Jack Thorne Named Writers' Guild of Great Britain President

Why this matters: The appointment of Jack Thorne signals a renewed focus on protecting writers' interests in an evolving media landscape. His commitment to combating conservatism and addressing the challenges of AI is crucial for ensuring fair pay, conditions, and rights for writers in the UK.

The Writers' Guild of Great Britain (WGGB) has named Jack Thorne as its new president, effective immediately. Thorne, a prolific writer known for his work on 'Adolescence,' 'His Dark Materials,' and 'Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,' steps into the role previously held by Sandi Toksvig. Toksvig served the maximum term of six years and oversaw significant achievements for the WGGB, including negotiating a landmark agreement with Netflix and launching the New Play Scheme to support new stage plays.

Thorne's appointment comes at a critical time for writers, with increasing concerns about the impact of AI on copyright and the need to combat conservatism in commissioning. He has vowed to fight for the rights of writers and ensure that the government robustly defends their interests. Thorne's extensive background in TV, film, theatre, and radio positions him well to advocate for writers across various media.

Toksvig reflected on her tenure, noting the challenges of a global pandemic, the rise of AI, Brexit, a cost-of-living crisis, and cuts to the arts. She expressed pride in the WGGB's efforts to protect writers' jobs, rights, and livelihoods during these turbulent times.

The WGGB negotiates better pay and conditions for writers and lobbies on a range of issues to protect their rights. The union represents professional writers in TV, film, theatre, audio, books, comedy, poetry, animation, and video games. With Thorne at the helm, the WGGB aims to continue its vital work in safeguarding the interests of writers in the UK.

Jack Thorne is a British playwright, screenwriter, and television writer known for his work on productions like 'Adolescence', 'His Dark Materials', 'Help', and 'Harry Potter and the Cursed Child'.

The WGGB is a union representing professional writers in TV, film, theatre, audio, books, comedy, poetry, animation, and video games. It negotiates better pay and conditions and lobbies to protect writers’ rights.

Thorne aims to combat conservatism in commissioning, protect writers' copyright against AI threats, and ensure the government defends writers' interests.

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