The 78th Annual Writers Guild Awards will take place Sunday, March 8, 2026, in a bi-coastal celebration honoring the best in writing for film, television, streaming, radio/audio, news, and promotional content. The ceremonies will once again be held simultaneously at the JW Marriott Los Angeles L.A. LIVE and the Edison Ballroom in New York City.
Submissions for all categories officially open on Monday, September 15, 2025, with eligibility windows varying slightly across platforms. Writers hoping to enter screenplays, series, and radio/audio scripts—as well as those vying for the Paul Selvin Award (WGAW)—can begin submitting work this fall.
The eligibility period for television and streaming runs from January 1 through December 31, 2025, while comedy/variety and news/documentary categories have different timelines, covering programming broadcast between November 1, 2024 and October 31, 2025.
Theatrical screenplays must have a qualifying one-week run in Los Angeles during the 2025 calendar year, and documentary screenplays must be shown in either Los Angeles or New York within that same window.
Key dates on the 2025-26 WGA Awards timeline include:
- December 5, 2025: Deadline for submissions in Series, TV/Streaming, and Paul Selvin categories
- January 6, 2026: Preliminary online voting begins
- January 20: Deadline for preliminary voting
- January 27: Nominations announced for all categories
- January 30: Final round of voting begins
- February 13: Final voting deadline
- March 8: The 78th Annual Writers Guild Awards take place in LA and NYC
The Guild will also host its traditional “Beyond Words” panel featuring nominated screenwriters on February 12, with the “And the Nominees Are…” panel date still to be announced. For more information on eligibility, submission guidelines, and updates, visit www.wga.org and www.wgaeast.org.
REELated:
The DGA Awards timeline is live — let Awards Season begin
