Hollywood has a long history of creating film and television from books. Does your book have cinematic potential? Our judges are looking for great stories with potential to be adapted for the screen. We’re looking for novels, novellas, true stories and biographies. Submit your work for consideration today!
Judges
Get in front of Hollywood judges who love great books.
James Melia
Senior Editor, Henry Holt & Co.
James Melia is a Senior Editor at Henry Holt and Company, the publishing company behind many award-winning and bestselling books. Notable books Melia has edited include THE PEOPLE WE HATE AT THE WEDDING, CADDYSHACK: THE MAKING OF A HOLLYWOOD CINDERELLA STORY, and THE DINNER LIST. He also published #1 New York Times bestselling memoir BLACK KLANSMAN, and instant New York Times bestseller, DO YOU MIND IF I CANCEL?
John Beach
Literary Manager and Founder, Gravity Squared Entertainment
John is the founder of Gravity Squared Entertainment, a Los Angeles based Management/Production Company. He currently manages writers, producers and directors for film & television, while also controlling media rights for well over 150 published books, including Pulitzer Prize winners and New York Times Best Sellers.
Mikki Daughtry & Tobias Iaconis
Screenwriters
Mikki Daughtry and Tobias Iaconis, the screenwriting duo behind CBS Films FIVE FEET APART and Warner Bros.THE CURSE OF LA LLORNA fka THE CHILDREN, are currently penning the script to a new DIRTY DANCING film for Lionsgate, and also adapting Mikki’s novel ALL THIS TIME for Lionsgate. Additionally, they are writing NIGHTBOOKS for Netflix with Sam Raimi.
Katrina Escudero
Agent, Media Rights, UTA
Katrina Escudero is an agent in the Media Rights department at United Talent Agency (UTA). Escudero takes compelling works and packages them into acclaimed films and TV shows including THE HOUSE OF SPIRITS (Hulu), PANIC (Amazon), LIGHT AS A FEATHER (HULU), KILL CREEK (SHOWTIME) and features AFTER (Netflix). Currently, she oversees a roster of accomplished literary clients such as Lauren Oliver, Pablo Cartaya, Maurene Goo, Hope Larson, and Loren Grush. Most recently, Escudero facilitated a deal for Netflix to develop Tanya Smith’s upcoming memoir THE GHOST IN THE MACHINE with Issa Rae and David Heyman producing.
Rachel Kahan
Executive Editor, William Morrow/HarperCollins
Rachel Kahan is an Executive Editor at William Morrow. A passionate advocate for new and diverse voices in both fiction and non-fiction, she has published many bestsellers, including THE FRIDAY NIGHT KNITTING CLUB, THE PEARL THAT BROKE ITS SHELL, THE SUMMER WIVES, EROTIC STORIES FOR PUNJABI WIDOWS and HIDDEN FIGURES, which was made into an Oscar-nominated film.
Prizes
Jump start your career.
Grand Prize Winner
The overall Grand Prize winner will be welcomed to the ScreenCraft Writer Development Program and receive personal introductions and phone calls with one or more top Hollywood literary managers.
ScreenCraft has a proven track record for getting writers signed with managers, agents, and staffed in writing rooms.
Personal Introduction to top literary managers
Accepted into the ScreenCraft Writer Development Program
$1,000 cash
Complimentary Badge for the 2022 ScreenCraft Virtual Summit
Lifetime subscription to Arc Studio Pro
Runner-Up Prizes
Second Place
$500 cash award
Accepted into ScreenCraft Writer Development Program
50% off 2022 ScreenCraft Virtual Summit
Lifetime subscription to Arc Studio Pro
Top Quarterfinalists
The top quarterfinalists will receive special mention on our website when we announce.
Previous Successes
Placing in a ScreenCraft competition can launch your career.
Ken Mora
Optioned Graphic Novel
Congratulations to 2019 Cinematic Book Competition winner, Ken Mora who signed with UK-based publisher Markosia, for the publishing and distribution rights of his ScreenCraft-winning graphic novel, Caravaggio: A Light Before The Darkness.
"Keep at it, and never discount the power of even incremental progress. Write, rewrite, and submit your work to the highest caliber competitions. Every writer tends to swing between thinking their work is great, or absolute crap – only a competitive arena with qualified judges will give you an honest sense of your story’s true quality."
Elie El Choufany
Signed with Manager & Agent
2019 ScreenCraft Screenwriting Fellowship winner, Elie El Choufany, has signed with the Agency for the Performing Arts. Elie previously signed with Think Tank MGMT after ScreenCraft introduced them.
"During the spectacular whirlwind that is the ScreenCraft Fellowship, the ScreenCraft team introduced me to my manager from Think Tank Management, as well as setting up meetings with some of the biggest studios and the most influential people in the film and television industry. This experience filled me with so much gratitude and humility, and I am now more driven than ever to keep pushing forward."
Shiwani Srivastava
Signed with Manager & Agent
2018 ScreenCraft Comedy Runner-Up, Shiwani Srivastava, signed with literary manager Nicholas Bogner of Affirmative Entertainment and Paradigm Talent Agency after ScreenCraft introduced them.
Christa Rose Avampato
Staffed as Film & TV Development Manager
Staffed as Film & TV Development Manager
Nabil Chowdhary
Signed with Manager & Agent
Less than one month after winning the grand prize in the 2019 ScreenCraft Sci-fi Screenplay Competition for his project Pod, Nabil Chowdhary was introduced to manager Bash Naran at Writ Large by the ScreenCraft team and signed with him for representation. In December 2019, Nabil was named to BOTH The Hit List and The Black List as one of the best screenplays of the year as voted on by entertainment industry professionals!
"Within hours, I was in touch with Bash at Writ Large. Three weeks later, we are officially working together. I was in constant communication with the ScreenCraft team, seeking advice and looking for guidance on how to navigate this very new situation for me and they couldn’t have been more helpful."
Colin Dalvit & Andrew Lahmann
Signed with Manager
Colin Dalvit & Andrew Lahmann won the ScreenCraft Action & Thriller Screenplay Contest in 2016, and they were recently discovered via Coverfly and signed by literary manager Josh Dove at Intellectual Property Group who discovered and read their script The Timbermen. Intellectual Property Group is the literary management company behind such clients as Oscar-winner Paul Haggis (Crash and Million Dollar Baby) and Dennis Lehane (writer of cinematically adapted novels including Mystic River, Shutter Island and Gone Baby Gone).
As Featured in
Cinematic Book Articles
The Reason Adaptation is So Difficult and How to Overcome ItOct 11by Britton Perelman-Roll credits and cue you leaving the theater, muttering something like, “Dammit, the book was so much better.” Familiar, right? That’s happened far too many times than it should have, I’m sure. And that’s the… ...
Submissions are accepted via electronic submission only, between September 1, 2021 and November 30, 2021.
Entry fee for each submission is
$49.50 until the early deadline on September 30, 2021
$69.50 until the regular deadline on October 31, 2021
$79.50 until the final deadline on November 30, 2021.
Books should be 150,000 words or less. Files should be in PDF format.
Optional feedback from a professional reader may be requested at the time of entry. Requests for feedback after an entry is submitted will not be accepted.
Feature screenplays must be a minimum of 75 pages and a maximum of 150 pages. Short screenplays must be between 7 and 35 pages. TV pilots must be between 25 and 75 pages. Any submission longer than 120 pages will incur a $1 per page overage fee for each page over 120.
There is no limit to the number of projects you may submit.
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.
All submitted material must be original, and all rights must be wholly owned by the writer(s).
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). All writers must be credited on the title page.
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 the prize money.
Substitutions of either corrected pages or new drafts of the entered material will be allowed for a limited time with a $5 reentry fee through Coverfly. Please proofread your script carefully before submitting.
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.
Contact info may be included on the cover page of the screenplay, however it is not required.
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.
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 year is not. (Contest winnings not included.)
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).
All material submitted to other competitions or contests are eligible for this contest.
There are no requirements as to when the material was written.
Screenplay and intellectual property must be wholly owned and submitted by the writer(s).
Material should be submitted in standard screenplay format, font, spacing and margin.
We have no preferences regarding title page content. Title and name of writer would suffice.
Entries for this competition are managed on the submission platform Coverfly.
Adaptations are ineligible unless the underlying rights are owned by the writer or the work is in the public domain.
Feature screenplays longer than 150 pages will not be eligible.
All material must be submitted electronically as a PDF or it will not be eligible.
Entries for this competition are managed on the submission platform Coverfly
The winners will be chosen based on the following criteria:
Characters
Concept
Voice
Dialogues
Theme
Cinematic Adaptation Potential
Story
Criteria for Winners and Finalists:
The winners and top finalists may be contacted by interested industry representatives, such as managers, agents or producers.
Entrants may be required to submit further information to assist in the judges’ verification of eligibility.
Any entrant may be deemed ineligible as a Finalist or Winner at the sole discretion of ScreenCraft.
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.
We reserve the right to amend these rules at any time.
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.
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.
REFUND POLICY: All entries are non-refundable.
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).
"Incredible feedback! The analyst was so thorough, they found subtext in my script I hadn't even (consciously) considered. Really thoughtful and encouraging. Thanks, ScreenCraft!"