Michael Miller, screenwriter of the ABC’s Indigenous superhero series, Cleverman, has won the $10,000 Australian Writers’ Guild 2016 John Hinde Award for Science Fiction.

The prize was given for episode five of the series, which aired on ABC TV in June 2016 and whose second season has just been announced for ABC TV’s 2017 line-up.

Cleverman, co-written by Miller, Jane Allen and Jon Bell, is set in the near Australian future with a group of non-humans from ancient mythology battling to coexist in a world where humans are trying to silence, exploit and kill them. It is rooted in Aboriginal mythology and has met with praise in both Australia and the US, where it premiered on SundanceTV in June this year.

The annual AWG John Hinde Award, which was first presented in 2008, is funded by a bequest from the late film critic, John Hinde.

The award has two categories – one for a produced script, won by Miller, and one for an unproduced script. There is a cash award in the produced category, and development assistance in the unproduced category.

Winning this year’s award for unproduced script was Graeme Burfoot for his screenplay, Red to Blue.

Burfoot’s winning script will be read by an experienced genre producer and the writer will be set up with a meeting with an industry professional selected for his specific work. Associated travel expenses will be covered by the AWG/John Hinde Bequest.

The winner and all shortlisted applicants will be provided with entry into the AWG Pathways Program – an initiative that provides networking opportunities for writers and the chance to showcase their ideas to industry professionals thereby giving those industry professionals access to quality scripts

The 2016 shortlisted entries in the unproduced category were:

• The Paradise Syndrome by Michael Kratochvil
• Portalgate by Ella Roby and Zahid Gamieldien
• Lost in the Dark by Chris Bailey
• Lucid by Philip Denson