The FOXTEL Fellowship awards $25,000 to a screenwriter who has created a body of work that is impressive in its craft, scope and impact. The intention of the fellowship is to provide the chosen writer with the financial and creative freedom to develop a television project of their choosing and is made possible due to generous sponsorship from FOXTEL.

The purpose of the Fellowship is to recognise the significant contribution of television writing to the development of the Australian cultural landscape; to reward and encourage excellence and achievement with creative freedom, and to facilitate the development of quality new television projects.

The fellowship was created in 2007 when FOXTEL and the AWF came together to recognise television’s important contribution to the country’s cultural landscape and in particular the screenwriters who shape that contribution through their exceptional work.  The fellowship is one of three projects from the partnership that also includes the annual FOXTEL Screenwriter’s Address and the FOXTEL Oral History project, a series of interviews with significant writers who have built and shaped the screen industry.

The inaugural FOXTEL Fellowship was presented to Mac Gudgeon, best known for the seminal television mini-series Waterfront (1984) and the feature film Ground Zero (1987), co-written with Jan Sardi. Mac’s other credits include Halifax f.p.: Sweet Dreams (1996), Halifax f.p.: The Feeding (1994), Dogwoman: A Grrrl's Best Friend (2000) and Good Guys Bad Guys (1997).

The 2008 Fellowship was presented John Alsop, known for his work on Australia’s most loved television including the unforgettable serials The Restless Years, Sons and Daughters and The Flying Doctors, the cult-classic The D-Generation and timeless TV dramas such as Brides of Christ, The Leaving of Liverpool, My Brother Jack and RAN – Remote Area Nurse.

Christopher Lee was awarded the 2009 FOXTEL Fellowship. A former journalist and Foreign Correspondent, Christopher has written for some of Australia’s favourite television dramas including Stringer, Police Rescue and the ABC mini-series The Bodysurfer. Lee was also Script Executive for the Showtime drama series Love My Way and co-creator of the popular Network TEN drama series Rush.

In 2010 the fellowship was awarded to Sue Smith, one of Australia’s finest television writers. Her body of work includes a number of highly acclaimed dramas such as The Leaving of Liverpool and Brides of Christ (both co-written with John Alsop). In 1994 Sue won an AWGIE for The Road from Coorain. Her work also includes the television series R.A.N Remote Area Nurse, My Brother Jack, Fallen Angels and The Cooks.