 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Writers' Guild of Great Britain" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(August 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Writers' Guild of Great Britain | |
 | |
| Founded | 1959; 67 years ago (1959) |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | London, England |
| Location |
|
| Members |  3,074 (2024)[1] |
General Secretary | Eleanor Peers |
| Affiliations | |
| Website | www |
Formerly called | Television and Screen Writers' Guild |
TheWriters' Guild of Great Britain (WGGB), established in 1959, is a trade union for professional writers in theUnited Kingdom. It is affiliated with both theTrades Union Congress (TUC) and theInternational Affiliation of Writers Guilds (IAWG).
The union was founded in 1959 as theTelevision and Screen Writers' Guild (commonly known as theScreen Writers' Guild), the successor to the Screenwriters' Association dating back to 1938. During the 1960s, it expanded to cover radio and book writers and adopted its present title in 1966. It sponsored the campaigns of the Writers' Action Group to establish thePublic Lending Right and theAuthors' Licensing and Collecting Society, which – starting from a single room in the Writers' Guild premises – has collected and distributed more than £100 million in payments to writers for photocopying and overseas retransmission of broadcasts. WGGB also hosts the annual Writers' Guild Awards.
In 1997, WGGB merged with theTheatre Writers Union, and membership now stands at around 2,600. Presidents, chairs and leading activists of WGGB have included:Lord (Ted) Willis,Jimmy Perry,Bryan Forbes,Denis Norden,Maureen Duffy,Alan Plater,Rosemary Anne Sisson,Wally K. Daly,Ian Curteis,J. C. Wilsher,David Nobbs,Anthony Read,[2]Olivia Hetreed andDavid Edgar, the noted playwright, TV and film writer (Nicholas Nickleby for theRoyal Shakespeare Company;Pentecost, which won anEvening Standard Award in 1994;The Jail Diary ofAlbie Sachs;Albert Speer, based onGitta Sereny's biography ofHitler's architect;Playing With Fire; etc.). The current president isSandi Toksvig OBE.
WGGB represents writers working in television, radio, film, theatre, books andmultimedia.
It negotiates a series of Minimum Terms Agreements (MTAs) governing writers' contracts and covering minimum fees, advances, repeat fees, royalties and residuals, rights, credits, number of drafts, script alterations and the resolution of disputes. The most important MTAs cover:BBC TV Drama;BBC Radio Drama;ITV Companies; PACT (independent TV and film producers); TAC (Welsh language independent TV producers);Theatrical Management Association; Independent Theatre Council; and an agreement covering theRoyal National Theatre,Royal Shakespeare Company andRoyal Court Theatre. These agreements are regularly renegotiated and in most cases the minimum fees are reviewed annually.
WGGB advises its members on all aspects of their working lives. This includes contract vetting, legal advice, help with copyright problems and representation in disputes with producers, publishers or other writers.
Regular events are organised for members. Examples include a Meet the Agents event in London, Television Writing: Women's Work? in Leeds, an exclusiveArchers event in the West Midlands, plus screenings of new and upcoming film releases. The Annual General Meeting features an address by an industry professional/s, an opportunity to debate issues of importance to writers and amend WGGB's rules.
WGGB is a campaigning union and effective lobbying efforts have concentrated on MEPs considering the European copyright directive, and MPs, peers and the media over the Communications Bill and theBBC Charter renewal. WGGB made strong protests when crowd violence halted performances ofBehzti byGurpreet Kaur Bhatti at the Birmingham repertory theatre in December 2004, and subsequently revived its Anti-Censorship Committee. WGGB makes a point of highlighting the importance of writing for children in all media.
It co-operates closely with other unions, includingEquity, theMusicians' Union and theSociety of Authors, and is affiliated to the British Copyright Council, Creators' Rights Alliance,Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom and other pressure groups. WGGB representatives attend regular briefings with the Arts Council,Ofcom, the Public Lending Right agency and other national bodies. Recent campaigns include the Equality Writes campaign, tackling inequality in the screen industries.
International connections include:International Affiliation of Writers Guilds (screenwriters guilds in the UK, US, Canada, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, France and Mexico); European Writers Congress (more than 50 organisations); Fédération des Scénaristes d'Europe (screenwriters' groups in 14 countries); UNI-MEI (worldwide trade union organisation representing millions of workers in the TV, film, media and entertainment industries). WGGB has a reciprocal membership and services arrangement with the Irish Playwrights and Screenwriters Guild. UK WGGB members who achieve TV or film writing contracts in the US can join theWriters Guild of America without paying the usual $2,500 initial fee.
The Writers' Guild Pension Scheme provides personal pension plans customised for freelance writers who may need to make irregular and sometimes small pension contributions. The scheme is coupled with clauses in several Guild MTAs entitling members to pension contributions in addition to their writing fees.
Over the years, the Writers' Guild Welfare Fund has accumulated more than £40,000, which is available to provide loans or grants to members in financial difficulty.
Full Membership is open to anyone who has received payment for a piece of written work under a contract with terms no less than those negotiated by WGGB. Writers who do not qualify can join as Candidate Members, or Student Members.
The WGGB Awards were first given out in 1961. The WGGB also awards theTinniswood Award for radio dramas, which are incorporated into theBBC Audio Drama Awards.[3] An archive of all winners since 1961 is available on the WGGB website.[4]
TheOlwen Wymark Theatre Encouragement Awards, named in honour of playwrightOlwen Wymark (1932–2013), were established in 2005 byMark Ravenhill and David James, and are awarded annually. WGGB members are invited to make nominations "to publicly thank those who have given them a positive experience in new writing over the previous year."[5][6][7]
| Positions | |
|---|---|
| Bodies | |
| Affiliates | |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
