Resources
Past family competition winners and finalists have had their work optioned, signed shopping agreements, and have signed with managers. This year we’re featuring a one of a kind workshop series with writers and animators from HOCUS POCUS, RATATOUILLE, BRAVE and more.

Contest opens in 12 days

Deadlines

May 31

Early

Jun 30

Regular

Jul 31

Final

Announcements

Aug 28

Quarterfinalist

Oct 2

Semifinalist

Oct 30

Finalist

Dec 4

Winner

Whether it's a heartwarming tale that brings families together or an innovative animation that pushes the boundaries of creativity, we're looking for original stories with new voices.

Semifinalists and winners will gain access to an exclusive workshop series with established screenwriters behind some of your favorite animation and family films. Learn from the best in the business to refine your craft, understand the industry, and take your storytelling to the next level.

Accepting a wide range of projects including:
  • Four quadrant features (FAMILY SWITCH, YES DAY, HOCUS POCUS)
  • Kid’s shows (OCTONAUTS, ADVENTURE TIME)
  • Animated features (INSIDE OUT, NIMONA, TROLLS, SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDERVERSE)
  • Family TV Shows (A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS, GOOD LUCK CHARLIE, PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS)
  • Adult animation (RICK AND MORTY, BOB’S BURGERS)
  • And more!

Animation Workshop Series

Jim Capobianco

Writer and Director
Jim Capobianco received the 2008 Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay for Ratatouille. Jim started in the story department at Walt Disney Feature Animation on The Lion King, then moved over to Pixar, where he worked on many films including A Bug’s Life and Coco.Jim created and directed the 2D animation sequence for Walt Disney Motion Pictures, Mary Poppins Returns, winning his second Annie Award. He has recently completed and released a feature film called The Inventor.

Brenda Chapman

Writer, Director, and Animator
Brenda Chapman started her career as a story artist at Walt Disney Feature Animation where she worked on The Little Mermaid, The Hunchback of Notre Dame and the Oscar nominated Beauty and the Beast. Brenda helped launch DreamWorks Animation Studios, and co-directed the 1998 release of the Oscar winning Prince of Egypt. Joining Pixar Animation Studios in September 2003, Brenda created, wrote and directed Brave for which she was the first woman to win an Oscar, BAFTA and Golden Globe for Best Animated Feature Film.

Mick Garris

Writer, Director, Producer
Mick is most recognized for writing the film HOCUS POCUS which has gone on to be one of the preeminent Halloween movies of all time. He produced the horror anthology film NIGHTMARE CINEMA, and has adapted the work of Stephen King many times, including the miniseries for THE SHINING, SLEEPWALKERS, THE STAND and most recently, BAG OF BONES starring Pierce Brosnan on A&E. Mick has also directed episodes of PRETTY LITTLE LIARS, RAVENSWOOD, SHADOWHUNTERS and multiple episodes of DEAD OF SUMMER.

Christopher Jenkins

Screenwriter
Chris Jenkins has animated on such movies as Who Framed Roger Rabbit, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Pocahontas, The Lion King, Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hercules & Atlantis. In January 2024 his film 10 Lives premiered at Sundance where it was warmly received and found universally positive reviews. Chris is currently working on Sneaks, and animated film starring Lawrence Fishbourne and Martin Lawrence along with an all star cast and a release date of Fall 24.

GRAND PRIZE Mentor

This year's Grand Prize Winner will be invited to a 1:1 mentorship meeting with the esteemed screenwriter and producer, David Maxwell Kirschner. His producing credits include Hocus Pocus 1, 2, and the upcoming 3, An American Tail and Titan A.E. animated features as well as the Child's Play horror film series. His credits also include Universal's animated adaptation of the classic Curious George books, starring with producers Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, and starring Will Ferrell.

Jury

ANDERS LYKKE

Literary Manager, Locus Entertainment
Anders is the visionary behind Locus Entertainment, a boutique literary management company, aimed at nurturing and promoting emerging screenwriters with a global perspective. With a rich background as an international attorney, he transitioned to UFuse Entertainment in 2015, taking on the role of literary manager and representing high-profile clients such as Josh Schwartz, James Vanderbilt, Matt Nix, Chris Fedak, and Dan Lin (Lin Pictures), among others.

EVAN ANGLIN

Manager & Producer, Zero Gravity
Evan is a literary manager and producer at Zero Gravity. Their clients include writers and directors whose credits include Marvel's Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, American Dad, Quantum Leap, Boy Meets World, Apple's Ghostwriter and man more.

SIOBHAN MURPHY

Manager, The Gotham Group
Siobhan Murphy (she/her) joined leading management/production company The Gotham Group in 2019 as an assistant and rose through the ranks to become a literary manager. She thinks of herself as a career builder and industry matchmaker for her diverse artist, director, writer, and producer clients. Siobhan admires animation as an enthralling and innovative medium for stories across genres and demographics. Previously she was at CAA and she studied animation and screenwriting at DePaul University in Chicago.

SAM GOFF

Fourth Wall
Self-proclaimed "animation activist" Sam Goff serves as the Head of Recruiting and as the Internship Program Director for Fourth Wall Management. She has a long history with the animation industry: graduated from Loyola Marymount University with an Animation B.A., worked in TV and Feature production management at Dreamworks, and was an integral member of Netflix Animation's Outreach & Engagement team. Along with a side career in education, Sam brings a unique blend of experience and dedication to DEIB to her work as Head of Fourth Wall Recruiting.

JAY THAKUR

Visual Development, Sony Pictures Animation
Jay Thakur is a visual development artist currently working on “ Spider-man: Beyond the Spider-verse” the highly-anticipated sequel to “ Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,”. Prior to joining Sony Pictures Animation, Jay served as a product designer at the Danish consultancy Designit, and as an illustrator for Penguin Publications. Jay also worked as an illustrator on graphic novels, comic books, and installations for museums. Jay Thakur is an alumni of ArtCenter College of Design, and studied entertainment design and screenwriting.

ALLEN ECKHOUSE

General Manager, Logical Talent Management
Allen is the General Manager of Logical Talent Management. LTM represents topnotch screenwriters across all genres, styles, and formats. Additionally, LTM works with literary authors, podcast creators, board game designers, and other content generators to help bring their projects to life. He previoiusly worked at Creative Artists Agency, where he helped manage the live comedy tours of Trevor Noah, T.J. Miller, Whitney Cummings, Gabriel Iglesias, James Corden, Dana Carvey, and Mel Brooks. Allen has developed pitch concepts for Dreamworks, Amblin, Blumhouse, and Illumination Entertainment

Prizes

Grand Prize

The overall grand prize winner in either feature, TV or short category will be welcomed to the Writer Development Program and receive personal introductions and phone calls with one or more top industry professionals who are looking for talented emerging Film & TV screenwriters.

ScreenCraft has a proven track record for getting writers signed with managers, agents, and staffed in writing rooms.
Personal Introduction to industry professionals
Accepted into the Writer Development Program
$1,000 Cash
1:1 Mentorship meeting with writer/producer David Kirschner
An exclusive invitation to a Finalist+ workshop to position yourself and your writing to the industry

Runner-Up Prizes

Feature Winner

$500 cash award

Accepted into the Writer Development Program

An exclusive invitation to a Finalist+ workshop to position yourself and your writing to the industry

TV PILOT WINNER

$500 cash award

Accepted into the Writer Development Program

An exclusive invitation to a Finalist+ workshop to position yourself and your writing to the industry

Short script WINNER

$500 cash award

Accepted into the Writer Development Program

An exclusive invitation to a Finalist+ workshop to position yourself and your writing to the industry

FINALISTS

Guaranteed Meeting with an industry professional

An exclusive invitation to a Finalist+ workshop to position yourself and your writing to the industry

semiFINALISTS

Animation Workshop group session with Jim Capobianco (The Lion King), Brenda Chapman (Beauty and the Beast), Mick Garris (Hocus Pocus), Christopher Jenkins (Aladdin).

Contest opens in 12 days

Previous Success Stories

See More Successes

Erik Cardona & Anthony Gaudioso

Signed an option agreement

"The biggest obstacle ScreenCraft helped us overcome was getting eyes on our story. Many scripts as good and even better than ours take a similar journey from the printer to the shelf... where they go to die. ScreenCraft provided a platform for our script to be read. To be enjoyed. And to compete! After winning our competition, we were contacted within weeks by Story Warrior producers and development executives. A humbling experience we're beyond grateful for, and curious to see where this momentum goes! ScreenCraft's growing authority among the best screenplay competitions in the country is what really excited my partner Anthony and I to submit our animated script. The organization has done so much for writers, and its platform garners a ton of respect online and among the film industry. When you win a competition with ScreenCraft, you're vaulted into the upper echelon of the Nicholl, Save the Cat! and Austin competitions of the world. "

Charlie Fellows

Signed an option agreement

"Like many other screenwriters, my first introduction to the craft was in the classroom setting. However, once I left that safe productive haven of writing and peer discussion, the real world of screenwriting felt like the wild west. The difficulty of finding the right people to read your script and give you feedback can’t be understated, but the genre-based competitions at Screencraft were the best chance I could find to get my material in the right hands and they did not disappoint. Thankfully, once I placed in Screencraft’s animation contest, they were able to send my scripts to production companies both big and small that were specifically interested in the niche that represented my script. With constant support from their staff, Screencraft helped me craft successful cover letters and forge relationships with some of their judges to create further networking opportunities in the industry as well as job opportunities."

Brandon Feldman

Signed an option agreement

"The main reason we picked ScreenCraft over various other competitions is because of the name recognition and the ability to submit your work to a specific genre. We wrote a really fun animated family-comedy and being able to find both a Family and Animation focused competition was important to us. It was also helpful to have the judges work for companies that make those types of movies. Working with Screencraft helped open numerous doors for us including getting our script optioned by Story Warrior. We would have never had the opportunity to meet with them and then eventually sign an option without the help of Screencraft."

Sanyee Yuan

Signed with a literary manager

"The specificity of the categories that I could hone in on under the wide ScreenCraft umbrella of competitions was what drew me towards entering my feature for ScreenCraft’s Family Screenplay Competition. The way in which the ScreenCraft team worked with me, to gently—and very steadily—push me to articulate my goals and hone in on my intentions really set the tone for how my year unfolded. Even just being able to speak the greatest dreams that I harbored out loud in a meeting... really made all the difference with upholding accountability to myself. This wasn’t a pipe dream, ScreenCraft made it abundantly clear; this is my career and my calling. "

Sara Dinga

Entered partnership with independent producer

"I was drawn to ScreenCraft because the screenplay competitions and judges are tailored to specific genres – in my case, the Family genre. Therefore, I knew my script would be judged by individuals who are experts in, and have an interest in, the genre I write for. Knowing this, I felt assured my feedback and scores would be reliable and fair, regardless of the outcome. My Finalist placement in the ScreenCraft Family Screenplay Competition helped me immensely. I believe the placement provided credibility to my script and my writing abilities. In addition, it provided me with a greater deal of confidence when it comes to writing. I am now connected with a wonderful Development Producer, Dominic Morgan. Together, we are working to connect with a music producer and market BREAKER LANE: THE MUSICAL to studios and other financiers."

Mary Bronaugh

Staffed on Disney+ series

"ScreenCraft has been instrumental in guidance and direction. The support helped me develop material and gave me momentum. Thank you so much again for your help, ScreenCraft."

As Featured In

MENTORSHIP OPPORTUNITY

This optional add-on prize category will identify one winner to learn, workshop, and strengthen their project with guidance from an industry mentors. This year's mentors Rebecca Angelo and Lauren Schuker Blum will select one writer/writer team that includes this unique add-on benefit with their entry.
Photo Credit: Emilio Madrid

REbecca angelo and lauren Schuker blum

Rebecca Angelo and Lauren Schuker Blum have been a film and television writing team since 2012. The pair first met as reporters at The Wall Street Journal and use their journalistic background to write high-energy stories deeply rooted in time and place but with urgent contemporary resonance.

Their first feature, Dumb Money, chronicles the January 2021 GameStop short squeeze and stars Paul Dano, Seth Rogen, Pete Davidson, America Ferrera and Nick Offerman. Upcoming projects include Cruella 2; a feature biopic of first-rate talent agent Sue Mengers starring Jennifer Lawrence set up at AppleTV+; an adaptation of Michael Lewis’ New York Times Bestselling book, The Premonition: A Pandemic Story, with filmmakers Phil Lord and Chris Miller attached to direct; and the theatrical feature adaptation of Golden Globe-winning and Emmy-nominated series “Murder, She Wrote”.

For television, they are currently developing a show with Adam McKay for Netflix. Their previous writing credits include the Emmy-winning series “Orange Is The New Black”.
Only projects submitted to the ScreenCraft Comedy Competition AND that select this add-on are eligible for consideration in this category. Additionally, all projects that place in the Top 10 of the competition will automatically be considered.

Animation & Family Articles

Read More Articles
Writing for Animation: Jim Capobianco Shares 4 Habits of Successful Screenwriters

Writing for Animation: Jim Capobianco Shares 4 Habits of Successful Screenwriters

June 1 | by Jeff Kimball

Here are 4 habits of successful screenwriters according to Jim Capobianco who received the 2008 Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay for Ratatouille. He's...

The Screenwriter's Approach to Adult Animation

The Screenwriter's Approach to Adult Animation

January 30 | by Kevin Nelson

Since the dawn of time, humans have captured their place in the world by drawing stories on walls of stone. Before we had an alphabet...

10 Elements of a Great Family TV Series

10 Elements of a Great Family TV Series

November 2 | by Ken Miyamoto

The core elements of developing a TV series for the whole family are — in the eyes of network and streamer executives — a culmination...

Contest opens in 12 days

Rules
Eligibility
Selection Criteria
Additional Legal
  1. Submissions are accepted via electronic submission only.
  2. Entry fees are as listed on the site and checkout form. No coupon or discount is applicable on a previous entry.
  3. Optional feedback from a professional reader may be requested at the time of entry. Requests for feedback can be done through Coverfly.
  4. Entries may be any length --  the standard 1/2 hour is between 20 - 40 pages, and the standard hour long is between 40 - 70 pages, and the standard feature is between 85 - 120 pages. Any script submission longer than 120 pages will incur a $.50 per page overage fee for each page over 120 if it does not include feedback and $1 per page if the entry does include feedback.
  5. There is no limit to the number of projects you may submit.
  6. Entries must be received on or before the deadline dates by 11:59PM Pacific Time, and submission fee payment must be made in full at time of the submission. All entry fees are non-refundable.
  7. All submitted material must be owned by the writer(s), however the material may be based on other works not owned by the writers.
  8. Material must be submitted by the writer. Material written by writing teams must be submitted by one of the writers, with consent of the other(s).
  9. If a writing team is chosen as a winner, prizes will be given to the person who submits the project. Each team is responsible for dividing or sharing any prizes awarded as they deem fair (whether there is a cash value or not).
  10. Substitutions of either corrected pages or new drafts of the entered material will be allowed for a limited time with a $6 reentry fee through Coverfly. Please proofread your script carefully before submitting.
  11. It is recommended that original material be registered with the WGA or The Library of Congress before submitting to any competition, however we do not require registration.
  12. Contact info may be included on the cover page of the screenplay, however it is not required. ScreenCraft uses Coverfly to manage submissions and automatically removes cover pages before scripts are read by the judges.
  13. ScreenCraft claims no ownership nor option on your work. All ownership and rights to the scripts submitted to this contest remains with the original rights holders. 
  14. The decision of the judges will be final and cannot be contested in any manner. There is no score on a scorecard that guarantees advancement to the next level as advancement will be based on all scores in the competition.
  15. In the event a juror, partner organization, or prize partner is no longer able to serve in their specified capacity, ScreenCraft will make its best effort to secure a replacement. ScreenCraft is not responsible for the failed delivery of any prize package by a juror, sponsor, or partner organization.
  16. ScreenCraft reserves the right to change deadline and announcement dates at any time.
  17. ScreenCraft reserves the right to amend these rules at any time.
  1. All writers at least 18 years of age are eligible. However, a writer who has earned more than $50,000 (or equivalent currency) from professional writing services for film or TV in the preceding 12 months or $500,000 (or equivalent currency) from professional film or TV in the proceeding 10 years is not eligible. (Contest winnings not included.)
  2. All persons from anywhere in the world are eligible; however the material submitted must be in English (occasional dialogue in other languages is acceptable, if subtitle translation is provided).
  3. All material submitted to other competitions or contests are eligible for this contest.
  4. The material may have been written at any time.
  5. Material should be submitted in standard screenplay format, font, spacing and margin.
  6. We have no preferences regarding title page content. Title and name of writer would suffice.
  7. All material must be submitted electronically as a PDF. Broken files or non-PDF files may be accepted, but if the file cannot be read ScreenCraft will not judge the submission.
  8. Prize winners may be required to sign an affidavit of eligibility and proper tax documentation before prizes are released.
  9. By entering the competition, user acknowledges their eligibility for the competition. ScreenCraft may verify all eligibility requirements at the finalist stage of the competition and before distributing any prizes.
  10. Scripts or projects based on underlying material not owned by the writer are accepted as samples, so long as the script itself is indisputably written by the writer and that the script does not contain any plagiarism.

The reading and judging of the scripts will be based on the following criteria: 

  • Voice
  • Concept
  • Story
  • Structure
  • Characters
  • Dialogues
  • Genre Conventions

In addition to the scoring criteria for the script, ScreenCraft may conduct interviews and send questionnaires to learn more about the entrant, their voice, perspective, and goals to help identify the winning projects. Selected Finalist scripts are read by the industry jury who votes for their favorite scripts at their sole discretion.

 

Criteria for Winners and Finalists:

  1. The winners and top finalists may be contacted by interested industry representatives, such as managers, agents or producers. 
  2. Entrants may be required to submit further information to assist in the judges’ verification of eligibility. 
  3. Any entrant may be deemed ineligible as a Finalist or Winner at the sole discretion of ScreenCraft. 
  4. All recognition, placements, and winners are chosen at the sole discretion of ScreenCraft.
  5. Finalists may be required to sign and return within seven (7) business days of receipt a notarized Affidavit of Eligibility and a Release and Indemnification and proof of valid passport and any other documents that ScreenCraft or any other partner may require before receiving prize payment. Failure to respond to the initial notification within ten (10) days or return of notification will result in disqualification. 
  6. We reserve the right to amend these rules at any time.
  1. COPYRIGHT AND OWNERSHIP: ScreenCraft or any other partner, employee or agent associated with this contest claims no ownership nor first right of option to any original screenplay submitted to this contest. All ownership and rights to the scripts submitted to this contest remains with the original rights holders until and unless other agreements are made.
  2. PUBLICITY: Except where prohibited by law, participation in the contest constitutes each entrant’s consent to ScreenCraft and its agents’ and contest sponsor’s use of entrants’ names, likenesses, photographs, and/or personal information for promotional purposes in any media, worldwide, without further payment or consideration. All uses of a entrants’ information are in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
  3. REFUND POLICY: All entries are non-refundable.
  4. SITE TERMS OF SERVICE. By entering this competition, the user agrees to all ScreenCraft Terms of Service in addition to these rules and eligibility criteria.
  5. DATA MANAGEMENT AND PRIVACY. Entries for this competition are managed on the submission platform Coverfly, and ScreenCraft (a d/b/a of Red Ampersand, Inc) uses other data management tools, including but not limited to, Google Services and Amazon Web Services, to securely manage your data. ScreenCraft is not accountable for any data hacks (internal or external) or user errors that may release scripts or writer data unintentionally.
  6. ENTRY CONDITIONS AND RELEASE: BY ENTERING THE CONTEST YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU HAVE READ AND AGREE TO THESE CONDITIONS. You agree to release and hold harmless ScreenCraft, ScreenCraft.org, its subsidiary, parent and affiliated companies, Prize contributors, judges, screenplay readers, Sponsors, and any other organizations responsible for administering, advertising or promoting the Contest, and every one of their respective members, directors, employees, agents and representatives (collectively, the “Released Parties”) past and present from and against any and all claims, expenses, and liability, including but not limited to damages and negligence to property and persons, including but not limited to invasion of privacy, defamation, slander, libel, violation of right of publicity, copyright, infringement of trademark or other intellectual property rights relating to a participant’s Entry, participation in the Contest and/or acceptance or use or misuse of Prize; provided however, that such release will not apply to any commercial exploitation of the script by a Released Party in violation of your rights under applicable copyright law; and (c) indemnify, defend and hold harmless the ScreenCraft.org and its Sponsor, agents and employees from and against any and all claims, expenses, and liabilities (including reasonable attorneys fees) relating to an entrant’s participation in the Contest and/or entrant’s use or misuse of Prize. Employees of ScreenCraft and their immediate families are ineligible to participate in this contest. Any such submission will be immediately disqualified. ENTRY TO THIS CONTEST IS VOID WHERE PROHIBITED or restricted by any Federal, State or Local law. Voided entries will be refunded. Recipients’ eligibility will be verified before the grant is awarded and the winner may be required to sign an affidavit of eligibility. By entering the contest, you authorize us to use any trusted third-party online and cloud-based services and databases for hosting, managing and/or transmitting your submission file(s).
  7. ScreenCraft reserves the right to amend these rules at any time.

Laughs AND humor

Abbott Elementary
Everything Everywhere All at Once
Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers
Ted Lasso
I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson
Mean Girls
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WRITER RECOMMENDED FEEDBACK

Kelley Yakey Berberich

ScreenCraft judges are able to give constructive feedback that is beyond the quality of feedback we have had before. They definitely know your script before giving guidance. We really appreciate the written review!
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Contest opens in 12 days