2017 WGA Videogame Writing Award – Call For Submissions

New York and Los Angeles – The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) and Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) have announced the submission period is now open for the 2017 WGA Videogame Writing Award, honoring outstanding achievement in videogame writing.

Submissions will be accepted from September 6 through November 21, 2016, with videogame nominees set to be announced January 12, 2017.

Eligibility criteria for the WGA Videogame Writing Award are as follows:

• The award is presented 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 12/1/15 and 11/30/16. The submission deadline is 5:30 p.m. (PT) on Monday, November 21, 2016.

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

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

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.

Recent WGA Videogame Writing Award winners include Rise of the Tomb Raider (2016), Lead Narrative Designer John Stafford; Narrative Designer Cameron Suey; Lead Writer Rhianna Pratchett; Additional Writer Philip Gelatt; The Last of Us: Left Behind (2015) and The Last of Us (2014), both Written by Neil Druckmann; Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation (2013), Scriptwriting by Richard Farrese, Jill Murray; and Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception (2012), Written by Amy Hennig.

Further inquiries regarding the WGA’s Videogame Writing Award may be directed to Shila Chakmakian in the WGAW Awards Office at (323) 782-4712, email: schakmakian@wga.org, or to Dana Weissman in the WGAE Awards Office at (212) 767-7835, email: dweissman@wgaeast.org.

The Writers Guild Awards honor outstanding writing in film, television, new media, videogames, news, radio, promotional, and graphic animation categories. The awards will be presented at concurrent ceremonies on Sunday, February 19, 2017, in New York City at the Edison Ballroom and in Los Angeles at the Beverly Hilton. For more information about the 2017 Writers Guild Awards, please visit www.wga.org or www.wgaeast.org.

For media inquiries about the 2017 Writers Guild Awards New York City show, please contact Jason Gordon in the WGAE Communications Department at (212) 767-7809 or email: jgordon@wgaeast.org.

For media inquiries about the 2017 Writers Guild Awards Los Angeles show, please contact Gregg Mitchell in the WGAW Communications Department at: (323) 782-4651 or email: gmitchell@wga.org.

The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) and the 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. For more information on the Writers Guild of America, West, visit www.wga.org.

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