Announcing the 2018 ScreenCraft Cinematic Book Competition Winners

We are excited to announce the winners of the 2018 ScreenCraft Cinematic Book competition. Selected from over 1,200 entries, Picaro: Psychopaths, Warlords, and a Rogue Journalist on the Dark Side of History by Jeff Harmon has been named the winner and The Heart of a Tiger by S.R. Kuy has been named the runner-up. The Golem of Venice Beach by Chanan Beizer has been named the winner of the graphic novel category.

Picaro, inspired by a true story, follows a gay war correspondent as he covers both sides of political events in the late 20th century while hiding his own secretive ties. The judges responded to the authenticity of the writing and the manner in which it humanized otherwise controversial figures by providing new perspectives on historical events.

The Heart of a Tiger is the true story of a woman who escaped the Cambodian Genocide in the 1970s. It follows three generations of women struggling against the boundaries placed upon them, each ultimately emerging triumphant to achieve their dreams. The author struck judges by capturing the experiences of her and her family in an emotionally resonating way.

The Golem of Venice Beach follows an immortal Golem, living among the homeless in Venice Beach, as it gets caught in a war between a narco-gang and the police. Bolstered by visually-stimulating action sequences, the story brings a fascinating mythology to life around an already-unique premise.

In addition to the ScreenCraft Team, the judges included: Manal Hammad, a literary agent from Abrams Artists Agency, Hannah Vaughn, the publishing coordinator from The Gersh Agency, Kate Gale, the founder and editor of Red Hen Press, Tracy Kopulsky, manager and producer at MXN Entertainment, and Tommy Wallach, a New York Times best-selling author.

Both the Grand Prize winner, Harmon, and runner-up, Kuy, will each receive cash prizes and have their material circulated to ScreenCraft’s network of agents, managers, and producers. Beizer will also receive consultation from the ScreenCraft team and have his material circulated and developed.

If you’d like to receive a notification when this contest re-opens for entries in 2019, you can subscribe for updates via Coverfly here.

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