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WGC awards stage

WGC Screenwriting Awards

Every powerful show, movie and web series requires an equally powerful script crafted by a skillful, innovative writer. Writers Guild of Canada members are those writers.

Celebrate their talents by attending the 2023 WGC Screenwriting Awards on Monday, April 24, 2023, at Koerner Hall in Toronto. Hosted by Vance Banzo (pictured below), it's going to be a night to remember.

Tickets on sale soon. Sponsorship opportunities are still available. Contact us for info.

    Vance Banzo

    The finalists have been announced!

    Read our press release here to find out which screenwriters are finalists in the following categories:

    - PRESCHOOL
    - CHILDREN’S
    - DOCUMENTARY
    - FEATURE FILM
    - MOW & MINISERIES
    - SHORTS & WEB SERIES
    - COMEDY SERIES
    - DRAMA SERIES
    - TWEENS & TEENS

    SPECIAL AWARDS

    - JIM BURT SCREENWRITING PRIZE
    - SONDRA KELLY AWARD, GENEROUSLY SPONSORED BY AFBS 
    - SHOWRUNNER AWARD

      Thank you to our sponsors

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      Gold Sponsors

      Last year's WGC Award Winners (2022)
      Michael
      Michael McGowan

      Feature
      All My Puny Sorrows

      LE
      Lakna Edilima

      Children's
      Odd Squad Mobile Unit
      "H2 Oh No"

      JP
      James Phillips

      MOW & Mini Series
      As Gouda As It Gets

      Michael F
      Michael Foulke

      Preschool
      Elinor Wonders Why, “Olive’s Tree”

      MP
      Maddi Patton

      Shorts
      My Pride: The Series, “Fire” 

      Bilal and Fab
      Bilal Baig & Fab Filippo

      Comedy Series
      Sort Of, "Sort of Gone"

      Amanda Joy
      Amanda Joy

      Tweens & Teens
      The Parker Andersons I Amelia Parker, “Joy”

      Pretty Hard cases
      Tassie Cameron & Sherry White

      Drama
      Pretty Hard Cases, “Bananas”

      Anthony Q. Farrell

      Showrunner Award

      Showrunners are the writers/producers who hold the creative vision for a television series. He or she controls all creative decisions and oversees the series from development, through prep and production, to the completion of post. The showrunner truly is the creative force driving the series, and the WGC Showrunner Award brings Canada’s best showrunners centre stage to be celebrated by their peers. The 2022 recipient is Anthony Q. Farrell.

      Michael Amo

      McGrath Service Award

      In 2017, the Writers Block Award was renamed the "Denis McGrath Award for Service to the WGC" to honour the tremendous contribution Denis McGrath made to the Guild. The award is for writers who have demonstrated a record of exceptional service to the Writers Guild of Canada and whose efforts have strengthened the Canadian screenwriting community as a whole. The recipient of award is determined by the Writers Guild of Canada council. The 2022 recipient is Michael Amo.

      Carolyn Saunders

      Sondra Kelly Award

      The Sondra Kelly Award provides $5,000 to women screenwriters in mid-career for research/development on a self-initiated project.

      Sondra Kelly was a longtime member of the Writers Guild of Canada. In 2007, she received the WGC Writers Block Award for her record of exceptional service to the WGC and for her work strengthening the Canadian screenwriting community. In addition to serving on the WGC council from January 1997 to December 2003, Sondra occupied the first WGC-designated seat on the Actra Fraternal Benefits Society (AFBS) board (1998-2003). Hers was the first writer’s voice on a board made up of actors, producers, and broadcasters at a time when a writer’s voice was much needed. The 2022 recipient is Carolyn Saunders.

      Matt Huether

      Alex Barris Mentorship Award

      Alex Barris was a writer, broadcaster, and journalist; a pioneer of Canadian television, and proud member of the WGC. He was also a wonderful mentor, giving his time and talent to new writers who were just getting started in the industry. The Alex Barris Mentorship Award was created after his death in 2004, to keep his name and spirit alive and to perpetuate the tradition of mentorship.

      The award, granted biennially, acknowledges a mentor who has significantly helped a writer (or writers) get a start in the business. While the nominator must be a WGC member, the recipient need not be. The 2022 recipient is Matt Huether.

       

       

      2021 WGC Award Winners
      md
      Mark De Angelis

      Children’s

      Odd Squad Mobile Unit, “Slow Your Roll”

      dl
      Daniel Levy

      Comedy Series
      Schitt’s Creek, “Happy Ending”
       

      ss
      Jonny Harris, Fraser Young, Graham Chittenden, Steve Dylan

      Documentary
      Still Standing, “Rankin Inlet”

      pg
      Michelle Latimer, Tony Elliott, Penny Gummerson

      Drama Series
      Trickster, “Episode 105” 

      tm
      Tracey Deer, Meredith Vuchnich

      Feature Film
      Beans

      bd
      Becky Southwell & Dylan Neal

      MOW & Miniseries
      Gourmet Detective: Roux the Day

      jjj
      J.J. Johnson

      Preschool

      Dino Dana, “The Sound of Dinosaurs” 

      sw
      Simone Swan & The Affolter Brothers

      Shorts 
      Try to Fly 

      rt
      Joseph Mallozzi & R.T. Thorne

      Tweens & Teens
      Utopia Falls, “The World is Yours”