WGA Sets Date & Timeline For 2021 Writers Guild Awards

The WGA has penciled in the dates for its 2021 Writers Guild Awards and set the timeline for TV and film nominations, submission deadlines, voting and nominee panels.

The 73rd annual dual-coast Writers Guild Awards will be held Sunday, March 21, in separate ceremonies in Los Angeles and New York. The scribes’ TV nominees — along with those for New Media, News, Radio/Audio and Promotional Writing — are set to be revealed Wednesday, February 3. Its film nominees for original, adapted and documentary screenplays will be announced Tuesday, February 16. See the full timeline below.

The 2021 WGA Awards will be doled out five weeks before the COVID-delayed Oscars ceremony, which is set for a much-later-than-usual April 25. They bicoastal celebration of writing will come after the SAG Awards on March 14 and ahead of the April 10 DGA Awards.

Here is the full timeline and eligibility periods for the 73rd Writers Guild Awards:

September 28:
Submissions Open in ALL Categories: Screenplays (Original, Adapted, Documentary), Series (Drama, Comedy, New), TV-Radio-New Media Scripts; Paul Selvin Award (WGAW)

December 11:
Deadline for submissions: Series (Drama, Comedy, New); TV-Radio/Audio-New Media Scripts and Paul Selvin Award (WGAW)

January 4:
Preliminary Series (Drama, Comedy, New) online voting begins

January 20:
Deadline for Preliminary Series (Drama, Comedy, New) online voting

January 22:
Deadline for submissions: Screenplays (Original, Adapted, Documentary)

January 29:
Preliminary Screenplay (Original, Adapted) online voting begins

February 3:
Television, New Media, News, Radio/Audio, and Promotional Writing Nominations Announced

February 12:
Deadline for Preliminary Screenplay (Original, Adapted) online voting

February 16:
Screenplay (Original, Adapted, Documentary) Nominations Announced

February 19:
Final Screenplay (Original, Adapted) and Series (Drama, Comedy, New) online voting begins

March 5:
Deadline for Final Screenplay (Original, Adapted) and Series (Drama, Comedy, New) online voting

March 11:
Beyond Words: Writers Guild Awards-nominated screenwriters panel

March 21:
2021 73rd annual Writers Guild Awards

March TBA: “And the Nominees Are…” Writers Guild Awards nominees panel

AWARDS ELGIBILITY PERIODS

TV & New Media eligibility period: First broadcast or exhibited between Jan 1, 2020 and Dec 31, 2020

News & TV Documentary categories only (6, 7A, 7B, 11, 12, 16): First broadcast or exhibited between Oct 1, 2019 and Nov 30, 2020

Theatrical Screenplay* eligibility period: Exhibited theatrically in Los Angeles for one week between Jan 1, 2020 – Feb 28, 2021

Documentary Screenplays*: Exhibited theatrically in Los Angeles or New York for one week between Jan 1, 2020 – Feb 28, 2021

*Eligibility periods for these categories have been extended due to theater closures during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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