Founded in 1998 by comedian Greg Fleet, the Piece of Wood Award is awarded during the Melbourne International Comedy Festival to the best show as voted by a committee of comedians which includes all past winners of the award. Literally a piece of wood, it is traditional for winners to bite the award.
Past winners have included:
1998 - Linda Haggar and Fahey Younger - Lost due to war1999 - Simon Munnery2000 - Stewart Lee2001 - Rich Fulcher2002 - Charlie Pickering - Boiling Point and Michael Chamberlin2003 - Justin Hamilton2004 - Andrew McClelland- Andrew McClelland's Somewhat Accurate History of Pirates (1550-2017)2005 - Tony Law2006 - Fiona O'Loughlin and Damian Callinan - Spaznuts (Shared)2007 - Andy Zaltzman2008 - Tom Gleeson2009 - Lawrence Mooney - Make The Girls Cry2010 - Sam Simmons - Fail2011 - Harley Breen - I Heart Bunnings: Stories About My Brothers2012 - Bob Franklin and Steven Gates - Stubborn Monkey Disorder2013 - David Quirk - "Shaking Hands With Danger"2014 - Sarah Kendall - "Touchdown"2015 - Anne Edmonds - "You Know What I'm Like"