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Giles Cooper Awards

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The Giles Cooper Awards were honours given to plays written for BBC Radio. Sponsored by the BBC and Methuen Drama, the awards were specifically focused on the script of the best radio drama produced in the past year. Five or six winners were chosen from the entire year's production of BBC drama, and published in a series of books. They were named after Giles Cooper (1918–1966), the distinguished radio dramatist who wrote over 60 scripts for BBC radio and television between 1949 and 1966.

These awards ran annually between 1978 and 1992, instigated by Richard Imison at the BBC and Geoffrey Strachan at Eyre Methuen. There was no prize money, but publication was a notable mark of permanence in the ephemeral world of broadcasting. Among the winners listed below are such luminaries as John Arden, William Trevor, Harold Pinter, Fay Weldon, Anthony Minghella, Tom Stoppard and Rose Tremain.

List of winners

1978

  • John ArdenPearl (Published separately as per special arrangement with Eyre Methuen)
  • Richard HarrisIs it Something I Said?
  • Don Haworth — Episode on a Thursday Evening
  • Jill HyemRemember Me
  • Tom Mallin — Halt! Who Goes There?
  • Jennifer Phillips — Daughters of Men
  • Fay Weldon — Polaris
  • 1979

  • Shirley GeeTyphoid Mary
  • Carey HarrisonI Never Killed my German
  • Barrie KeeffeHeaven Scent
  • John Kirkmorris — Coxcomb
  • John Peacock — Attard in Retirement
  • Olwen WymarkThe Child
  • 1980

  • Stewart ParkerKamikaze Ground Staff Reunion Dinner
  • Martyn Read — Waving to a Train
  • Peter Redgrave — Martyr of the Hives
  • William TrevorBeyond the Pale
  • 1981

  • Peter BarnesThe Jumping Minuses of Byzantium
  • Don Haworth — Talk of Love and War
  • Harold Pinter — Family Voices
  • David PownallBeef
  • J. P. Rooney — The Dead Image
  • Paul Thain — The Biggest Sandcastle in the World
  • 1982

  • Rhys AdrianWatching the Plays Together
  • John Arden — The Old Man Sleeps Alone
  • Harry Barton — Hoopoe Day
  • Donald Chapman - Invisible writing
  • Tom StoppardThe Dog It Was That Died
  • William Trevor — Autumn Sunshine
  • 1983

  • Wally K. DalyTime Slip
  • Shirley GeeNever in my Lifetime
  • Gerry Jones — The Angels They Grow Lonely
  • Steve May — No Exceptions
  • Martyn Read — Scouting for Boys
  • 1984

  • Stephen Dunstone — Who is Sylvia?
  • Robert Ferguson — Transfigured Night
  • Don Haworth — Daybreak
  • Caryl PhillipsThe Wasted Years
  • Christopher Russell — Swimmer
  • Rose Tremain — Temporary Shelter
  • 1985

  • Rhys Adrian — Outpatient
  • Barry Collins — King Canute
  • Martin CrimpThree Attempted Acts
  • David PownallPloughboy Monday
  • James SaundersMenocchio
  • Michael WallHiroshima – The Movie
  • 1986

  • Robert Ferguson — Dreams, Secrets, Beautiful Lies
  • Christina ReidLast of a Dyin' Race
  • Andrew RissikAnthony
  • Ken WhitmoreGingerbread House
  • Valerie Windsor — Myths and Legacies
  • 1987

  • Wally K. Daly — Mary's
  • Frank Dunne — Dreams of Dublin Bay
  • Anna Fox — Nobby's Day
  • Nigel D. Moffatt — Lifetime
  • Richard NelsonLanguages Spoken Here
  • Peter TinniswoodThe Village Fête
  • 1988

  • Terence FrisbyJust Remember Two Things: It's not Fair and Don't be Late
  • Ken Blakeson — Excess Baggage
  • Anthony Minghella — Cigarettes and Chocolate
  • Rona MunroDirt Under the Carpet
  • Dave Sheasby — Apple Blossom Afternoon
  • 1989

  • Elizabeth Baines — Baby Buggy
  • Jennifer Johnston — O Ananias, Azarias and Misael
  • David Zane MairowitzStalin Sonata
  • Richard NelsonEating Words
  • Craig WarnerBy Where The Old Shed Used To Be
  • 1990

  • Tony BagleyThe Machine
  • David Cregan — A Butler Did It
  • John Fletcher — Death and the Tango
  • Tina PeplerSong of the Forest
  • Steve Walker — The Pope's Brother
  • 1991

  • Robert Glendenning — The Words are Strange
  • John PurserCarver
  • Tom Stoppard — In the Native State
  • Steve Walker — Mickey Mookey
  • Craig Warner — Figure with Meat
  • References

    Giles Cooper Awards Wikipedia


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