38th Annual USC Scripter AwardS
Saturday, January 24, 2026
Town and Gown @ USC Campus, Los Angeles, California

— 38th Annual USC Scripter Awards —

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY SCRIPTER AWARD

FRANKENSTEIN • Netflix
Based on “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley – Penguin (publisher)
Guillermo del Toro | Writer

Guillermo del Toro | Director
Guillermo del Toro, J. Miles Dale, Scott Stuber | Producers

HAMNET • Focus Features
Based on “Hamnet” by Maggie O’Farrell – Vintage Books (publisher)
Chloé Zhao, Maggie O’Farrell | Writers

Chloé Zhao | Director
Liza Marshall, Pippa Harris, Nicolas Gonda, Sam Mendes, Steven Spielberg | Producers

ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER • Warner Bros. Pictures
Based on “Vineland” by Thomas Pynchon – Penguin (publisher)
Paul Thomas Anderson | Writer

Paul Thomas Anderson | Director
Paul Thomas Anderson, Adam Somner, Sara Murphy | Producers

Peter Hujar’s Day • Janus Films
Based on “Peter Hujar’s Day” by Linda Rosenkrantz – Magic Hour Press (publisher)
Ira Sachs | Writer

Ira Sachs | Director
Jonah Disend, Jordan Drake | Producers

TRAIN DREAMS • Netflix
Based on “Train Dreams” by Denis Johnson – Picador (publisher)
Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar | Writers

Clint Bentley | Director
Marissa McMahon, Teddy Schwarzman, Will Janowitz, Ashley Schlaifer, Michael Heimler | Producers

— 38th Annual USC Scripter Awards —

ADAPTED EPISODIC SERIES SCRIPTER AWARD

DARK WINDS • AMC
Episode: “Ábidoo’niidę́ę́ (What He Had Been Told)”
Based on the novels “Dancehall of the Dead” and “The Sinister Pig” by Tony Hillerman – Harper (publisher)
Max Hurwitz, Billy Luther | Writers

DEATH BY LIGHTNING • Netflix
Episode: “Destiny of the Republic”
Based on the nonfiction book “Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine, and the Murder of a President” by Candice Millard – Anchor (publisher)
Mike Makowsky | Writer

DEPT. Q • Netflix
Episode: Untitled first episode
Based on the novel “The Keeper of Lost Causes” by Jussi Adler-Olsen – Penguin (publisher)
Chandni Lakhani, Scott Frank | Writers

SLOW HORSES • Apple TV+
Episode: “Scars”
Based on the novel “London Rules” by Mick Herron – Soho Crime (publisher)
Will Smith | Writer

Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light • PBS
Series
Based on the novel “The Mirror and the Light” by Hilary Mantel – Henry Holt (publisher)
Peter Straughan | Writer