Working for Canadian Screenwriters

The Writers Guild of Canada (WGC) represents more than 2,500 professional English-language screenwriters in Canada — the creators of entertainment watched around the world. The WGC administers contracts and advises producers on how to engage professional screenwriters, and celebrates and promotes its members by hosting the annual WGC Screenwriting Awards, as well as events and panels on the craft and business of screenwriting. The WGC is the voice for Canadian screenwriters.

The Guild is governed by a seven-member council of screenwriter members, who set policies and oversee Guild activities. Additional advice and input is received from a 16-member national forum, who meet annually with council and staff. Both bodies are composed of Guild members elected for two-year terms from Canada's four regions (Atlantic, Quebec, Central, and Pacific Western). The executive director and staff manage the Guild's day-to-day operations.

The following volunteer committees work closely with our council:

• Animation (chaired by Amanda Smith)
• Feature Film (chaired by Jason Filiatrault)
• IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility – chaired by Marsha Greene)
• Professional Development (chaired by Jeremy Boxen)

Committees, such as Animation and Feature Film, discuss craft issues and matters of importance to the Guild, and provide feedback to our council. Committees also provide important feedback to council during critical industry or Guild events, including IPA bargaining.

The IDEA committee's objectives are to help promote the voices of Indigenous, Black, People of Colour, LGBTQ2S, and People with Disabilities within the Guild, to increase members’ understanding of the challenges faced by diverse screenwriters, and to address issues of diversity-based discrimination in conjunction with the Guild and council.

The Professional Development committee has a broad mandate to develop programs that provide WGC members with practical, inside knowledge about the industry to help members succeed at all stages of their careers, while also keeping council informed of trending professional challenges and opportunities.

General requirements for committee members include being active (annual dues paid), with full membership status (at least 60 minutes of contracted writing time since becoming a member), having a permanent residency in Canada and holding Canadian citizenship. In addition, for genre-specific committees like Feature Film or Animation, we ask that you have at least one writing contract in the genre represented by the committee. 

Committees will have a maximum of eight members plus the Committee Chair, or as determined by the Committee Chair. Committee membership is determined by council and an appointment to a committee coincides with the term served by that council (the current council term is from May 1, 2024, to April 30, 2026). Committee members can be re-appointed by a new council. Committees may sometimes include WGC staff in an advisory capacity. Council will consider volunteers who come forward and appoint members to committees.

If you would like more information or to volunteer for a committee, please contact Natalia Escobar Bohorquez at [email protected].