Stargate SG-1 co-creator Brad Wright won the inaugural showrunner prize at the Canadian Screenwriting Awards on Monday night at a downtown Toronto nightspot, in recognition of his ‘outstanding creative vision’ on the long-running, since-cancelled sci-fi series.

‘I don’t know if it’s an important award, but in our industry we celebrate things, and I love the fact that we’re celebrating the showrunner because it’s such a little understood job in our business,’ Wright told Playback Daily. He is currently writing and producing a series of Stargate movies for MGM, and is co-developing a third series for the sci-fi franchise, which also includes the spin-off Stargate: Atlantis.

Sarah Polley won the feature film prize for her adapted screenplay of Away from Her, beating out the zombie flick Fido (Robert Chomiak, Andrew Currie and Dennis Heaton) and the Scotland-set drama Almost Heaven (Shel Piercy and Richard Beattie). Polley told the crowd it meant a lot to her, noting ‘I’ve wanted to write since I was four.’ Away from Her, starring Julie Christie and Gordon Pinsent, is set for a May 4 release via Mongrel Media.

The nod for comedy and variety went to writers Brent Butt and Kevin White for the ‘Outside Joke’ episode of Corner Gas, edging out the lone competition, The Jane Show. ‘We had a lot of fun writing it,’ said White, who accepted the award on behalf of an absent Butt.

Barry Stevens won the documentary prize for The Bomber’s Dream, while writers John W. Doyle and Lisa Porter scored in MOW and miniseries for the World War Two drama Above and Beyond. Porter thanked CBC for ‘allowing us to bring this forgotten and amazing story to the small screen.’

The Naked Josh episode ‘Beating the Rap’ won in the half-hour drama series category for Laura Kosterski, while the Slings & Arrows ep ‘That Way Madness Lies’ by Susan Coyne, Bob Martin and Mark McKinney scored for one-hour drama series.

Ryan Redford won the Jim Burt Screenwriting Prize for Bone, while Sondra Kelly and Sugith Varughese took home the Writers Block Award for their service to the WGC. Ilana Frank (The Eleventh Hour) was recognized for her efforts to help writers get a start in the business, accepting the Alex Barris Mentorship Award.

The ceremony was hosted by Gavin Crawford of This Hour Has 22 Minutes, who joked about the ACTRA strike, noting ‘I didn’t know there was a strike, I was working.’ The awards are presented by the Writers Guild of Canada.