Objective

Deadline/Entry Fees

WinningScripts Pro $5 Off Coupon

Notification: QUARTER-FINALISTS – NOV 26TH; SEMI-FINALISTS – DEC 18TH; WINNERS – JAN 16TH, 2026

Eligibility

Rules

Scripts should ideally be within 80-120 pages. Writers can exceed the recommended limits by up to 30 pages, with an additional fee of $1 per page.

To be eligible for consideration for the Guaranteed Option Prize you must select the +Showdown entry when submitting your Feature screenplay.

To be eligible for consideration for the Guaranteed Genre Meetings, you must indicate your script's genre as part of your Feature submission.

Screenwriters from all countries are welcome to enter. All scripts must be written in English.

The script must be the writer’s original work. Adaptations are accepted but the writer must own all copyright. At no point will Shore Scripts ever have any rights over your work.

All ages are welcome.

We accept all genres, including animation. It’s absolutely fine if your script is a combination of multiple genres or sub-genres. If that’s the case, use the Genre dropdown to indicate the main genre on your submission, and make a note of other Genres, and any other information you feel will be relevant to the reader in the Any Other Project Comments field.

Each writer, or writing team, may not have earned more than $50,000 in screenwriting fees in the preceding 18 months. This clause is in place to help us support emerging talent. (Contest & Fellowship awards and writing fees received outside of fiction screenwriting do not count toward this total).

You may enter a newer draft of an already submitted script. There is a small additional fee as the script will be reread. You may re-enter your script through the Resubmission page.

A writer can enter as many scripts in as many categories as they wish.

If a script is optioned or purchased during the competition, then it will no longer be eligible for the contest.

Scripts should be in standard screenplay formatting and submitted electronically as a PDF.

Please only include the Script Title on the cover page.

The winners consent to Shore Scripts using their name, script title, and any other relevant information for promotional purposes on their website. This will be used to inform other contestants and the media of the results.

If Shore Scripts helps a writer gain representation, option, sell, or have his/her screenplay produced, then we are entitled to state this on our website and on any other platform whenever we see fit.

Shore Scripts staff and associates are unable to enter.

The decision of Shore Scripts is final. By applying to this contest each participant agrees to hold Shore Scripts, our judges and sponsors immune from any competition disputes, claims, liabilities, and expenses.

By entering Shore Scripts, you authorize us to use any trusted third-party online, cloud-based, and email services and databases for hosting, managing, and/or sending/transmitting your submission file(s).

If we see fit, we can extend the final deadline for the competition. (Please note that this has never yet happened).

FOR ALL THE RULES & FAQ: https://www.shorescripts.com/rules-faq/#f-rules.

Awards

A GUARANTEED PAID OPTION PRIZE with Showdown Productions!

Showdown Productions is a Los Angeles-based Production Company who have produced multiple feature films, including Blumhouse’s TORN HEARTS, FOLLOW ME & SAFER AT HOME. Showdown will select and sign a Paid Option Agreement with one of Shore’s 2025 feature writers, working with the writer to develop their project before taking it out to market. This will be a career-changing experience for an upcoming writer that will enable them to gain experience developing their work with a top production company.

Showdown will be presented with a shortlist of the strongest screenplays for them to choose the winner. To be eligible for consideration for the Guaranteed Option Prize you must select the +Guaranteed Add On entry when submitting your Feature screenplay.

Our prestigious panel of Oscar & BAFTA winning Judges (https://www.shorescripts.com/judges/#feature) will decide this year’s Winners.

* Grand Prize Winner - $5,000.

- Writer Development Calls with our Judges, Antony Johnston (ATOMIC BLONDE), Jack Donaldson (M3GAN), Mitchell Altieri (THE HAMILTONS).

* 2nd Place Winner - $1000.

FIVE (5) Genre Winners for Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller, Comedy, and Drama will win guaranteed meetings with top production companies

In 2025 all of our Winners and Top 10 Finalists will have the opportunity to participate in our Writer Development Program receiving one-to-one support from our Writer Development Manager, sending out their scripts to our roster of over 300 Managers, Agents, Producers, and Directors (https://www.shorescripts.com/industry-roster/). This bespoke and personal approach to script circulation built on enduring, knowing what our roster members are looking for right now, and what our writers wish to achieve is what makes Shore Scripts stand out from the crowd, and has enabled us to help launch the careers of over 100 screenwriters to date.

Take a look at our alumni and see how placing in Shore Scripts contests can kick-start your screenwriting career: www.shorescripts.com/success-stories/.

Plus, every writer who enters will receive a FREE 18-page booklet on HOW TO GET YOUR SCREENPLAY PRODUCED.