Writers Guilds Announce Call for Submissions for Fourth Annual WGA Videogame Writing Award

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Writers Guilds Announce Call for Submissions for Fourth Annual WGA Videogame Writing Award

Press Release from Writers Guilds

Los Angeles and New York, September 1, 2010 – Recognizing writers as content creators driving the ever-growing videogame industry, the Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) and Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) have announced their collective call for submissions for the WGA’s fourth annual Videogame Writing Award to be presented at the 2011 Writers Guild Awards on Saturday, February 5, 2011, at simultaneous ceremonies in Los Angeles and New York.

Submissions for the 2011 WGA Videogame Writing Award may be received from September 1, 2010, through November 23, 2010. WGA videogame nominees will be announced January 6, 2011.

Previous WGA Videogame Writing Award winners have included Dead Head Fred (written by Dave Ellis and Adam Cogan) in 2008, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (writers Haden Blackman, Shawn Pitman, John Stafford and Cameron Suey) in 2009, and, most recently, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (written by Amy Hennig) in 2010.

Established by the Guilds’ Videogame Writers Caucus to encourage storytelling excellence in videogames, improve the status of videogame writers, and promote uniform standards within the gaming industry, the WGA Videogame Writing Award recognizes the primary creative contributions videogame writers have made to help create a gamut of globally popular videogame titles, as well as the burgeoning gaming industry as a whole.

As videogame writers continue to influence this state-of-the-art medium, which increasingly crosses over to impact film, television, digital, and transmedia industries, both the WGAW and WGAE continue to work together to bring more videogame projects under Writers Guild jurisdiction to ensure writers receive the benefits of working under a WGA contract.

Qualifications for WGA Videogame Writing Award eligibility include:

• The award will go to the writer(s) of the best qualifying script from a videogame published in the previous year. To be eligible for entry, games must have been released between 12/1/09 and 11/30/10. Submission deadline is 5:00 p.m. (PST) on Tuesday, 11/23/10.

• Work that was not produced under WGA jurisdiction may also be submitted.

• Submitted games must have separate credit for writing (i.e., Written By, Story By, Writer, Story Designer, etc.). While there is no limit on the number of credited writers a particular game may have, credits not specifically tied to videogame writing are not acceptable (i.e., Lead Designer, Designed By, Produced By, etc.). *Note: Writers of source material are not eligible for awards consideration.

• All submissions must be made in the name of the credited writer(s), and not the game itself. Scripts may also be submitted by the developer/publisher of the game, or by writer representatives, i.e., agents, managers and publicists. Entries submitted by anyone other than the writer(s) must include an entry form signed by the submitting writer(s).

• At the time the script is submitted, the credited writer(s) of the game must be, or apply to become, a member of the WGA’s Videogame Writers Caucus.

Preliminary judging for the Videogame Writing Award will be conducted by panels comprised of Videogame Writers Caucus and/or Writers Guild members active in the videogame writing arena. Final judging will be handled by a panel of writers from the VWC and/or Writers Guild members active in videogame writing.

The 2011 Writers Guild Awards will be held on Saturday, February 5, 2011, simultaneously in Los Angeles at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel and in New York City. For more information about the 2011 Writers Guild Awards’ submission process, guidelines, and/or official entry forms, please visit www.wga.org [1] or www.wgaeast.org [2].

The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) and Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) are labor unions representing writers in motion pictures, television, cable, digital media, and broadcast news. The Guilds negotiate and administer contracts that protect the creative and economic rights of their members; conduct programs, seminars, and events on issues of interest to writers; and present writers’ views to various bodies of government. For more information on the Writers Guild of America, East, visit www.wgaeast.org [3]. For more information on the Writers Guild of America, West, visit www.wga.org [1].