More info coming soon
Whether you’re writing laugh-out-loud feature films or witty sitcoms, this is your opportunity to make industry connections and showcase your talent.
Winners’ projects will be circulated to ScreenCraft's wide network of industry professionals, with the goal of setting up meetings with production companies and studios, and introducing the top writers to literary managers and agents. Featuring a standout jury behind hit titles like Deadpool & Wolverine, The Office, Ted Lasso, The Lego Movie, Bridesmaids, and more.
We welcome literary manager Mark Schulman of 3 Arts Entertainment as the Grand Prize Mentor for this year's competition. Mark will meet with the Grand Prize Winner for a mentorship session.
Mark has produced shows on Netflix, ABC, Fox, Peacock, E!, VH-1 and Showtime, among others. 3 Arts Entertainment is a top management and production company shaping comedy with clients like Mindy Kaling, Mike Schur, and Kumail Nanjiani. Behind hits like The Office and Ted Lasso, it champions innovative humor and iconic series. Comedy writers benefit from its industry expertise and opportunities to create fresh, impactful content for global audiences.
More info coming soon
Signed an option agreement
"I placed in ScreenCraft with one of my earlier screenplays in the Family Screenplay Competition. ScreenCraft was always on my radar after that competition. I really like how ScreenCraft focuses on specific genres in each contest. I was so excited when Derby Queen was a finalist in the Comedy Competition. It was a huge milestone. I worked with ScreenCraft and [they were] definitely inspirational and extremely helpful. After my script placed as a finalist, the pandemic hit. I went from having lots of managers read it to everything pretty much coming to a halt. It was disappointing to say the least and Derby Queen lost momentum. ScreenCraft helped me strategize about how to create a target list of managers but also try to focus on optioning/selling a script rather than finding a manager right away. I think that put my focus back on the creative process of honing my voice and creating more projects as unique writing samples. "
Signed with a Manager at MAKE GOOD Content
"The team is constantly checking in, asking how they can lift me up, showcasing my work, inviting me to amazing networking events, facilitating pitches and being overall excellent cheerleaders. Now I’m working on a grindhouse feature with Endeavor Content and Flames Ventures. And I sold a short-form series to FX’s show Cake, co-created with artist Jibz Cameron."
Signed with Manager (Affirmative Entertainment) & Agent (Paradigm Talent Agency)
"I am not based in Los Angeles. I am in San Francisco and I thought the only way to get out there is to start entering contests and see what happens. And because of ScreenCraft, an opportunity did knock. They put me in touch with a manager, like he really understood what I was trying to do with my stories. ScreenCraft put me in touch with a producer and we ended up taking it to a major studio, who expressed interest in my script, which is beyond my wildest imagination. I was so glad that I just kept writing, kept writing, kept writing stories that I believed in. Eventually, everybody has some opportunity, some luck and you have to be ready, and I think ScreenCraft really helped me be ready."
Signed with a Literary Manager at Inclusion Management
"Failure and rejection are a part of the process, a lesson I was lucky enough to learn at a young age albeit from a different context. However, mental exhaust and fatigue are very real deterrents. I learned to take calculated breaks from my work to replenish my soul. Last year, I decided to submit my work to as many competitions as I could afford. Screencraft in particular, was held in high regard. And I wanted to compete with the best. Have discipline as a writer and in your writing. As a writer: Do something everyday that pushes your skill forward. If you have writer's block, read books, screenplays, watch instructional videos, talk to other writers. Also heal. Take breaks from your writing to allow the lessons and stories in your head to rise from your subconscious. In your writing: Find a structure that works for you. Trust me, the older the better. Aristotle's Poetics or Asia's Kishotenketsu. Newer structures have too many steps and produce cookie cutter stories. Focus on the fundamentals: And, But, Therefore; Setup & Payoff, Conflict, Momentum, Crucible. "
Signed with a Literary Manager at Underground Entertainment after working with the ScreenCraft team.
"I think one of the biggest hurdles to writing is just carving out the time and mental space to do it regularly and well while still enjoying the process. If you find yourself writing all the time and never doing anything else, your writing (and mental health) are going to suffer and you might grow to hate the project you're working on (which in turn will make it worse). Conversely, if you only talk about writing but are constantly busy with work, and social events, and other commitments, you're a writer in theory not in practice, and you'll never get anything done. So finding that balance, especially early on when I was broke and had no time, was really important for me. When I started applying for script competitions, ScreenCraft's panels of judges really stood out to me. They were filled with big names and people who had major roles at well-known companies, so knowing that the competition wasn't just a random dude in a basement stealing my money made me more interested in applying. Since placing in the Top 10 finals, ScreenCraft has helped a ton in getting meetings set-up and in general championing me and my work (like with this right now)."
Attached producer John Shepherd to his feature script 'How the Yellow Mellow.'
"I was about to give up screenwriting about two years ago. I just wasn’t seeing any markers of success, and I wasn’t loving what I was writing or doing at the moment. I didn’t have a clear identity at that time. My breakthrough moment was somehow landing a spot as a finalist for the 2019 Screencraft Comedy Competition. Around that time, I started realizing that my niche was writing diverse genre comedies. I discovered which aspects of my writing voice worked best and committed to parts of myself. I recently got a producer attached to a funny teen comedy script inspired by my days as my high school’s Asian American club president. We’re sending it out and trying to find it a home, and that’s so exciting! I was drawn to Screencraft after seeing the judge panels. They’re really legit and have some of the most remarkable people in the industry reading your stuff. The competition gave me some confidence about my writing, but the team behind the competitions really check in with you after and help you, too. "
February 2 | by Destiny Macon
As a reclusive person who could go days without talking, I try my best not to be the pretty brown wallflower whose name no one...
October 26 | by Chris Courtney Martin
Multihyphenate trailblazer Jordan Peele asserts, “The difference between comedy and horror is the music.” Perhaps this is a rhetorical simplification, but coming from a creator who...
January 9 | by Paula Finn
What would comedy be without drama? For my book Sitcom Writers Talk Shop: Behind the Scenes with Carl Reiner, Norman Lear, and Other Geniuses of TV...
April 2 | by Ken Miyamoto
What are the different styles of comedies that screenwriters can develop for their feature film scripts and series pilots? Comedies have plots that are often light-hearted...
More info coming soon
The winners will be chosen based on the following criteria:
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. Top scripts are read by the industry jury who votes for their favorite scripts at their sole discretion.
ScreenCraft Add-on Prize Selection:
Criteria for Winners and Finalists:
More info coming soon