that are worth submission fees
Screenwriting Contests
The Best
Each year, the Academy (you know, the ones who put on THE OSCARS) awards up to five $35,000 fellowships to amateur screenwriter. Fellowship winners are invited to participate in awards week seminars and complete an original feature film screenplay during the Fellowship year.
Nicholl Fellowship
1
Founded by a television writer, the competition circulates winners’ scripts to the directors, showrunners, and producers behind your favorite movies and TV shows. Fifteen scripts get featured for one year in Scriptation, the #1 rated script app used on countless productions worldwide.
Scriptation Showcase
2
Known as the “Writers Festival” since its inception 26 years ago, Austin Film Festival focuses on storytellers. AFF filmmakers gain access to the Screenwriters Conference, the largest writer’s conference in the world, and all of the festival’s industry panels and networking receptions.
Austin Film Festival
3
The ISA Fast Track Fellowship invites fellows to a week-long mentorship workshop with veterans in the industry. ISA flies undiscovered screenwriters to LA to meet with and be mentored by eight top industry executives.
ISA Fast Track
4
The PAGE screenplay contest has helped launch the careers of dozens of talented screenwriters. Winning writers have gone on to sign with top literary representatives, optioned and sold their winning scripts, and many now have movies and television shows in production, on the air, and in theaters.
Page Awards
5
With their top priority always being the writer, Scriptapalooza touts that submissions that come through their festivals are read exclusively by producers, managers, and agents. And, they promise to pitch and promote all semifinalists for a full year after placing.
Scriptapalooza
6
The Slamdance Screenplay Competition is unique in that they provide constructive feedback for every entrant, with the opportunity for more intensive coverage for an additional fee.
Slamdance
7
The Screenwriting Lab is a week-long workshop designed to provide individualized story and career development for emerging screenwriters with a fiction feature screenplay. Each Fellow will be paired with a Creative Advisor, with whom they’ll work one-on-one and in group sessions to further develop their project.
Film Independent
8
North Fork TV Festival celebrates the craft of television with industry panels, networking parties, and curated programming over two exciting days.
North Fork TV Festival
9
The Sundance Writers Lab works more like a development incubator than a competition. Being the biggest festival in the industry, the competition is steep, but if you make the cut, the recognition and opportunity is worth it.
Sundance
10