30th Writers Guild of America Awards

Award ceremony for writing of 1977

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The 30th Writers Guild of America Awards honored the best film writers and television writers of 1977. Winners were announced in 1978.^[1]

Winners and nominees

Film

Winners are listed first highlighted in boldface.

Best Drama Written Directly for the Screenplay

The Turning Point, Written by Arthur Laurents
- Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Written by Steven Spielberg
- The Late Show, Written by Robert Benton
- Saturday Night Fever, Written by Norman Wexler

Best Comedy Written Directly for the Screenplay

Annie Hall, Written by Woody Allen and Marshall Brickman
- The Goodbye Girl, Written by Neil Simon
- Star Wars, Written by George Lucas
- Slap Shot, Written by Nancy Dowd

Best Drama Adapted from Another Medium

Julia, Screenplay by Alvin Sargent; Based on the story by Lillian Hellman
- I Never Promised You a Rose Garden, Screenplay by Gavin Lambert and Lewis John Carlino; Based on the novel by Joanne Greenberg
- Islands in the Stream, Screenplay by Denne Bart Petitclerc; Based on the novel by Ernest Hemingway
- Looking for Mr. Goodbar, Screenplay by Richard Brooks; Based on the novel by Judith Rossner

Best Comedy Adapted from Another Medium

Oh, God!, Screenplay by Larry Gelbart; Based on the novel by Avery Corman
- Semi-Tough, Screenplay by Walter Bernstein; Based on the novel by Dan Jenkins
- The Spy Who Loved Me, Screenplay by Christopher Wood and Richard Maibaum; Based on the characters by Ian Fleming

Television

Episodic Comedy *"Archie Gets the Business" – All in the Family* (CBS) – Larry Rhine and Mel Tolkin** "The Joy of Sex" – All in the Family (CBS) – Erik Tarloff "Good-Bye, Mr. Fish: Part 2" – Barney Miller (ABC) – Reinhold Weege "Copy Cat" – Barney Miller (ABC) – Douglas Wyman and Tony Sheehan "Fade Out, Fade In" – MASH* (CBS) – James Fritzell and Everett Greenbaum "A Jackie Story" – The Bob Newhart Show (CBS) – Lloyd Garver "A Girl in Her Twenties" – The Bob Newhart Show (CBS) – Laura Levine "Once a Friend" – The Jeffersons (CBS) – Michael S. Baser and Kim Weiskopf "The Last Show" – The Mary Tyler Moore Show (CBS) – James L. Brooks, Allan Burns, Ed. Weinberger, Stan Daniels, David Lloyd and Bob Ellison "The Critic" – The Mary Tyler Moore Show (CBS) – David LLoyd	Episodic Drama *"Tirigger Point" – Police Story* (NBC) – Mark Rodgers** "The Gipper Caper" – Eight Is Enough (ABC) – William Blinn "Housewarming" – Lou Grant (CBS) – Leonora Thuna "Christmas" – Lou Grant (CBS) – David Lloyd "Merry Christmas Waldo" – Police Woman (NBC) – E. Arthur Kean "Quickie Nirvana" – The Rockford Files (NBC) – David Chase "Beamer's Last Case" – The Rockford Files (NBC) – Stephen J. Cannell, Booker Bradshaw and Calvin Kelly
Daytime Serials Ryan's Hope (ABC) – Paul Avila Mayer, Claire Labine and Mary Munisteri Days of Our Lives (NBC) – Patricia Falken Smith, William J. Bell, Bill Rega, Margaret Stewart and Kay Lenard Love of Life (CBS) – Gabrielle Upton	Children's Script - Episodic & Specials Little Vic (ABC) – Art Wallace "Hewitt's Just Different" – ABC Afterschool Special (ABC) – Jan Artman "The Pinballs" – ABC Afterschool Special (ABC) – Jim Inman Once Upon a Brothers Grimm (CBS) – Jean Holloway
Variety: Series or Special: Musical or Comedy The Carol Burnett Show (CBS) – Ed Simmons, Roger Beatty, Rick Hawkins, Liz Sage, Bob Illes, James R. Stein, Franelle Silver, Larry Siegel, Tim Conway, Bill Richmond, Gene Perret, Dick Clair and Jenna McMahon