Anora written by Sean Baker won the award for Original Screenplay and Nickel Boys written by RaMell Ross and Joslyn Barnes won for Adapted Screenplay in the film category at the 2025 Writers Guild Awards (77th Annual) held at concurrent ceremonies in New York and Los Angeles. Jim Henson: Idea Man written by Mark Monroe won for Documentary Screenplay.
Screenwriter and director David Lynch (Blue Velvet, The Elephant Man) was posthumously awarded the Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement, presented by Kyle MacLachlan who also accepted the award on Lynch’s behalf; and RaMell Ross & Joslyn Barnes received the Paul Selvin Award for their film Nickel Boys (Screenplay by RaMell Ross & Joslyn Barnes, based on the Book The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead), presented by Black List creator Franklin Leonard. The Selvin Award is given to the script that best embodies the spirit of the constitutional and civil rights and liberties that are indispensable to the survival of free writers everywhere.
In the television category, TV creator Vince Gilligan (Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul) received the Paddy Chayefsky Laurel Award for Television Writing Achievement, presented by Rhea Seehorn (Better Call Saul, Bad Boys: Ride or Die).
Presented by Writers Guild of America West (WGAW) and Writers Guild of America East (WGAE), the Writers Guild Awards honor outstanding writing in film, television, streaming, news (broadcast and digital), radio/audio, and promotional categories. (See nominations)
FILM SCREENPLAY WINNERS
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Anora, Written by Sean Baker; NEON
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Nickel Boys, Screenplay by RaMell Ross & Joslyn Barnes, Based on the Book The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead; Orion Pictures/Amazon MGM Studios
DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY
Jim Henson: Idea Man, Written by Mark Monroe; Imagine Documentaries
TELEVISION, STREAMING, AND NEWS WINNERS
DRAMA SERIES
Shōgun, Written by Shannon Goss, Maegan Houang, Rachel Kondo, Matt Lambert, Justin Marks, Caillin Puente, Nigel Williams, Emily Yoshida; FX/Hulu
COMEDY SERIES
Hacks, Written by Genevieve Aniello, Lucia Aniello, Guy Branum, Jessica Chaffin, Paul W. Downs, Jess Dweck, Ariel Karlin, Andrew Law, Carol Leifer, Carolyn Lipka, Joe Mande, Aisha Muharrar, Pat Regan, Samantha Riley, Jen Statsky; HBO | Max
NEW SERIES
Shōgun, Written by Shannon Goss, Maegan Houang, Rachel Kondo, Matt Lambert, Justin Marks, Caillin Puente, Nigel Williams, Emily Yoshida; FX/Hulu
LIMITED SERIES
The Penguin, Written by Vladimir Cvetko, Breannah Gibson, Erika L. Johnson, Lauren LeFranc, Corina Maritescu, Megan Martin, John McCutcheon, Shaye Ogbonna, Nick Towne, Noelle Valdivia, Kira Snyder; HBO | Max
TV & STREAMING MOTION PICTURES
The Great Lillian Hall, Written by Elisabeth Seldes Annacone; HBO | Max
ANIMATION
“Saving Favorite Drive-In” (Bob’s Burgers), Written by Katie Crown; Fox
EPISODIC DRAMA
“Anjin” (Shōgun), Written for Television by Rachel Kondo & Justin Marks; FX/Hulu
EPISODIC COMEDY
“Bulletproof” (Hacks), Written by Lucia Aniello & Paul W. Downs & Jen Statsky; HBO | Max
COMEDY/VARIETY SERIES – TALK OR SKETCH
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, Senior Writers Daniel O’Brien, Owen Parsons, Charlie Redd, Joanna Rothkopf, Seena Vali Writers Johnathan Appel, Ali Barthwell, Tim Carvell, Liz Hynes, Ryan Ken, Mark Kramer, Sofia Manfredi, John Oliver, Taylor Kay Phillips, Chrissy Shackelford; HBO | Max
COMEDY/VARIETY SPECIALS
Nikki Glaser: Someday You’ll Die, Written by Nikki Glaser; HBO | Max
QUIZ AND AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION
Pop Culture Jeopardy!, Writers Marcus Brown, Buzzy Cohen, Michael Davies, Chip Dornell, John Duarte, Mark Gaberman, Debbie Griffin, Michele Loud, Traci Mack, Amy Ozols, Louis Virtel, Billy Wisse; Amazon Prime
DAYTIME DRAMA
The Young and the Restless, Head Writer Amanda L. Beall Writers Susan Banks, Jeff Beldner, Marin Gazzaniga, Lindsay Harrison, Marla Kanelos, Rebecca McCarty, Madeleine Phillips, Dave Ryan; CBS/Paramount +
CHILDREN’S EPISODIC, LONG FORM AND SPECIALS
“Welcome to Spiderwick” (The Spiderwick Chronicles), Written by Aron Eli Coleite; Roku Channel
SHORT FORM STREAMING
Die Hart 3: Hart to Kill, Written by Tripper Clancy; Roku Channel
DOCUMENTARY SCRIPT
“Part One: Inferno to Paradise” (Dante), Written by Ric Burns and Riccardo Bruscagli; PBS
NEWS SCRIPT – REGULARLY SCHEDULED, BULLETIN, OR BREAKING REPORT
“Willie Mays Tribute” (CBS Newspath), Written by Gerald Mazza; CBS News
NEWS SCRIPT – ANALYSIS, FEATURE, OR COMMENTARY
“The Resistance” (60 Minutes), Written by Scott Pelley, Nicole Young, Kristin Steve; CBS News
DIGITAL NEWS
“What Is Hamas Thinking Now?”, Written by Akbar Shahid Ahmed; HuffPost
RADIO/AUDIO WINNERS
RADIO/AUDIO DOCUMENTARY
“Art on Trial” (One Year: 1990), Written by Evan Chung; Slate
RADIO/AUDIO NEWS SCRIPT – REGULARLY SCHEDULED, BULLETIN, OR BREAKING REPORT
“Passages: Three Women Who Made A Difference”, Written by Gail Lee; CBS News Radio
RADIO/AUDIO NEWS SCRIPT – ANALYSIS, FEATURE, OR COMMENTARY
“Charles Osgood Remembered”, Written by Gail Lee; CBS News Radio
PROMOTIONAL WRITING WINNERS
ON AIR PROMOTION
“Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Voting Ads”, Written by Desireena Almoradie, Angad Bhalla; YouTube