2018 Award Recipient

Prolific animation writer-producer-actress Nicole Dubuc (Transformers: Rescue Bots, Star Wars: Rebels, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, My Friends Tigger & Pooh) will receive the Writers Guild of America West’s 2018 Animation Writers Caucus Animation Writing Award at tonight’s annual AWC awards ceremony and member meeting at the Guild’s Los Angeles headquarters.

Eliza Hart, Director of Development and Current Series at Nickelodeon Animation, will present the Guild’s AWC career achievement award to Dubuc in recognition of her contributions to the animation field.

“Nicole Dubuc has accomplished more in her time as an animation writer than most of us do in careers that are twice as long. She has crossed genres, busted barriers, and broken through ceilings not only as a writer, but also as a showrunner, an actress, and a labor leader. If there’s an aspect of animation production Nicole hasn't mastered, it’s only because she hasn’t invented it yet,” said WGAW President David A. Goodman.

“Nicole Dubuc richly deserves this award. She's not only an extremely talented writer and showrunner but has extensively given her time and energy to work for the betterment of all animation writers. Plus she's one of the best people I know,” said AWC Chair Craig Miller.

Born in Orange County, CA, in 1978, Dubuc first got her start in the entertainment industry in front of the camera working as a successful child actress, appearing on hit TV shows Major Dad, Our House, and ALF, and earning a 1991 Young Artists Award nomination for Best Young Actress Starring in a Television Series for her co-starring role on Major Dad.

After graduating from Yale University in 2000 (where she honed comedy skills as a member of the university’s Purple Crayon improvisational group), she returned to the West Coast to make a transition to a behind-the-camera creative force, landing a spot as an apprentice staff writer on Disney’s girl-power hit, Kim Possible, from 2002-03 and penning several episodes of the popular animated series.

Since then, Nicole has written over 150 produced scripts and worked in a wide variety of formats, including musicals, books, comics, shorts, live-action, feature films, and television. Spanning multiple genres, her animation series writing credits include Hasbro’s My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (executive producer/story editor), Disney’s My Friends Tigger & Pooh (story editor), Star Wars: Rebels, Star Wars: Forces of Destiny, LEGO Elves (EP/story editor), and Sunny Day, as well as The Octonauts, Miles from Tomorrowland, Spooksville, Young Justice, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Transformers: Robots in Disguise, Marvel Superhero Squad, Transformers: Prime, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, The Spectacular Spider-Man, Hero 108, Ben 10: Alien Force, Care Bears: Adventures in Care-A-Lot, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Finley the Fire Engine, Eon Kid, Catscratch, JoJo’s Circus, Tak and the Power of JuJu (staff writer), and Gaspard and Lisa, as story consultant. Her early TV animation writing credits include Dragon Tales, Jackie Chan Adventures, ToddWorld, Pinky Dinky Doo, and The Zula Patrol.

Dubuc co-developed the animated TV series Transformers: Rescue Bots, for which she served as executive producer and story editor, as well as Transformers: Rescue Bots Academy, which she also developed and served as executive producer and story editor, and is seven-time Emmy nominee for her work on Transformers: Rescue Bots (Outstanding Writing in an Animated Program, 2016), Spooksville (Outstanding Writing in a Children’s or Pre-School Children’s Series, 2015), R.L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour (Outstanding Writing in a Children’s Series, 2014), Transformers: Prime (Outstanding Writing in Animation, 2011), and ToddWorld (Outstanding Children’s Animated Program, 2007-2005). In 2008, she earned a Gabriel Award for the My Friends Tigger & Pooh episode, “How to Say I Love Roo/Piglet’s Small Predicament" (Television: Children’s National Release).

While continuing her work as a voice actress, featuring credits such as Transformers: Rescue Bots, Miles from Tomorrowland, The Hunted, and most recently DC/WB’s Young Justice: Outsiders, Dubuc currently serves as the showrunner of the animated series The Rocketeer, due to premiere in 2019, which she developed for Disney Jr./Wild Canary and serves as executive producer.

Dubuc’s animation feature writing credits include Postman Pat, a theatrical 3D animated feature, the animated telemovie Mike DA Mustang, which she wrote and directed, and several animated direct-to-video features: Tigger & Pooh & A Musical Too, My Friends Tigger & Pooh: The Hundred Acre Wood Haunt, My Friends Tigger & Pooh’s Friendly Tales, My Friends Tigger & Pooh: Super Sleuth Christmas Movie, and Polly Pocket: PollyWorld.

In 2005, Dubuc became a staff writer for Walt Disney Animation’s My Friends Tigger & Pooh. Following her stint at Disney, she segued to a positon as executive producer at Hasbro Studios, where she was creatively involved on a variety of projects, including the studio’s Transformers properties. In 2018, Dubuc left Hasbro to join Wild Canary Animation as an EP.

Beyond animation writing for television and film, Dubuc has co-authored several books in the best-selling My Little Pony: Ponyville Mysteries children’s book series (Little, Brown), including the titles Journey to the Livewood, Cursed Crusaders, Peryton Panic, Riddle of the Rusty Horseshoe, and Tail of the Timberwolf, all co-authored with Michael Vogel under the pseudonym “Penumbra Quill.” Dubuc has also written comic books such as Bruce Lee: The Dragon Rises (“Day Off”), DC Comics’ Flash Annual #2 Comic (“Details”), and worked as a songwriter for the My Friends Tigger & Pooh animated series.

In addition to honoring Dubuc at tonight’s ceremony, the Caucus will present a memorial tribute to late animation writer / AWC member Dean Stefan (The Octonauts, Transformers: Rescue Bots, Men in Black: The Series, The Mask: The Animated Series, My Friends Tigger & Pooh, X-Men, Quack Pack), who served on the AWC’s Steering Committee for many years and died this past May at age 65.

Dubuc, who shared both an industry and personal connection with Stefan, remarked: “Dean Stefan was a mentor and a friend. He had a keen instinct for what made a story work, a wickedly irreverent sense of humor, and a generous spirit. He always made time for writers trying to break in, offering his advice or reading scripts. I miss him every day.”

The WGAW’s AWC Animation Writing Award is given to members of the Animation Writers Caucus or Writers Guild who have advanced the literature of animation in film and television throughout the years and made outstanding contributions to the profession of the animation writer. Founded in 1994, the WGAW’s Animation Writers Caucus represents over 600 animation writers and works to advance economic and creative conditions in the field. Through organizing efforts, educational events, and networking opportunities, the Guild’s AWC is a leading proponent for animation writers.

Previous AWC Animation Writing Award honorees include Len Wein, Mike Judge, Seth MacFarlane, Sam Simon, Linda Woolverton, Len Uhley, Brad Bird, Matt Groening, Al Jean & Mike Reiss, Dwayne McDuffie and Earl Kress, Mike Scully, Patric M. Verrone, and Stan Berkowitz.