2026 Writers Guild Awards: Stephen Colbert to Receive the WGA East’s Walter Bernstein Award at 78th Annual Writers Guild Awards

NEW YORK, NY (January 26, 2026) — Stephen Colbert will be honored with the Writers Guild of America East’s Walter Bernstein Award during the 78th Annual Writers Guild Awards at New York’s Edison Ballroom on Sunday, March 8, 2026.

Established in 2017 and named in honor of one of the WGA East’s most distinguished and courageous members, the Walter Bernstein Award is presented to a Guild member who has demonstrated with creativity, grace and bravery a willingness to confront social injustice in the face of adversity.

Stephen Colbert serves as host, writer and executive producer on the Emmy and Peabody Award-winning #1 late night show THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT. Earlier in his career, Colbert was a correspondent on Comedy Central’s THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART from 1997 to 2005 and the host of THE COLBERT REPORT from 2005 to 2014.

Host Stephen Colbert of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Photo: Mary Ellen Matthews/CBS ©2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.

In a statement, Stephen Colbert said “It’s a great honor to receive the Walter Bernstein award from our Guild, and I assume this is mostly for my work on The Dana Carvey Show (possibly available on Blu-Ray!)”

“Walter would be proud to see the award go to Colbert,” says Tom Fontana, president of the Writers Guild of America East. “Colbert put his career on the line to fight back against a threat to democracy that’s much greater than just the loss of the beloved Late Show. Stephen Colbert has built an empire by speaking truth to power, and we’re beyond proud to have him as a WGAE member.”

The honorary award will be presented to Colbert by Robert Smigel (SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, TRIUMPH THE INSULT COMIC DOG).

The Bernstein Award has been presented just twice previously. In 2017, Jelani Cobb became the inaugural recipient in honor of the bravery of his FRONTLINE documentary POLICING THE POLICE, which explores the complexities involved in reforming the Newark Police Department and its fractured relationship with the community. In 2024, Ron Nyswaner was recognized for writing and producing powerful, issue-driven pieces such as 1993’s PHILADELPHIA—the first major Hollywood film to focus on the discrimination suffered by people with AIDS and among the first to feature a homosexual main character.

For more information about the 2026 Writers Guild Awards, please visit www.wgaeast.org. For media inquiries about the 2026 WGA New York Ceremony, please contact Jason Gordon in the WGAE Communications Department at (212) 767-7809 or email: jgordon@wgaeast.org.

ABOUT THE WRITERS GUILD OF AMERICA EAST

The Writers Guild of America East, AFL-CIO, is a labor union of more than 7,500 members working in film, television, news, podcasts and online media. The Guild negotiates and administers contracts that protect the creative and economic rights of its members; conducts programs, seminars and events on issues of interest to writers; and presents writers’ views to various bodies of government. For more information on the Writers Guild of America East, visit wgaeast.org.