2026 Writers Guild Awards

Yesterday, January 27, the Writers Guild of America West (WGAW) and the Writers Guild of America East (WGAE) announced the nominations for outstanding achievement in writing during 2025 for film, television, streaming, news (broadcast and digital), radio/audio, and promotional categories.

As always have to recall guild rules require writers to be a guild member or under a WGA collective bargaining agreement as otherwise script becomes ineligible; that's the reason why this year screenplays for Oscar contenders Sentimental Value, Blue Moon and It Was Just an Accident were left out and the open spots were filled by Black Bag and If I Had Legs I'd Kick You.

Quite different story for the adapted category as WGA's nominees exactly mirrors #Oscars2026 nominations and is almost equal to the USC's Scripter nominees as Bugonia is nor in Scripter list and Ira Sachs' Peter Hujar's Day fills the spot.

Steve Colbert to receive the WGA East's Walter Bernstein Award, an award that has been presented just twice previously. Terry George will receive the WGAE's Ian McLellan Hunter Award for Career Achievement.

Winners will be honored at the The 2026 Writers Guild Awards (78th Annual) on Sunday, March 8, 2026, at concurrent ceremonies at the JW Marriot in Los Angeles and the Edison Ballroom in New York City. Ceremony will be live streamed on the Writers Guild of America West YouTube Channel.

The Nominations

Original Screenplay
David Koepp for Black Bag, Steven Soderbergh, USA
Mary Bronstein for If I Had Legs I'd Kick You, Mary Bronstein, USA
Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie for Marty Supreme, Josh Safdie, USA and Finland
Ryan Coogler for Sinners, Ryan Coogler, USA
Zach Cregger for Weapons, Zach Cregger, USA

Adapted Screenplay

Bugonia, Yorgos Lanthimos, Ireland, UK, Canada, South Korea and USA
Screenplay by Will Tracy, Based on the Film Save the Green Planet Written and Directed by Jang Joon Hwan

Frankenstein, Guillermo del Toro, Mexico and USA
Screenplay by Guillermo del Toro, Based on Frankenstein; or The Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley

Hamnet, Chloé Zhao, UK and USA
Screenplay by Chloe Zhao & Maggie O’Farrell, Based on the Novel Written by Maggie O’Farrell

One Battle After Another, Paul Thomas Anderson, USA
Screenplay by Paul Thomas Anderson, Screen Story by Paul Thomas Anderson, Inspired by the novel Vineland by Thomas Pynchon

Train Dreams, Clint Bentley, USA
Screenplay by Clint Bentley & Greg Kwedar, Based on the Novella by Denis Johnson

Documentary Screenplay
Mstyslav Chernov for 2,000 Meters to 2000 Meters to Andriivika, Mstyslav Chernov, Ukraine and USA
Bernard MacMahon and Allison McGourty for Becoming Led Zeppelin, Bernard MacMahon, USA and UK
Andrew Goldberg for White with Fear, Andrew Goldberg, USA

To check nominations for all categories go official site here.