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A list of contests offered as part of a workshop or script reading program. Make your screenplay better!
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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
Writers on the Verge is a 12-week program focused on polishing writers and readying them for a staff writer position on a television series. We are looking for writers who are “almost there” but need that final bit of preparation with their writing and personal presentation skills. We particularly encourage writers of diverse backgrounds to apply.
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Final Deadline: 06/03/2019
To seek out and employ culturally and ethnically diverse new writers. The annual submission period for the Writing Program opens during the month of May. Specific dates vary year to year.
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Final Deadline: 06/10/2019
The objective of the Churches Making Movies Screenplay competition is to celebrate and give exposure to the best Christian screenplays of the contest year.
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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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Final Deadline: 07/15/2019
Write/LA is dedicated to helping writers improve their craft so they can find success in the ultra-competitive world of screenwriting. We award three writers of either feature or television projects the opportunity to come to Los Angeles to improve their craft, experience the industry (which means meeting people currently working in it), and have their work celebrated at an exclusive live read.
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Final Deadline: 07/20/2019
The NHMC Television Scriptwriter’s Program is designed to familiarize participants with the format, characters and storyline structure of specific shows that are currently on the air. The five-week, *total immersion workshop is mentored and guided by former NBC V.P of Script Development, Geoff Harris and is conducted in Sherman Oaks, CA. A total of 10 writers are accepted nationwide from an established network of non-profit agencies, schools, universities, guilds and media organizations.
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Final Deadline: 08/20/2019
New York New Stories Screenplay Contest is an exciting new script competition seeking submissions in the following categories: Short Film, TV/Web Pilot. New York New Stories is dedicated to discovering and celebrating the work of screenwriters from all backgrounds and all levels of experience. Our mission is to elevate unique and creative stories that are ready to be told.
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Final Deadline: 08/30/2019
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: 11/14/2019
We are looking for innovative and compelling storytelling, for characters that surprise and challenge you, for words that pop off the page, and for narratives that twist and turn like a country back road. This year we’re accepting both feature scripts and pilot scripts; you’re more than welcome to submit in both categories.
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Final Deadline: Contact contest for deadline info.
Praxis Centre for Screenwriters is a non-profit organization devoted to the professional development of Canadian screenwriters and filmmakers. Located in Vancouver, Canada, we serve to support and stimulate the production of innovative Canadian feature films though screenplay and screenwriter development. We run the compeition twice a year, with deadlines of June 30th and Dec.
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Final Deadline: Contact contest for deadline info.
The Sundance Institute is interested in supporting original, compelling, human stories that reflect the independent vision of the writer and/or writer/director.
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Final Deadline: 04/22/2019 (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: 01/31/2019 (expired)
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: Contact contest for deadline info.
The TSA is a professionally oriented organization, striving to develop more avenues to help our members and community prepare for the real world of the entertainment business.
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Final Deadline: 01/07/2019 (expired)
The CAPE New Writers Fellowship discovers and nurtures emerging writers launching their careers in television and film. This unique 6-week, 12-session Fellowship arms each participant with the practical and business knowledge they need to succeed as a professional writer in the entertainment industry. Each session is taught by top television and film writers, producers, agents, managers, and executives through a series of intimate panels and discussions.
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Final Deadline: 05/08/2019 (expired)
To recognize excellence in screenwriting of shorts and features in a wide variety of genres.
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Final Deadline: 05/01/2019 (expired)
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: 11/05/2018 (expired)
Through personalized feedback from experienced industry professionals and other writers in the program, Screenwriting Fellows will gain the tools to revise and refine their scripts for production. The Screenwriting Lab also helps to further the careers of its Fellows by introducing them to film industry veterans who can offer guidance on both the craft and business of screenwriting.
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Final Deadline: Contact contest for deadline info.
Working from this A-list logline, you’re challenged to create up to the first 15 pages of an original script based on the given concept. Make it your own - drama, action, comedy... anywhere your imagination takes you. Break out your scriptwriting software and get to work, because the Industry Insider Screenwriting Contest gives you the unique opportunity to turn one of these three loglines into a solid spec screenplay that could be your ticket to Hollywood success.
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Final Deadline: Contact contest for deadline info.
The Astana International Action Film Festival Screenplay and Short Film Competition is a holiday of fun-filled movies. Every summer famous actors, director and producers making dynamic action films gather in the capital city of Kazakhstan.
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Final Deadline: Contact contest for deadline info.
The festival, presented in a university setting and around the beautiful Shoals area, provides attendees with an exceptional lineup of quality workshops, panels, screenings, networking opportunities and informal interaction among filmmakers and all guests. Our priority is to discover emerging talent and promote their work by reaching, educating, inspiring, and entertaining audiences with the best in cinematic art.
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Final Deadline: 03/08/2019 (expired)
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: Contact contest for deadline info.
From page to production, from production to profession, the Brownfish Short Film Festival NYC (BSFFNYC) is dedicated to helping filmmakers get their films seen, distributed and grow their career paths by showcasing short films under 20 minutes competing for cash awards in the categories: Comedy, Drama, Documentary and Animation. The BSFFNYC presents a Short Screenplay Competition where short screenplays 15 pages and under have staged reading and compete for cash awards in the categories of Comedy and Drama.
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Final Deadline: Contact contest for deadline info.
Some of today’s most exciting storytelling happens on the small screen. From dramas like Empire, Mr. Robot and The Leftovers to comedies like Black-ish and Transparent, television has evolved to become the writer’s realm, where the most talented scribes rule season after season. Sound like a dream job? Then get ready for your chance to break in to the dynamic world of writing for TV! The Industry Insider Television Writing Contest is a one-of-a-kind competition that offers every entrant the unique chance to learn about the Industry, while also creating and writing a television pilot script.
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Final Deadline: 03/31/2019 (expired)
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: Contact contest for deadline info.
Media images represents the most recognizable commodity in the world. The implied messages of media form the world views of millions. In the United States and globally, African, Asians, Blacks, Hispanics and Latinos are severely underrepresented in mass media, and are most often shown in marginal roles when featured. As independent content creators, we can the talents and creativity to change the narrative of the diaspora stories.
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Final Deadline: 11/04/2018 (expired)
The CineStory Foundation has always believed in helping writers find their voice. We’re entering a world in which the ways to tell stories are limitless. Those stories always begin with a blank page. Our goal with the TV/Digital Series Retreat is to assist writers, whether they long for the collaborative nature of Television or they dream of going out on their own to create their own web series.
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Final Deadline: 07/12/2018 (expired)
GenreBlast is an international independent genre film festival coming to you from the awesome Alamo Drafthouse Winchester in beautiful Winchester, VA! GB3 will happen Sept. 6-9, 2018 and will feature the best of truly independent films from around the world - specializing in action, horror, sc-fi, fantasy, martial arts, grindhouse, exploitation, Korean thrillers, Japanese gangster flicks, Chinese action movies, French horror, midnight movies, shoestring budget weird cinema, and everything under the sun! We really welcome all genres of interesting, original, exciting and daring moviemaking! All countries and walks of life are welcome here! We also have a fantastic screenplay contest that is growing larger every year! In our third year, we will really highlight screenwriters by hosting a screenwriting seminar and even having live script readings with professional actors! Our discussion panels at GenreBlast 2 were a big hit and we're bringing them back again for the threequel! Raw, uncensored real talk about indie filmmaking, gender bias, distribution, criticism, and much more will come your way from the mouths of some of the best indie talent out there! After-parties, lively conversation, networking galore, TONS of movies, informative Q&A's and the chance to make new lifelong industry friends - all nestled in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley hamlet of Winchester, VA! Your movie will be shown in front of a lively, enthusiastic crowd of cinephiles and industry peers that don't walk around with their heads up their asses 24/7! What a refreshing way to attend a film fest! Come September, you'll wish you were at GenreBlast! #alltheflavors
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Final Deadline: 03/15/2019 (expired)
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: Contact contest for deadline info.
ScriptFest and the Great American PitchFest were created by writers, for writers – just like you. The event started in Canada with the first Great Canadian PitchFest in 2003. Thirteen years later, the event has expanded to Los Angeles, California and London, England. The event has helped thousands of writers from around the globe to connect with industry decision makers.
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Final Deadline: 10/31/2018 (expired)
The Universal Writers Program identifies up-and-coming and experienced screenwriters with unique points of view that build upon the Studio’s commitment to telling stories and creating films that reflect the vast diversity of our audiences. The only feature film program sanctioned by the Writers Guild of America West (WGAW), the Program develops storytellers who organically incorporate multicultural and global perspectives in screenwriting.
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Final Deadline: 02/13/2019 (expired)
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: 05/01/2019 (expired)
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: 11/07/2018 (expired)
Submissions are now open for the Athena IRIS Screenwriting Lab. The lab is designed for female writers who have not yet had a feature-length fictional script produced. Screenplays must include one or more strong female characters in leadership roles at the center of the story and must be feature-length narratives.
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Final Deadline: 10/22/2017 (expired)
21st Century Fox Inclusion is excited to announce the launch of the 2018 Fox Writers Lab (“FWL”). Applications are open September 25th, and will close on October 22nd or once Fox has received 750 complete applications (whichever comes first). The Fox Writers Lab is a highly selective initiative designed to nurture experienced writers who have diverse voices, backgrounds, and life experiences.
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Final Deadline: 10/01/2018 (expired)
The Middlebury Script Lab invites applications for its 2019 fellowships. Our tuition-free program provides emerging screenwriters a place to focus intensely on their craft with the support of accomplished industry professionals. Six emerging screenwriters — the Fellows — will be invited to spend one week at Middlebury, in the Champlain Valley of Vermont.
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Final Deadline: 02/15/2019 (expired)
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: 05/22/2019 (expired)
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 an 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: 12/21/2018 (expired)
The Boomtown Film and Music Festival accepts Short (44 or less pages) and Feature (45+ pages) screenplays in any genre! Submit on Film Freeway!
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Final Deadline: 02/28/2019 (expired)
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: 03/31/2019 (expired)
In 2010, Executive Director Cathleen Young created NEW VOICES with the vision of discovering, developing and launching a new generation of talented writers under the mentorship of Hollywood showrunners and studio partners. MENTORS INCLUDE: Alan Ball, Jenny Bicks, Janine Sherman Barrois, Matt Carlson, Carter Covington, Liz Craft, Sarah Fain, Tom Fontana, Gary Glasberg, Gary David Goldberg, Marc Guggenheim, Hart Hanson, Chris Harris, Felicia Henderson, David Hudgins, Jason Katims, Jay Kogen, Bill Lawrence, Ali LeRoi, Melanie Marnich, Nancy Pimental, Rashad Raisani, David Shore, Robin Swicord, Pam Veasey, Ben Watkins, and David Zuckerman.
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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: Monthly. Please visit website.
Each month, three $5000 full scholarships to the Writers Bootcamp Online Professional Membership (OPM) are awarded, including an opportunity to compete for an annual writing/development deal with Writers Boot Camp Productions and/or a studio, network or independent producer. The Writers Boot Camp Fellowship is unlike any other. Aside from having three winners a month, Creative Categories change each month, reflecting viable genres and project parameters for both features and original TV series.
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