NIDA was proud to host the prestigious Australian Writers’ Guild Awards (AWGIE) for 2026, celebrating our extraordinary community of writers. The AWGIES remain the only industry awards judged solely by writers and awarded to writers on the basis of the author’s written script. As Australia’s premiere institute for performing arts education, including a Master of Fine Arts in Dramatic Writing, NIDA is eager to champion the achievements of playwrights, screenwriters and audio and interactive storytellers who help shape our entertainment and cultural landscapes and inspire the next generation of creative writers.
NIDA’s Dramatic Writing Course Leader, Joe Hepworth, spoke before presenting the award for Best Web Series. “This is the third year that the AWGIES have been held at NIDA. I hope this demonstrates – at least in part – our commitment to supporting the industry, and in particular the writing community. A community I’m very proud to belong to.”
We would like to congratulate all the nominees and winners from last night and highlight our alumni below:
Winner – MUSICAL THEATRE:
Sheridan Harbridge (Acting, 2006) and Dean Bryant with Mathew Frank for My Brilliant Career
Winner – STAGE – ADAPTED
Vanessa Bates (Playwriting, 1994) for The Magic Hour
TELEVISION – SERIAL
Alexandra Cullen (Playwriting, 2007) for Home and Away: Episode 8405
STAGE – ORIGINAL:
Xavier Hazard (Writing for Performance, 2024) for All Boys
THEATRE FOR YOUNG AUDIENCES
Dan Giovannoni (Playwriting, 2010) for Feathers
WEB SERIES AND OTHER NON-BROADCAST/NON-‘SUBSCRIPTION VIDEO ON DEMAND’ TV SHORT WORKS
Wendy Mocke (Acting, 2017) for Bad Ancestors
My Brilliant Career was also granted the prestigious David Williamson Prize for Excellence in Writing for Australian Theatre, the richest annual playwriting award in Australia with a $120,000 prize. It marked a second celebration on the night for writers Sheridan Harbridge (Acting, 2006), Dean Bryant and Mathew Frank.
See all the nominees and winners on the Australia Writers’ Guild website.