Does anyone know why there is no writers award for independant theatre this year?

I don't know. Did there used to be? I wondered myself, and thought maybe it was because there were other awards for writers (Premiers Prizes, AWGIE awards and so on). It seems rather an oversight.

There is one award for 'Best New Australian Play' which is usually nominated by members of the companies, independent and new form panels and the nominations ratified by the Association at its ratification meeting. This year's nominees were Debt by Gabrielle MacDonal; Haul Away by Glynis Angell; The Pitch by Peter Houghton; It Just Stopped by Stephen Sewell and The Female of the Species by Joanna Murray-Smith. As you can see, a mixture of independent and company-based productions - Peter Houghton's play subsequently being picked up by Malthouse. The Award is one of the major awards of the whole Association and technically could go to the book of a musical or even an original work in dance - this year's set is down the bottom of the nominees on the website www.greenroom.org.au
Unlike the new AWGIE Richard Wherrett award announced today, the Green Rooms are peer reviewed but are not endowed with cash prizes. Some individual prizes are awarded by other charitable foundations in some categories on the recommendation of the Association, but unlike the increasing number of prize systems around, the Green Rooms have not sought massive endowment but also have not had to thread through the many minefields that a cash prize system creates - perhaps at the risk of eclipse by the money. I'd be interested to hear anyone's views on or off-line about what peer recoginition is worth in the arts without the dough.

Mark Williams, President, Green Room Awards Association.