The Writers Guild of America is set to celebrate Paula Pell and Merrill Markoe on different coasts. The former has been named as the winner of WGA East’s Herb Sargent Award for Comedy Excellence and the latter as WGA West’s recipient of the Paddy Chayefsky Laurel Award for Television Writing Achievement. The 2020 Writers Guild Awards will be presented at concurrent ceremonies on February 1, 2020, in New York City, where Pell will be honored, and in Los Angeles, where Markoe will be honored.

Presented to artists who embody “the spirit, commitment, and comic genius of Mr. Sargent, as well as his dedication to mentoring new writers,” previous recipients of Pell’s award include Tina Fey and frequent collaborator Robert Carlock. Pell spent two decades as a writer on “SNL” and her other writing credits include Fey’s NBC comedy “30 Rock” and HBO’s Jennifer Garner-starrer “Camping.” She penned the screenplay for “Sisters,” a 2015 comedy pic starring Fey and Amy Poehler. Also an actress, Pell currently stars in NBC comedy “A.P. Bio.” Her other on-screen credits include “Love,” “Big Mouth” and Amy Poehler’s feature directorial debut, “Wine Country.”

Pell has been a guild member since 1996, and “has mentored a generation of women comedy writers who have been influenced by her ability to craft jokes and characters that are sublimely funny and wickedly edgy, and only get funnier the more you hear them,” the guild said. Her upcoming slate includes Quibi series “‘The Mapleworth Murders,’ for which she is writing and starring. The series is expected to debut in spring 2020,” Deadline notes. “She’s also in production on ‘No Activity,’ the CBS All Access and Funny Or Die comedy series. Netflix, meanwhile, has acquired her upcoming feature comedy ‘Hometown,’ a film that will star Natasha Rothwell, who will be co-writing the script with Michelle Lawler and Pell, who will also produce.”

Markoe’s honor is presented to a Guild member who has “advanced the literature of television and made outstanding contributions to the profession of the television writer,” WGA details. Previous recipients include Jenji Kohan, Diane English, and Shonda Rhimes.

Best known for co-creating and serving as original head writer of “The David Letterman Show” and the original head writer of “Late Night with David Letterman,” Markoe’s other credits include “Moonlighting,” “Sex and the City,” and “The Garry Shandling Show.” The Emmy winner wrote, directed, and starred in several HBO specials including 1988’s “Merrill Markoe’s Guide to Glamorous Living.” A member of WGAW since 1977, Markoe has also published four novels and four books of humorous essays, including “Cool, Calm, and Contentious” and “Nose Up, Eyes Down.”