Santa Barbara Names Spring Contest Winners
The Santa Barbara International Screenplay Awards has named Daniel Hesford as their Best Screenplay Award Winner for Spring, 2026. The Best TV Script and Best Short Script Winners have also been announced.
Best Screenplay
Daniel Hesford
"The Thirteenth Step"
A recovering junkie sponsors a volatile newcomer in his support group, only to discover his sponsee is a washed-up super-spy whose real addiction is the chaos and danger of a past he can't quit — a past that’s about to drag them both back off the wagon.
Best TV Script
Arthur Tiersky
"Hindsight"
The cruel blinding of a black WWII veteran on his way home at the hands of a racist Southern police chief sets a chain of events in motion that leads to the end of segregation.
Best Short Script
Gregory Paul
"I Love You, Tammy Cunningham"
A neglected nine-year-old in 1980s suburbia builds a homemade go-kart to impress the girl next door, but after a humiliating crash, he must confront the difference between fantasy and self-worth as his broken family begins to come back together.
Updated: 07/28/2026
Additional Contest Info: The Santa Barbara International Screenplay Awards
ScriptLinks
Post Your Script Here!Whiskey Cup
A country music legend’s life begins to unravel when new DNA evidence frees an innocent man imprisoned for a murder that points investigators straight toward him.
The Cajun
When a notorious pirate, made immortal by the curse of a Voodoo Queen, is invited to a mysterious poker game in modern day New Orleans, he discovers a clue to find the treasure that can set him free.
Golden Arrow: Ahmose
Hatshepsut's Palace is a setting of love.
LIKE PULLING TEETH
In 1910 a New York City dentist accidently finds himself with a second job as a private investigator, and when, during a simple divorce case he eavesdrops on one of the biggest country-changing secret meetings, he becomes a dangerous loose end.
The Imbalance
Two best friends in their fifties leap back into acting — and dating — only to find an industry obsessed with youth, a culture addicted to reinvention, and a brutal truth: starting over is harder when you actually know who you are.
Lab Rats
An anonymous organization uses an ***AI Bot*** to moderate a Focus Group on the topic of ***Fake***.
She Curses Like a Sailor
A thought-provoking view of women and cursing is entertained at this art opening in New York.
Lady Diogenes of the Shadow
Three retired ladies candidly discuss their bizarre neighbor over morning coffee.
Perfect Beau
A Brainiac Plain Jane clones her ideal boyfriend out of her gorgeous girlfriends' boyfriends' DNA for her university's senior class science project.
Cold Pepper
A law-abiding, church-going court stenographer becomes a one-woman vigilante 'offing' violent domestic abusers (and other pathetic souls) after their third offense.
