'Argo' and 'Zero Dark Thirty' were the big winners at the Writers Guild of America Awards.

The Ben Affleck-directed CIA drama - which recently scooped top prizes at the Golden Globes and BAFTA Awards - continued its impressive streak, winning the award for Best Adapted Screenplay in a ceremony that took place in both New York City and Los Angeles last night (17.02.13).

'Argo' screenwriter Chris Terrio picked up the nod for his adaptation of Antonio J. Mendez's 'The Master of Disguise' and Joshuah Bearman's Wired magazine article, 'The Great Escape'. The film came out on top amidst stiff competition from 'Silver Linings Playbook', 'The Perks of Being a Wallflower', 'Life of Pi' and 'Lincoln'.

Kathryn Bigelow's hit thriller about the capture and killing of Osama Bin Laden, which stars Best Actress nominee Jessica Chastain, earned the Best Original Screenplay award for writer Mark Boal. Other nominees in the category included 'Flight', 'Looper', 'The Master' and 'Moonrise Kingdom'.

Elsewhere, Malik Bendjelloul picked up the Best Documentary Screenplay award for 'Searching for Sugar Man'.

Last year's Writers Guild Award winners, 'The Descendants' and 'Midnight in Paris', went on to win the top writing prizes at the Academy Awards as well.

Writers Guild of America Award winners:

Best Original Screenplay: 'Zero Dark Thirty', written by Mark Boal

Best Adapted Screenplay: 'Argo', written by Chris Terrio

Best Documentary Screenplay: 'Searching for Sugar Man', Malik Bendjelloul