries remain f...

Gareth Miles: 1938-2023

Published on: Monday September 18, 2023

Gareth was born in 1938 in Caernarfon, moving later in life to Pontypridd via Wrexham. He came to national prominence as a political activist in the early 1960s. He was a member of Plaid Cymru, then the Welsh Socialist Republican Movement, and later the Communist Party. He was a Marxist and a central figure in the battle for equal rights for the Welsh language, in practice as well as in law. Gareth was dedicated to creating a new socialist agenda...

Streaming and fair pay for writers – WGGB motion passes at TUC Congress

Published on: Wednesday September 13, 2023

Our motion to TUC Congress on Streaming and fair pay for writers was today passed at the high-profile event in the trade union calendar, which this year took place in Liverpool. It was moved by WGGB President Sandi Toksvig OBE, seconded by our sister union Equity, and supported by NUJ and Prospect. It called for writers to receive fair pay for the work they do for streaming companies, such as Netflix, Amazon, Disney and Apple TV and audio service...

WGGB at TUC Congress 2023

Published on: Monday September 11, 2023

The 155th annual TUC Congress takes place this week at Liverpool Waterfront. Congress is the policy-making body of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and motions are proposed and discussed to form the basis of the TUC’s work for the next year. The high-profile event – widely regarded as the first big set piece occasion after the summer break and before the party conference season – is usually attended by around 600 delegates from 48 affiliated union...

WGGB joins SAG-AFTRA solidarity rally

Published on: Friday July 21, 2023

WGGB today joined a rally organised by our sister union Equity, in solidarity with the US actors’ union SAG-AFTRA, which announced last week they were going on strike. Actors Brian Cox (Succession), Imelda Staunton (The Crown, Harry Potter), Rob Delaney (Black Mirror, Catastrophe), Simon Pegg (Mission Impossible, Shaun of the Dead), Hayley Attwell (Mission Impossible) and more gathered in London’s Leicester Square, the scene of last month’s WGGB ...

Protect the right to strike in the UK

Published on: Thursday July 20, 2023

The Government’s announcement earlier this year of new anti-strike legislation poses a very serious threat to the trade union movement and workers’ long-fought for rights on pay and working conditions. The TUC announced it will fight the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill every step of the way, including through Parliament and the Courts. The union body says the anti-strike plans are unworkable and almost certainly in breach of international ...

Actors join writers on picket lines in the States

Published on: Friday July 14, 2023

Members of US actors’ union SAG-AFTRA announced they would join the Writers Guild of America (WGA) in taking strike action this week. SAG-AFTRA have also failed to reach an acceptable deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), and announced their members would be taking industrial action from Thursday 13 July 2023. Members of the WGA have been on strike for over two months. WGGB Chair Lisa Holdsworth said: “It is a...

Writers and AI – a policy position statement

Intro and background The development and use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems and tools have been gathering at pace in recent years. AI systems use complex algorithms and vast data sets to teach machines how to learn, reason, make decisions and generate content in a way which mimics human activity as closely as possible. Much of the data which has been ingested to train AI systems can and has been scraped or data mined from public-facing i...

Writers and AI

Published on: Wednesday July 12, 2023

Read Writers and AI – A policy position statement here 65% of respondents to a recent WGGB survey said they believed that the increased use of AI will reduce their income from writing, whilst 61% were worried that AI could replace jobs in their craft area(s). This comes on top of an early impact assessment by OpenAI which indicated that the exposure risk to poets, lyricists and creative writers was amongst the highest, at 68.8%. And a recent re...

FEU unions calls for independent appointment procedure for BBC board

Published on: Friday June 30, 2023

As Dame Elan Closs Stephens takes over as Interim Chair of the BBC board and head-hunters are searching for a new Chair, unions representing the creative sector say it is time to have a new, independent body which represents Licence Fee payers. The Federation of Entertainment Unions (FEU) said: “As the BBC board is in search of another chair following the departure of Richard Sharp, the FEU says this position should no longer be a gift of the Gov...

Writers’ Guild Awards 2024

Published on: Tuesday June 20, 2023

The Writers’ Guild of Great Britain Awards will be taking a pause for 2024. The Writers’ Guild Awards have been celebrating UK writers – and writing – since they launched in 1961. Through their long history, they have taken regular breaks, reflecting the changing work of the union and the contemporary landscape for writers. The current series, which was launched in 2015 and spearheaded by former WGGB President Olivia Hetreed, has seen writers acr...

WGGB joins Global Day of Solidarity in support of WGA strike

Published on: Wednesday June 14, 2023

The Writers’ Guild of Great Britain joined writers and other workers around the world for ‘Screenwriters Everywhere’, a global day of solidarity and action on 14 June 2023 in support of the 11,500 members of Writers Guild of America West and Writers Guild of America East, who have been on strike since 2 May 2023. Actions took place in over 30 countries at locations including Netflix, Buenos Aires, Argentina; the European Parliament, Brussels...

Join the Global Day of Solidarity in support of #WGAStrike

Published on: Monday June 5, 2023

WGGB members are invited to come and join us for a protest in London’s Leicester Square from 1-2pm on 14 June and show support to the Writers Guild of America (WGA), whose members are currently on strike. WGGB members will be joining screenwriters from across the world in a Global Day of Solidarity which is being organised by the International Affiliation of Writers Guilds and the Federation of Screenwriters in Europe, of which WGGB is a member. ...

BBC in-house speech audio production review – our response

Published on: Tuesday May 23, 2023

BBC Radio has today announced its proposal to “evolve its in-house speech audio production model to strengthen the BBC’s overall offer to audiences as listening habits change and to increase creative opportunities for talent” (see the full announcement here). The review of speech audio production, which began in March 2022, comes in the wake of the growth of the podcast market by nearly 50% in the last five years. The review recognises that: “Liv...

4% rates rise for BBC audio drama writers

Published on: Thursday May 18, 2023

Our union negotiators have been hard at work to establish a 4% increase in minimum fees for BBC audio drama writers (effective from 1 April 2023). This means that the rate for established writers on original drama rises to £108.65 per minute (for two transmissions). There are also new minimum rates for The Archers, short stories, abridgements, and podcast drama, plus the standard attendance rate has also risen to £78, as have Archers script co...

WGGB sends solidarity from Brussels

Published on: Friday May 12, 2023

BAFTA-award winning screenwriter Renard (pictured above right) who represents WGGB on the board of the Federation of Screenwriters in Europe and is a former Chair of the union, joined other writers, including The Bridge screenwriter and Chair of the Danish Writers Guild Nikolaj Scherfig (above left) for the protest. Speaking from Brussels she said: “As the MPA is made up of some of the same companies as the AMPTP, it seemed the perfect opportuni...

WGA strike

Published on: Tuesday May 2, 2023

*** THE WGA STRIKE HAS NOW ENDED AND THE FOLLOWING ADVICE NO LONGER APPLIES. READ THE UPDATE HERE *** The Writers Guild of America has called a strike with effect from today (2 May 2023, 8.01am GMT) following the expiration of their Minimum Basic Agreement (MBA) with the AMPTP who have not been able to offer an acceptable deal for a new contract for writers in the US. WGGB has today issued guidance to all its members as follows: We understand tha...

19th Olwen Wymark Awards

Published on: Monday April 24, 2023

** NOMINATIONS HAVE NOW CLOSED ** WGGB is accepting nominations for its 19th annual Olwen Wymark Theatre Encouragement Awards. Any WGGB member may nominate anyone who has given them exceptional encouragement for theatre writing during the past year (1 May 2022 to 1 May 2023). This is an award for personal encouragement. It is not in recognition of broader, institutional contributions to the writing sector, no matter how well-deserved. Other past ...

WGA Strike Authorization Vote

Published on: Tuesday April 18, 2023

Members of the Writers Guild of America voted a resounding ‘yes’ to industrial action last night, as part of their ongoing contract negotiations, setting a new record for turnout for the union and percentage of support, with 97.85% of members voting yes. WGGB Chair Lisa Holdsworth said: “The WGA membership has spoken with one voice. Our fellow writers in the States have shown the power of a union – collective strength and solidarity – in their de...

WGA contract negotiations

Published on: Wednesday April 12, 2023

In light of the Writers Guild of America’s ongoing contract negotiations, including the recent announcement of a Strike Authorization Vote (SAV) from 11-17 April 2023, the WGGB’s Executive Council has supported the following motion. The WGGB support the WGA in their ongoing negotiations. If a strike cannot be avoided, we will advise our membership not to work on projects within the jurisdiction of the WGA for the duration of the strike in line w...

5% fee rise for ITV writers

Published on: Wednesday April 12, 2023

ITV is increasing its minimum rates for writers by 5% from 6 April 2023 following negotiations with the WGGB and the PMA (the agents’ trade association). This means that the rate for a one-hour original teleplay goes up to £15,360, with the rate for series/serials rising to £12,020 per hour slot length. For long-running series the minimum rate increases to £4,007 per half-hour slot length. Attendance fees rise to £130 per day. ...

Draft Media Bill – our response

Published on: Wednesday March 29, 2023

New legislation announced by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) yesterday evening (28 March 2023) will introduce a range of new provisions, including bringing streamers under a new Ofcom code, making Public Service Broadcasters (PSBs) more visible online, and paving the way for Channel 4 to produce its own content, if it chooses to do so (among other measures – read more here). While WGGB welcomes an enhanced role for Ofc...

Artificial Intelligence – a threat to the future of writing?

Published on: Wednesday March 22, 2023

Ubisoft’s unveiling of its ‘writer-supporting AI’ Ghostwriter software at Game Developers Conference in San Francisco yesterday (21 March 2023) has led to much debate on social media in the international games writing community on how AI may affect the craft of writing. Ubisoft claimed that Ghostwriter “isn’t replacing the video game writer”, but instead, assisting with laborious tasks which “gives scriptwriters more time to polish the narrative...

Tinniswood Award 2023

Published on: Sunday March 19, 2023

Anita Sullivan has been announced as the winner of the 2023 Tinniswood Award, which is organised by WGGB and The Society of Authors to recognise the best audio drama script of the year. Sullivan (pictured above) received the accolade for End of Transmission, a 57’ drama broadcast on BBC Radio 4 (produced by Karen Rose and executive-produced by Rosalynd Ward for Sweet Talk Productions). The audio drama centres on Jude’s 50th birthday. She has live...

Spring Budget 2023 – our response

Published on: Wednesday March 15, 2023

We welcome the news that the current temporary higher rates of theatre tax reliefs will be extended for a two further years from April 2023 as well as the Government’s announcement that it will reform the audiovisual tax reliefs into expenditure credits with a higher rate of relief than under the current system. This will be an enormous relief for a sector hit hard by the combination of Covid and spiralling energy costs, and will help to ensure t...

Ray Jenkins: 1953-2023

Published on: Monday March 6, 2023

Ray Jenkins was a distinguished TV, radio and film dramatist who wrote for numerous highly acclaimed British police and justice-related drama series from the 1960s to the 1980s, including Z Cars, The Brothers, This Man Craig, Callan, The Sweeney, Special Branch, Juliet Bravo, Gentle Touch, The Chief and The Brief.Jenkins also adapted Wilkie Collins’ The Woman in White, starring Ian Richardson and Jenny Seagrove, for BBC Television and Tom Hart’s ...

Zero VAT on audiobooks – lobby your MP

Published on: Monday March 6, 2023

An Early Day Motion has recently been tabled in the House of Commons by Sir Mike Penning MP calling for the Value Added Tax (VAT) on audiobooks to be reduced to zero, as it already is for ebooks. We need you to write to your MP and call on them to support the Motion. The Motion (No. 893) highlights how audiobooks are particularly helpful to those who are visually impaired or dyslexic in accessing books, opening up a “world of information”. The Mo...

Scottish writers show the power of their pens

Published on: Thursday February 23, 2023

WGGB and sister unions joined an emergency campaign led by Campaign for the Arts this week following the Scottish Government’s announcement that it was going to make a £7 million budget cut to the arts funding of Creative Scotland. Over 15,000 people – including WGGB members – signed the petition against the cuts and the Scottish Government swiftly revoked the plans. WGGB has campaigned tirelessly against cuts to the arts, which support the livel...

Olwen Wymark Awards 2023

Published on: Wednesday February 22, 2023

WGGB presented its annual awards for the encouragement of new playwriting in London on Wednesday 22 February 2023. Founded by playwrights Mark Ravenhill and David James (former Chair of the WGGB Theatre Committee), the Olwen Wymark Awards were set up to give WGGB members the opportunity to publicly thank those who have given them a positive experience in new writing over the previous year. They are named in honour of playwright Olwen Wymark, pass...

Tinniswood Award 2023 shortlist

Published on: Tuesday February 7, 2023

We are delighted to announce the shortlist for the annual Tinniswood Award, established by WGGB and the Society of Authors to perpetuate the memory of Peter Tinniswood as well as to celebrate and encourage high standards in radio drama. The Tinniswood Award is presented at the BBC Audio Drama Awards which this year celebrates the centenary of audio/radio drama at the corporation. This unique genre began in February 1923 and, for 100 years, audio ...

#HeartUnions Week 2023

Published on: Monday February 6, 2023

This year it ran from 13-19 February, and we asked WGGB members to write and share short social media posts covering: Why they’re a WGGB member What the Writers’ Guild has achieved, either collectively or personally Encouraging everyone, especially fellow writers, to be in a union Members also included messages of solidarity for the workers who are striking for better pay and conditions and showed their opposition to the Government’s anti-strik...

Writers’ Guild Awards 2023

These took place on Monday 16 January 2023 at the Royal College of Physicians in London, presented by Rachel Parris (view the programme). CATEGORY AND PRESENTER WINNER Outstanding Contribution Presenter: Stephanie Dale David Edgar Best Online Comedy Presenter: Josie Lawrence The Room Next Door – Boris Johnson Resignation Speech by Michael Spicer Best Long Running TV Series Presenter: Jack Thorne Doctors, Episode 5, ‘Hello?’ By To...

Writers’ Guild Awards winners 2023

Published on: Monday January 16, 2023

Writers behind some of the most critically acclaimed works over the last year were honoured at the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain Awards 2023 ceremony, including Aamina Ahmad, David Edgar, Vivienne Franzmann, Rebecca Hall, Katie Hims, Adam Kay, Neil McKay and Ben Power. The winners were announced for the prestigious awards across 15 categories in film, television, radio, theatre, comedy, books, and videogames, at a ceremony which took place on t...

Fay Weldon (1931-2023)

Published on: Monday January 9, 2023

By former WGGB Wessex Chair Martin Day Former WGGB member Fay Weldon, who died on 4 January, will be mourned by all who knew her and loved her – or felt they knew her through encounter with her diverse work. To try to summarise her life – a one-off, larger than life, a risk-taker – is to prompt clichés that Fay herself might not have minded: to her, nothing mattered more than entertaining, than the power of story, even if one has a more laudable ...

Entertainment unions welcome news of scrapped Channel 4 privatisation

Published on: Wednesday January 4, 2023

WGGB and the UK’s Federation of Entertainment Unions (FEU) have welcomed today’s news that the Government will scrap its planned privatisation of Channel 4. Alongside united industry opposition to privatisation, the FEU strongly opposed the Government’s plans to sell the publicly owned broadcaster to a private company. It previously wrote to then Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Nadine Dorries MP and to current Secretary o...

Our wins for writers in 2022

Published on: Tuesday December 20, 2022

JOIN WGGB HERE January: BBC TV, radio and sketch writers receive a 2% pay rise thanks to the WGGB. The same month Writers Digital Payments (set up by WGGB and the PMA) pays out over £1 million to writers whose work has been shown on BBC iPlayer. February: We celebrate a host of talented writers at our annual Writers’ Guild Awards ceremony in London, hosted by WGGB President Sandi Toksvig OBE. March: This month sees the launch of the Pay the Creat...

20% rates rise for TV writers in Wales

Published on: Monday December 19, 2022

Good news for TV writers in Wales! After a long year of negotiations with Teledwyr Annibynnol Cymru (TAC), which represents Welsh language producers, we have just signed off an increase in minimum fees of 20%, with effect from 1 January 2023. Negotiations will continue in January on our collective agreement – so watch this space. You can view the new fees for 2023 on the updated TAC/S4C rate card. ...

WGGB launches access rider for disabled writers

Published on: Thursday December 8, 2022

DOWNLOAD THE ACCESS RIDER PLUS GUIDANCE NOTES HERE Disabled writers are seriously under-represented in the creative industries, and in UK broadcasting alone make up only 5.4% of contributions, according to data this year from Project Diamond. To reduce access barriers for freelance writers in broadcasting, film, theatre, publishing and the videogames industry, WGGB today launches a Writers’ Access Rider. Access riders, sometimes referred to as ‘d...

Writers’ Guild Awards shortlist

Published on: Tuesday December 6, 2022

WGGB is delighted to announce the shortlist for our annual awards, to be presented on Monday 16 January 2023 at the Royal College of Physicians in London. The ceremony will be hosted by award-winning comedian, writer, actor, improviser and presenter Rachel Parris. WGGB General Secretary Ellie Peers said: “What a fantastic list of talented screenwriters, playwrights, authors, audio dramatists, comedy and videogames writers, whose work has kept us ...

Ian Curteis: 1935-2021

Published on: Thursday November 24, 2022

Ian Curteis was born in London. He began his career as an actor, joining Joan Littlewood’s Theatre Workshop. In a short time, Ian also became a stage director and producer before moving into television and finding his medium. Ian wrote for many series and then TV plays including Philby, Burgess and Maclean, Atom Spies and Churchill and the Generals. But it was The Falklands Play for which Ian will be best remembered. The history of The Falklands ...

Autumn statement: our response

Published on: Thursday November 17, 2022

WGGB has responded to the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement in the House of Commons today (17 November 2022). General Secretary Ellie Peers said: “The UK’s creative industries contribute over £100 billion to our economy, they fuel international exports and have a global following. They enrich lives and provide a power-house of employment for highly skilled creative freelancers, our members amongst them. “So it was puzzling, if not surprising, to f...

UK faces “serious loss of writing talent”, WGGB cost-of-living survey finds

Published on: Tuesday November 15, 2022

55% of writers we surveyed said that rising energy and food costs throughout 2022 were impacting on their ability to sustain a writing career, severely impacting livelihoods, and the cultural industries which depend upon their skills. Our recent survey of more than 250 writers found that as well as energy and food bills, other factors that impacted their ability to engage in writing work included having less time to work as a writer, or apply for...

Arts funding shake-up will be “devastating for new playwriting”

Published on: Monday November 7, 2022

The recent announcement of an overhaul to arts funding in England poses an existential threat to new playwriting commissions and could lead to risk-averse programming, WGGB has warned. The announcement on Friday 4 November 2022 saw details of a new year three-year funding settlement for Arts Council England (ACE) with a focus on ‘levelling up’ investment in the regions and promoting diversity and inclusion in the arts. While the WGGB Theatre Co...

70% of UK film screenwriters not properly credited for their work

Published on: Tuesday October 11, 2022

Screenwriters are being “edited out” of the movie-making process claims the WGGB after a snapshot poll revealed that more than 70% of writers had not been properly credited in the promotion and distribution of their work. Producers repeatedly prefer to credit actors and directors in marketing campaigns – leaving the writers unrecognised for their craft. This is just one aspect of the increasingly poor treatment of writers on feature films WGGB re...

#We Demand Better – join the campaign

Published on: Monday October 10, 2022

WGGB is supporting the TUC’s campaign for a better deal for working people, who have had enough when everything is going up but their wages. The TUC is calling for a budget that delivers for working people, a £15 minimum wage, a ban on zero hours contracts, an end to fire and rehire and more help with bills. You can join #WeDemandBetter in the following ways Join union leaders and local campaigners at a town hall event near you to discuss how...

Is it a steal?

94% of writers who had paid to have their book published lost money, typically in the thousands, according to a new report by WGGB and the Society of Authors Is it a steal? An investigation into ‘hybrid’/paid-for publishing services exposes widespread bad practice among companies who refer to themselves as ‘hybrid’, ‘partnership’ or ‘contributory’ publishers (among other terms) but have much in common with what have historically been described as...

WGGB launches new guide to self-publishing

Published on: Thursday October 6, 2022

Download the guide here Independent authors are changing the face of publishing with figures suggesting they now make up around a third of e-book sales in the largest English-language markets. According to recent statistics, there are more than 750,000 self-published books in the UK and the last five years saw a 68% growth in self-published e-books. While this offers unparalleled opportunities for authors, there are also many pitfalls along the w...

World Conference of Screenwriters 2022

Published on: Tuesday October 4, 2022

Screenwriters from around the globe have converged at the World Conference of Screenwriters in Denmark which starts today (4 October 2022). The conference takes the theme of regeneration and the debates and speeches will examine how the world of film and television reacts to such turbulent times and how writers, and their unions and guilds, can find ways to adapt and thrive. WGGB will be represented at the event by WGGB officials, Film and TV com...

Your writing career starts here

Published on: Tuesday October 4, 2022

We understand how tough it is starting out as a writer. As the trade union for writers, we’ve been fighting for writers’ rights for over 60 years, to ensure writers are properly paid and protected. We believe that writers should be supported at every stage of their careers, which is why we’re launching a special membership package for students. Join as a student member for just £30 a year (compared with £198 for full membership) and: Become part...

Raymond Allen: 1940-2022

Published on: Sunday October 2, 2022

By WGGB Comedy Chair Nathaniel Tapley Raymond Allen, the creator of Some Mothers Do ‘Ave Em and long-standing member of the WGGB, passed away on 2 October 2022. Raymond was working as a cinema cleaner on the Isle of Wight when, at 31, he submitted his script for Have a Break, Take a Husband to the BBC, where it would become one of the most beloved sitcoms of the 1970s. As he conceived it, the sitcom focused on Betty Spencer with her idiot husban...

Queen Elizabeth II

Published on: Thursday September 8, 2022

Our history was entwined with the Royal Family from the early days of our union – with HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh attending some of our earliest events and fast becoming a loyal supporter, paid-up member then later Honorary Member right up to his death last year. We are aware that the death of any public figure can stir up feelings of private grief and loss relating to other bereavements. If you are struggling at this time, we have link...

NPCS recipients announced

Published on: Wednesday August 17, 2022

Proposals for 18 new plays for the inaugural New Play Commission Scheme (NPCS) have been announced today by the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain in partnership with HighTide theatre company, UK Theatre and the Independent Theatre Council. Designed in response to the decline in new theatre commissions resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic, the NPCS ensures 18 new commissions for playwrights, in partnership with a venue or producer, across England i...

WGGB AGM 2022

Published on: Thursday July 7, 2022

Writers from across the UK gathered at our third online AGM on Wednesday 6 July. The past year has been another busy one for union staff and activists, advocating for writers in TV, film, theatre, audio, books, animation, comedy and videogames. Hot topics high on the union agenda included the emergence from Covid of sectors severely affected by the pandemic, including theatre, film and TV; the continued impact of Brexit on the creative industries...

Video: Tom Wentworth talks about the NPCS

Published on: Monday June 27, 2022

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Motions to WGGB AGM 2022

Motions to WGGB AGM 2022 a) Government White Paper ‘Up next – the government’s vision for the broadcasting sector’ The TV Committee believes that the Government’s White Paper has far-reaching implications for the creative industries, Motion: The AGM calls upon the Executive Council to campaign to ensure that any resulting legislation provides positive outcomes for writers. Proposed by TV Committee Supported by the Executive Council b) Ofcom regul...

WGGB shocked at plans for BBC

Published on: Monday May 30, 2022

WGGB is shocked and dismayed at the recent announcement by the Director-General of the BBC Tim Davie regarding the future of the BBC, which could have a hugely detrimental impact on writers, crew and cast, and audiences. On 26 May 2022 Davie announced plans for a “digital-first BBC”, with CBBC and BBC Four ceasing to act as traditional broadcast channels and all their content moving to BBC iPlayer. Similarly, the corporation would scrap Radio 4 E...

View the ebulletin archive

Welcome to our ebulletin archive Click on the links below to view previous issues from June 2014 onwards ...

Kay Mellor (1951-2022)

Published on: Wednesday May 18, 2022

By WGGB Chair Lisa Holdsworth The sudden death of Kay Mellor at the age of 71 is a shock to everyone who knew her. A long-term and loyal WGGB member, she was always full of energy and always working. Indeed, she was working on several projects for TV and theatre at the time of her death. She simply loved telling stories. Her own story sounds like something she scripted. She grew up in a working-class family in Leeds and was married with two child...

Eric Chappell (1933-2022)

Published on: Monday May 9, 2022

Eric Chappell was a master of comedy writing and a long-standing WGGB member, best remembered for his iconic ITV situation comedy series Rising Damp. Chappell was born in 1933 in Grantham, Lincolnshire into a working-class family. He showed a flair for writing at school and began writing stories. His mother disapproved of putting pen to paper “in case it’s held against you at a later date”. Chappell studied accountancy but, instead of studying fo...

WGGB and SoA call for reform of the ‘hybrid’/paid-for publishing sector

Published on: Tuesday May 3, 2022

Download Is it a steal? An investigation into ‘hybrid’/paid-for publishing services Sign the open letter to call for an end to bad practice WGGB and the Society of Authors (SoA) have published a joint report exposing widespread bad practice among companies that charge writers for publication, at the same time calling for a reform of the ‘hybrid’/paid-for publishing sector. The trade unions, who together represent 14,800 authors, jointly published...

Broadcasting white paper – our response

Published on: Thursday April 28, 2022

In response to the Government’s long awaited white paper into broadcasting reforms in the UK published today (28 April 2022) WGGB remains concerned that the Government is pushing ahead with its unnecessary and controversial plans to privatise Channel 4, freeze the BBC Licence Fee and review its funding model. These, and other proposals, will have a devastating impact on creative workers, the creative industry and the wider UK economy. The selling...

Groundbreaking principles established for digital broadcast of stage plays

Published on: Thursday April 7, 2022

WGGB has agreed a groundbreaking set of principles to govern the digital broadcasts of stage plays by the Royal Court, the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre. Working with colleagues in the Personal Managers’ Association (literary agents), WGGB has negotiated seven principles with the three theatres (known as the TNC), which it is hoped will inspire best practice in digital broadcast throughout the sector. The principles protect p...

Stephen Churchett: 1947-2022

Published on: Monday April 4, 2022

WGGB Treasurer Gail Renard pays tribute to Stephen Churchett, who wrote for Kavanagh QC, Monsignor Renard, Inspector Morse and more. Stephen Churchett was both an actor and writer. He came into writing late but leaves behind an impressive body of work. Churchett’s first play, Tom and Clem, ran in the West End in 1997 at the Aldwych Theatre. Michael Gambon played the gay Labour MP Tom Driberg and Alec McCowen, Prime Minister Clement Attlee, in a f...

2% rise for playwrights

Published on: Monday April 4, 2022

WGGB’s theatre negotiators have agreed a 2% rise on minimum fees under the union’s TNC agreement (covering the Royal Court, National Theatre and Royal Shakespeare Company). The rise is effective from 1 April 2022 and means the minimum rate for a full-length play rises from £12,997 to £13,257 (except for the Royal Court Upstairs, which rises from £10,172 to £10,374). WGGB General Secretary Ellie Peers said: “I am delighted that our WGGB negotiator...

Paddington fundraiser screening for Ukraine

Published on: Tuesday March 29, 2022

In 2015 President Volodymyr Zelenskyy voiced Paddington bear in the Ukrainian version of the film. We stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine, including the writers and other creatives who are being affected by the conflict, and held an intimate fundraiser screening of Paddington to support creatives living and working in Ukraine on 4 April 2022. The screening took place at at the Cinema Museum in London and raised £2,000 for the Internati...

The Tinniswood Award 2022

Published on: Monday March 28, 2022

This year it went to the late Sonya Hayle for Blis-ta, and was announced at the BBC Audio Drama Awards on 25 March 2022. Blis-ta by Sonya Hale Produced by Mimi Findlay – Clean Break, Spotify (56 minutes 37 seconds) | Listen now The Tinniswood Award 2022 judges were Nell Leyshon, Oliver Emanuel and Christopher William Hill. The judges said: The standards this year were impressively high and the competition fierce. But the winning entry stood out. ...

Pay The Creator

Published on: Thursday March 17, 2022

Speaking on behalf of 350,000 creative professionals the Creators’ Rights Alliance (CRA), its members and partner organisations (including WGGB) are calling for creators to be paid professionally and promptly and to be given the same considerations enjoyed by other sectors of industry. Pay the Creator, which launches today (17 March 2022), brings together CRA member campaigns and the work they do, tirelessly championing creator working rights. Th...

WGGB New Play Commission Scheme brings “lifeline to writers” post-Covid

Published on: Monday March 14, 2022

A new scheme has been launched to ensure 15 new commissions for playwrights across England in 2022. The New Play Commission Scheme (NPCS), led by WGGB in partnership with HighTide Theatre, UK Theatre and the Independent Theatre Council, has been designed to respond to the decline in new theatre commissions during the Covid-19 pandemic. Research demonstrates that the pandemic has been devastating for playwrights. A survey of UK Theatre members and...

Olwen Wymark Award winners

Published on: Friday March 4, 2022

WGGB is delighted to present its annual awards for the encouragement of new writing on Friday 4 March 2022 at the Almeida Theatre in London. The winners in the 17th year of the awards are artistic directors, executive producers and leaders in the theatre industry. All have been undaunted in the face of the pandemic and are united by their compassion, generosity and dedication to bringing the best new work to the stage. Not only have they worked h...

Stand With Ukraine

Published on: Thursday March 3, 2022

WGGB condemns the illegal invasion of Ukraine and joins the global trade union movement in calling for peace and in urging all governments to reach a negotiated solution through diplomacy rather than force. The humanitarian consequences for civilians needs to be urgently addressed and international humanitarian law respected. We call on the UK Government to support humanitarian assistance and to welcome refugees seeking to come here. The pursui...

Writers’ Guild Awards 2022

These took place on 14 February 2022 at the Royal College of Physicians in London (covering two years, following the cancellation of the last year’s ceremony because of Covid-19). View the programme Outstanding Contribution to Writing Jack Thorne Presenter: Jane Tranter Best Online Comedy Remember Getting the Period Talk at School #Menopause by Hannah George, Taylor Glenn and Catie Wilkins Presenter: Helen Lederer Best Long Running TV Series Rive...

John Finch: 1925-2022

Published on: Tuesday March 1, 2022

John Finch was born in Liverpool during the Depression. He was brought up in Yorkshire after his father disappeared and his mother returned to live with her father, a retired miner. Finch wanted to be a writer but first took posts as varied as a trainee librarian at a miners’ welfare library, then secretary to the sculptor Jacob Epstein in London. Finch wrote for various magazines, including the Illustrated and Picture Post, and occasionally cont...

Writers’ Guild Awards winners 2022

Published on: Monday February 14, 2022

Jack Thorne Writers behind some of the most critically acclaimed works over the last two years were honoured at the 29th Writers’ Guild of Great Britain Awards ceremony, including Russell T Davies, Kevin Dyer, Emerald Fennell, Andrea Gibb, Chinonyerem Odimba, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci and Jack Thorne (pictured left). The awards, across 16 categories in film, television, radio, theatre, comedy, books and videogames, took place at a ceremon...

Tinniswood Award 2022 shortlist announced

Published on: Tuesday February 8, 2022

We are delighted to announce the shortlist for this year’s Tinniswood Award, which is organised by WGGB and The Society of Authors to recognise the best audio drama script of the year. A prize of £3,000 is generously sponsored by the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society and will be presented at the BBC Audio Drama Awards in March 2022. Previous hosts of the Audio Drama Awards have included Meera Syal (pictured above), Tracy-Ann Oberman and L...

HeartUnions Week 2022

Published on: Thursday February 3, 2022

Organised by the TUC, it is a campaigning week of activity where the trade union movement celebrates unions and the good that we do. Over the past two years unions have demonstrated their relevance and effectiveness in helping working people like never before. How to get involved Your stories are powerful and the TUC wants to tell as many as possible during HeartUnions week so others can benefit too. They are using the StoryTagger mobile app to ...

Barry Cryer: 1935-2022

Published on: Thursday January 27, 2022

Barry Cryer (pictured above) spent his entire working life encouraging new writers and performers. I’ve known him for more than 35 years and in all that time he never stopped working, and never stopped encouraging new people. I first met Barry in 1985, when he’d been brought in to write with us on Rory Bremner’s TV show. Like Rory we were all young and alternative, and were initially wary of a man who we associated with the old world of northern...

Telling our stories

Published on: Tuesday January 18, 2022

** THIS SURVEY IS NOW CLOSED ** WGGB has commissioned Inc Arts to produce this ground-breaking new survey, written by ethnically diverse people, for ethnically diverse people, and the first of its kind in the UK to cover scriptwriting in film, gaming, radio, television and theatre. The survey is your chance to get your voice heard and to inform a major report which will mark the next stage of our Equality Writes campaign. This report will not tel...

BBC TV, radio and sketch writers win 2% pay increase

Published on: Tuesday January 18, 2022

Our union negotiators have been hard at work to establish a 2% increase in minimum fees for BBC TV drama and sketch writers (effective from 23 December 2021) and for BBC radio drama writers (effective from 4 January 2022). WGGB General Secretary Ellie Peers said: “Against a backdrop of continual funding cuts and increased production costs, I’m pleased our negotiations with the BBC have resulted in a 2% increase for TV and radio writers.” ...

Future of the BBC – WGGB response

Published on: Monday January 17, 2022

The Government’s plan to freeze the BBC licence fee for two years and an expected decision to scrap it entirely in 2027 would amount to an act of cultural vandalism that will have far-reaching implications for writers and other creative workers, audiences and the UK’s creative ecology and economy, WGGB has said. The announcement by Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries on Twitter yesterday (16 January 2022) has been widely criticised as an attempt by ...

Writers Digital Payments pays out over a million to writers

Published on: Monday January 10, 2022

BBC screenwriters have received over £1.3 million in payments for viewings of their work on BBC iPlayer during 2020, according to figures just released by Writers Digital Payments (WDP). The not-for-profit scheme, set up by WGGB and the Personal Managers’ Association (PMA), completed its latest distribution to writers last month. The recent pay-out follows seven previous BBC distributions and two ITV distributions. Since the first WDP payments we...

Creative freelancers need more Covid support for a happy new year

Published on: Thursday January 6, 2022

We start 2022 with no change in Plan B Covid measures, an announcement that Vault Festival is cancelled, and theatres across the UK being forced to shut their doors and postpone productions once again as a result of skyrocketing infection rates. WGGB, alongside sister entertainment trade unions and other organisations across the sector, has been lobbying and campaigning for nearly two years now to secure proper support for the freelance workers w...

Writers’ Guild Awards shortlists

Published on: Tuesday December 7, 2021

We are delighted to announce the shortlists for the 29th Writers’ Guild Awards, to be presented by WGGB President Sandi Toksvig OBE (above), on Monday 14 February 2022 at the Royal College of Physicians in central London. The ceremony will honour two years of British writing talent, following the cancellation of last year’s awards due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and for the first time in its history will be livestreamed to WGGB members. WGGB Presid...

Over 50% of games writers face bullying and harassment, as WGGB launches new guide

Published on: Tuesday November 30, 2021

A staggering 53% of writers in the videogames industry have either experienced or witnessed workplace bullying with almost half (48%) experiencing burn-out or stress related illness, according to a survey of over 800 videogame workers and members of WGGB, which today is launching new guidelines for games writers and those who work with them. The union is also dealing with an increasing number of game writing members seeking legal representation, ...

Eric Sanders: 1919-2021

Published on: Tuesday November 16, 2021

The WGGB has just lost its oldest and one of its most charming and erudite members. Eric Sanders was born Ignaz Erich Schwarz in Vienna in 1919, the son of Jewish parents. He and his family were forced to leave Austria during the Anschluss in 1938 and arrived in the UK. Sanders served in the British Army for seven years, three as an agent in the Special Operations Executive (SOE). He was given fake identities as a French foreign worker and a Germ...

Bob Baker: 1939-2021

Published on: Tuesday November 16, 2021

Bob Baker was an Oscar and BAFTA award-winning film and television writer and WGGB stalwart. His impressive writing career spanned over 50 years. Bob and his late writing partner Dave Martin wrote dozens of classic Doctor Who episodes during the Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker years. They had a prolific partnership which Dave described as “a bit like a marriage without the sex”. They also created the Doctor’s much-loved canine companion K9. Bob was for...

Putting the climate crisis “at the heart of all we do”

Published on: Tuesday October 12, 2021

On Friday 20 September 2019, WGGB called on its members to put their pens down and unplug their laptops to join the Global Climate Strike demonstration. That same year we passed a motion at our AGM declaring a climate and ecological emergency (read our full statement here) and pledging to put the climate crisis at the “heart of all we do”. As part of the climate emergency we declared, we pledged as an organisation to reduce WGGB’s emissions to ze...

Inventing the future

Published on: Wednesday October 6, 2021

We are proud to be partnering with HighTide Theatre as part of their Inventing the future festival, for a free lunchtime talks series (17 November to 8 December 2021). The talks, supported by the Esmée Fairbairn Reinvent Performing Arts Fund, feature sector leaders including Amanda Parker (Inc Arts), Annette Mees (Head of Royal Opera House AudienceLab) and Paddy Dillon (Chair of the Theatres Trust); plus internationally acclaimed playwrights incl...

Creating positive collaborations: writers and directors

Published on: Tuesday September 28, 2021

With 87% of people working in film and TV experiencing poor mental health, it is important that everyone across the industry comes together to create positive cultural change to these working environments. In support of this, unions, guilds and professional associations are all playing their part in improving practice and setting standards that encourage healthier workplaces. WGGB and Directors UK are actively working together to promote professi...

WGGB launches new guide to the ‘created by’ credit in TV

Published on: Thursday September 23, 2021

Screenwriters Simon Allen, Andrew Davies, Stephen Gallagher, Tahsin Guner, Maurice Gran, Lisa Holdsworth, Dennis Kelly, Sophie Petzal, Ashley Pharoah, Anna Symon and Sandi Toksvig OBE have backed best-practice guidelines on the ‘created by’ credit in UK broadcasting. The guidelines are published today ahead of a special launch event this evening (Thursday 23 September 2021). The ‘created by’ credit: A good practice guide for TV writers and those ...

Playwrights back digital principles for theatre

Published on: Monday September 20, 2021

Leading playwrights and WGGB members Caryl Churchill, April de Angelis, Nick Dear, David Edgar, David Eldridge, Lee Hall, Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti, Lucy Kirkwood, Bryony Lavery, Simon Stephens, Sir Tom Stoppard, Jack Thorne and Roy Williams OBE have backed new digital principles for theatre launched today. Developed jointly by WGGB and the Personal Managers’ Association (PMA), representing literary agents, the principles – Digital delivery of new pla...

Covid reopening – our response

Published on: Tuesday July 13, 2021

WGGB has responded to the Government’s announcement yesterday (12 July 2021) that full reopening will go ahead next Monday (July 19). Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed that full unlocking will take place in England, although there was a marked shift in tone from extolling ‘freedom day’ to urging extreme caution, amidst projections of an exit wave that could see an estimated 200 deaths and 2,000 hospitalisations a day. Other announcements inc...

AGM 2021: ‘Covid must not be an excuse to treat writers badly’

Published on: Tuesday June 29, 2021

That was the warning from WGGB General Secretary Ellie Peers at this year’s AGM, which for the second year took place online (on Tuesday 29 June 2021). The past year has been hugely busy for WGGB staff and activists, advocating for writers in TV, film, theatre, radio, books, animation, comedy and videogames, all severely impacted by the pandemic. Hot topics on the union agenda had been shaping Covid safety measures on film and TV sets; fighting f...

Competition or cut-price commission?

Published on: Thursday June 24, 2021

Many writers use competitions as a way to focus their attention, develop their craft and gain industry recognition, and the proliferation of online publications has resulted in an explosion in the number of potential opportunities for writers in all genres. Many of these competitions offer writers an opportunity to get their work seen by a wider audience. However, others are little more than money making ventures for the organisers or disguised c...

Unions publish open letter opposing HE arts subject cuts

Published on: Wednesday June 23, 2021

WGGB has joined six other trade unions in publishing an open letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, in opposition to proposed funding cuts to creative and performative arts subjects in the Higher Education Teaching Grant budget for 2021–2022. The other unions are Equity UK, University and College Union (UCU), Bectu, Musicians’ Union, Unison and Unite. The cuts have been proposed by the Department for Education’s Office for Students body and Educ...

Letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson

Dear Prime Minister, We, the undersigned, stand collectively in opposition to the proposed funding cuts to creative and performative arts subjects in the Higher Education Teaching Grant budget for 2021–2022. Secretary of State Gavin Williamson’s Guidance letter to the Office for Students (OfS) of January 19th 2021 outlines the Government’s plans to prioritise the allocation of funding to “subjects vital to the economy and labour markets”. However...

Covid roadmap delay – our response

Published on: Tuesday June 15, 2021

WGGB has responded to the Government announcement yesterday evening (14 June 2021) that the final stage of the Covid roadmap will be delayed until 19 July. The announcement came after concerns over higher rates of transmission and hospital admissions of the Delta variant, compared to the Alpha variant. WGGB General Secretary Ellie Peers said: “We understand that the Government must exercise caution in the wake of rising case rates, but we know f...

Holby City cancellation – our response

Published on: Thursday June 3, 2021

WGGB has responded to the BBC’s announcement on 2 June 2021 that it will be cancelling the long-running medical series Holby City from March 2022. The continuing drama, which has aired on the channel for 23 years, first broadcast in 1999 as a spin-off of Casualty. It won a Bafta for Best Continuing Drama in 2008 and attracts audiences of more than three million viewers. The BBC’s reason for cancelling the show, which it said it is “incredibly pro...

29th Writers’ Guild Awards open for nominations

Published on: Sunday May 9, 2021

**NOMINATIONS ARE NOW CLOSED FOR THE 29TH WRITERS’ GUILD AWARDS – WATCH THIS SPACE FOR FURTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS** After the cancellation of last year’s awards, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we are delighted to open nominations for the 29th Writers’ Guild Awards. We have 15 categories this year, spanning TV, theatre, film, audio, books, comedy and videogames. In addition, an Outstanding Contribution to Writing Award will be presented at the ceremony,...

Sexual misconduct, harassment and bullying at work – a statement

Published on: Tuesday May 4, 2021

We are aware that our members may have been affected by reports in the media in the past week arising from allegations against Noel Clarke. WGGB condemns sexual misconduct, harassment and bullying in the creative industries and has been campaigning on these issues for a number of years, as well as supporting members directly. Everyone should have the right to work in a safe environment, and be treated with dignity and respect. We have put togethe...

Curtain falls on Woman’s Hour drama

Published on: Friday April 30, 2021

Today’s announcement by Radio 4 confirms the decision, made by BBC Radio early last year, to scrap the 15-minute drama slot incorporated into Woman’s Hour since 1998. This is a cut in commissioning – primarily of original work – of over 60 hours every year. The announcement is a further blow to the commissioning of original work on Radio 4, with the reduction of the Saturday afternoon 60-minute drama from a high point of 40 original commissions t...

WGGB and National Theatre agree deal on digital rights

Published on: Wednesday April 28, 2021

Playwrights commissioned by the National Theatre will enjoy new protections for digital use of their work, following terms agreed by WGGB under its umbrella TNC Agreement. The agreement, which enshrines minimum fees, royalties, attendance allowances, textual integrity and other rights has been expanded to include terms for the National’s streaming programmes NT Live and NT at Home, as well as use of its streamed content by libraries and in educat...

HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh: 1921-2021

Published on: Friday April 9, 2021

HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh was a member of WGGB, from its origins as an association to a union, for over 60 years. The British Screen and Television Writers’ Association, which pre-dated WGGB, held their 21st birthday dinner on 16 May 1958 and invited the Duke to the party. The Executive Council at the time stated that if the Duke could not attend, the dinner should not be held. Thankfully, the Duke did attend and shared with the writer...

Olwen Wymark Award winners pay testimony to theatre’s spirit in lockdown

Published on: Thursday April 8, 2021

WGGB is delighted to present its annual awards for the encouragement of new writing at a special online event on Thursday 8 April 2021. This year, which marks the 16th annual Olwen Wymark Awards, has seen an unprecedented number of nominations and a record number of recipients (see the full list of winners). Award winners range from high-profile playwrights to community drama teachers, mentors, artistic directors, producers, dramaturgs, actors, c...

Metro Mayoral candidates must stand up for creative workers

Published on: Tuesday April 6, 2021

On 6 May 2021 nearly 20 million people will elect their next Metro Mayor. We believe that these powerful local leaders must stand up for the creative workforce, nurture local talent and invest in culture for all. This past year we’ve been entertained by books, TV and radio broadcasts, box sets, films, computer games, music, journalism and digital streaming during the endless hours of lockdown. And many of us long to see live performances in our l...

FEU Training – an announcement

Published on: Tuesday April 6, 2021

The Federation of Entertainment Unions’ FEU Training project played a vital role in providing free workshops and webinars to union members, including those of WGGB, who worked in the media and entertainment industries – one of the fast-growing parts of the economy and worth more than £111 billion a year to the UK. FEU Training provided a unique service for freelance creatives, developing members’ practical skills and the knowledge to run business...

Christopher Douglas wins Tinniswood Award 2021

Published on: Monday March 29, 2021

Douglas (pictured above right) won the award for Tristram Shandy: In Development, which was produced by Gary Brown for BBC Radio Drama North, and broadcast on BBC Radio 4. About the script A drama workshop is taking place at the east London studios of award-winning indie AwesomeSauce! The project is Laurence Sterne’s 300-chapter-long, absurdist satire. There is a draft script, and three seasoned radio actors have been hired, for £80 each, along w...

1% fee rise for audio drama writers

Published on: Monday March 15, 2021

WGGB has negotiated an above-inflation increase of 1% on minimum fees payable under the union’s BBC Radio Drama Agreement. General Secretary Ellie Peers said: “Radio and podcast listening has seen a growth in popularity in the past year, but it has traditionally been a poorly paid sector for writers. So winning an above-inflation increase at this time is a real achievement for our negotiators and I hope will be welcome news for audio drama writer...

Budget 2021 – our response

Published on: Thursday March 4, 2021

WGGB has welcomed support for the newly self employed in yesterday’s Budget announcement, but is deeply disappointed that the Chancellor Rishi Sunak has failed to plug the gaps in support for part-time freelancers and others excluded groups, despite a growing coalition of MPs, unions and others who have been speaking out in support of the Excluded UK community in recent months. Earlier this week, WGGB was one of over 3,000 signatories to an open ...

Dear Rishi – don’t write writers out of your Budget

Published on: Wednesday February 24, 2021

Writers and other creators must receive support from the Government in the upcoming Budget next week (3 March 2021), WGGB has said, and the union is calling on its members to write to their MPs making the case for the creative industries, and the self-employed workers who power the sector as the Government’s roadmap unfolds. The UK’s creative industries contribute over £111 billion to the UK economy each year, yet have been dealt a double blow by...

#WorldAgainstRacism

Published on: Wednesday February 24, 2021

A wave of international #WorldAgainstRacism events will mark UN Antiracism Day on Saturday 20 March 2021. Trade unionists are joining activities around the globe and here are some ways you can get involved: Download this poster, take your picture with it and tag @Antiracismday on Twitter using the hashtags #NoRacismNoFascism and #WorldAgainstRacism; tag @StandUTR on Facebook and @Standuptoracismuk on Instagram. Record a short video message on th...

BBC writers receive over £1 million in digital payments

Published on: Thursday February 11, 2021

BBC screenwriters have received over £1.2 million in payments for viewings of their work on BBC iPlayer during 2019, according to figures just released by Writers Digital Payments (WDP). The not-for-profit scheme, set up by WGGB and the Personal Managers’ Association (PMA), completed its latest distribution to writers last month. The recent pay-out follows six previous BBC distributions and two ITV distributions. Since the WDP scheme launched in ...

Scottish writers facing hardship in the pandemic

Published on: Monday February 1, 2021

Bill Armstrong Gives Evidence To Mps WGGB Scotland Chair Bill Armstrong (left) gave evidence last week (Thursday 28 January 2021) to the Scottish Parliament’s Culture, Tourism, Europe and External Affairs Committee on the impact of Covid-19 on Scotland’s cultural sector. Bill was able to highlight to MSPs the experiences of writers during the pandemic and what it has meant across different craft areas. His evidence focused on how the pandemic has...

Urgent action on diversity needed for writers in TV

Published on: Thursday January 28, 2021

The latest report from broadcast industry-monitoring initiative Project Diamond released today (28 January 2021) paints a bleak picture for writers. Diamond The Fourth Cut, published by the Creative Diversity Network (CDN), is based on over 740,000 contributions from over 36,000 creatives (29% completion rate) making UK-originated content across 30 channels and for the five main broadcasters – BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Sky and C5ViacomCBS. The data...

Why a no deal Brexit for the creative industries?

Published on: Tuesday January 19, 2021

The Government’s failure to agree travel rights for UK artists post-Brexit has led to calls from the Federation of Entertainment Unions (FEU), of which WGGB is part, to address this issue urgently. In a joint statement, the unions said that they were: “Deeply disturbed to hear that proposals made during the Brexit negotiations which would have offered special travel rights for musicians, journalists and artists, were turned down, with both sides ...

Where do UK writers stand post-Brexit?

Published on: Monday January 11, 2021

As the UK and EU finally signed a trade deal just before Christmas, what are the implications for UK writers? The good news is that the majority of UK and EU copyright works (such as books, films and music) will still be protected in each other’s territories because of their participation in the international treaties on copyright. This applies to works made before and after 1 January 2021. However, the news is much less straightforward when it c...

Pay rise for BBC screenwriters

Published on: Thursday January 7, 2021

Writers on BBC TV shows are to receive a 1% rise on minimum rates, thanks to the work of WGGB negotiators. The changes are effective from 17 December 2020. The minimum rate for a teleplay rises to £12,540 per 60-minute slot; while the minimum for series/serials is now £11,520 per hour. Dramas rise to £8,340 per hour, and the 1% uplift also applies to adaptations, educational drama and sketches. WGGB General Secretary Ellie Peers said: “In such ch...

Screenwriters back new WGGB guidance on showrunning in the UK

Published on: Thursday November 12, 2020

Screenwriters Moira Buffini, Martha Hillier, Emilia di Girolamo, Olivia Hetreed, Sophie Petzal, Alice Nutter and Tahsin Guner have backed best-practice guidelines on showrunning in the UK published today by WGGB ahead of a special launch event this evening (Thursday 12 November). Showrunning in the UK: A Best Practice Guide has been created by WGGB in consultation with experienced UK and US screenwriters and others in the TV industry who have wor...

Creative unions call on Government to show guidance over Brexit

Published on: Thursday October 29, 2020

WGGB – alongside sister unions Equity and the Musicians’ Union – have urged the Government to come forward with guidance and to stand up for creatives at the ongoing Brexit negotiations. Writers, musicians and actors are facing continuing hardship because of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has put a stop to new commissions and live performance, and many have fallen through the gaps of Government support. At the same time, uncertainty caused by Brexi...

AGM 2020: ‘We continue to knock on doors, and we kick them down, too’

Published on: Wednesday September 23, 2020

Those were the words of WGGB Chair Lisa Holdsworth, opening WGGB’s first virtual AGM on Wednesday 23 September 2020, talking about the union’s lobbying and campaigning work in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Referring to the “unprecedented times” the union and its members had found themselves in in the past six months, she reassured those present that WGGB was in great shape to continue its important work in negotiations, supporting writers an...

ITC backs WGGB Covid-19 guidelines

Published on: Thursday June 25, 2020

The theatre management company ITC has thrown its support behind WGGB’s Covid-19 theatre guidelines to protect playwrights and the health of the sector during the pandemic. The organisation joins UK Theatre and leading playwrights April De Angelis, Jack Thorne, Laura Wade, David Eldridge, Lucy Kirkwood, Roy Williams, James Graham, Bryony Lavery and David Edgar who all endorsed the guidelines last month. WGGB has now reached agreement with ITC (th...

Leading playwrights and theatres back WGGB Covid-19 manifesto

Published on: Tuesday May 12, 2020

Leading playwrights April De Angelis, Jack Thorne, Laura Wade, David Eldridge, Lucy Kirkwood, Roy Williams, James Graham, Bryony Lavery and David Edgar have backed guidelines launched by WGGB today. WGGB has also reached agreement with the theatre management body UK Theatre on the key proposals contained in the guidelines. They confirm the rights playwrights continue to hold under WGGB Theatre Agreements and provide a blueprint for protecting wor...

Brexit and creative workers

Published on: Monday January 27, 2020

WGGB is very concerned about future visa and other restrictions for creative workers working in Europe post-Brexit. We have an event in Parliament on 4 February 2020 and want members to invite their local MP along. Please use the template letter below to contact them. You can find your local MP and email here. Template Letter Dear [Name of MP], Getting the best deal for creative workers Congratulations on your recent election. I am a constituent...

Writers’ Guild Awards 2020

13 January 2020 at the Royal College of Physicians, London (view the awards programme). Outstanding Contribution to Writing John Finnemore Presenter: David Tyler Best Online Comedy Side Effects of the Pill by Hannah George and Tasha Dhanraj Presenter: John Finnemore Best Long Running TV Series Hollyoaks, Episode 5013 by Roanne Bardsley Presenter: Sally Lindsay Best Writing in a Video Game Over the Alps by Jon Ingold, Katharine Neil and Nick Bush ...

Rates rise for radio writers

Published on: Monday January 20, 2020

WGGB has negotiated an above-inflation increase of 2.1% on minimum fees payable under the union’s BBC Radio Drama Agreement. General Secretary Ellie Peers said: “Radio offers a wealth of creative freedom for writers, but it has never been a sector where a writer can make their fortune, so winning an above-inflation increase at this time is a real achievement for our negotiators and I hope will be welcome news for radio writers.” The increase is b...

Writers’ Guild Award winners 2020

Published on: Monday January 13, 2020

Katy Brand Writers behind some of 2019’s most critically acclaimed works were honoured at the 2020 Writers’ Guild Awards on Monday 13 January in a red-carpet ceremony at the Royal College of Physicians in central London. Hosted by writer, comedian and actor Katy Brand (pictured left), the prestigious event celebrated the cream of UK writing talent in front of an audience from a broad range of creative industries. Comedy writer and actor John Finn...

Writers’ Guild Awards 2020

Published on: Wednesday December 4, 2019

Katy Brand We are delighted to announce the shortlist for our annual awards, to be presented by writer, comedian and actor Katy Brand (pictured left) on Monday 13 January 2020 at the Royal College of Physicians in central London. WGGB President Sandi Toksvig OBE said: “In such tumultuous times, when truth becomes ever stranger than fiction, we rely on writers to reflect, to inform, to distract, to entertain and to make meaning of it all. And what...

2% fee rise for TV screenwriters

Published on: Thursday November 21, 2019

Scriptwriters commissioned by the BBC and ITV will receive a 2% increase in their fees, thanks to rates rises negotiated by WGGB. For BBC writers, minimum fees for serials and series rise to £11,400 per hour, while teleplays rise to £12,420 per hour and sketch material rises to £115 per minute (the changes are effective from 18 November 2019). For ITV, the minimum fee paid for a one-hour drama rises to £14,342, while the attendance fee rises to £...

Student membership social media flyers

Student Membership of WGGB is offered at the discounted rate of £30 per year (compared to £198 per year for Full Membership). It is open to students aged 18 or over on a BA level course or below. Those students who are members of university or college writing clubs and societies but who are not studying a creative writing degree or course are still eligible to join. Students who don’t meet these eligibility criteria are able to join WGGB as Candi...

The Writers’ Guild of Great Britain declares a climate and ecological emergency

Published on: Tuesday September 17, 2019

In recognition of the science of climate change and of the devastating climate-related impacts of human activity on human lives, biodiversity and ecosystems around the world, the WGGB declares a climate and ecological emergency. We pledge to work with and support our members in England, Wales and Scotland in tackling this emergency. These are our intentions: We will tell the truth Governments and the media must tell the truth about the climate ...

‘We stand on the shoulders of giants’

Published on: Wednesday June 26, 2019

Those were the words of WGGB’s outgoing Chair Gail Renard, saluting six decades of wins for writers as she opened a special 60th anniversary AGM at the iconic Unicorn Theatre in London on Monday 24 June 2019. She went on to remember union activists of the past “who fought hard to win us our rights” and to caution that “we need constant vigilance to keep those rights. Rock that boat both for you and others”. She noted that WGGB was stronger than e...

WGGB AGM 2019 – Motions

THE FOLLOWING MOTION WAS CARRIED Equality and Diversity representative This AGM resolves to change the rules so that a new seat on the Executive Council (EC) is created for an Equality and Diversity representative, all terms of appointment to be the same as those for EC Craft Sector representatives. To insert after paragraph 13.1(ii) the following:“(iii) A representative for Equality and Diversity matters, to be elected in a ballot of all membe...

Fee rise for writers at TNC theatres

Published on: Tuesday June 18, 2019

WGGB’s theatre negotiators have agreed a 2% rise on minimum fees under the union’s TNC agreement (covering the Royal Court, National Theatre and Royal Shakespeare Company). The rise is backdated to 1 April 2019 and means the minimum rate for a full-length play rises from £12,742 to £12,997 (except for the Royal Court Upstairs, which rises from £9,973 to £10,172). WGGB General Secretary Ellie Peers said: “Our national agreements in theatre mean th...

The Good Neighbour Initiative

Published on: Tuesday May 21, 2019

WGGB and the Dramatists Guild of America are pleased to announce the launch of The Good Neighbour Initiative, an international guest membership program for members of WGGB and The Dramatists Guild of America. This means that from now on as a member of the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain, when you visit the US to launch a production of your work, your WGGB membership provides you a guest membership and free temporary access to some of the benefits...

Creating Without Conflict: From Disbelief to Dignity, report

Published on: Tuesday May 21, 2019

The problem of sexual harassment for workers in the media and creative industries has long been known. But the #MeToo movement put the issue out into the open and has given many women and men the confidence to speak out. It has also forced the industry to acknowledge the problem. Industry organisations have come together with some producing codes of conduct. The Federation of Entertainment Unions (FEU), of which WGGB is part, has put in place new...

Breaking the class ceiling for writers

Published on: Tuesday May 21, 2019

This week, members of the WGGB were at the House of Commons for an evidence session focusing specifically on the issues of writers. The cross-party panel listening to the evidence included WGGB member Tracy Brabin MP, Giles Watling MP and Nicholas Trench, Earl of Clancarty, who, before their work in politics, had all been involved in the creative arts industry. The session heard evidence on a range of practices making it difficult for writers and...

4.5% increase for playwrights

Published on: Monday May 13, 2019

After lengthy negotiations, last week WGGB negotiators agreed an uplift in minimum fees for playwrights contracted under UKT/WGGB/SSP subsidised theatre agreement. This means that the fee for a play commissioned in a large theatre (MRSL level 1) is now a minimum of £9,869.35. The uplift took effect on 1st May 2019. WGGB general secretary Ellie Peers (right) said: “Our national agreements in theatre mean that playwrights working for UKT theatres ...

Breaking the Class Ceiling

The lack of working-class writers, performers and musicians was the focus of a Parliamentary inquiry, launched on Monday 26 November 2018, by the Performers’ Alliance All-Party Parliamentary Group. Speaking at the inquiry launch WGGB Chair Lisa Holdsworth (pictured above) highlighted the realities of being a freelance screenwriter, from not knowing how to do your taxes to the isolation and fear of working on your own. Topics such as arts educatio...

WGGB speaks out on ‘cultural consultants’

Published on: Thursday February 14, 2019

**UPDATE** Following a meeting hosted by WGGB between representatives of BEATS, BBC and CBBC in March 2019, the BBC has confirmed a commitment to contracting as many East Asian comedy writers and off-screen crew as possible who meet requirements for the show. BEATS’ statement in response can be seen here. WGGB has spoken out in the wake of the latest case highlighting the lack of diversity in many writers’ rooms, questioning the way so-called ‘cu...

Writers’ Guild Awards 2019

14 January 2019 at the Royal College of Physicians, London (view the Awards programme) Outstanding Contribution to Writing Heidi Thomas Presenter: Dame Pippa Harris Best Online Comedy Where Are You From? The Game by Hannah George and Tasha Dhanraj Presenter: Doon Mackichan Best Long Running TV Series Coronation Street, Episode 9451/2 by Jonathan Harvey Presenter: Peter Bowker Best Writing in a Video Game Reigns: Her Majesty by Leigh Alexander Pre...

Writers’ Guild Award winners 2019

Published on: Monday January 14, 2019

Writers behind some of 2018’s most critically acclaimed works were honoured at the 2019 Writers’ Guild Awards on Monday 14 January 2019 in a special ceremony at the Royal College of Physicians in London to mark the union’s 60th anniversary. Hosted by writer and actor Joanna Scanlan (Getting On, No Offence), the prestigious event honoured the cream of British UK writing talent in front of an audience from a broad range of creative industries. Scre...

Creating Without Conflict: From Disbelief to Dignity

Published on: Tuesday January 8, 2019

Tuesday 22 January, 9.30am-1.30pm, RADA Studios, London, free. The problem of sexual harassment for workers in the media and creative industries has long been known. But the #MeToo movement put the issue out into the open and has given many women and men the confidence to speak out. It has also forced the industry to acknowledge the problem. Industry organisations have come together, with some producing codes of conduct. The Federation of Enterta...

Writers’ Guild Awards shortlist

Published on: Tuesday December 4, 2018

We are delighted to announce the shortlist for our annual awards, to be presented by writer and actor Joanna Scanlan (The Thick of It, Getting On, Puppy Love), pictured left, on Monday 14 January 2019 at the Royal College of Physicians in central London, in a special ceremony to mark the union’s 60th anniversary. This year’s shortlist sees the addition of a new category – Best Musical Theatre Bookwriting. WGGB President Olivia Hetreed said: “It f...

2% rates rise for BBC writers

Published on: Thursday November 29, 2018

BBC screenwriters are to receive a 2% pay rise, thanks to WGGB’s negotiators. The changes are effective from 27 November 2018. The minimum rate for a teleplay rises to £12,180 per 60-minute slot; while the minimum for series/serials is now £11,160 per hour. Dramas rise to £8,100 per hour, and the 2% uplift also applies to adaptations, educational drama and sketches. WGGB General Secretary Ellie Peers said: “WGGB continues to win for writers, agai...

Breaking the class ceiling

Published on: Thursday November 29, 2018

The lack of working-class writers, performers and musicians is the focus of a new Parliamentary inquiry, launched this week (Monday 26 November 2018), by the Performers’ Alliance All-Party Parliamentary Group. Speaking at the inquiry launch WGGB Deputy Co-Chair Lisa Holdsworth (pictured above) highlighted the realities of being a freelance screenwriter, from not knowing how to do your taxes to the isolation and fear of working on your own. Topics...

Fee rises for radio and TV writers

Published on: Monday November 12, 2018

WGGB has secured 2% rates rises for writers working under the union’s ITV and BBC radio drama agreements. The ITV uplift in minimum fees is backdated to 1 November 2018 and sees the rate for an original teleplay rise to £14,061 per hour slot length. Series and serials rise to £11,004 per hour slot length while long-running series rise to £3,668 per half-hour slot length. In radio drama, the minimum fees for non-established writers for two transmi...

Comedy 50:50 launches

Published on: Monday October 22, 2018

According to ITV’s Controller of Comedy Saskia Schuster (pictured), the broadcaster plans to increase the number of female writers in comedy teams on ITV productions, building on its Social Partnership agreement. Schuster was speaking at the launch of Comedy 50:50 at ITV’s Waterhouse Square Offices in London’s Holborn last week (Thursday 18 October 2018). The launch event gave writers, agents and producers the opportunity to network, including fo...

Equality Writes inspires Women’s Words campaign

Published on: Tuesday October 16, 2018

Broadchurch and Life on Mars producer Jane Featherstone has demanded an end to unconscious bias and called for “collective responsibility” in tackling the problem of the under-representation of women writers in the screen industries. Her calls for change come as she launches Radio Times‘ Women’s Words campaign, inspired by the report WGGB released in May which showed that only 16% of working film writers in the UK are female, and only 14% of prim...

WGGB secures rates rise for radio writers

Published on: Monday September 10, 2018

WGGB has secured a 2% increase in minimum BBC rates for radio, effective from 28 August 2018. From 1 November 2018 there will be a further uplift of 2%. The public service use fee will increase with immediate effect from 12.5% to 15% of one transmission fee. In addition, we have just finalised new podcast arrangements with the BBC, the terms of which will be incorporated into our Radio Drama Agreement (RDA). Effective from 28 August 2018, for an ...

Increase in fees for Emmerdale writers

Published on: Friday August 24, 2018

Following year-long negotiations with the broadcaster on the pay disparity between their two flagship soaps Coronation Street and Emmerdale, ITV have recognised the stellar contribution of the Emmerdale writing team and increased the basic script fee by 5% from August 2018. A further guaranteed 5% uplift has been agreed from August 2019. WGGB General Secretary,Ellie Peers said; “I applaud the dogged determination of our ITV negotiators who over ...

Writers’ fee rise at TNC theatres

Published on: Tuesday July 17, 2018

WGGB’s theatre negotiators have agreed a 1.5% rise on minimum fees under the union’s TNC agreement (covering the Royal Court, National Theatre and Royal Shakespeare Company). The rise is backdated to 1 April 2018 and means the minimum rate for a full-length play rises from £12,554 to £12,742 (except for the Royal Court Upstairs, which rises from £9,825 to £9,973). WGGB General Secretary Ellie Peers said, “Our national agreements in theatre mean t...

WGGB goes to Birmingham

Published on: Wednesday June 20, 2018

The Writers’ Guild decamped to the West Midlands for its AGM on Wednesday 20 June 2018, the first time in the union’s history that the meeting has been held outside the capital. And regional representation was firmly on the agenda as Deborah Dunnett, Channel 4 Nations & Regions Executive, spoke about the broadcaster’s future as it undergoes a shift in the way it operates (Channel 4 will retain a London HQ but will have two regional hubs, and a de...

WGGB AGM 2018: motions

THE FOLLOWING MOTION WAS CARRIED a) Minimum age for membership of the WGGB This AGM resolves to change the rules of eligibility and add a minimum age of 18 to all membership eligibility criteria. Current rules do not include any age restriction on eligibility for WGGB membership. Under safeguarding guidance and regulation, all organisations that come into contact with children should have appropriate safeguarding measures in place. In this conte...

Women shut out of top screenwriting jobs for over 10 years

Published on: Tuesday May 22, 2018

Only 16% of working film writers in the UK are female, and only 14% of prime-time TV is female-written, according to a new, independent report commissioned by WGGB and released today. The report, Gender Inequality and Screenwriters, was funded by the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS) and authored by Alexis Kreager with Stephen Follows. It spans a whole decade and reveals that TV shows and films written by women in the UK have flatl...

BBC writers in digital royalties pay-out

Published on: Tuesday May 8, 2018

BBC screenwriters have received £721,674 in royalties for viewings of their work on BBC iPlayer during 2016, according to figures just released by Writers Digital Payments (WDP). The not-for-profit scheme, set up by WGGB and the Personal Managers’ Association (PMA), completed its latest distribution to writers last week. The recent pay-out follows three previous BBC distributions and an ITV distribution. Since the WDP scheme launched in April 201...

Two-year pay deal for ITC theatre writers

Published on: Monday March 26, 2018

WGGB has reached a two-year pay deal for writers working under its ITC theatre agreement. Writers will see a 2.9% increase on existing rates from 1 April 2018, while next year will see a rise of 2.5% from 1 April 2019. The rate for a play over 70 minutes will rise to £8,952 this year, and £9,176 next year. The writing rate for plays of between 30 and 70 minutes increases to £5,961 this year and £6,110 next year. Shorter plays of under 30 minutes ...

Screen bodies unite around harassment

Published on: Wednesday February 14, 2018

Galvanised by a determination to eradicate bullying and harassment and support victims more effectively, A new Set of Principles and zero-tolerance Guidance has been developed by organisations across the film, television and video games industries including BFI, BAFTA, BECTU, Directors UK, Equity, Pact, The Production Guild, Women in Film & TV, Writers’ Guild of Great Britain (WGGB), UK Screen Alliance, UK Interactive Entertainment. Ellie Peers, ...

Writers’ Guild Awards 2018

15 January 2018 at Royal College of Physicians, London (view the Awards programme) Best Online Comedy Marek Larwood, Showreel for One Word or Less Parts Best Long Running TV Series Peter Mattessi, Holby City, Series 19, Episode 2 “Rocket Man” Best Writing in a Video Game Tameem Antoniades and Elizabeth Ashman-Rowe, Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice Best Children’s TV Episode Tim Bain, Counterfeit Cat “Room of Panic” Best Radio Comedy Sarah K...

Writers’ Guild Awards winners 2018

Published on: Monday January 15, 2018

The winners of the 2018 Writers’ Guild Awards were announced this evening (Monday 15 January 2018) at a ceremony at the Royal College of Physicians in London, in front of an audience from a broad range of creative industries. Hosted by writer and actor Vicki Pepperdine, the prestigious annual red-carpet event has been celebrating the cream of British writing talent since 1961. British playwright Caryl Churchill was presented with the coveted Outs...

Creative unions talk Brexit in Parliament

Published on: Thursday December 7, 2017

Brexit was top of the agenda at the annual Performers’ Alliance All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) reception in the House of Commons yesterday (6 December 2017). Introducing the event – Alison McGovern MP (Chair of the Performers’ Alliance APPG, pictured above) – said that while the voice of the arts was not always represented in Parliament, with Brexit approaching the “arts must get its place on the agenda”. She also paid tribute to the three ...

Fee rise for UK Theatre playwrights

Published on: Tuesday December 5, 2017

Playwrights working under WGGB’s UK Theatre agreement will see a 2% increase in minimum fees, thanks to negotiations by WGGB, the Scottish Society of Playwrights and the Personal Managers’ Association (PMA). WGGB General Secretary Ellie Peers said: “We have been in continual negotiations with UK Theatre to update our national agreement. As the increase has taken some time to implement, it has been backdated to 1 May 2017 in recognition of this. T...

Rates rise for BBC TV writers

Published on: Tuesday December 5, 2017

WGGB has negotiated a 1.5% increase on all minimum rates for BBC TV drama and scripted comedy, including sketches. This brings the rate for original TV drama to £11,940 and £10,920 for series or serials for a one-hour episode. A typical half-hour episode of a series or serial comes to £5,460. TV comedy sketches are now worth a minimum of £111 per minute. The new rates take effect from 4 December 2017. WGGB General Secretary Ellie Peers said: “In ...

Writers’ Guild Awards 2018

Published on: Tuesday December 5, 2017

The Writers’ Guild annual Awards will be presented by award-winning writer and actor Vicki Pepperdine, on Monday 15 January 2018 at the Royal College of Physicians in central London. The Awards have been celebrating the cream of British writing since they launched in 1961 and allow professional writers to honour their peers. WGGB President Olivia Hetreed (pictured above, at last year’s Awards) said: “I am enormously pleased and proud of this year...

2% fee rise for ITV writers

Published on: Monday October 2, 2017

ITV is increasing its minimum rates for writers by 2% from 1 October 2017 following negotiations with the WGGB and the PMA (the agents’ trade association). This means that the flagship rate for a one-hour drama goes up to £13,785, with the rate for series/serials rising to £10,788. For long-running series the minimum rate increases to £3,596 per half-hour slot length. WGGB General Secretary Ellie Peers said: “We welcome this uplift in minimum fee...

Writers: let’s speak with one voice

Published on: Wednesday September 13, 2017

That was the rallying call from WGGB Chair Gail Renard, introducing the union’s Annual General Meeting at the St Alban’s Centre in London on Wednesday 13 September 2017. “Companies don’t always treat us as well as they should to say the least,” she said, “But if one writer is being treated badly by a person or a company, you can bet your life that other writers are too, and it’s easy for the union to find them. That’s what our union does. “Everyt...

Bumper digital pay-out for BBC writers

Published on: Monday May 22, 2017

BBC screenwriters contracted during 2015 earned £750,000 in royalties for reuse of their work on BBC iPlayer, according to figures just released by Writers Digital Payments (WDP). The not-for-profit scheme, set up by WGGB and the Personal Managers’ Association, completed its latest distribution to writers on 17 May 2017. More money was paid to writers during this distribution than the last one of £960,000 in December 2015, which covered the longe...

Do you have money in the ‘locked box’?

Published on: Monday May 8, 2017

In March 2015, WGGB, Pact and Directors UK agreed an historic revenue-sharing deal, to incentivise the creative teams behind successful British films and give them more ability to start their own projects. This deal – known as the ‘locked box’ – is applicable to films part-funded by the BFI Lottery fund. Up to a 37.5% share of BFI’s recouped income from these film productions is put into a locked box, where it is held by the BFI and available to ...

Writers’ fee increases at TNC theatres

Published on: Thursday April 27, 2017

WGGB has successfully negotiated a 2% increase in minimum fees with the National Theatre, Royal Court Theatre and Royal Shakespeare Company. This now means that the minimum for a full length play is £12,554 (except for Royal Court Upstairs, which is £9,825). WGGB Acting General Secretary Ellie Peers said: “We’ve done it again, and negotiated an above-inflation increase for our members. I am delighted that the national theatres have recognised and...

Writers’ fee increases at ITC theatres

Published on: Monday April 3, 2017

WGGB’s theatre negotiators have agreed an above-inflation increase on minimum fees for playwrights working under WGGB’s ITC agreement. The rise averages 2.43% across the 11 individual rates. This means that from 3 April 2017 minimum rates for a full-length play (70 minutes or over) rise to £8,700. The minimum rate of £5,793 applies for a play between 30 and 69 minutes, and £2,897 for a play under 30 minutes. WGGB Acting General Secretary Ellie Pe...

Writers’ Guild Awards archive

Click on the links below to find a full list of Writers’ Guild Awards winners for each year ...

Writers’ Guild Awards 2017

23 January 2017 at Royal College of Physicians, London (view the Awards programme) Best Radio Comedy John Finnemore, JOHN FINNEMORE’S DOUBLE ACTS – SERIES 1, EPISODE 5 “ENGLISH FOR PONY LOVERS Best Radio Drama Lucy Gannon, FAT LITTLE THING Best Long Running TV Series Claire Bennett, DOCTORS, SERIES 18, EPISODE 29 “THERE IS NO PLACE” Best Writing in a Video Game Jonathan Burroughs, Lyndon Holland and Terry Kenny, VIRGINIA Best Children’s ...

Writers’ Guild Awards 2016

18 January 2016 at RIBA, London (view the Awards programme) Best Radio Comedy Deborah Frances-White, DEBORAH FRANCES-WHITE ROLLS THE DICE Best Radio Drama Tony Jones, QUILL Best Long Running TV Series Louise Ironside, RIVER CITY, SERIES 13, EPISODE 8 Best Writing in a Video Game Dan Pinchbeck, EVERYBODY’S GONE TO THE RAPTURE Best Children’s TV Episode Emma Reeves, EVE, FINAL EPISODE “CONTROL, ALTER, DELETE” Best Long Form TV Drama DC Moore, NOT ...

Writers’ Guild Awards 2014/15

19 January 2015 at RIBA, London Best Long Form TV Drama Sally Wainwright, HAPPY VALLEY Best Short Form TV Drama Peter Bowker, MARVELLOUS Best Long Running TV Series Rebecca Wojciechowski, HOLBY CITY, “SELF CONTROL” Best TV Situation Comedy Stefan Golaszewski, HIM AND HER Best Children’s TV Episode Denise Cassar & the Bing Writing Team, BING: “BYE BYE” Best Radio Drama Stephanie Jacob, A NIGHT VISITOR Best Radio Comedy Marcus Brigsto...

Writers’ Guild Awards 2013

13 November 2013 at the Tabernacle, London TV Drama Series Peter Moffat, SILK Continuing Drama CORONATION STREET TV Comedy Jo Brand, Vicki Pepperdine, Joanna Scanlan, GETTING ON TV Drama Short Form Gwyneth Hughes, THE GIRL Children’s TV Elly Brewer, THE DUMPING GROUND – WHAT WOULD GUS WANT? Radio Drama David Pownall, TENNYSON AND EDISON Radio Comedy Susan Calman, SUSAN CALMAN IS CONVICTED Books Gavin Extence, THE UNIVERSE VERSU...

Writers’ Guild Awards 2012

14 November 2012 at the Tabernacle, London Best Continuing Drama Series Jason Costello, Nick Leather, HOLLYOAKS: A LITTLE FILM ABOUT LOVE Best Play for Children and Young People Brendan Murray, HARE & TORTOISE Best Videogame Script Paul Crocker, BATMAN: ARKHAM CITY Best First Feature Film Danny King, Dexter Fletcher, WILD BILL Best Children’s TV Script Phil Ford, THE SARAH JANE ADVENTURES: THE CURSE OF CLYDE LANGER Best Radio Drama Jo...

Writers’ Guild Awards 2011

16 November 2011 at the Tabernacle, London Best Continuing Drama Dana Fainaru, CASUALTY: PLACE OF SAFETY Best Play for Children and Young People Lisa Evans, THE DAY THE WATERS CAME Best Videogame Alex Garland and Tameem Antoniades, ENSLAVED: ODYSSEY TO THE WEST Best Non-Fiction Book Nicola Shulman, GRAVEN WITH DIAMONDS Best Children’s Television Script Chris Chantler and Howard Read, LITTLE HOWARD’S BIG QUESTION: WHY DO THINGS HAVE TO D...

Writers’ Guild Awards 2010

21 November 2010 at the Free Word Centre, London Best Feature Film Screenplay Jane Goldman, Matthew Vaughn, KICK-ASS Best First Feature-Length Screenplay Duncan Jones, Nathan Parker, MOON Best Television Drama Series Toby Whithouse, BEING HUMAN Best Television Comedy/Light Entertainment Jo Brand, Joanna Scanlan, Vicki Pepperdine, GETTING ON Best Television Short-Form Drama Peter Bowker, OCCUPATION Best Television Continuing Drama Pete...

Writers’ Guild Awards 2009

29 November 2009 at the Free Word Centre, London TV TV Television Comedy/Light Entertainment Guy Jenkin and Andy Hamilton, OUTNUMBERED TV Television Drama Series Toby Whitehouse, BEING HUMAN Television Soap/Continuing Series Carmel Morgan, Chris Fewtrell, Damon Rochefort, David Bowker, David Lane, Debbie Oates, Jan McVerry, Jayne Hollinson, Joe Turner, John Kerr, Jonathan Harvey, Julie Jones, Lucy Gannon, Mark Burt, Mark Wadlow, Martin Alle...

Writers’ Guild Awards 2008

23 November 2008 at BAFTA, London FILM Screenplay Ronald Harwood, THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY TV Short Form TV Drama Gwyneth Hughes, MISS AUSTEN REGRETS TV Comedy/Light Entertainment James Corden and Ruth Jones, GAVIN AND STACEY, SERIES 2 TV Drama Series Heidi Thomas, CRANFORD Soap/Continuing Drama Series Geoff McQueen (Series Deviser), Richard Ommanney, Neil Clarke, Steve Griffiths, Emma Goodwin, Julian Perkins, Steve Attridge, C...

Writers’ Guild Awards 2007

18 November 2007 at BAFTA, London FILM Screenplay (Feature Film) Shane Meadows, THIS IS ENGLAND TV Best Original Drama (TV) Neil McKay, THE MOORS MURDERS Best Soap/Series (TV) Chris Chibnall, Paul Cornell, Russell T. Davies, Stephen Greenhorn, Steven Moffat, Helen Raynor, Gareth Roberts, DOCTOR WHO SERIES 3 Best Comedy/Light Entertainment (TV) Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Tony Roche, THE THICK OF IT RADIO Best Radio Play Steve Gooc...

Writers’ Guild Awards 1996

26 October 1997 at the Intercontinental Hotel, London FILM Screenplay Mark Herman, BRASSED OFF TV Play or Film Jimmy McGovern, HILLSBOROUGH Situation Comedy John Sullivan, ONLY FOOLS AND HORSES (CHRISTMAS TRILOGY) Light Entertainment Harry Enfield, Paul Whitehouse, Dave Cummings, Ian Hislop, Nick Newman, Richard Preddy, Gary Howe, Graham Linehan, Arthur Mathews & Geoffrey Perkins, HARRY ENFIELD AND CHUMS Original Drama Serial Richard Za...

Writers’ Guild Awards 1995

Autumn 1996 at the Intercontinental Hotel, London FILM Screenplay Emma Thompson, SENSE AND SENSIBILITY TV Play or Film Ariel and Rodrigo Dorfman, PRISONERS IN TIME Situation Comedy Graham Linehan & Arthur Mathews, FATHER TED Light Entertainment Geoff Atkinson, John Bird, Rory Bremner, John Fortune, Sean Hardie & John Langdon, RORY BREMNER…WHO ELSE? Original Drama Serial Peter Flannery, OUR FRIENDS IN THE NORTH Original Drama Series Ji...

Writers’ Guild Awards 1994

1995 at the Intercontinental Hotel, London FILM Screenplay Alan Bennett, THE MADNESS OF KING GEORGE TV Play or FILM Guy Jenkin, A VERY OPEN PRISON Situation Comedy Simon Nye, MEN BEHAVING BADLY Light Entertainment Harry Enfield, Geoffrey Perkins, Harry Thompson, Paul Whitehouse, Ian Hislop, Nick Newman, Barry Fontini, Simon Greenall & Kay Stonham, HARRY ENFIELD AND CHUMS Original Drama Serial Paula Milne, THE POLITICIAN’S WIFE Origina...

Writers’ Guild Awards 1993

2 October 1994 at the Dorchester Hotel, London FILM Screenplay Richard Curtis, FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL TV Play or Film Tim Firth, MONEY FOR NOTHING Situation Comedy Richard Harris, OUTSIDE EDGE Light Entertainment Jasper Carrott, Steve Knight, Mike Whitehill, Steve Punt & Hugh Dennis, CANNED CARROTT 2 Original Drama Serial Roddy Doyle, THE FAMILY Dramatised Serial Andrew Davies, MIDDLEMARCH Children’s Kay Mellor, JUST US RADIO...

Writers’ Guild Awards 1992

19 September 1993 at the Dorchester Hotel, London FILM Screenplay Neil Jordan, THE CRYING GAME TV Play or Film Jack Rosenthal, BYE BYE BABY Situation Comedy Jennifer Saunders, ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS Light Entertainment Victoria Wood, VICTORIA WOOD’S ALL DAY BREAKFAST Original Drama Serial Glenn Chandler, Barry Appleton, Stuart Hepburn & John Milne, TAGGART and Paul Abbott, Martin Allen, Ken Blakeson, Frank Cottrell-Boyce, Tom Elliott, Barr...

Writers’ Guild Awards 1991

27 September 1992 at the Dorchester Hotel, London FILM Screenplay Anthony Minghella, TRULY, MADLY, DEEPLY TV Play or Film Jeanie Sims & Jack Clayton, MEMENTO MORI Situation Comedy Andy Hamilton & Guy Jenkin, DROP THE DEAD DONKEY Light Entertainment Alan Bennett, Alan Bleasedale, Willy Russell & Victoria Wood, JULIE WALTERS & FRIENDS Drama Serial Paul Abbott, Martin Allen, Ken Blakeson, Frank Cottrell-Boyce, Tom Elliot, Harry Duffin, Ba...

Writers’ Guild Awards 1990

15 September 1991 at the Dorchester Hotel, London FILM Screenplay Michael Palin & Tristram Powell, AMERICAN FRIENDS TV Play or Film Kevin Elyot, KILLING TIME Situation Comedy Andy Hamilton & Guy Jenkin, DROP THE DEAD DONKEY Light Entertainment Jennifer Saunders & Dawn French, FRENCH AND SAUNDERS Original Drama Serial Andrew Davies, HOUSE OF CARDS Original Drama Series Julian Mitchell, Alma Cullen, Danny Boyle, Peter Nichols & Geoffrey...

Writers’ Guild Awards 1974

12 March 1975 at the Café Royal, London Best British Comedy Screenplay George MacDonald Fraser, THE THREE MUSKETEERS Best British Original Screenplay Ken Russell, MAHLER Ray Connolly, STARDUST Best British Screenplay Paul Dehn, MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS Best British Original Teleplay Colin Welland, LEEDS UNITED Best British Documentary Script Martin Worth, John Wiles & Bruce Norman, MICROBES AND MEN Best British Comedy Script Ian L...

Writers’ Guild Awards 1973

14 May 1974 at the Royal Lancaster Hotel, London Best British Documentary or Short Script Jon Rallason, NOBODY’S FAULT Best British Comedy Screenplay Melvin Frank & Jack Rose, A TOUCH OF CLASS Best British Original Screenplay Melvin Frank & Jack Rose, A TOUCH OF CLASS Best British Screenplay Melvin Frank & Jack Rose, A TOUCH OF CLASS Best British Original Teleplay Colin Welland, KISSES AT FIFTY Best British Documentary Script Dr Jacob...

Writers’ Guild Awards 1972

24 May 1973 at the Goldsmiths’ Hall, London Best British Comedy Screenplay Ray Galton & Alan Simpson, STEPTOE AND SON Best British Original Screenplay Bill Douglas, MY CHILDHOOD Best British Screenplay Carl Foreman, YOUNG WINSTON Best British Original Teleplay Tom Clarke, STOCKERS’ COPPER Best British Documentary Script Alistair Cooke, AMERICA Best British Comedy Script Ray Galton & Alan Simpson, STEPTOE AND SON Best British Light E...

Writers’ Guild Awards 1971

17 February 1972 at the National Film Theatre, London Best British Comedy Screenplay Neville Smith, GUMSHOE Best British Original Screenplay Penelope Gilliat, SUNDAY BLOODY SUNDAY Best British Screenplay Harold Pinter, THE GO-BETWEEN Best British Original Teleplay Jeremy Sandford, EDNA THE INEBRIATE WOMAN Best British Comedy Script Geoffrey Lancashire & Jack Rosenthal, THE LOVERS Best British Light Entertainment Script Eddie Braben, T...

Writers’ Guild Awards 1970

11 March 1971 at the Dorchester Hotel, London Best British Comedy Screenplay Terence Frisby, GIRL IN MY SOUP Best British Screenplay Barry Hines, Ken Loach & Tony Garnett, KES Best British Original Teleplay Colin Welland, ROLL ON FOUR O’CLOCK Best British Documentary Script Adrian Cowell, THE TRIBE THAT HIDES FROM MAN Best British Comedy Script Jimmy Perry and David Croft, DAD’S ARMY Best British Light Entertainment Script Eddie Brabe...

Writers’ Guild Awards 1969

12 March 1970 at the Dorchester Hotel, London Best British Documentary or Short Script Peter Goodman, FIGHTING BACK Best British Comedy Screenplay Ian La Frenais and Dick Clement, OTLEY Best British Original Screenplay Herman Raucher and Anthony Newley, CAN HEIRONYMOUS MERKIN EVER FORGET MERCY HUMPPE AND FIND TRUE HAPPINESS? Best British Screenplay James Goldman, THE LION IN WINTER Best British Original Teleplay John Mortimer, VOYAGE RO...

Writers’ Guild Awards 1968

5 March 1969 at the Dorchester Hotel, London Best British Documentary or Short Script Merit Scroll Sarah Erulkar, THE HUNCH Plaque Peter Baylis, SEA BORN TREASURE Best British Comedy Screenplay Merit Scroll Beverley Cross, HALF A SIXPENCE Plaque Peter Ustinov and Ira Wallach, HOT MILLIONS Best British Original Screenplay Merit Scroll Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C Clarke, 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY Plaque David Sherwin, IF Best British Screenpla...

Writers’ Guild Awards 1967

14 March 1968 at the Dorchester Hotel, London Best British Screenplay Zita Plaque Robert Bolt, A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS Merit Scroll Harold Pinter, ACCIDENT Best British Original Screenplay Zita Plaque Edward Boyd, Peter Edward Boyd, Peter Yates and George Markstein, ROBBERY Merit Scroll Frederic Raphael, TWO FOR THE ROAD Best British Comedy Screenplay Zita Plaque Bill Naughton, THE FAMILY WAY Merit Scroll Frederic Raphael, TWO FOR THE ROAD ...

Writers’ Guild Awards 1966

9 March 1967 at the Dorchester Hotel, London Best British Dramatic Screenplay Bill Naughton, ALFIE Best British Documentary Film or Short Script George Thomson, LOW WATER Best British Comedy Screenplay Kevin Brownlow & Andrew Mollo, IT HAPPENED HERE Best British Original Teleplay Jeremy Sandford, CATHY COME HOME Best British Dramatic Series/Serial Scripts Wilfred Greatorex, Raymond Bowers & Edmund Ward, THE PLANEMAKERS Best British Li...

Writers’ Guild Awards 1965

10 March 1966 at the Dorchester Hotel, London Best British Dramatic Screenplay Ray Rigby, THE HILL Best British Documentary Film or Short Script Charles Wood, THE KNACK Best British Comedy Screenplay Frederic Raphael, DARLING Best British Original Teleplay Dennis Potter, VOTE, VOTE, VOTE FOR NIGEL BARTON Best British Dramatic Series/Serial Scripts Team Award, DR FINLAY’S CASEBOOK Best British Light Entertainment Series/Serial Scripts ...

Writers’ Guild Awards 1964

11 March 1965 at the Dorchester Hotel, London Best British Dramatic Screenplay Bryan Forbes, SÉANCE ON A WET AFTERNOON Best British Documentary Film or Short Script Anthony Pelissier, SUSPECTS ALL Best British Comedy Screenplay Frederic Raphael, NOTHING BUT THE BEST Best British Original Teleplay Ken Taylor, THE DEVIL AND JOHN BROWN Best British Dramatic Series/Serial Scripts Wilfred Greatorex, Raymond Bowers & Edmund Ward, THE PLANEMAK...

Writers’ Guild Awards 1963

March 12 1964 at the Dorchester Hotel, London Best British Dramatic Screenplay Harold Pinter, THE SERVANT Best British Comedy Screenplay John Osborne, TOM JONES Best British Original Teleplay Harold Pinter, THE LOVER Best British Dramatic Series/Serial Scripts John Hopkins, Z-CARS Best British Light Entertainment Series/Serial Scripts Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, STEPTOE AND SON Best British Documentary Script Alan Whicker, MEXICO T...

Writers’ Guild Awards 1962

13 March 1963 at the Dorchester Hotel, London Best British Dramatic Screenplay Roger Bolt and Michael Wilson, LAWRENCE OF ARABIA Best British Comedy Screenplay Bryan Forbes, ONLY TWO CAN PLAY Best British Original Teleplay David Turner, A SUITABLE CASE Best British Dramatic Series/Serial Scripts Allan Prior, John Hopkins and Troy Kennedy-Martin, Z-CARS Best British Light Entertainment Series/Serial Scripts Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, S...

Writers’ Guild Awards 1961

26 April 1962 at the Dorchester Hotel, London. Best British Dramatic Screenplay Shelagh Delaney and Tony Richardson, A TASTE OF HONEY Best Original Teleplay Alun Owen, THE ROSE AFFAIR Best Contribution to Dramatic Series/Serials Colin Morris, JACKS AND KNAVES Best Contribution to Light Entertainment Series/Serials Frank Muir and Denis Norden, THE SEVEN FACES OF JIM Best British Documentary Script Richard Cawston, TELEVISION AND THE WORL...

New rights for TV writers

Published on: Thursday February 9, 2017

UPDATE (25/9/2017): THE BBC TELEVISION AND ONLINE DRAMA AND COMEDY SCRIPT AGREEMENT HAS NOW BEEN REPLACED BY THE BBC SCRIPT AGREEMENT FOR TELEVISION AND ONLINE. VIEW THE AGREEMENT HERE Screenwriters commissioned by the BBC will receive a boost to their rights, thanks to a new agreement negotiated by WGGB. The BBC television and online drama and comedy script agreement, negotiated by WGGB and the Personal Managers’ Association, replaces two previo...

Writers’ Guild Award winners 2017

Published on: Monday January 23, 2017

Acclaimed playwright and screenwriter Sir Tom Stoppard (pictured left) was presented the Outstanding Contribution to Writing Award at the Writers’ Guild Awards on 23 January 2017, at the Royal College of Physicians in central London. The award was presented by WGGB Theatre Co-Chair and former President David Edgar (read his full speech). Talking about the prestigious accolade, Stoppard said: “For a writer, no award can compare to an award from ot...

Sir Tom Stoppard honoured for Outstanding Contribution to Writing

Published on: Monday January 23, 2017

The following speech was given by WGGB Theatre Co-Chair and former President David Edgar, on 23 January 2017, at the Writers’ Guild Awards ceremony in London, hosted by Meera Syal Sir Tom Stoppard It’s become quite modish to describe individually written plays as old-fashioned, in contrast to contemporary and up-to-date forms of playwriting like devising. The last five Writers’ Guild Best Play awards have gone to Rachel De-Lahay, Owen McCafferty,...

Writers’ Guild Awards 2017

Published on: Tuesday December 6, 2016

The annual Writers’ Guild Awards will be presented by writer, comedian and actress Meera Syal (pictured left) on Monday 23 January 2017 at the Royal College of Physicians in central London. Commenting on her involvement in this year’s awards, Meera Syal said: “Someone once said, probably a writer, that the writer is the only true originator of a script, everyone else that follows is merely an interpreter. Whilst the directors and producers slug i...

BBC radio rates increases

Published on: Monday December 5, 2016

WGGB has negotiated a 2% increase in BBC radio drama minimum rates for non-established writers, and 1% for established writers. The changes take effect from 1 November 2016. For an established writer, this brings the headline rate to £95.46 per minute for two transmissions, or £4,295.70 for a 45-minute play. The new rate for an episode of The Archers will be £957 and the attendance allowance increases to £68 per day. There are also increases in t...

2% pay increase for BBC TV writers

Published on: Tuesday November 1, 2016

WGGB has negotiated a 2% increase in all minimum rates for BBC TV drama and scripted comedy, including sketches. This brings the flagship rate for original TV drama to £11,760 for a one-hour schedule slot. A typical half-hour episode of a series or serial comes to £5,370. And in many cases, these fees are augmented by the same amount again as an advance against future repeats, overseas sales, DVDs, etc. TV sketches are now worth a minimum of £109...

UK Theatre minimum rates increase

Published on: Saturday August 27, 2016

Playwrights working under WGGB’s UK Theatre agreement will see a 2% increase in minimum fees, thanks to negotiations by WGGB, the Scottish Society of Playwrights and the Personal Managers’ Association (PMA). The increase, which is backdated to 1 May 2016, means that a full-length play in a large subsidised theatre will now attract a minimum fee of £9,259. WGGB Acting General Secretary Ellie Peers said: “I’m extremely pleased about the 2% uplift i...

75% rise in Pact TV writing fees

Published on: Saturday August 27, 2016

Screenwriters working under WGGB’s Pact television agreement will see a fee rise of over 75% thanks to negotiations by WGGB and the Personal Managers’ Association (PMA). From 1 October 2016 the one-hour drama slot minimum fee of £7,500 rises to £13,320 for a single drama. The fee for series and serials rises to £10,570. This is the first increase in minimum fees under the Pact agreement since 2003, and also represents a significant increase in pe...

1.75% fee rise for ITV writers

Published on: Tuesday July 5, 2016

ITV is increasing its minimum rates for writers by 1.75% from 1 July 2016 following negotiations with the WGGB and the PMA (the agents’ trade association). This means that the flagship rate for a one-hour drama goes up to £13,515, with the rate for series/serials rising to £10,577. For long-running series the minimum rate increases to £3,526 per half-hour slot length. WGGB Acting General Secretary Ellie Peers said: “We welcome the above-inflation...

‘Equality: there is still a long way to go’

Published on: Friday June 17, 2016

Acting General Secretary Ellie Peers, speaking at the Writers’ Guild AGM on 17 June 2016 in London, said she feared that “equality had dropped off the agenda”. While she welcomed lots of talk in the industry about diversity and inclusion over the past year, she said she was concerned that the speed of change on gender equality was still too slow and pointed to figures that illustrated this. “The current state of play is that women write 14.6% of ...

Writers’ fee rise at ITC and TNC theatres

Published on: Tuesday April 19, 2016

WGGB’s theatre negotiators have agreed above-inflation increases on minimum fees for playwrights working under ITC and TNC agreements. This means that from 1 April 2016, rates for a full-length play commissioned by either the Royal Court, National Theatre or Royal Shakespeare Company (the TNC agreement) rise to a minimum of £12,308. From 18 April 2016, Independent Theatre Council (ITC) minimum rates for a full-length play (70 minutes or over) ri...

Olwen Wymark Theatre Encouragement Awards

The Olwen Wymark Theatre Encouragement Awards give WGGB members the opportunity to publicly thank those who have given them a positive experience in new writing over the previous year They are named in honour of playwright Olwen Wymark, passionate supporter of WGGB and former Chair of the WGGB Theatre Committee, who died in 2013. Previous winners range from audio drama producers and artistic directors to business people and development consultant...

ITV Player writers in royalties payout

Published on: Tuesday March 29, 2016

Writers for Emmerdale and Coronation Street are among those to have received royalties in the latest round of payments under the Writers Digital Payments (WDP) scheme. WDP, owned by WGGB and the Personal Managers’ Association, has now distributed money totalling £200,000 to around 200 ITV writers whose work has been shown on ITV Player during the period 2008-11. It follows two tranches of payments to BBC writers, earlier this year and in April 20...

BBC iPlayer writers get £1-million payout

Published on: Monday February 8, 2016

Screenwriters whose work has been aired on BBC iPlayer have received royalties of nearly £1 million, according to figures just released by Writers Digital Payments (WDP). The not-for-profit company, set up to make sure that TV writers get properly paid when their work is shown online, is owned by WGGB and the Personal Managers’ Association (the trade body for agents representing writers, actors and directors). WDP’s most recent payout to BBC writ...

WGGB screenings

Our links with the British film industry, organisations and screening facilities in the capital, mean we are able to offer WGGB members screenings and/or Q&As of upcoming film releases Members will be informed of full details of screenings via email/the weekly ebulletin. All the screenings are offered by third parties, and are not WGGB-organised events, or offered exclusively to our members. We always check with the event organiser whether the sc...

Writers’ Guild Award winners 2016

Published on: Monday January 18, 2016

Acclaimed writer and producer Russell T Davies was presented the coveted Outstanding Contribution to Writing Award at the annual Writers’ Guild of Great Britain Awards at RIBA, in London, on 18 January 2016. The award was presented by Paul Abbott – celebrated writer and creator of numerous TV hits such as Shameless and State of Play – to Davies in honour of his illustrious body of work for TV, including critical and popular successes such as the ...

Writers’ Guild Awards nominees

Published on: Monday December 7, 2015

The Writers’ Guild of Great Britain is pleased to announce the shortlist for its annual awards, to be presented on Monday 18 January 2016 at RIBA, central London, by comedian, actress and writer Susan Calman. High-profile writers from the worlds of TV, film, theatre, radio, books, poetry and videogames have been regulars at this annual, red-carpet event through its 50-year history. The Writers’ Guild Awards, which launched in 1961, also give prof...

2% pay increase for BBC TV writers

Published on: Monday November 16, 2015

WGGB has negotiated a 2% increase in all minimum rates for BBC TV drama and scripted comedy, including sketches. This brings the flagship rate for original TV drama to £11,520 for a one-hour schedule slot. A typical half-hour episode of a series or serial comes to £5,250. And in many cases, these fees are augmented by the same amount again as an advance against future repeats, overseas sales, DVDs, etc. TV sketches are now worth a minimum of £107...

Do you want to help writers in need?

Published on: Tuesday October 13, 2015

Writers are mostly self-employed and work from home. When they hit hard times the effects can be devastating, without sick leave, IT support or other safety nets that many other workers enjoy. The WGGB Welfare Fund has been set up to help WGGB members suffering serious financial difficulties. The Fund, which has been created with money donated by the Writers’ Guild and individual members, is distributed after an application is made to, and approv...

“We are trying to rewrite a narrative”

Published on: Tuesday September 15, 2015

Speech given by WGGB TV Chair Bill Armstrong, proposing a Free is NOT an Option motion, passed on 15 September 2015 at TUC Congress Low pay/no pay is a problem that blights us all across every sector of the UK economy. And it doesn’t stop when you put your feet up to watch telly. In recent years writers, performers, musicians and others in the UK creative industries have seen a dramatic increase in the amount of work they are expected to do for f...

BBC radio rates increased

Published on: Saturday August 1, 2015

WGGB has negotiated 2% increases in BBC radio drama minimum rates, taking effect from 1 August 2015. This brings the headline rate to £94.51 per minute for two transmissions, or £4,252.95 for a 45-minute play on Radio 4 or Radio 3. Factoring in the 12.5% supplement that covers limited rights for iPlayer Radio and Radio 4 Extra, the package comes to £4,784.57. We have also negotiated a new deal for renewing iPlayer Radio rights after five years, w...

MPs say ‘Free is NOT an Option’

Published on: Tuesday June 23, 2015

WGGB’s Free is NOT an Option campaign received a boost at Westminster on Monday 22 June 2015, when a number of MPs added their support to the campaign at an event organised by the Performers’ Alliance All-Party Parliamentary Group. The Free is NOT an Option campaign has already received the support of a number of independent production companies, international writers’ guilds and the Culture Minister Ed Vaizey, who pledged to work with the Perfor...

“Without writers, we are nothing”

Published on: Friday June 19, 2015

That was the verdict of Sioned Wiliam (above), BBC Radio 4’s Commissioning Editor for Comedy, speaking at the WGGB annual general meeting at the Bermondsey Square Hotel, London, on Friday 19 June 2015. She added that “writers can be ignored and patronised like no other member of the production team” but that at Radio 4, which broadcasts more than 180 hours of original comedy a year, “writers are the lifeblood. I have enormous respect for writers…...

Getting paid, in 10 easy steps

Published on: Friday June 19, 2015

1. Don’t be afraid to talk about money. Writing may be your passion but it is also your business. It’s not a hobby. 2. If you have an agent tell the producer they must speak to your agent before anything is agreed. 3. Let your agent know that you can’t afford to work for free. If your agent encourages you to work for free you may need a new agent. 4. Always be polite but firm. 5. If a producer wants to shop your idea around without taking an opti...

Life Membership of ALCS

WGGB members are entitled to join Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS) for free. Apply on the ALCS website. ...

New rights for UK Theatre playwrights

Published on: Friday June 5, 2015

Playwrights commissioned by theatres under the UK Theatre umbrella have won new rights, thanks to the renegotiation of WGGB’s national agreement with the organisation. Playwrights will now receive additional fees if their work is performed abroad in English-language productions in non-English speaking countries. The new national agreement, which is backdated to May 2014, also includes provisions to protect textual integrity, and introduced a rate...

ITV writers get 5% fee increase

Published on: Friday April 24, 2015

ITV is increasing its minimum rates for writers by 5% from 1 May 2015 following negotiations with the WGGB and the PMA (the agents’ trade association). This means that the flagship rate for a one-hour drama goes up to £13,283, with the rate for series/serials rising to £10,395. For long-running series the minimum rate increases to £3,465 per half-hour slot length. WGGB General Secretary Bernie Corbett said: “These increases are welcome, as we hav...

Free is not an option campaign statement

The Writers’ Guild of Great Britain is alarmed at the sinister and growing trend of writers being asked to undertake film and TV development work for free. It is making it impossible for those without independent means to launch or sustain a career. In time it will limit the diversity of voices on our screens. How many great dramas of the past 30 years would have been written if the authors hadn’t been fairly paid for development? If they were st...

Writers’ fee increases at TNC and ITC theatres

Published on: Tuesday April 14, 2015

WGGB has negotiated increases on all minimum rates for writers at the Royal Court, Royal National Theatre and Royal Shakespeare Company. The theatres, collectively known as TNC theatres, have agreed a 1.1% increase on minimum fees and an increase of over 13% on rehearsal attendance fees. These increases mean that the minimum fee for a play is now over £12,100. WGGB has also negotiated a definition for ‘short plays’ to be included in our national ...

UK TV writers to receive £1-million income boost

Published on: Wednesday March 25, 2015

Thousands of television writers across the UK are due to receive an unexpected boost to their incomes in a fortnight when the first round of Writers Digital Payments hits their bank accounts on 13 April 2015. Writers Digital Payments (WDP) is a not-for-profit company set up to make sure that TV writers get properly paid when their work is shown online. Arrangements have already been put in place to cover use of writers’ work on BBC iPlayer and IT...

Locked box film deal for WGGB, Directors UK and Pact

Published on: Wednesday March 25, 2015

Writers, directors and producers of feature films supported with Lottery funding through the BFI Film Fund are each set to reap the rewards of the film’s success, thanks to a new deal struck by WGGB, Directors UK and Pact. Up to a 37.5% share of BFI’s recouped income from supported film productions is put into a ‘locked box’, where it is held by the BFI and available to be drawn down for developing and producing future film projects – ensuring re...

Free is NOT an Option

In 2014 WGGB launched the Free is NOT an Option campaign to tackle the growing amount of work writers are expected to do for free The campaign followed a survey of WGGB members which found that 87% of respondents in the TV and film industries reported a significant increase in the amount of work they had been asked to do for free. Other writers – authors, poets and playwrights – also reported an upward trend in this practice. Of particular concer...

WGGB pension scheme: notice of changes

Published on: Friday February 27, 2015

One of the greatest achievements of WGGB, way back in the 1960s and 1970s, was the establishment of a pension scheme for freelance, self-employed screenwriters. It was instigated by Roy Russell, a WGGB pioneer. In those days a pension was linked to an employer. The idea that self-employed writers could have a pension was revolutionary. The idea that you could have a pension scheme without regular, identical monthly payments, had hardly been imagi...

Membership terms & conditions

Terms and conditions written in accordance with the Rules of the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain Membership Eligibility (i). A Full Member shall be any person 18 years of age and over who has achieved one or more of the following statuses, subject to the discretion of the Executive Council (a) Has written one or more pieces of work under contract for which payment has been received at or above the minimum rates as defined by the current agreement...

BBC and unions agree new policy on bullying and harassment

Published on: Friday February 6, 2015

Extensive discussions between the BBC and unions within the Federation of Entertainment Unions over a new policy to address complaints from staff and freelancers over bullying and harassment have reached a conclusion. The trade unions and the BBC issued the following statement on Wednesday 4 February 2015. Agreed statement “The unions (BECTU, Equity, the Musicians’ Union, NUJ, Unite and The Writers’ Guild of Great Britain) and the BBC met on 21st...

Submit a contract to vet

WGGB provides a basic contract vetting service for Full and Candidate Members. It is run by WGGB staff and outsourced to external contract vetters when necessary The WGGB contract vetting service covers: Contracts for freelance writers working in TV, film, theatre, radio, books, videogames, children’s and animation (in the UK only) Option agreements Agency agreements Collaborators’ agreements (ie between writing partners) In order for the WGGB ...

Exclusive member videos

This section features videos of events that are available to WGGB members only. Where next for UK comedy? The comedy industry in the UK is facing severe challenges, reduced commissioning and recent cancellations of studio comedy entertainment. Scripted comedy has recently been described by Ofcom as an “at risk” genre across public service broadcasters. So, what is next for comedy writers? Writers Joel Morris (Cunk on Life, Charlie Brooker’s Scree...

Kay Mellor honoured at Writers’ Guild Awards

Published on: Tuesday January 20, 2015

“This year’s recipient of the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain Award for Outstanding Contribution to Writing is the prolific talent behind some of the most powerful, engaging and successful British television dramas of the last 20 years. Kay Mellor (centre and above) receives her award from Sally Wainwright (left) Photo: WGGB/Guy Cragoe “She’s worked in film, theatre and television, and has excelled not only as a writer, but also as a director, ...

William Ash remembered at Writers’ Guild Awards

Published on: Tuesday January 20, 2015

The following speech was given at the Writers’ Guild Awards 2015 ceremony by Brendan Foley, pictured above right with William Ash (1917-2014) “Even in the Age of Tweets, it’s hard to sum up 96 years in five minutes, never mind the remarkable life of my friend and co-author Bill Ash. But here goes. “Born at the same time as the Russian Revolution, a fact he never accepted as coincidence, by the age of six Bill was already fighting playground batt...

Writers’ Guild Awards 2015 winners announced

Published on: Monday January 19, 2015

Kay Mellor is honoured for outstanding contribution to writing, while writers receive awards across 13 categories Writer, presenter, comedian, actress and producer Sandi Toksvig presented the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain annual Awards at RIBA, in London, on the evening of Monday 19 January 2015. “Writers are too often the unsung heroes of all forms of entertainment and how great to sing their praises this evening,” she said. In her welcome spe...

Writers’ Guild Awards 2015 shortlist announced

Published on: Thursday December 4, 2014

Writer, presenter, comedian, actress and producer Sandi Toksvig will present the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain annual Awards at RIBA, in London, on the evening of Monday 19 January 2015 High-profile writers from the worlds of TV, film, theatre, radio, books, poetry and videogames have been regulars at this annual, red-carpet event through its 50-year history. The Awards, which launched in 1961, give professional writers from across Great Brit...

Free is NOT an Option, WGGB tells European Writers’ Council delegates in Brussels

Published on: Tuesday November 4, 2014

Speech given by Bill Armstrong, Chair of the WGGB TV Committee, at the European Writers’ Council’s annual general meeting and conference in Brussels on 2-3 November 2014 Working on spec is part and parcel of a television writer’s life. In our own time and at our own expense we research, create and develop ideas and scripts. This has always been the case and always will be. Production companies, for their part, are understandably reluctant to comm...

‘Alone and together: that is our theme’

Published on: Wednesday October 8, 2014

The World Conference of Screenwriters (WCOS) took place on 1-2 October 2014 in Warsaw, attended by WGGB, and 29 other guilds and writers’ organisations from across the globe. The conference was the third of its kind, and a fourth was announced for Paris in 2016. The two resolutions below were passed at the conference. They are followed by an unedited transcript of closing remarks from Chris Keyser, President of the Writers Guild of America West a...

Theatre rates increase announced

Published on: Monday August 4, 2014

Following a recent meeting with directors from the three major theatres; Royal National Theatre, Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Court (collectively known as the TNC theatres) WGGB representatives have successfully negotiated an increase of 2% on all minimum fees effective from today, 1 August 2014. In real terms this means that the minimum fee for a play is now just under £12,000 (excluding upstairs at the Royal Court which is now £9,387...

BBC radio rates increased

Published on: Monday August 4, 2014

WGGB has agreed to an increase of 1% in minimum rates for BBC radio writers. The increase, effective from 1 August 2014, emerged from a meeting of the Radio Writers Forum, which also includes representatives of the Society of Authors and the Personal Managers’ Association (representing writers’ agents). But WGGB said it regards the rise as a “disappointing interim increase”. General secretary Bernie Corbett said: “This is way below the current le...

UK Theatre minimum rates increase

Published on: Monday June 2, 2014

After lengthy negotiations WGGB has reached agreement with UK Theatre and negotiated a 6% increase on minimum fees. This is a significant increase and is effective from 1 May 2014. WGGB Theatre Committee Chair, Nick Wood said, “We welcome the agreement we’ve reached with UK Theatre and see it as a step in the right direction for UK playwrights at a time when the arts are under pressure from all sides.” The negotiating team, which also includes r...

Free is not an option campaign update

Culture Minister Ed Vaizey pledges support in Parliament for Free is NOT an Option Transcript of a question raised in Parliament on 4 June 2015 by Kerry McCarthy MP, Chair of the Performers’ Alliance Kerry McCarthy MP: Is the Minister aware of the campaign by the Writers’ Guild, Free is NOT an Option, which is based on a survey that found that TV writers are increasingly being asked or pressurised to write scripts for free, even when they are est...

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