Penelope Koechl to be Honored with the WGA East’s Richard B. Jablow Award for Devoted Service to the Guild

NEW YORK, NY (February 2, 2023) – The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) is proud to announce that it will present Penelope Koechl with the Richard B. Jablow Award for Devoted Service to the Guild at the 75th Annual Writers Guild Awards ceremony at New York’s Edison Ballroom on Sunday, March 5, 2023. 

Established in 1978 to recognize devoted service to the Guild, the Jablow Award was created in honor of Richard B. Jablow, who helped found the WGAE, authored its constitution, and served as its first counsel. Past honorees include Claire  Labine, Herb Sargent, Ernest Kinoy, Stephen Schiff, James Schamus, Warren Leight, Chris Albers, Courtney Simon, and Tom Fontana. 

The honorary award will be presented to Koechl by the award’s previous honoree, WGAE Vice President for Film/Television/Streaming Lisa Takeuchi Cullen.

A Writers Guild of America, East member since 1986, Koechl began her involvement with the WGAE as a member of the 1988 MBA Strike Committee. She went on to serve a total of five terms on the WGAE Council and was a member of the 2001 MBA Negotiating Committee and an Alternate on the 2007 MBA Negotiating Committee. She is currently a member of the Trustee Review and Appointment Committee, and Chairperson of the Election Committee. 

Koechl wrote for the CBS daytime dramas AS THE WORLD TURNS and THE GUIDING LIGHT for many years, winning two Writers Guild Awards and one Daytime Emmy. She has also written for the web serial VENICE: THE SERIES and LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT.

Michael Winship, President of the Writers Guild of America, East, said, “My friend and colleague Penelope Koechl has always been, and continues to be, an inspiring presence at the Guild. We are grateful for her time and hard work, not to mention the creativity and skill she has contributed to make our union stronger. At this, our 75th Annual Writers Guild Awards, she is an ideal recipient of our Jablow Award. She has our warmest thanks and appreciation.”

At the New York Ceremony, Spike Lee will be presented with the Ian McLellan Hunter Award for Career Achievement by John Turturro and Paul Simms will be presented with the Herb Sargent Award for Comedy Excellence by Donald Glover.

The 75th Annual Writers Guild Awards in New York will be hosted by Michelle Buteau, and feature presenters F. Murray Abraham, Alex Borstein, Charlamagne tha God, Sarita Choudhury, Tony Dokoupil, Jackie Hoffman, Tony Kushner, Jake Lacy, Susan Lucci, Amy Schumer, Morgan Spector, and more to be announced.

The New York ceremony is sponsored by Vision Media, Good Energy, HBO Max, Universal Pictures, Hazmat Media Inc, Scriptation, iMoxie Media, and Save the Cat. The New York ceremony’s Afterparty is sponsored by Vision Media. The media partner for the New York ceremony is Vulture. For information on becoming a sponsor, please contact Dana Weissman at (212) 767-7835 or email: dweissman@wgaeast.org.

The Writers Guild Awards honor outstanding writing in film, television, new media, news, radio, and promotional categories. The 2023 Writers Guild Awards (75th Annual) will be presented at concurrent ceremonies on Sunday, March 5, 2023, in New York City at the Edison Ballroom and in Los Angeles. 

For media inquiries about the 2023 WGA New York show, please contact Jason Gordon in the WGAE Communications Department at (212) 767-7809 or email: jgordon@wgaeast.org.

For media inquiries about the 2023 WGA Los Angeles show, please contact Bob Hopkinson in the WGAW Communications Department at: (310) 801-8563 or email: rhopkinson@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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