Objective

Welcome to the Edinburgh International Screenwriting Competition. We are the world’s foremost screenwriting competition dedicated to the odd and insane. Because as Jack Kerouac once said, “the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue center light pop and everybody goes “Awww!”

Our aim is to launch the careers of cinema’s most original screenwriters by creating the world’s most prestigious screenwriting competition. Our goal is to connect emerging original talent with the film industry’s movers and shakers so original storytellers can get their scripts into production. We believe that we have created a vehicle that will do just that. We want to infuse new energy into filmmaking by supporting writers who don’t want to tell the same stories over and over. A lot of writers don’t want to write formula films or stories that fit neatly into a box. They want the blood and guts of raw emotion and creativity. And we want to support you.

We are a team of artists from around the world who are passionate about filmmaking and about nurturing, developing, and supporting the next generation of oddball filmmakers and screenwriters from around the globe. People who would dare to make films like “Being John Malkovich, M*A*S*H, Apocalypse Now, Inception, Leaving Las Vegas, Citizen Kane, Sex, Lies, and Video Tape, Clerks, Pulp Fiction, Fight Club, Before Sunrise, and Do the Right Thing.

Deadline/Entry Fees

Deadline	Date	Entry Fee	Days till Deadline
Earlybird	September 20, 2018	$50	36
Regular	October 18, 2018	$52	64
Standard	November 15, 2018	$55	92
Extended	December 13, 2018	$57	120
Late	January 24, 2019	$60	162
Final	February 28, 2019	$65	197

WinningScripts Pro $10 Off Coupon

Notification: 3/31/2019

Rules

• We only accept submissions electronically through our website or partner websites.
• There is no limit to the length of the scripts you submit and they can be in script or treatment form.
• There is no limit to the number of projects you may submit.
• Scripts must be written in English and can be in any film or television genre.
• Entrants are prohibited from contacting the judges during the competition.
• Entry fees are non refundable and void where prohibited by law.
• Employees and family members of the film festival are not eligible.
• Entrants must be 18 years or older to enter the contest.
• Industry distribution should in no way be interpreted as a guarantee of future representation or success. Whether or not industry partners choose to work with finalists, or even contact finalists, is done so at the sole discretion of each and every individual company.
• EISC reserves the right to revoke recognition status at any time with or without cause.
• Only our Grand Prize Winner and top two Finalists will receive industry distribution and prizes. Semi-Finalists will only be rewarded by recognition like in most screenwriting competitions.
• All submitted material must be original, and all rights must be wholly owned by the writer(s).
• All entries must be the original, and unpublished, un-produced, un-optioned work of the entrant and entrant’s writing partner. The entrant and or partnership ensures that he or she is the sole author of the work.
• The competition, its judges, and its officers accept no liability whatsoever for any claims of damages, real or perceived, by any entrant(s) as a result of their participation in this contest.
• All material submitted to other competitions or contests are eligible.
• Professional writers, journalists, poets, and previous contest winners are eligible.
• There are no requirements as to when the material was written.
• Material must be your original work. And all work must be wholly owned by the writer(s). The material submitted must not be encumbered by any obligation to, or option held by, a third party prior to entering the competition.
• By submitting your material you agree to be added to our email list, but can remove yourself by unsubscribing at anytime.
• We do not provide feedback, notes, grades, or rankings of any kind. We assume you already know how to write at a professional level and that is why you are entering this contest.
• Please note that the Edinburgh Screenwriting Competition, ESC, and the Edinburgh Screenwriting Spectacular are in no way affiliated with any other film festival, screenwriting competition, writing group, networking group, film school, or film related enterprise or organization in the UK or abroad.
• All judging is done at our sole discretion. We may have outside input, but all judging and all decisions are made at our sole discretion. To prevent tampering we do not reveal the identities of our judges.
• Industry distribution should in no way be interpreted as a guarantee of future representation or success. Whether or not industry partners choose to work with finalists, or even contact finalists, is done so at the sole discretion of each and every individual company. We can not force our industry partners to option your property and or sign you as a client.
• Past prizes listed in winner reviews should not be construed as current prizes. All current prizes are spelled out on our website. We also do not reveal the names of recipients on our industry distribution list.
• We do not offer script notes and or script advice. We are looking to reward professional level writers that we can help get to the next level by recognizing their work. If these are services you desire, we recommend hiring a script consultant. These services can be found via a simple google search.

Awards

Our aim is to launch the careers of cinema’s most original screenwriters by creating the world’s most prestigious screenwriting competition. Our goal is to connect emerging original talent with the film industry’s movers and shakers so original storytellers can get their scripts into production. We believe that we have created a vehicle that will do just that. We want to infuse new energy into filmmaking by supporting writers who don’t want to tell the same stories over and over. A lot of writers don’t want to write formula films or stories that fit neatly into a box. They want the blood and guts of raw emotion and creativity. And we want to support you.

We are a team of artists from around the world who are passionate about filmmaking and about nurturing, developing, and supporting the next generation of oddball filmmakers and screenwriters from around the globe. People who would dare to make films like “Being John Malkovich, M*A*S*H, Apocalypse Now, Inception, Leaving Las Vegas, Citizen Kane, Sex, Lies, and Video Tape, Clerks, Pulp Fiction, Fight Club, Before Sunrise, and Do the Right Thing.