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Breaking news, press releases and statements from the Writers Guild of America, East

Tuesday January 5, 2016

Host & Presenters Revealed For 2016 Writers Guild Awards

Michael Ian Black to host the 2016 Writers Guild Awards New York Ceremony

Presenters include Emmy Rossum, John Slattery, Tony Goldwyn and Michael McKean

Awards Logo 2016 squareNEW YORK, NY (January 5, 2016) – The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) is pleased to announce Michael Ian Black as host of the 68th Annual Writers Guild Awards New York ceremony, to be held on Saturday, February 13, 2016, at the Edison Ballroom in New York City.

Michael began his career as the co-creator of the seminal MTV sketch comedy show THE STATE. He went on to co-create the Comedy Central shows VIVA VARIETY, STELLA and MICHAEL AND MICHAEL HAVE ISSUES. He starred in the hit NBC sitcom ED, VH1’s I LOVE THE… series and WET HOT AMERICAN SUMMER, as well as the new Netflix series WET HOT AMERICAN SUMMER: FIRST DAY OF CAMP. He can currently be seen on Comedy Central’s ANOTHER PERIOD and TV Land’s THE JIM GAFFIGAN SHOW.

“As the screenwriter of the straight-to-DVD 2006 release WEDDING DAZE, I can think of no better person to host the 2016 Writers Guild Awards than myself,” said Michael Ian Black. “I am thrilled to be celebrating the written word, as well as shilling my new book, Navel Gazing: True Tales of Bodies, Mostly Mine (but Also My Mom’s. Which I Know Sounds Weird), in this press release.

Presenters at the New York ceremony include Tituss Burgess (UNBREAKABLE KIMMY SCHMIDT), Sam Esmail (MR. ROBOT), Tony Goldwyn (SCANDAL), Armando Iannucci (VEEP), Brian Koppelman (BILLIONS), David Levien (BILLIONS), Margo Martindale (THE AMERICANS, THE GOOD WIFE), Michael McKean (BETTER CALL SAUL), Annette O’Toole (HALT AND CATCH FIRE), Emmy Rossum (SHAMELESS), John Slattery (MAD MEN, SPOTLIGHT), Alan Zweibel (SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE) and more.

At the New York ceremony, Senator Al Franken will be presented with the Evelyn F. Burkey Award for bringing honor and dignity to writers. Richard LaGravenese will be honored with the Ian McClellan Hunter Award for Career Achievement.

The Writers Guild Awards honor outstanding writing in film, television, new media, videogames, news, radio, promotional, and graphic animation categories. All competitive awards will be presented at both the New York ceremony at the Edison Ballroom and the Los Angeles ceremony at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza. The New York and Los Angeles ceremonies take place concurrently on February 13, 2016.

The New York Ceremony is sponsored in part by Final Draft, Bananagrams and WNYC.

For media inquiries about the 2016 Writers Guild Awards New York show, please contact Jason Gordon in the WGAE Communications Department at (212) 767-7809 or email: jgordon@wgaeast.org.

For media inquiries about the 2016 Writers Guild Awards Los Angeles show, please contact Gregg Mitchell in the WGAW Communications Department at: (323) 782-4651 or email: gmitchell@wga.org.

The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) and Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) are labor unions representing writers in motion pictures, television, cable, digital media, and broadcast news. The Guilds negotiate and administer contracts that protect the creative and economic rights of their members; conduct programs, seminars, and events on issues of interest to writers; and present writers’ views to various bodies of government. For more information on the Writers Guild of America, East, visit www.wgaeast.org. For more information on the Writers Guild of America, West, visit www.wga.org.

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