Welcome to the New Written by

We are excited to introduce WGAW’s new Written by, a site which we hope will be a must-read resource for our entire membership. The Guild’s publication history dates back to 1934 when what was then called the Screen Writers Guild released the first issue of its publication The Screen Writers Magazine. The printed edition of Written By made its debut in 1996, continuing until 2020 when the magazine went on hiatus. 

The inaugural issue of The Screen Writers Magazine from July 1934.

During our pause and with the input of our Board of Directors, we considered what the new publication should look like, how the reimagined Written by could best serve you, the WGAW members. We quickly decided that the new publication would be entirely digital, thereby saving production and mailing costs and giving us the ability to publish new and timely stories and incorporate multi-media elements like video and photo galleries, which you can look forward to in the months ahead.

A new year—and more significantly, the ratification of a historic new MBA—makes now an ideal time to introduce the reimagined Written by. The mission behind the new site is multi-fold. We will celebrate the many accomplishments of our members, as we have done in the past, but we will also address important creative and economic issues that our members face. We’ll talk about the campaigns of some of our siblings in labor, both within and outside the entertainment industry. The 2023 strike taught us the power of union solidarity, a power that we have every intention of tapping into as AFM, IATSE, and the Teamsters head to the bargaining table this year. Speaking of the MBA, in Written by, we will also be publishing stories that explain the ins and outs of some of our contract’s many provisions. You will find Q&As, member-written stories, and so much more. We have also included some stories that were previously featured in our publication Connect.

We’ll be updating the site with new content each week, and you can use the subject tags to look for topics that interest you. Twice monthly, we will email highlights from the site to members and to anyone else who subscribes via the button linked in the site's footer. At the bottom of every story, you will be able to respond to the question, “Was this article useful?” We encourage you to use this tool and give us your immediate opinion. We also welcome your feedback on how we’re doing and what you would like to see. 

With that, we’ll leave you to dig in and start to explore the new Written by, a site about and for you, WGAW members.