Description
The Screen Writers’ Guild records detail the activities and development of members and the board. The collection contains
early guild documents including correspondence, membership records, awards materials, board meeting minutes and other items.
Background
The Screen Writers’ Guild formed in 1920 as a professional club for film writers working in Hollywood, under the auspices
of the Authors' League of America. Membership included induction into the social group The Writers as well as membership
in the Authors' League. In 1933, members formalized the Screen Writers’ Guild as a labor union and it blossomed into the
central organization representing screenwriters. In 1938, the Guild was officially recognized by the federal government as
a labor union with collective bargaining rights. By 1941, writers began working under the first approved contracts and in
1942, the first long term contract was signed by writers and producers. In 1954, the Screen Writers’ Guild merged with the
television and radio guilds, and branched into two divisions, Writers Guild of America, West in Los Angeles and Writers Guild
of America, East in New York.