The Writers Guild of Canada has been the proud voice of Canadian screenwriters for over 25 years and celebrates excellence in Canadian screenwriting at our annual WGC Screenwriting Awards. The 2019 edition of the awards will be held on Monday April 29 at Koerner Hall in Toronto (tickets are on sale here), with awards being presented in the following categories:

• Best New Series Script
• Children’s
• Comedy Series
• Drama Series
• Documentary
• Feature Film
• MOW & Miniseries
• Shorts & Webseries
• Tweens & Teens

Our list of 2019 nominees is available here. Special awards include the WGC Showrunner Award, the Sondra Kelly Award, the Jim Burt Screenwriting Prize, and the McGrath Service Award.

To sponsor the WGC Screenwriting Awards, contact Nardina Grande: sponsors@wgc.ca.

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 2018 recipient is Michael MacLennan.

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 2018 recipient is Mark Ellis.

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 2018 recipient is Sarah Dodd.

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 2018 recipient is Sherry White.

The Jim Burt Screenwriting Prize was created to continue the work of the late Jim Burt by recognizing his lifelong commitment to excellence in Canadian longform dramatic writing. The winning screenplay is determined by a jury, which selects the best original, unproduced longform script. The winner is presented with a total prize worth $5,000: a $3,000 cash prize and $2,000 for an experienced story editor (approved by the jury) to further develop the winner’s script. The 2017 recipient is Daniel Whidden.