WGGB has launched a new category in its annual Awards, which take place on 14 January 2019 in central London in a special ceremony to mark the union’s anniversary.

The Musical Theatre Bookwriting Award joins 14 existing categories, honouring the cream of British writing across TV, film, theatre, radio, books, comedy and videogames.

Jenifer Toksvig, Co-Chair of the WGGB Theatre Committee, said:

“We are delighted to announce this new award for the crucial and often under-acknowledged craft of musical theatre bookwriting. We’re excited to see a broad range of nominations in style and form, and can’t wait to get reading.”

The high-profile Writers’ Guild Awards – which have been celebrating writers and writing since they launched in 1961 – are already among the most prominent in the theatre world, with playwrights represented in the Best Play and Best Play for Young Audiences categories.

The 2018 ceremony saw Caryl Churchill presented the coveted Outstanding Contribution to Writing Award by fellow playwright Lucy Kirkwood, who herself took home the Best Play Award for The Children.

Nominations for the Musical Theatre Bookwriting Award are open until midnight on Friday 26 October 2018. To qualify, writers must be British citizens or residents. Work is eligible for nomination if first produced between 1 October 2017 and 29 September 2018.

The Musical Theatre Bookwriting category does not require professional performers: youth and community theatre productions are eligible if led by a professional production team, and for a minimum of three public performances. ‘Musical theatre book’ is defined as the overall structure of the show, which can be sung-through. Everyone identified by the writing team as ‘bookwriter’ or ‘librettist’ meets the criteria for nomination, regardless of percentage contribution.

Nominations must be made via the online form on the WGGB website, which has additional eligibility criteria.

Photo: Shutterstock.com/B.Brown