The International Affiliation of Writers Guilds is an international

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

federation representing

guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular area. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradesmen belonging to a professional association. They sometimes ...

s of professional

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

s and

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

s. Some affiliates also belong to national

federations.

Activities

The IAWG strives to ensure that fair

royalties A royalty payment is a payment made by one party to another that owns a particular asset, for the right to ongoing use of that asset. Royalties are typically agreed upon as a percentage of gross or net revenues derived from the use of an asset o ...

and residuals are collected by enforcement of

copyrights A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, education ...

. If a member of one

emigrates to another country or the movie or play is exported, member

s automatically recognize their membership through reciprocal agreements. A core function is the registering of scripts to verify original authorship. Most affiliates also have annual award ceremonies to celebrate accomplishments in the craft.

History

The International Writers' Guild was founded in 1966 by unions from the United Kingdom, United States, and Yugoslavia. It gradually grew, but in 1986 it was replaced by the "International Affiliation of Writers' Guilds", with its founding members all being in English-speaking countries. It has since expanded, with affiliates from several other countries. In 2007, it organised an International Day of Solidarity with the Writers Guild of America strike. Since 2009, it has worked closely with the Federation of Screenwriters in Europe.

Affiliates

* La Guilde Française des Scénaristes (France) *

New Zealand Writers Guild 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. The guild's name in Māori language is Puni Taatuhi o Aotearoa. It provides ser ...

Screenwriters Association The Screenwriters Association (formerly Film Writers' Association) is a labour union based in Mumbai, India. Members are authors, novelists, playwrights, and journalists who work in films, TV, and digital media. Members of SWA can register thei ...

(India) * Scriptwriters' Guild of Israel *

Société des Auteurs de Radio, Télévision et Cinéma Lactalis is a French multinational dairy products corporation, owned by the Besnier family and based in Laval, Mayenne, France. The company's former name was Besnier SA. Lactalis is the largest dairy products group in the world, and is the sec ...

(Canada) * Verband Deutscher Drehbuchautoren (Germany) *

Writers Guild of America, East The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) is a labor union representing writers in film, television, radio, news, and online media. The Writers Guild of America, East is affiliated with the Writers Guild of America West. Together the guilds admi ...

Writers Guild of America, West The Writers Guild of America West (WGAW) is a labor union representing film, television, radio, and new media writers. It was formed in 1954 from five organizations representing writers, including the Screen Writers Guild. It has around 20,000 m ...

Writers Guild of Canada The Writers Guild of Canada is an organization representing more than 2,500 professional writers working in film, television, radio, and digital media production in Canada. Members of the Guild write dramatic TV series, feature films, Movies of th ...

Writers' Guild of Great Britain The Writers' Guild of Great Britain (WGGB), established in 1959, is a trade union for professional writers. It is affiliated with both the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and the International Affiliation of Writers Guilds (IAWG). History The un ...

Writers' Guild of Ireland The Writers' Buildings, often shortened to just Writers, is the official secretariat building of the state government of West Bengal in Kolkata, India. The 150-meter long building covers the entire northern stretch of the iconic Lal Dighi pond a ...

* Writers' Guild of South Africa

Chairs

:2005:

Carl Gottlieb Carl Gottlieb (born March 18, 1938) is an American screenwriter, actor, comedian, and executive. He is best known for co-writing the screenplay for ''Jaws'' (1975) and its first two sequels, as well as directing the 1981 film ''Caveman''. Early ...

:2009: Michael Winship

References

Writers' organizations Global union federations Trade unions established in 1986 {{Trade-union-stub

Activities

History

Affiliates

Chairs

See also

References