Musical theatre writing category to be added to Writers’ Guild Awards

Caryl Churchill and Lucy Kirkwood. Picture: Matt Writtle

The creativity of musical theatre writers will be recognised with the launch of a new award from the prestigious Writers’ Guild of Great Britain.

Coinciding with the union’s 60th anniversary, the prestigious annual awards on 14 January 2019 will include the Musical Theatre Bookwriting Award alongside the 14 existing categories which recognise the cream of British writing across television, film, theatre, radio, books, comedy and video games.

Announcing the new category, Jenifer Toksvig, co-chair of the WGGB Theatre Committee, said: “We are delighted to announce this new award for the crucial and often under-acknowledged craft of musical theatre bookwriting. We’re excited to see a broad range of nominations in style and form, and can’t wait to get reading.”

Celebrating writers and writing since their launch in 1961, the high-profile Writers’ Guild Awards are already among the most prominent in the theatre world, with playwrights represented in the Best Play and Best Play for Young Audiences categories.

At this year’s ceremony Caryl Churchill was presented the coveted Outstanding Contribution to Writing Award by Lucy Kirkwood, a fellow playwright and an award winner for her play The Children.

Nominations for the musical theatre bookwriting award are open until midnight on Friday 26 October. To qualify, writers must be British citizens or residents. Work is eligible for nomination if first produced between 1 October 2017 and 29 September 2018.

The Musical Theatre Bookwriting category does not require professional performers: youth and community theatre productions are eligible if led by a professional production team, and for a minimum of three public performances.

Musical theatre book is defined as the overall structure of the show, which can be sung-through. Everyone identified by the writing team as ‘bookwriter’ or ‘librettist’ meets the criteria for nomination, regardless of percentage contribution. Nominations must be made via the online form on the WGGB website, which has additional eligibility criteria.

The Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS) is the lead sponsor of the 2019 Writers’ Guild Awards, alongside ITV, BBC and international production company Silver Reel.

Angela Thomas