Q/A: Screenwriting Credits - "And" vs "&"

Q: In screenwriting credits, what does the “and” and “&” between the screenwriters' names mean?

Thanks for your question.

The use of “and” between two or more screenwriter’s names designates that the screenwriters wrote the script separately, while the “&” sign indicates that they wrote the script together.

For example, for the film The Lost Boys the screenplay credit reads:

Janice Fischer & James Jeremias and Jeffrey Boam

The credit indicates that Fischer and Jeremias wrote a version of the script together, and Boam wrote another version separately.

(A little backstory: Fischer and Jeremias collaborated on an early draft, which focused on a group of 8-year-old boys. Boam revised the script to revolve around a group of teenage boys, making the content sexier and more in-line with the vampire genre, while still maintaining elements of the earlier screenplay.)

The official WGA Screen Credits Manual provides information about how credits are determined.