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: 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: 03/31/2019
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: 04/01/2019
The UCLA Extension Feature Film, Television Spec, and Television Pilot Writing Competitions give students the opportunity to receive recognition for screenplays developed in the Writers' Program courses. From the initial scripts submitted to the competition, three finalists will receive in-depth mentoring prior to a final round of industry judging, cash prizes, and guaranteed reads by an agent, manager, producer or creative executive.
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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: 04/19/2019
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: 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 - EVP, Content - Village Roadshow Entertainment Group Ryan Cunningham - Lit Manager - Anonymous Content 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
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: 04/30/2019
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: 04/30/2019
The Filmmatic Screenplay Awards were created to locate and expose up-and-coming screenwriters, as well as to empower and educate those talented writers still waiting for their invitation to the mainstream industry. The DRAMA Competition is open to feature-length and short works, screenplays and teleplays.
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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: 04/30/2019
The LAUNCH is a Million Dollar Screenplay Competition for college students with the mission to inspire the next generation of great screenwriters. The LAUNCH will enable one talented screenwriter to realize their dream by having their screenplay made by Hollywood producers as a feature film, with a budget of at least $1,000,000 USD. If you’re a college student anywhere in the world currently enrolled in an accredited two-year, four-year college/university and/or graduate program and have written a feature film you think is great, The LAUNCH wants to read it! You can submit your screenplay for the early submission fee of only $20 USD and every one submitted will receive professional feedback from experienced industry screenplay readers, along with an opportunity to purchase a one-year digital subscription to Variety Premier at a huge discount (save $100 off the $129 subscription price).
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Final Deadline: 05/01/2019
To identify and encourage talented new screenwriters.
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Final Deadline: 05/01/2019
The focus of this eight month program is on opening doors: providing opportunities to build relationships with network executives and show runners; to support new and emerging writers in their efforts to improve their craft; and to develop the interpersonal skills necessary to break in and succeed. The Writers Mentoring Program is not employment and there is no monetary compensation.
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Final Deadline: 05/01/2019
Past Winners/Finalists working with Good Fear + Film Management, Baker Entertainment Group, Wonder Woman producer Stephen Jones, talent agent Shawn Burns, producer Mitchell Peck and more! Thanks to the plethora of streaming options and a renewed interest in the genres, fantasy and sci-fi films have never been hotter. More and more production companies, managers, and agents are looking for writers working with fantasy and sci-fi ideas.
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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
The Table Read My Screenplay – Screenplay Contest will help you to propel your screenwriting career forward with a transformative Table Read showcase experience, an opportunity to confidently pitch to a range of over 200 industry professionals with the title of “Grand Prize Winner” at the 23rd Annual Hollywood Pitch Festival, and a support mechanism for layering a long-term career with an invitation to be a part of the elite ISA Development Slate.
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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: 05/24/2019
HollyShorts Film Festival (HSFF) is an annual Academy Qualifying short film festival showcasing the best and brightest short films and short screenplays from around the globe. The festival showcases the top short films produced 40 minutes or less and is looking for the best short screenplays 30 pages or less.
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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
For over 30 years, the Warner Bros. Television Writers’ Workshop has been the premier writing program for new writers looking to start and further their career in the world of television. The list of graduates who have gone on to do great things is long: Terrance Winter (Boardwalk Empire), Marc Cherry (Desperate Housewives), Greg Garcia (My Name Is Earl) and Felicia Henderson (Soul Food) to name a few.
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Final Deadline: 05/31/2019
Year six is here, and the competition that has led to more signings, success stories and careers than any other writing competition in the world is now underway. With more than 400 signings, 140 projects set up, 61 writers staffed, 134 appearances on annual best of lists such as the Black List, Blood List, Hit List, and the Young & Hungry List, as well as 6 bidding wars, the Launch Pad Competition has become the premiere hub for Hollywood discovering new talent.
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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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Final Deadline: 05/31/2019
The objective of the Screenwriting Master Contest is to award writers for outstanding achievement in screenwriting in both Feature and Short screenplay categories based on six sections: Dialogue, Plot, Characters, Premise, Tone, and Structure. Marketability of a screenplay is not something we take into consideration. We understand that writing is a process, which is why we allow our contestants the ability to submit an updated draft of their screenplay in the event their work is selected to move onto the next round.
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Final Deadline: 06/01/2019
The Capital Fund Screenplay Competition, now in its fifth year of successes, where your scripts are read direct by investors that buy projects and fund films at the studio level domestically and abroad. Our entrants have been optioned and sold at AFM, Cannes, Berlin, Toronto and Shanghai Film Markets. A Different Screenplay Contest Congratulations to the 2018 Winners at Universal 2019 Competition opens September 30, 2018.
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Final Deadline: 06/05/2019
Tired of being overlooked by fests? Searching for one that truly celebrates independent work and the dedication it requires? Then you've found the right place! While Hollywood keeps regurgitating the same junk over and over, indie filmmakers strive to do something different. Something original. They may not always be successful but at least they tried.
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Final Deadline: 06/14/2019
Guaranteed distributor review by World Wide Motion Pictures Corporation (WWMPC.COM) for features, Adler & Associates for features and shorts, and Polaris Pictures (for Screenplays) among others, AT NO EXTRA COST TO YOU, for our select few ‘Best Of’ and "Award of Outstanding Excellence" winners in the 20 Major categories, based on sufficient qualified entries.
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Final Deadline: 06/15/2019
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: 06/21/2019
To discover and encourage both new and long committed screenwriters. Our mission is to take the winning writer's vision from screenplay to screen!
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Final Deadline: 06/23/2019
The ONLY screenplay competition focused exclusively on adapted material. The Adapted Screenplay Competition recognizes and showcases adapted feature and television scripts in ALL genres.
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Final Deadline: 06/24/2019
The fellowship program was developed to honor dedicated writers and to help further their creative process and skills. Writing in itself is a journey and we would like to facilitate the process by giving the fellows the opportunity to be surrounded by like-minded professionals and individuals. Application Requirements: Completed application and fee.
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Final Deadline: 06/27/2019
Emerging Screenwriter Award Winner (Selected from 7 Genre Award Winners) ISA Development Slate Invitation 1 Year ISAConnect with access to Writing Gigs and Industry Pros Accepted Genres: Action/Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Historical/Bio, Horror/Thriller, Mystery/Crime, Sci Fi/Fantasy Our goal is to help you, the emerging screenwriter develop as a storyteller, show off your talents to the industry, and provide you with a cash prize to propel you along in your screenwriting career.
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Final Deadline: 06/30/2019
Script Summit is a festival dedicated to supporting screenwriters. You will have the opportunity to connect with directors, producers, and other writers at the Script Summit Networking Event. The Summit also hosts Q&A panels, seminars, table reads of selected scripts, an awards dinner, and over $1,500 in cash prizes! We are very excited to announce that we have partnered with the famous Action on Film MEGAfest! This allows all of our writers with officially selected scripts, the chance to attend the AoF.
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