Best writing answered by awards<br>
SMH<br>
Alexa Moses Entertainment Writer<br>
August 26, 2006<br><br>

SEASONED writer Katherine Thomson scooped the pool at the Australian Writers Guild awards for writing for performance in 
Sydney last night, winning three major prizes.<br><br>

Thomson won the top AWGIE prize and the original miniseries award - which she shared with co-writer Barbara Samuels- for 
the script about East Timor, Answered by Fire, as well as the public broadcast documentary prize for Unfolding Florence. 
Directed by Gillian Armstrong, the outlandish documentary tells the life and death story of Australian designer Florence 
Broadhurst.<br><br>

The three prizes bring Thomson's total AWGIE haul to six. She won previously for her plays Barmaids (1992) and Mavis Goes 
to Timor (2003), as well as an episode of the now defunct ABC television show GP (1993).<br><br>

The AWGIE awards have been around since 1967, and each category is judged by three or more professional writers. Judges 
remain anonymous to ensure their decisions don't create strain within the small Australian industry. Judges consider the 
written script reflecting the writer's vision for the project, rather than the finished product on stage or screen.<br><br>

First-time Sydney writer Alice Bell's dark, chaotic script for Suburban Mayhem took this year's award for best original 
feature film, while Luke Davies' and Neil Armfield's Candy screenplay won the adapted feature film category. The sketch 
comedy prize was taken by radio's How Green Was My Cactus by Doug Edwards and Shane Edwards, and an episode of MDA by 
Greg Haddrick took the award for best television series.<br><br>

Peter Gawler's telemovie script for Little Oberon won the best original telemovie prize, while Haddrick returned, this 
time with Kylie Needham, to take the award for the best adapted telemovie for The Society Murders. Two awards were given 
to Patricia Cornelius, the stage award for her script for Love, and the theatre for young audiences award for her play 
Boy Overboard.<br><br>

The guild announced a new scholarship in honour of the late writer Kit Denton. The $25,000 scholarship will be awarded 
for the first time next year to a writer who, Denton's son, Andrew Denton, said "demonstrates courage". The money is 
coming from television production companies including Andrew Denton's.<br><br>