New Zealand Writers Guild
| Full name | New Zealand Writers Guild |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1975 |
| Members | 507 |
| Affiliation | NZCTU, IAWG, UNI |
| Office location | Auckland, New Zealand |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Website | www.nzwritersguild.org.nz |
The New Zealand Writers Guild (NZWG) is a New Zealand trade union which represents writers in the fields of film, television, radio, theatre, video and multi-media. It provides services, events, networks, lobbying, and legal advice to those in the film and television industry. The Guild is affiliated to three major union organisations, the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions, the International Affiliation of Writers Guilds and the Union Network International.
Description
The Guild's members include most of the professional script writers working in New Zealand. There were 517 registered members of the Guild as of 02 November 2016. The Guild was founded in 1975. It was initially established to set minimum rates and conditions for writers working in television. It has expanded to encompass all script writing fields.
The NZWG lobbies government to improve conditions for writers, comments about matters relevant to writers and represents the interests of writers when dealing with funding bodies and other industry organisations. The guild also publishes and provides information and advice to writers. Some of the services offered include negotiating on script credits, advice for contracts with producers, minimum rates for writers and a script registration service to help writers to protect their ideas.
The NZWG provides members with a weekly e-bulletin. Members are also provided with access to the NZWG library which includes film and television scripts, books on screen writing and industry publications from around the world. Full members host their profiles on the NZWG website (updated from Dec 2016).
Script to Screen emerged from the guild and now operates as an independent entity.
Recent successful initiatives include NZWG Seed Grants - providing NZ writers with support to develop scripts, and the annual SWANZ Awards
Governance and office
The NZWG board is made up of several screenwriters working in the NZ entertainment industry. The President of the board is Pip Hall and the Vice President is Steve Barr. Present board members include former president Allan Baddock, Alan Brash, (former Executive Director) Kathryn Burnett, Andrew Gunn and Fiona Samuel. Previous board members include immediate past-president Peter Cox, Caroline Grose, Benedict Reid, Alison Davie, Barry Duffield, Roseanne Liang, Mark Prebble, Mike Riddell, D F Mamea, Sean Molloy, and Athina Tsoulis. The current Executive Director is Alice Shearman, immediate past Executive Director of the NZWG is Steven Gannaway. Other former Executive Directors include Philippa Boyens, Dominic Sheehan and Susy Pointon.
The main office for the NZWG is located in the Grey Lynn area of Auckland.
External links
- NZWG official site.