Contest & Fellowships
Screenwriting contests are not a one-size-fits-all affair.
While there are obvious benefits to winning a huge and prestigious competition like the Nicholl Fellowships, smaller contests can be just as valuable if they hook you up with a judge who wants to option your screenplay, or a manager who wants to represent your work.
The list provided in your handouts (updated in June of 2021)is a very subjective round-up of some of the very best contests and fellowships now available for film and TV writers. I will not be updating this list very regularly, so visit each site for the most current information.
*This entire list has been adapted from an article that appeared on moviebytes.com and updated for 2019 using an la-screenwriter.com article by Angel Bourassa called The Best Screenwriting Competitions to Enter (and Why)
Industry Workshops & Fellowships
Winning a major film or television writing competition can be a great way to win attention from the industry, but the opportunities listed below take that one step further because they basically are the industry. Why settle for a cash prize and yet-another-copy of Final Draft when you can win what amounts to a writing job at Warner Bros. or Nickelodeon?
Academy Nicholl Fellowships
Sponsored by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, The Nicholl Fellowships remain the 800-pound gorilla of the screenwriting contest world, a competition so prestigious that its winners are almost guaranteed representation and a toe-hold in the industry. This contest routinely attracts more than 7,000 submissions every year, but even its finalists and semifinalists have been known to garner significant attention for their success.
The Writers Lab
Talk about pedigree! The Writers Lab is funded by Meryl Streep, and is designed to provide opportunities for female writers over 40 years old. The Lab brings 12 selected writers together with outstanding professional female filmmakers for an intensive four-day screenwriting retreat of one-on-one meetings, panel discussions and other activities.
ViacomCBS / Diversity Writers Mentoring Program
The focus of this eight month program is opening doors to the Industry, and of the 97 emerging, diverse writers have graduated from the program over the course of 13 years, 53 careers have been launched. That's a good track record! Applicants are expected to submit a half-hour or one-hour episodic spec as well as a piece of original material such as an original pilot, a stage play, or short fiction story.
Walt Disney / ABC Television Writing Writing Program
A submission to the Disney/ABC Writing Program isn't a contest submission so much as a job application. Winners are paid a weekly salary for a one-year gig that provides access to executives, producers and literary representatives leading ultimately to a potential staff position on a Disney or ABC television program. The best part? It's free to submit.
Fox Writers Lab
The Fox Writers Lab is a highly selective opportunity for experienced writers with diverse voices, backgrounds, and life experiences. Eight writers will be selected to receive priority meetings on Fox TV shows, and from among those eight, one writer will be selected to receive a blind script deal with the Fox Broadcasting Company. Not bad!
WarnerMedia Access Writing Program
Formerly known as the HBO Access Writing Fellowship, this program provides participants with eight months of mentoring by WarnerMedia Executives, as each writer develops a WarnerMedia platform such as HBO or Cinemax.
NBC Writers on the Verge
Writers on the Verge is a program focused on polishing writers and readying them for a staff writer position on a television series. They are looking for writers who are “almost there” but need that final bit of preparation with their writing and personal presentation skills. Like a lot of the Industry programs listed here, they're especially interested in attracting writers of diverse backgrounds, but all writers are welcome to submit. For Asian and Hispanic writers, NBC also co-sponsors the CAPE New Writers Awards, and the NHMC Television Writers Program.
Nickelodeon Writing Program
Like Disney, Nickelodeon is offering a one-year, salaried position interacting with executives, writing spec scripts and pitching story ideas. They're particularly looking for writers with diverse backgrounds and experiences, so if that sounds like you, there's no better opportunity anywhere. And like Disney, this one's totally free.
Universal Writers Program
Unlike most of Hollywood Fellowships listed here, the Universal Writers Program focuses primarily on feature film development. Program participants write feature-length scripts, and participate in a curriculum designed to strengthen their creative approach, personal presentation skills and overall knowledge of the Studio production process. As with Disney's program, this is a year-long paid gig.
Warner Bros. Writers Workshop
The Warner Bros. Workshop has been around for more than 30 years, and its list of past participants includes a fair number of industry heavyweights like Terence Winter (Boardwalk Empire), Marc Cherry (Desperate Housewives), Greg Garcia (My Name Is Earl) and Felicia Henderson (Soul Food). The submission process is competitive, so be sure to check their website regularly for deadlines and requirements.
Top Screenplay Contests
These contests and fellowships may not be sponsored by industry heavyweights like HBO or Disney, but they nevertheless represent a significant opportunity for new and emerging writers. Some of them - like Page, Austin, and Scriptapalooza - are enormously competitive, while others - like CineStory - offer more realistic odds.
Amazon Studios
This is sort of a contest, and sort of just a way to submit your project to Amazon Studios. There's no cost to submit, so that's good, but be sure to spend some time on their website to make sure you're comfortable with their somewhat confusing rules and procedures.
American Zoetrope Screenplay Contest
This contest has been around for a long time, offers a $5,000 first prize, and is judged by somebody named Francis Ford Coppola, of whom you may have heard. If you write prose, Zoetrope also offers a short story contest you may want to consider.
Austin Film Festival Screenplay & Teleplay Competition
The Austin Fest Screenplay Competition is a huge contest that's been around forever, and while it's not quite as prestigious as the Nicholl Fellowships, it's darn close. Past winners who have sold their scripts include Ron Peer (Goodbye Lover), Max Adams (Excess Baggage) and lots of others. This contest also attracts 6,000 - 7,000 submissions per year, but even those who don't win can benefit through discounts to the Austin Film Festival Screenwriting Conference, one of the biggest and best parties of the year for screenwriters.
BlueCat Screenplay Competition
BlueCat has more of an indie-vibe than some of the other big contests, but they've had their share of success stories, too, including Ana Lily Amirpour, who won the BlueCat Grand Prize in 2007 and went on to write and direct the Sundance hit A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night. BlueCat founder Gordie Hoffman is a writer/director himself, and won the prestigious Sundance Film Festival Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award for his terrific indie film, Love Liza.
Cinequest Screenwriting Competition
Cinequest is one of the cooler Film Festivals in the country, and their Screenplay Contest Finalists are presented alongside high profile Maverick Spirit awardees like J.J. Abrams, Lawrence Kasdan, Chuck Palahniuk, Neil Gaiman, Philip Kaufman, Michael Arndt, Diablo Cody, Dennis Lehane, Jason Reitman and others at their highly-anticipated Writers Celebration. Not bad company, and they also award a substantial $5,000 First Prize.
CineStory
A trailblazer among those contests offering mentorship as part of their prize package, CineStory may be the best contest you've never heard of. Each fall the contest's semifinalists are invited to attend an intensive, 4-day retreat in the mountains of Idylwild, CA, where they spend their days and evenings interacting with industry mentors such as Mark Fergus & Hawk Ostby (Iron Men, Children of Men) and Meg LaFeuve (Inside Out, The Good Dinosaur.) The best part? This is one of the smaller competitions on this list, so if your script is ready your odds of success are pretty darn good.
Creative World Awards
The Creative World Awards (CWA) is a well-run, highly regarded contest with a $3,000 Grand Prize as well as several genre and short screenplay awards. The Richmond International Film Festival Screenplay Contest - run by the same folks - is similarly well regarded.
Cynosure Screenwriting Awards
Cynosure has been around since 1999 - ancient history! - and since its very earliest days has specifically recognized screenplays in two categories: those with compelling female protagonists, and those that showcase diversity. If your script falls into either one of those categories, you may want to take a shot at the contest's substantial $5,000 first prize.
Film Independent Screenwriting Lab
Next to the Sundance Labs (below), Film Independent's Screenwriting Lab may be the best opportunity available for indie screenwriters to hone their craft. The lab is an intensive five-week program running two evenings a week in Los Angeles in July and August. The Lab is designed to help screenwriters improve their craft and advance their careers.
Final Draft Big Break Screenwriting Contest
Sponsored by the folks who publish the industry-leading Final Draft Screenwriting Software, The Final Draft Big Break Contest offers a trip to L.A., substantial prize money, and a high-profile awards ceremony.
Fresh Voices Original Screenplay Competition
The Fresh Voices Original Screenplay Competition flies under the radar a little bit, but they offer substantial prizes and like PAGE, they offer awards in several different genres, as well as multiple TV categories. They also distribute several "Spotlight Awards" to recognize scripts in various categories such as "Best Role Written for a Female Lead", "Diversity and Inclusion," "Courage and Fortitude," etc.
International Screenwriters Association
The International Screenwriters Association (ISA) is a popular online organization for screenwriters, and sponsors a family of contests including the ISA Fast Track Fellowship, which flies two winners out to L.A. for a series of meetings with industry executives, and Table Read My Screenplay, which features screenplay readings in high-profile destinations like Sundance and London.
Kairos Prize for Spiritually Uplifting Screenplays
If you've written a "spiritually uplifting" screenplay, a submission to the Kairos competition is a no-brainer. They offer $50,000 in prizes, including $25,000 to their Grand Prize Winner, plus recognition at the Annual MOVIEGUIDE® Awards Gala and Report to the Entertainment Industry.
Launch Pad
Sponsored by the tracking-board.com website, the Launch Pad Feature and Launch Pad Pilot competitions have an excellent track record of winning agency and management representation for winning writers.
Nashville Film Festival Screenwriting Competition
Nashville, like Austin, is a well-established film festival as well as an increasingly high profile screenwriting competition with various genre awards for both features and TV.
PAGE International Screenwriting Awards
The PAGE International Screenwriting Awards is a huge competition with a gigantic $25,000 Grand Prize and a huge number of success stories. Your odds of winning the Grand Prize may not be great, but unlike the Nicholl Fellowships and some of the other contests on this list, PAGE offers prizes in 10 different genres, which means your sci-fi epic won't have to compete with another writer's indie romance, and vice-versa. PAGE is also an uncommonly well-run competition that meets their deadlines and responds promptly to email inquiries.
ScreenCraft
In contrast to contests like PAGE and Nashville that offer multiple genre awards within the same competition, ScreenCraft sponsors several different contests, each devoted to a specific genre or format, plus the ScreenCraft Fellowship for scripts from any genre.
Screenplay Festival
Screenplay Festival is another contest that flies a bit under the radar, but it's worth considering for the recognition they give genre scripts. And if you want to improve your odds, consider Screenplay Festival's 100 Screenplays Contest, which limits entries to the first one hundred screenplays entered.
Script Pipeline Writing Competition
Script Pipeline has actually been around for about 15 years and has steadily grown into a family of well-regarded screenwriting contests with a number of notable alumni, including Evan Daugherty, a former contest winner who went on to sell the $3 million spec Snow White & the Huntsman. Script Pipeline now offers a number of different competitions for both screenplays and TV, including a couple of contests for story ideas in case you haven't yet gotten around to actually writing your blockbuster.
Scriptapalooza
Scriptapalooza, founded in 1998, offers separate contests for Film and TV, as well as a Screenwriting Fellowship. They take pride in promoting their winners aggressively and have had several films produced from their contest winners.
Shore Scripts
Shore Scripts offers both a screenwriting contest and Short Film Fund that provides financing for a short script of 3 to 13 pages. The screenwriting contest has some impressive judges on both sides of the Atlantic, so this may be a good contest for British writers or those with international ambitions.
Slamdance Screenplay Competition
Slamdance is no Sundance, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. They've been around forever, and sponsor a well-respected screenplay competition that may be a little less snobby than their Park City neighbours. Competition is substantial though, as they attract about 2,500 submissions every year.
StoryPros Awards Contest
StoryPros sponsors two contests, one with separate genre categories, the Story Pros Awards, and one for scripts regardless of genre, the Story Pros International. Both contests are well-run, and have a good reputation for the quality of their feedback (which costs extra).
Sundance Screenwriters Lab
For those on the outside looking in, Sundance can feel like a cliquish secret society that doesn't necessarily welcome newcomers. If you fit their profile, though, there's literally no better place to have your screenplay nurtured.
trackingb.com Screenplay/TV Contests
The trackingb (read: tracking board) TV and Screenplay contests have a somewhat lower profile than some of the other contests listed here, and they offer virtually no cash prizes. That said, the insider access they promote seems to be legit, and past Finalist Mickey Fisher had a CBS TV series deal for his sci-fi spec Extant within eight months of winning this contest.
WeScreenplay International Screenplay Competition
WeScreenplay offers a family of well-run competitions including a feature contest offering cash awards and mentorship, a TV Contest, and a contest specifically devoted to promoting Diverse Voices.
Write/LA
Write/LA offers prizes to everyone in the Top 50. It flies three writers to LA, puts them up in a hotel, gives them a two-day private writing workshop, brings in Industry Insiders to provide advice and answer questions, and then finishes the weekend with an invite-only live read event at Raleigh Studios. On top of that, the finalists all get read by an Industry Insider who gives them written feedback. The head judge does a feedback phone call with every semifinalist… The list goes on. They don’t make promises about representation or guaranteed options. But they do their best to celebrate you, expand your network, and help you become a better, more professional writer.
COVERFLY
Coverfly is the industry’s largest screenwriter talent-discovery platform, connecting emerging screenwriters with literary managers, agents, producers and development executives. The platform has shared an amazing free downloadable screenplay competitions calendar with all of the annual deadlines and entry fees, organized by each month of the year!
