A list of upcoming screenplay contests, rated by screenwriters and sorted by deadline. Find the best contest for your screenplay or television script.
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Final Deadline: 01/27/2019
Enter now for a chance to have your script read by professional actors! Every script submitted is in the running to be one of 2 scripts chosen to be read in front of our audience and and Industry Insider at a West Hollywood Theatre. Our event can also be Live Streamed. So if a writer is selected from outside LA they will be able to watch online and receive feedback live from the Insider, the audience, and the online viewers - as if they are sitting in the theatre.
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Final Deadline: 01/28/2019
Horror screenwriters will have the chance to win mentorship meetings with our lineup of industry pros. This mentorship will occur around April of 2019 either in person or via Skype or other forms of video conference. The purpose of the horror screenwriting contest is to impart knowledge on our grand prize winner through the advice and expertise of professionals in horror genre of the film & television industry.
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Final Deadline: 01/31/2019
Nickelodeon's Writing Program offers aspiring television writers from around the globe, with diverse backgrounds and experiences, the opportunity to hone their skills while writing for our live action and animated shows. Participants will have hands-on interaction with executives writing spec scripts and pitching story ideas. The Program's General Track, developed to broaden Nickelodeon’s outreach efforts, provides a salaried position for up to one year (for Domestic writers) and up to six months (for International writers).
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Final Deadline: 02/12/2019
Do you have a great script but don't have the access to the industry to move it forward? That's what we're here for. The ISA Fast Track Fellowship gives two undiscovered screenwriters a direct line to meet with and be mentored by eight top executives in Los Angeles. We'll fly you to LA and provide you the experience of a lifetime by connecting you to top industry contacts seeking to work with writers like you.
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Final Deadline: 02/13/2019
The HBO Access Writing Fellowship provides mentorship for up to eight diverse, emerging storytellers. Following a one-week intensive of Master Classes, participants are immersed in eight months of mentoring by HBO Creative Executives, as each participant develops a script suitable for HBO or Cinemax.
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Final Deadline: 02/13/2019
Founded on September 15, 2012, the International Christian Film Festival is one of the largest Christian Film Festival in the world. Our goal is to help filmmakers get to next level. This is the premiere choice for faith-based, family-friendly films and documentaries.
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Final Deadline: 02/14/2019
We are a team of artists that want nothing more than to support the next generation of filmmakers and screenwriters from around the world. Specifically, those storytellers that passionate about telling stories about our communities in the U.S. and abroad, from inner city Atlanta, LA, New York, Oakland, Detroit, Chicago, and Milwaukee to Africa, Brazil, and the Caribbean, to Wall Street and the streets of London to the NBA.
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Final Deadline: 02/14/2019
We are Women Who Write and our goal is to be the world’s foremost screenwriting competition for women. We want to support female writers and producers of all shapes and sizes, but we don’t just want to support female writers. We want to be a springboard for your success. We want to forge a festival that will discover and recognize the best emerging female talent and the most original female voices from around the world.
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Final Deadline: 02/15/2019
The Screenwriters Lab has a group of mentors and advocates who return each year and help finalists with not only script notes but also securing management and writing jobs. Past hosts and mentors have included Academy Award winner Stephen Gaghan [Traffic], Academy Award winner David Seidler [The King’s Speech], Academy Award winners Nat Faxon and Jim Rash [The Descendants], Academy Award nominees Melisa Wallack and Craig Borten [Dallas Buyers Club], Jay Duplass [Transparent], Will McCormack [Toy Story 4], Chris Moore [Project Greenlight] and filmmaking legends Mark and Jay Duplass [Togetherness].
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Final Deadline: 02/22/2019
Breaking Walls is a contest for thriller screenplays with contacts at established Hollywood literary representation and production companies who have agreed to consider the full winning script and the top finalists' loglines. Well-written thrillers are always an excellent way for writers to show Hollywood pros a combination of commerciality, unique voice, and a clear understanding of effective feature film narrative.
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Final Deadline: 02/28/2019
The ScreenCraft Screenwriting Fellowship has quickly become one of the most important screenwriting talent discovery platforms for the entertainment industry. The chosen recipients will receive ongoing professional support and a special trip to Los Angeles for meetings and introductions to key entertainment executives, producers and representatives.
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Final Deadline: 02/28/2019
The Houston Comedy Film Festival is a unique forum for comedy filmmakers from all over the world to showcase their creative works in Houston, Texas. We are looking for fun comedy short and feature length screenplays with great characters, funny situations, clever dialogue and plenty of laughs.
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Final Deadline: 02/28/2019
Nice International Film Festival in our 8th Year held a few days before the Cannes Film Festival in the South of France. One of the greatest festival in the world to help filmmakers find a market to support their aims with people attending that can give good solid advice to work with established film industry professionals if you wish, screening, meetings, networking, world famous international awards ceremony, just some of what we have created over the years a unique festival with our other festivals a real platform for filmmakers to meet, network, do business festival week.
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Final Deadline: 02/28/2019
Introducing the Emerging Screenwriters SHOOT YOUR SIZZLE Competition Brought to you by the International Screenwriters’ Association Not only does this contest catapult you right onto the ISA Development Slate, but you’ll receive over $25,000 in funds, equipment and the support you need to shoot a proof of concept, otherwise known as a sizzle reel.
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Final Deadline: 02/28/2019
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.
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Final Deadline: 02/28/2019
As one of the few screenwriting competitions for the LGBTQ community, our aim is to discover and recognize the best emerging talent and most original voices from our community in film and television writing from around the world. We are proud to be LGBTQ and even prouder to support the LGBTQ community. Members from our community have long been known for being the best artists in the world and we want to not only recognize them for that, but to support them in being talented as well as a member of our community.
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Final Deadline: 02/28/2019
Screenwriters of underrepresented backgrounds will have the chance to win mentorship meetings with our diverse lineup of industry pros. This mentorship will occur around April of 2019 via Skype or other forms of video conference. The purpose of the Diversity Mentorship contest is to impart knowledge on our grand prize winner through the advice and expertise of professionals in film & television industry in a time when diverse voices in media are sought after.
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Final Deadline: 02/28/2019
Part workshop and part contest, we’re searching for undiscovered writers interested in honing their skills across various mediums. The ideal writer has a unique, creative, innovative, and specific voice, as well as a collaborative spirit. While this contest is specifically geared toward audio dramas, we're looking to establish relationships with the next generation of writers interested in building a career in the entertainment field.
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Final Deadline: 03/01/2019
The International Horror Hotel fosters creativity within genre writers and filmmakers, providing a platform for them to share their work and gain recognition. Our main focus is in connecting those working within the horror (and sub-genre) community, helping them to expand their network and gain contacts to strengthen their work.
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Final Deadline: 03/14/2019
We are passionate about film and passionate about nurturing, developing, and supporting the next generation of great filmmakers and screenwriters from North America and around the world. Our mission is to forge a screenwriting competition that will launch the careers of cinema’s next generation of writers and filmmakers. We want our competition to be a bridge between up and coming artists and the talent agents and managers that will ultimately put them in front of studio executives in both Canada and the US.
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Final Deadline: 03/14/2019
Mission: Faith in Film is dedicated to forging a screenwriting competition that will launch the careers of filmmakers focused on adding the element of faith to their films and facilitate established filmmakers in transitioning into making more faith films. Our aim is to build a festival that will introduce faith based films to mass audiences, ultimately, giving them the same multi platform release schedules and revenue streams that traditional studio films and high end independent films enjoy; and to inspire, showcase, support, and develop filmmakers of all faith’s to make great faith based films that leave others touched, moved and inspired; and filmmakers and distributors empowered to make and distribute more faith and family films.
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Final Deadline: 03/15/2019
The Writers Lab, produced by IRIS and New York Women in Film & Television and supported by Meryl Streep and Nicole Kidman, is open for submissions of screenplays by women over the age of 40 ABOUT THE LAB The Writers Lab brings 12 women screenwriters over the age of 40 with promising scripts together with outstanding professional female filmmakers for an intensive four-day screenwriting development retreat of one-on-one meetings, panel discussions and other activities designed to inspire the artists; to prompt rigorous creative exploration; and, through revision, to cultivate first-rate cinematic stories.
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Final Deadline: 03/15/2019
The Cary Theater is pleased to present BEYOND: The Film Festival, a celebration of the many facets of the art of storytelling through film. BEYOND: The Film Festival will highlight all aspects of filmmaking, featuring a short film competition and screenplay writing competition (length – 30 minutes or less). Each year, the festival will explore a new theme and focus on some of the behind-the-scenes aspects of the filmmaking process.
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Final Deadline: 03/15/2019
Our approach is simple, a screenplay competition that uses the same language the writer, the reader and the decision makers use. A novel idea, right? Get everyone working off of the same page, literally! ?? We are fortunate enough that Save the Cat! and the 15 story points (our beat sheet) is part of creative culture and has become the shared language between the creator, the reader and the decision maker.
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Final Deadline: 03/27/2019
Whether you’re writing feature comedy screenplays or 30-60 minute teleplays, we want you to bring the funny! This year, we will again be flying our winner out to Los Angeles for face-to-face meetings. Further, other winning writers will have online meetings with executives and all finalists will have their loglines exposed to a list of hundreds of executives for the possibility of having their scripts requested.
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Final Deadline: 03/31/2019
"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: 03/31/2019
It has been hailed by L.A. Weekly as the festival with "THE WORLD'S SEXIEST DARKEST CRIME SHORT FILMS." Saturday, May 25th, LIVE FROM DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES, Downtown Independent Theater hosts THE 2019 L.A. NEO NOIR, NOVEL, FILM, AND SCRIPT FEST 7 (LANNEFF)! This is the ONLY FESTIVAL IN THE ENTIRE WORLD that makes a short film of EVERY writing submission and screens the best of those submissions AT THE FESTIVAL and gives every writing submission a copy of their fully produced short film based on their script, story, or novel.
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Final Deadline: 03/31/2019
Whether you’re writing a contained science fiction drama or an epic fantasy saga, we want to read your feature film script. The jury is out of this world — with judges who love sci-fi movies — from top companies including 20th Century Fox, Sony and Lionsgate! Don’t miss the industry’s #1 sci-fi & fantasy feature screenplay contest.
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Final Deadline: 03/31/2019
The Inroads Screenwriting Fellowship competition was created to locate, expose and nurture up-and-coming screenwriters who have yet to receive their invitation to the mainstream industry. The competition is proudly sponsored by InkTip, The Script Coverage Co., and Filmmatic, and is open to all screenplays and pilots.
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Final Deadline: 04/03/2019
Honoring Stories Worth Telling. All Ages, All Cultures, All written formats. The rationale behind the festival is clear. New media continues to show its lasting power and potential to evolve - there is scope for truly groundbreaking and compelling work in the world of storytelling. The festival is designed to both discover and cultivate highly creative work from emerging and seasoned content creators.
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Final Deadline: 04/05/2019
The Nashville Film Festival Screenwriting Competition leverages one of the oldest and largest film festivals in the U.S. Each year, NashFilm draws hundreds of filmmakers, musicians and industry to ten days of films, panels, red carpet events, live music showcases and parties. NashFilm is an Academy® Award Qualifying Festival in three short film categories.
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Final Deadline: 04/10/2019
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: 04/15/2019
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: 04/15/2019
The PAGE Awards competition was established in the fall of 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: 04/18/2019
THE LATINO SCREENWRITING COMPETITION is designed to inspire and empower emerging Latino writers and producers, and any storyteller looking to tell great stories about our varied communities. We are a team of artists who are passionate about cinema and dedicated to the success of the next generation of talented Latino filmmakers from all over North and South America.
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Final Deadline: 04/22/2019
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: 04/23/2019
The True Story Screenplay Competition recognizes and showcases feature screenplays and television scripts based on, or inspired by, true stories.
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Final Deadline: 04/29/2019
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: 04/29/2019
We are looking to find the next generation of Sorkins, Rhimes, Gilligans, & Lorres by shining a spotlight on new, fresh voices writing for television. And we've enlisted a great industry judging panel from the TV world to help us. THE INDUSTRY PANEL Berry Welsh - SVP, Production & Development - Tribeca Film Tyler Knell - Manager of Development - Circle of Confusion Television Studios Peter Dealbert - Lit Manager - Pacific View Management Jeff Portnoy - Lit Manager - Bellevue Productions Dustin Davis - Head of Comedy - Youtube Originals Amanda Krentzman - International Originals - Netflix Jillian Apfelbaum - VP - Imperative Entertainment Ryan Cunningham - Lit Manager - Madhouse Entertainment Chris Mills - Lit Manager - Magnet Management Justin Killion - Head of Premium Programming & Development - COMPLEX Carly Kahane - Vice-President - Topple Productions Mike Goldberg - TV Lit Agent - APA A.
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Final Deadline: 04/30/2019
We love New York and we love film! We especially loves films shot, set, about, or written and produced and starring New Yorkers! And by New Yorker, we mean New Yorkers from the State, the City, and around the world. Even New Yorkers who haven’t made it here yet. We love you all. (And no, you don’t have to be from here to submit your scripts). We are a passionate group of artists who care deeply about nurturing, developing, and furthering the careers of the next generation of New York City filmmakers and screenwriters from the U.
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Final Deadline: 05/01/2019
Working with top industry mentors, annual four-day intensive lab is designed to help participants develop film and TV projects in an intensive and supportive environment. You will learn skills and be exposed to opportunities to get your work made and seen. The four-day lab is enrolled through competitive application process. All other elements of Stowe Story Labs programming (writers' retreats, ongoing mentoring, market experiences, fiscal agency) are available by invitation only.
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Final Deadline: 05/02/2019
OUR FOCUS IS TO DISCOVER THE BEST NEW SCREENWRITING TALENT FROM AROUND THE WORLD The Shore Scripts Short Film Fund offers an opportunity for emerging screenwriters and filmmakers to have their short film financed and produced. 2019’s Fund will award production financing for at least one short film with an allocated budget of up to $15,000 per project, with a minimum budget of $10,000.
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Final Deadline: 05/04/2019
13Horror.com is back with THE go-to contest for horror screenwriters and film-makers! The categories for the contest are: Feature-length screenplays Short screenplays Feature-length movies Short movies Winning entrants will receive some truly awesome prizes, including: Cash Publishing deals Movie distribution offer Film-making classes Contacts with horror movie industry insiders Horror merchandise And much more Each screenplay and movie entrant receives a comprehensive feedback form from one of our Hollywood judges, explaining how their screenplay or film did against the judging criteria.
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Final Deadline: 05/08/2019
To recognize excellence in screenwriting of shorts and features in a wide variety of genres.
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Final Deadline: 05/15/2019
The Ultimate Runway Now in our 25th year, the Austin Film Festival has been catapulting writers into life-changing careers for over two decades. 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: 05/15/2019
As Austin Film Festival continues to grow and expand, our vision also widens with the addition of new avenues for storytellers. In 2017 we introduced the inaugural Playwriting Competition. It is open to full-length stage plays and gives playwrights a chance to explore our film and television conference. It will also allow film professionals to discover storytellers who have mastered the art and craft of stage drama.
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Final Deadline: 05/15/2019
This competition honors emerging screenwriters from around the world with feature length screenplays worthy of production regardless of gender, race, religion or nationality.
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Final Deadline: 05/23/2019
The Diversity Film & Script Showcase recognizes and showcases screenplays with a PERSON OF COLOR REPRESENTED or a WOMAN REPRESENTED as one of the following: Lead Character OR Filmmaker (Writer or Co-Writer, or Director, or Producer).
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Final Deadline: 05/30/2019
To help launch the careers of undiscovered screenwriters and give unprecedented access to studio-level executives.
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Final Deadline: 05/31/2019
Bolt is an innovative new screenplay competition from the creators of Barnstorm Fest. The rules are simple: Submit a short film screenplay, web series or television pilot then Barnstorm Media chooses the winner and MAKES YOUR MOVIE OR PILOT! You get to be the Executive Producer. And, every submission receives feedback from the producers at Barnstorm Media WITHIN TWO WEEKS OF SUBMISSION.
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