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 war
1999 - Simon Munnery
2000 - Stewart Lee
2001 - Rich Fulcher
2002 - Charlie Pickering - Boiling Point and Michael Chamberlin
2003 - Justin Hamilton
2004 - Andrew McClelland- Andrew McClelland's Somewhat Accurate History of Pirates (1550-2017)
2005 - Tony Law
2006 - Fiona O'Loughlin and Damian Callinan - Spaznuts (Shared)
2007 - Andy Zaltzman
2008 - Tom Gleeson
2009 - Lawrence Mooney - Make The Girls Cry
2010 - Sam Simmons - Fail
2011 - Harley Breen - I Heart Bunnings: Stories About My Brothers
2012 - Bob Franklin and Steven Gates - Stubborn Monkey Disorder
2013 - David Quirk - "Shaking Hands With Danger"
2014 - Sarah Kendall - "Touchdown"
2015 - Anne Edmonds - "You Know What I'm Like"