Shane Brennan.
Shane Brennan has been elected the president of the Australian Writers’ Guild (AWG), succeeding Jan Sardi.
Sardi, who was president for eight years, left the post this month, though will continue to work with the guild as the recently elected chair of the AWG Authorship Collecting Society (AWGACS).
Brennan, who established Scripted Ink three years ago, has been a member of the guild for 40 years and was the creator and showrunner of NCIS: Los Angeles. With his wife Cathryn, he established the guild’s David Williamson Prize. He was appointed to the president by the guild’s national executive committee.
“I’m deeply honoured to step into the position of guild president,” said Brennan.
“I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Jan on behalf of all guild members for his outstanding service as President over the past eight years. The guild owes Jan an enormous debt of gratitude for his generosity, steady leadership and his unflinching resolve to stand up for the rights of writers.”
AWG group CEO Jacqueline Elaine welcomed Brennan to the role of president and also acknowledged the contribution of Sardi.
“This is an incredibly exciting time for the guild. The calibre and commitment of the board members and the writers they represent is what makes this guild great and I am honoured and privileged to work alongside them.”
Of his time as president, Sardi said: “It has been a privilege to serve my fellow writers as president of the WG for the past eight years. As pleased as I am with all that has been achieved, none of it would have been possible without the AWG team. To that end, my thanks must go to the members of the national executive committee I’ve had the pleasure of serving alongside, to the staff of
the AWG, and especially to our Group CEO Jacqueline Elaine, whose empathy and passion for the writer’s cause, along with her tireless energy and vision, are one reason the guild finds itself in such a strong position.
“Most importantly, I want to thank Shane Brennan for taking up the torch as the guild’s next president. With his stature and international success as a writer, creator, showrunner and executive Producer, Shane will be a brilliant President, the right one to take the Guild into a new era in the fight for writers’ rights.
“In its long and proud history of fighting for writers’ rights, the Guild has demonstrated time and again that we are a force to be reckoned with. This will never be more true than with Shane Brennan as the new president of the Australian Writers’ Guild.”