![[Final Draft Big Break Contest]](/images/ads/finalDraftBigBreak2026a.png)
The Killer Shorts Horror Short Screenplay Competition
Killer Shorts Horror
Contact
Web:
https://killershorts.com
Email:
info@killershortscontest.com
Contact: Alison Parker, Contest Director
Report Card |
||
| Overall: |
 |
(4.0/5.0) |
| Professionalism: |
 |
(4.3/5.0) |
| Feedback: |
|
(4.0/5.0) |
| Signficance: |
|
(4.0/5.0) |
| Report Cards: |
|
|
|
Have you entered?
Submit a Report card
|
||
Categories
Objective
Killer Shorts: Short Scripts, Features, & Short Stories
Got a horror script or short story? We want to read it.
Killer Shorts is a premier launchpad dedicated to discovering, championing, and launching new voices in horror and dark genre filmmaking. Founded in 2019, our competition connects writers with the industry professionals who actually greenlight, manage, and cover genre cinema.
Whether you are a master of micro-budget proof-of-concepts or the creator of the next great studio franchise, your work belongs here.
Expanding to Feature Screenplays
We believe the short format is the ultimate industry equalizer. Hits like Lights Out and The Backrooms proved that Hollywood’s next viral obsession starts as a micro-budget proof of concept. Show More
Deadline/Entry Fees
| Deadline | Date Days till: |
Entry Fee |
|---|---|---|
| First Wave | June 5, 2026 | $20.00 |
| Earlybird | August 7, 2026 57 |
$25.00 |
| Regular | October 31, 2026 142 |
$30.00 |
| Final | December 4, 2026 176 |
$35.00 |
| Extended | December 31, 2026 203 |
$40.00 |
| Extended | December 31, 2026 203 |
$40.00 |
Submissions close at 11:59 PM PST on the listed deadline date. Questions can be directed to support@killershorts.com.
WinningScripts Pro 25% Off Coupon
Notification: February 15, 2027
Eligibility
Anyone in the world. If under 18, with parental consent.Rules
For a full list of rules, please visit the official website.Awards
This year's jury includes:- John Zaozirny — Literary Manager & Producer, Bellevue Productions
- Tananarive Due — Author & Producer (The Twilight Zone, Horror Noire)
- Barbara Crampton — Actress & Producer (Re-Animator, Jakob's Wife, Suitable Flesh)
- Lucas Ford — Producer, Ford Films (The Backrooms)
- Sophie Carroll — Creative Director, ALTER & DUST at Gunpowder & Sky
- Xavier Burgin — Director (Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror)
- Jed Shepherd — Filmmaker (Host, Flashback, Blair Witch Doc)
- Gigi Saul Guerrero — Director & Co-Founder, Luchagore Productions (Satanic Hispanics, Culture Shock)
- Aaron B. Koontz — Producer & CEO, Paper Street Pictures (Shelby Oaks, Scare Package)
- John Squires — Editor-in-Chief, Bloody Disgusting
- Julian Terry — Filmmaker (Whisper, The Nurse, They Hear It)
- Chelsea Lupkin — Senior Programmer at Short of the Week & Filmmaker (Flagged, Lucy's Tale)
- Glenn Cockburn — Literary Manager, Meridian Artists
- Jenn Wexler — Filmmaker (The Sacrifice Game, The Ranger)
- Jason Tamasco — Producer, Traction Pictures
- Melody Cooper — Producer & Writer (Beasts of Prey, Two Sentence Horror Stories, Law & Order: SVU)
HORROR SHORT SCREENPLAY CATEGORY - PRIZES
Top 3 Winners- The Killer Trophy & Winner Laurels.
- Industry Circulation: Your script sent to our network of horror producers.
- The Scream List: Elevated placement increasing visibility among industry professionals.
- Stage 32 Pro Package: 60-min Career Development Call, Short Script Coverage, and FREE “Search for New Blood” contest entry.
- The Winner’s Bundle: Final Draft 13, Shudder memberships, ISA Connect Memberships and access to Robert McKee’s Horror Webinar Series.
- Horror Fan Bundle: Rue Morgue Magazine Subscription and Fright Rags Gift Card.
- Plus all Finalist prizes below.
- Finalist Laurels & Script Directory Publication.
- Final Draft 13 Software License.
- Production Suite: Seed & Spark Consultation and We Make Movies Gold Membership.
- Stage 32 Access: Script Coverage, Next Level Webinar and 50% off “Search For New Blood” entry.
- Plus all Semifinalist prizes below.
- Semifinalist Laurels & Script Directory Publication.
- Stage 32 Package: Next Level Webinar and 20% off “Search For New Blood” entry.
- Quarterfinalist Laurels.
- Exclusive Discounts: Reduced rates for Stage 32 contests and partner services.
- $5,000 cash prize.
- The Killer Trophy & Winner Laurels.
- Bellevue Productions First Look: Guaranteed script review by literary manager John Zaozirny.
- Plus all Top 3 & Finalist prizes below.
- Industry Circulation: Your script sent to our premier network of horror producers.
- The Winner’s Bundle: Final Draft 13, Free Feature Script Entry to ScriptHop’s Gauntlet, and We Make Movies Gold Membership.
- $50 Deep Cuts Coffee Gift Card.
- Plus all Finalist prizes below.
- Finalist Laurels & Script Directory Publication.
- Seed & Spark Crowdfunding Consultation.
- Plus all Semifinalist prizes below.
- Semifinalist Laurels.
- The Script Directory: Logline publication in our curated industry database.
- Quarterfinalist Laurels.
- $500 Cash Prize & Winner Laurels.
- The Killer Trophy.
- 6 Month ISA Connect Membership.
- Plus all Top 3 prizes listed below.
- Industry Circulation: Script sent to our network of horror producers.
- The Scream List: Elevated placement increasing visibility among industry professionals.
- Final Draft 13 Software License.
- Creator Bundle: Stan Winston School Membership, We Make Movies Gold Membership, and Script Revolution Rockstar memberships.
- Stage 32 Pro Perk: 100% off “Search For New Blood” contest entry.
- Plus all Finalist prizes below.
- Finalist Laurels & Script Directory Publication.
- Stage 32 Access: Free Stage 32 “Next Level” Webinar and 20% off “Search For New Blood” contest entry.
- Placement Laurels (Semi or Quarterfinalist).
- Exclusive Discounts: Reduced rates for Stage 32 contests and partner webinars.
- The Killer Trophy & Winner Laurels.
- Pro Consultation: One-on-one 30-minute meeting with author and screenwriter Chris Hicks (I Am Not Alone).
- Official Publication: Featured story placement on the Killer Shorts website.
- Plus all Top 3 & Finalist prizes below.
- Winner Laurels.
- Industry Circulation: Your work sent to our network of horror producers and literary reps.
- Plus all Finalist prizes below.
- Finalist Laurels.
- Scrivener Software: Professional writing license for prose and screenwriting.
- Stage 32 Access: Free “Next Level” Webinar and 50% off “Search For New Blood” entry.
- Semifinalist Laurels & Script Directory Publication.
- Education & Discounts: Free Stage 32 Webinar and 20% off “Search For New Blood” entry.
- Quarterfinalist Laurels.
- Stage 32 Discount: 20% off Stage 32 “Search For New Blood” entry.
Killer Shorts Horror
Contact
Web:
https://killershorts.com
Email:
info@killershortscontest.com
Contact: Alison Parker, Contest Director
Report Card |
||
| Overall: |
|
(4.0/5.0) |
| Professionalism: |
|
(4.3/5.0) |
| Feedback: |
|
(4.0/5.0) |
| Signficance: |
|
(4.0/5.0) |
| Report Cards: |
|
|
|
Have you entered?
Submit a Report card
|
||
Categories
Contest Comments
You must login to post a comment.
First-time user? Register now to receive FREE email contest updates, news, results, deadline reminders and more. Rest assured, information submitted here is held in strict confidence. MovieBytes never sells or in any way distributes email names or addresses. We promise!
The Killer Shorts Horror Short Screenplay Competition
Contact
Web:
https://killershorts.com
Email:
info@killershortscontest.com
Contact: Alison Parker, Contest Director
Report Card |
||
| Overall: |
|
(4.0/5.0) |
| Professionalism: |
|
(4.3/5.0) |
| Feedback: |
|
(4.0/5.0) |
| Signficance: |
|
(4.0/5.0) |
| Report Cards: |
|
|
|
Have you entered?
Submit a Report card
|
||
Categories
Contest News
Screenwriters Network Launches 2nd Annual 'Killer Shorts' Horror Short Screenplay Competition
Calling all horror writers! The second annual Killer Shorts Horror Short Screenplay Competition is accepting entries from July 1st, 2020.
The Screenwriters Network has partnered with literary managers, producers and executives to unearth the next visionary talent in horror. The Top 10 scripts will be read by a star-studded panel of industry judges, with a further combined $5,000 worth of prizes up for grabs including copies of Final Draft screenwriting software, waived entry fees to multiple screenwriting contests, increased rank on Coverfly's The Red List, free subscriptions to on-demand horror streaming service Shudder, and more.
The industry luminaries who will read the Top 10 finalists and select the winner include: Julian Terry (Whisper, They Hear It, The Nurse), Chelsea Lupkin (Short of the Week, Lucy's Tale), Barbara Crampton (Re-Animator, From Beyond, You're Next), Joe Bob Briggs (The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs), Scott Stoops (Good Fear Film + Management), Glenn Cockburn (Meridian Artists), Lee Stobby (Lee Stobby Entertainment), Scott Carr (Management SGC), Jason Tamasco (Bad Idea Films), John Zaozirny (Bellevue Productions), Krista Sipp (First Friday Entertainment), and Jenn Wexler (The Ranger).
The winner of Killer Shorts could well be the next Hollywood success story. Feature films such as "Lights Out", "Mama", "District 9" and "The Babadook" all originated as proof-of-concept shorts. Recent shorts "Whisper" (Julian Terry), "Bedtime Story" (Lucas Paulino and Ángel Torres), "Meet Jimmy" (David-Jan Bronsgeest and Tim Koomen), "The Blue Door" (Megan Pugh and Ben Clark), and "Larry" (now titled "Come Play", from Jacob Chase), have since been discovered by major studios and are now in development as features.
"We're looking for writers ready to take the next step in their career" said Alison Parker, Contest Director and founder of The Screenwriters Network. "Savvy writers will get a head start on a feature version of their short, so that if they end up speaking with a literary manager they're in the best possible position to sign."
Killer Shorts very proudly works alongside female-led film groups to provide heavy discounts for submissions to their female-identifying and non-binary writers.
"In Season 2 we are focused on providing even more opportunities for women and POC," says Alison Parker, "We hope that by being proactive, we will see more female-identifying and non-binary writers, as well as people of color, represented in our list of finalists in 2021."
Finally, when asked for advice on what kind of scripts Killer Shorts is looking for, Alison responds, "Give us something we haven't seen before. We received 765 submissions in Season 1. We read a lot of werewolves, vampires, serial killers, and zombies. There must be something unique about your story and how you tell it. Whether that's how the killer kills, a location we've never seen before, a new type of monster, or a strange point of view, push yourself to be different and give us something new."
The Killer Shorts Horror Short Screenplay Competition is possible thanks to the esteemed sponsors: Shudder, Final Draft, Rue Morgue, Creepy Co, Script Butcher, Coverfly, FilmFreeway, Screenwriters Network, ISA, Slasher TV, 1313 Mockingbird Lane Toys & Collectibles, Ghoulish Gary, Trick or Treat Studios, Waxwork Records, and Fright Rags.
Entry fees start at $20 for 'Early Bird' entries submitted by September 1 2020, with a final deadline of December 15, 2020. VIP members of The Screenwriters Network can enter for free. Entries can be submitted via Coverfly, FilmFreeway or ISA Network.
Updated: 07/01/2020
The Killer Shorts Horror Short Screenplay Competition
Contact
Web:
https://killershorts.com
Email:
info@killershortscontest.com
Contact: Alison Parker, Contest Director
Report Card |
||
| Overall: |
|
(4.0/5.0) |
| Professionalism: |
|
(4.3/5.0) |
| Feedback: |
|
(4.0/5.0) |
| Signficance: |
|
(4.0/5.0) |
| Report Cards: |
|
|
|
Have you entered?
Submit a Report card
|
||
Categories
Submit Report Card
You must login to read or submit report cards.
First-time user? Register now to receive FREE email contest updates, news, results, deadline reminders and more. Rest assured, information submitted here is held in strict confidence. MovieBytes never sells or in any way distributes email names or addresses. We promise!
