AWG The Creators 2025

By selecting ‘Confirm’ below, you confirm that:

• you have read, understood and voluntarily agree to the collection and use of your personal information as described in Screen Australia’s privacy notice (available on our website here) (Privacy Notice); and
• you have informed all individuals whose personal information is to be included in the application form or supporting materials of the matters set out in the Privacy Notice, provided them with a copy (as linked here) and obtained their consent to disclose the relevant personal information to Screen Australia.

Before you begin:

• Applicants must provide accurate information to Screen Australia at all times. A person or company that makes a false or misleading statement to Screen Australia in an application may face criminal or civil liability including liability for an offence under the Criminal Code Act 1995. In addition, if funding awarded by Screen Australia was obtained by fraud or serious misrepresentation, Screen Australia can revoke its funding. 
• It is important that you read our Terms of Trade, the AWG The Creators Guidelines and the AWG The Creators FAQs to ensure that you and your project(s) are eligible for Screen Australia Funding and to help you deliver the strongest application possible.
• For help completing this application, refer to the Help Guide for Applicants or Applicant Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
• If you are unsure about your eligibility or have questions about the application form, please email us at development@screenaustralia.gov.au or call Program Operations on 1800 507 901. Please note that we are not able to provide creative advice or suggestions to strengthen your application.
• If you have questions relating to the program and program content, please email the Australian Writers’ Guild at thecreators@awg.com.au. Please note that we are not able to provide creative advice or suggestions to strengthen your application.

The Australian Writers’ Guild’s (AWG) The Creators is a career acceleration program for high-calibre, mid-career screenwriters to build toward the creation of their own shows.

Building on the success of Years 1 and 2, The Creators program continues to provide selected screenwriters international high-level showrunner training, project development and pitching training, equipping them to sell their stories in domestic and international arenas.

Up to six writers will be selected to participate in Writers Guild of America-style showrunner and pitching training, run by Jeff Melvoin, in Sydney in October 2025. The program will take place in a retreat-style environment to maximise the opportunity and access to Jeff Melvoin and the other participants.

The program is funded by Screen Australia and Scripted Ink, and is designed and delivered by the Australian Writers’ Guild.

Please see below for the breakdown of eligibility requirements.

1. Credit Criteria

For further information on eligible credits in the three formats, please read the FAQs and reach out to development@screenaustralia.gov.au if you wish to confirm the eligibility of your credits.

Applicants must meet one of the requirements listed below to be eligible. Credit requirements must come from one format (TV, feature or theatre), and cannot be a combination of the three.

1a) Episodic TV Series

Applicants must have 5 cumulative hours* of episode credits as a sole writer of scripted episodic drama or comedy series that have screened in any territory on recognised broadcast or streaming platforms by 30 June 2025.

*Cumulative hours are based on episode length, not broadcast length.

Please note, self-released content on YouTube, Vimeo or other online platforms is not eligible for the purposes of this program.

1b) Feature

Applicants must have a minimum of 2 scripted feature films (produced and screened publicly in Australia or internationally) as sole writer

1c) Theatre

• Applicants must have a minimum of 2 mainstage theatre productions as sole or lead writer that were produced nationally or internationally in a professional theatre or professional festival context where that production was either commissioned and/or programmed by selection.
• Applicants must also have been a recipient of, or nominated for, a significant domestic or international award.
• In addition to theatre writing credits, the applicant must, in the last five years (from 2020), have either optioned their underlying IP for screen adaptation and/or been engaged as a sole writer to write an episode for a scripted episodic series.

2. Episodic Slate

Those who meet the credit criteria of one of the formats above must also have:

A slate of 3 - 5 scripted episodic projects in development of any genre, noting:

• The applicant writer must own the IP for original material and have evidence of ownership, if applicable, for any underlying material if an adaptation of underlying IP.
• One project should be selected as the lead scripted episodic project with a draft pilot script, well suited to gaining global interest and traction. This lead project must be unencumbered**, and the applicant writer must hold all rights.
• The remaining two-to-four projects may be encumbered / optioned / assigned, and may be a combination of:
  • Another pilot (or pilots)
  • Bibles, pitch bibles, or pitch decks
  • Scripted spoken-word pitches, or extensive notes clearly articulating your projects for pitching

**Unencumbered should be taken to mean the applicant maintains full creative and financial control of their lead project. No rights can have been assigned, and no future development agreements, or production or broadcast agreements, can have been entered into in relation to the project. The project may have received previous development investment but the applicant must continue to hold all the rights as at the time of application to AWG The Creators program.

3. Global Engagement

The applicant should have existing experience, traction and evidence of interest from the global community. This may be demonstrated by one or a combination of the following:

• previous engagement in a writers’ rooms on an international series or having written/produced a television drama or comedy for any recognised network or SVOD, especially where that program has been screened on, or distributed to a major foreign
• having written a feature film that has screened at major festivals, and/or been distributed to other major international territories.
• having written a theatrical work (a play or musical) that has been commissioned or produced or toured in a recognised major international/foreign theatrical market.
• having IP under option by recognised studios, networks, production companies, or producers; previous selection for international labs, pitching events, development programs; or having secured pitch opportunities in the global marketplace (e.g. Series Mania); and/or through representation by recognised international agents or managers.

Screen Australia encourages applications from applicants from all backgrounds, cultures and experiences. In particular, the agency welcomes applications from applicants who are First Nations, d/Deaf and disabled, culturally and linguistically diverse, LGBTIQ+, women or gender diverse, regionally based, or those from other under-represented groups.