A list of categorized screenplay contests, ranked and sorted by screenwriters. Find the best contest for your screenplay or television script.
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Final Deadline: 05/01/2017 (expired)
To identify and encourage talented new screenwriters.
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Final Deadline: 05/17/2017 (expired)
The PAGE Awards competition was established in 2003 by an alliance of Hollywood producers, agents, and development execs. Our goal: to discover the most exciting new scripts by up-and-coming writers from across the country and around the world. And due to the success of our winning writers, the PAGE Awards competition has rapidly become one of the most important sources for new screenwriting talent within the Hollywood community and worldwide.
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Final Deadline: 04/15/2017 (expired)
CineStory is a national non-profit dedicated to nurturing emerging screenwriters through mentorship programs. Winners of our competition have gone on to pen films such as IRON MAN, CAKE, THE CHILDREN OF MEN, BALLAST, KING OF CALIFORNIA and 11:14. One of the main goals of the CineStory Feature Retreat is to select up-and-coming screenwriters for our four-day intensive program held in the Fall.
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Final Deadline: 04/01/2017 (expired)
"100 Screenplays" is a unique contest brought to you by "Screenplay Festival," one of the longest running and highest rated screenplay competitions on MovieBytes. We accept one hundred scripts into each contest, and quickly get the results to you. "!00 Screenplays" is a fast, targeted screenplay contest where every writer who enters goes in knowing exactly how many scripts will be in the competition, and every writer knows that there will be results less than a month after the contest closes.
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Final Deadline: 05/01/2017 (expired)
Scriptapalooza was founded in 1998 with the goal of helping as many writers as possible through the competition. We have over 90 production companies, agents and managers reading all the entered scripts. (A complete list of participants is on Scriptapalooza's website.) We actively push the Semifinalists, Finalists, Runners-Up and Winners for a full year with the intention of creating opportunities for the writers.
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Final Deadline: 08/09/2017
First Mentor Announced: Gary Lucchesi, President of both Lakeshore Entertainment and the Producers Guild of America The ISA Fast Track Fellowship wants to find TWO emerging writers ready to FAST TRACK their screenwriting careers with an accelerated week of meetings in Los Angeles with EIGHT top level executive mentors. Past fellows have been optioned or received representation from Catapult Entertainment Group, The Savage Agency, Indomitable Entertainment, Requiem Entertainment and more.
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Final Deadline: 05/15/2017 (expired)
The Ultimate Runway For over two decades, Austin Film Festival has been catapulting writers into life-changing careers. With one of the most noteworthy competitions among Hollywood tastemakers, AFF consistently yanks newcomers from the isolation of their desks and ushers them into the bustling world of film and television. Whether your dream is to sign a contract, land an agent, learn from an industry icon, or take home the coveted Bronze Typewriter Award, it’s simple: you can’t win if you don’t enter.
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Final Deadline: 11/03/2017
Cinequest voted Best Film Festival by USA Today Readers. Submissions open May 1st, 2017! The Cinequest Screenwriting Competition continues to empower global screenwriters through discovery, recognition and opportunity. Cinequest loves writers, and we welcome you to submit your screenplay or teleplay to our renowned competition.
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Final Deadline: 07/07/2017
MISSION: To provide industry exposure and support to television screenwriters who are looking to have their stories told. FEEDBACK: We believe that writers need feedback to improve, which is why we provide the judges’ score cards to every entrant at no additional charge. PROMISE: We promise to give all scripts two rounds of scores and there will be a total of six rounds of scores to ensure fairness and transparency.
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Final Deadline: 04/15/2017 (expired)
MISSION - To provide a platform focused on promoting and encouraging diverse voices and stories. We're looking for writing from perspectives – through the author or characters – that are underrepresented in Hollywood. GIVING BACK - For every entry, we are donating $3 to Books For Kids to help children from all starts in life have a chance to become storytellers.
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Final Deadline: 11/04/2016 (expired)
Created by Dr. Ted Baehr, founder, publisher and executive producer of MOVIEGUIDE® and founder and chairman of the Christian Film & Television Commission, and Dr. Jack Templeton, the primary purpose of the prize is to further the influence of moral and spiritual values within the film and television industries. Seeking to promote a spiritually uplifting, redemptive worldview, MOVIEGUIDE® announces the Kairos Prize that will help inspire first-time and beginning screenwriters to produce compelling, entertaining, spiritually uplifting scripts that result in a greater increase in either man’s love or understanding of God.
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Final Deadline: 11/01/2017
The 7th annual Richmond International Film Festival (RIFF) is a competitive festival that screens more than 120 international cutting edge films and music, making it one of the Mid-Atlantic's largest international competitive festivals. RIFF provides industry panels, Q&As, live musical performances, the creative FLOW conference, and entertainment mixers that bring the spirit of Hollywood to beautiful Richmond, Virginia at the Bowtie Criterion/Movieland and the historic Byrd Theatre.
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Final Deadline: 12/02/2016 (expired)
MISSION: To provide industry exposure and support to feature screenwriters who are looking to have their stories told. FEEDBACK: We believe that writers need feedback to improve, which is why we provide the judges’ scorecards to every entrant at no additional charge. PROMISE: We promise to give all scripts two rounds of scores and there will be a total of six rounds of scores to ensure fairness and transparency.
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Final Deadline: 05/17/2017 (expired)
Whether you have a romantic comedy or an action-comedy blockbuster, we want to read your script. Our jury is looking for funny feature film screenplays with strong command of the craft, lots of heart and fresh comedic voices. All entries are eligible for optional feedback from a studio-trained professional reader. Our judges are some of the top comedy producers in the industry!
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Final Deadline: 11/01/2017
Now Accepting Television Scripts! The writers spoke, and we listened. We have now added four categories to our contest for television scripts. Screenplay Festival now features the following categories: Feature Film: Action/Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Thriller Horror Television: Half Hour Pilot, Half Hour Spec, One Hour Pilot, One Hour Spec As one of the highest rated contests on MovieBytes, Screenplay Festival was established to help eliminate this "chicken and egg" problem.
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Final Deadline: 06/26/2017
Founded by a writer, the BlueCat Screenplay Competition’s passionate commitment to develop and discover the unknown screenwriter continues to define our work today. We provide each writer who enters BlueCat one written analysis while supporting screenwriters of all levels and stages of development with the constructive feedback all writers require.
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Final Deadline: 01/06/2017 (expired)
The Nashville Film Festival Screenwriting Competition leverages one of the oldest and largest film festivals in the U.S. Each year, NaFF draws hundreds of filmmakers, musicians and industry to ten days of films, panels, red carpet events, live music showcases and parties. NaFF draws more film entries than almost every other film festival in the country, in part, because it is an Academy® Award Qualifying Festival in three short film categories.
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Final Deadline: 07/28/2017
The Slamdance Screenplay Competition is dedicated to discovering and supporting emerging writing talent. We welcome screenplays in every genre, on any topic, from anywhere in the world. A unique feature of the competition is providing constructive feedback for every entrant. In addition to this, we also offer a more intensive coverage service for a supplementary fee.
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Final Deadline: 08/02/2017
The Table Read My Screenplay Contest is more than just a screenplay contest. It's an experience! The Grand Prize Feature/Pilot Winner will be flown to Chicago during the Chicago International Film Festival. Grand Prize Winner will have their screenplay read by professional actors and workshopped by a director. We cover Hotel & Airfare expenses during the festival.
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Final Deadline: 05/20/2017 (expired)
To help launch the careers of undiscovered screenwriters and give unprecedented access to studio-level executives.
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Final Deadline: 05/10/2017 (expired)
To find the best GENRE scripts. Genre scripts are bought and produced more than 10 to 1 over the serious drama, tentpole or quirky scripts that usually win screenplay contests. This contest pits genre scripts only against scripts within their genre, and seeks to identify and promote to the industry the very best in each genre -- in other words, the scripts with the very best chances in the marketplace.
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Final Deadline: 06/01/2017 (expired)
Creative World Awards (CWA) is an international screenwriting contest that is well known for having the writer's interest at heart when it comes to development and industry promotion. Production: CWA brings an exciting production opportunity to the Grand Prize Winner. This year’s winner will have a short version of their script produced by The MIX, and the film will then get a guaranteed premiere at the Richmond International Film Festival.
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Final Deadline: 07/20/2017
The Contest Of Contest Winners joins the 2016 Sunscreen Film Festival (Florida/Los Angeles) to bring increased visibility and networking opportunities to winners! There are hundreds of screenwriting competitions, but which screenplay from among the winners of all of these quality competitions is the best of the best? The Contest of Contest Winners (CCW) answers that question and shines the spotlight on many accomplished, award-winning screenplays in what amounts to a definitive last review of the elite.
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Final Deadline: Contact contest for deadline info.
Stage 32 Happy Writers is thrilled to bring you our biggest screenwriting opportunity yet in our second Stage 32 Happy Writers Annual Feature Contest. We are looking for the best undiscovered writers and scripts of 2015 to connect them directly with our industry insiders! As a result of our history with executives throughout the industry and the extent of our global reach, we are able to connect the top writers from around the world with leading executives who can make the critical difference in their career.
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Final Deadline: 11/11/2016 (expired)
Open to writers of all levels and backgrounds, the StoryPros International's objective is to recognize, support and promote your work with financial rewards, software and services -- as well as providing an open door to industry professionals with guaranteed reads and promotion to our network of contacts. Past entrants and winners have gone on to representation, options, assignments and sales.
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Final Deadline: 07/14/2017
Big Break is an annual, international feature and television screenwriting contest designed to launch the careers of aspiring writers. Big Break rewards screenwriters with over $80,000 in cash and prizes, including a trip to Los Angeles for a series of A-list executive meetings. Winners and finalists alike have had their screenplays optioned and produced and have secured high-profile representation as well as lucrative writing deals.
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Final Deadline: 09/15/2017
Now in its fifteenth year, the American Zoetrope Screenplay Contest is judged by Francis Ford Coppola and the American Zoetrope staff. The contest is open to feature-length films and original television pilots. The contest winner receives a $5,000 cash prize, and we send the scripts of all the top ten finalists to leading production companies and talent agencies for consideration.
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Final Deadline: Ongoing - submit anytime.
Submit a TV SPEC SCREENPLAY or ORIGINAL TV PILOT (monthly deadlines) and get the chance to see your script read out loud at our Screenplay Festival using professional actors. Shown online on the YouTube channel that garners 1000s of views. CLICK the website link for examples of past winners. A great way to get your words out there and obtain the Agent you're looking for or just get your script seen by more people.
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Final Deadline: Monthly.
WILDsound Monthly Screenplay Festival offers screenwriters at all levels the fantastic opportunity of hearing their scripts read out loud using Top Professional Actors and seen by 10000s of people online, including producers and agents. At least 5 winning readings done every single month. Click the website info and watch the winning videos.
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Final Deadline: 10/16/2017
Our intention is to help open doors for the aspiring television writer. There are four categories you can submit to, which include 1 hour existing spec scripts, 1/2 hour existing sitcom spec scripts, original pilots, and reality programs. This competition is designed with the TV writer and crossover screenwriter in mind. The participants we have chosen to read the winning scripts are individuals from established production companies.
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Final Deadline: 11/07/2017
Now in our 8th year, Fresh Voices has distinguished itself as one of Hollywood's leading screenplay competitions. We offer every screenwriter FREE PROFESSIONAL SCRIPT FEEDBACK plus winning writers receive CASH & PRIZE PACKAGES worth over $20,000 and GUARANTEED SCRIPT CONSIDERATION from top Hollywood Production Companies. Fresh Voices strives to identify, nurture and bring to market the most promising new voices in screenwriting and has developed a successful track record of discovering new screenwriters with many of our past winners now signed by representation, produced, and staffed on TV series.
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Final Deadline: 06/15/2017 (expired)
Screamfest was formed in order to give filmmakers and writers in the horror/sci-fi genres a venue to have their work showcased to people in the industry. We are very proud that the majority of the films showcased now have distribution. Writers have garnered representation due to the festival.
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Final Deadline: 09/17/2017
We are delighted to announce the return of our main international competition for Summer 2017. The WriteMovies Summer 2017 Screenwriting Competition is now OPEN! Win $2000 and become our next success story! There’s $2000 available in prize money, plus over $3000 in script development for the 3 winners, and new bonuses and promotion through InkTip (see below!) – we promise to develop and promote them to the top of the international film industry.
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Final Deadline: Contact contest for deadline info.
To assist the aspiring screenwriter in realizing his/her dream of becoming a professional screenwriter. To eliminate industry chokepoints that stifle creativity and impede screenplay access to managers,agents & producers.
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Final Deadline: 07/31/2017
To make Hollywood more accessible than ever before to more aspiring screenwriters, Filmmakers.com is forming strategic alliances with the powers that be... Championing Emerging Artists. FilmMakers International Screenwriting Awards has been in existence since 2000 (formerly known as The Radmin Company / FilmMakers.com Screenplay Contest) and its association with the Radmin Company has been going on since late 2000.
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Final Deadline: Contact contest for deadline info.
The Vail Film Institute launched the Vail Film Festival Screenplay Competition in order to find and foster the next generation of the film world's most innovative and creative screenwriters. With the realization that every great film needs a great story, the festival is dedicated to supporting talented screenwriters by utilizing the resources of the Vail Film Festival to foster the winning screenwriters through networking opportunities, and film industry access.
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Final Deadline: Monthly.
FULL FEEDBACK on the first moments of your screenplay from our committee of Professional Screenwriters, Production Heads and Script Consultants. Are you just starting off your screenplay and want immediate feedback on your first scenes/first moments of your script?
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Final Deadline: Monthly.
With two cycles of our main competition clashing almost directly with the deadline dates of our Monthly Contest, we’ve decided to delay relaunching our Monthly Contest again until at least January 2017. Anyone who has submitted to our Monthly contest since the start of August will be offered a free entry to the main contest (representing a significant discount on its current entry price), which currently closes at the same time as the September competition would have done anyway! In place of the Monthly Contest, we’d like to introduce our new FEATURED SCRIPT OF THE MONTH.
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Final Deadline: 08/01/2016 (expired)
Our objective is to discover and promote quality screenplays of any genre.
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Final Deadline: 06/24/2017 (expired)
To introduce writers to the decision makers of traditional broadcast television, the cable market, and multi-media outlets. Competition winners will have their material read by experienced production companies.
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Final Deadline: 06/24/2017 (expired)
To introduce writers to the decision makers in film and multimedia markets. Top script receives $1,000 and ALL competition winners and finalists will earn the chance to have their scripts read by established production companies and agents.
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Final Deadline: 07/31/2017
To promote and support new talent by creating real and original opportunities.
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Final Deadline: Contact contest for deadline info.
The New York Screenplay Contest is a global screenwriting contest designed to launch careers and provide recognition and network opportunities to the world's best new voices in screenwriting for film and television. The New York Screenplay Contest awards its winners with cash, prizes, sponsorship packages, and meetings with leading industry professionals.
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Final Deadline: 07/10/2017
CALL FOR ENTRIES! Shriekfest, the Los Angeles Horror/SciFi Film Festival continues its tradition as Los Angeles' Premier horror film event, presenting an exciting program of films each fall with beautiful Los Angeles as its backdrop. Now, in its 17th year, Shriekfest takes place at the legendary Raleigh Studios, which is the largest independent studio operator in the country.
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Final Deadline: 08/06/2017
The Cynosure Screenwriting Awards seek to expand the scope of mainstream cinema by recognizing and rewarding screenplays in two distinct categories: screenplays which feature compelling female protagonists; and screenplays that showcase diversity (ethnicity, race, gender, sexuality, disability, etc.).
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Final Deadline: Last Day of any calender month
We pick the best and most marketable (in our opinion of course) CLIENT SCRIPT and announce it with shameless prominence on the MAIN page of our web site. Our winner will also be invited to POST their log line, link and even a scene or two (if you so choose) from your winning work to which we’ll add our GLOWING REVIEW and convert the whole thing into professional “COVERAGE” (FOR FREE) which can be used for submission purposes as well as being POSTED on our site.
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Final Deadline: 07/15/2017
The objective of the Moondance International Film Festival is to inspire, motivate, promote and encourage the best writers & independent filmmakers, from every country in the world, and to inspire a greater understanding about the vital role of the arts in enhancing creativity, community spirit, and the preservation of our cultural heritage.
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Final Deadline: 06/28/2017
GRAND PRIZE WINNING EMERGING SCREENWRITER Receives CASH STORY SEMINAR SCHOLARSHIP SCRIPT READS BY INDUSTRY REPS Our goal is to help you, the emerging screenwriter develop as a storyteller, show off your talents to industry, and provide you with a cash prize to help propel you along in your screenwriting career. The new season of the Emerging Screenwriters Screenplay Competition is proud to announce that the Grand Prize Winning screenplay is guaranteed to be read by literary managers and executives! You will also receive an invitation into the ISA Development Program, where the team will work with you to further package and champion your winning script to more industry execs for a full year! 8 writers have signed option agreements or signed with an agency in the past 18 months.
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Final Deadline: 08/31/2017
Discovering new screenwriting talent from around the world. Shore Scripts Screenwriting Competition is focused on unearthing the best scripts from around the world and getting them into the hands of the producers and production companies who have the ability to get them made. Patrick Tobin, the writer of CAKE starring Jennifer Aniston is one of our most recent successes.
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Final Deadline: Contact contest for deadline info.
The annual International Beverly Hills Film Festival was founded in 2001 by award-winning independent filmmaker Nino Simone. The event is dedicated to showcasing and promoting non-studio films to the entertainment industry.
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