ScreenCraft Writers from the Drama Competition have signed with CAA, Brillstein, Circle of Confusion and more. They’ve gone on to be nominated for Emmys and work on TV shows with Warner TV. The results speak for themselves: this is Hollywood’s best Drama Screenwriting Competition.

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Accepting TV and Feature Scripts

Drama is at the heart of great Hollywood storytelling. Nobody knows that better than this year's jury who's behind Oscar and Emmy-nominated dramas that include shows and films like YELLOWSTONE, JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH, GREY'S ANATOMY, CREED, POSE, MUDBOUND, SCANDAL, and so many more.

ScreenCraft generates results you can count on. Past drama competition writers have met with companies that include A24, MGM, HBO, Hello Sunshine, Bellevue, Ley Line, Ryan Murphy Productions, Anonymous Content, and over a dozen more - all through our introductions. Plus, ScreenCraft has helped over 275 writers sign with top management companies and agencies like CAA, Verve, UTA, and many more.

New Finalist Benefits: All finalists will be invited to an exclusive Finalist+ workshop on how you can best position yourself and your writing to the industry. Also, all finalists will receive a free 6 month membership to The Tracking Board, so you can stay up-to-date on Hollywood's insider news!

So whether you’re writing a sweeping period drama or a contained relationship movie, we want to read your film or TV script!

Previous Season Jury

Get in front of Hollywood judges who love great drama.

Carlos Aguirre

VP of Development for TV, Paramount Network

Carlos Aguirre is the VP of Development for television at Paramount Network, the major studio and distribution company responsible for projects like Yellowstone, Mayor of Kingstown, and Coyote.

Ilayda Yigit

Literary Manager, MACRO

Ilayda Yigit is a Literary Manager at MACRO, a production company which launched projects such as Judas and The Black Messiah, Just Mercy, and Mudbound.

Alex Bloch

Literary Manager, 42

Alex Bloch is a Literary Manager in the motion picture department of 42, an International management and production company whose roster of actors, writers, and directors, have been behind or appeared in such projects as Succession, Nocturnal Animals, and Sex Education.

Jarrod Murray

Literary Manager & Producer, Epicenter

Jarrod Murray is a Literary Manager and Producer for Epicenter, a literary management and production company with an emphasis on character-driven material, whose roster of creators have been behind or appeared in such projects as Pose, Judas and The Black Messiah, and Sweet River.

Jason Fong

Coordinator, Outlier Society

Jason Fong works in the development department for Outlier Society, the production company of Michael B. Jordan, the actor and producer behind projects like Fruitvale Station, Black Panther, and the Creed franchise with Creed 3 in production.

Echo Matthews

Agent, UTA

Echo Matthews is an agent at UTA, who were a part of major productions like MARRIAGE STORY, LITTLE WOMEN, and WEST SIDE STORY and one of the largest talent and literary agencies in the world.

Noah Evslin

Writer/Producer

Noah Evslin has been a writer and/or producer on such shows as NCIS: HAWAI’I, HAWAII FIVE-O, COLONY, GREY’S ANATOMY, SCANDAL, HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER, PRIVATE PRACTICE and THE CATCH. He recently sold a feature to Stage 13/Warner Bros, a limited series to Amazon, as well as numerous pilots and digital series to a variety of studios. Noah also co-hosts a popular industry podcast called SCREAMING INTO THE HOLLYWOOD ABYSS.

Prizes

Jump start your career

Grand Prize Winner

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

The top 3 winners’ project info and log lines will be extensively circulated and recommended to Screencraft's genre specific relationships at top companies, as well as to our network of over 150 other Hollywood managers, agents, producers, and development executives.

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 ScreenCraft Writer Development Program

  • $1,000 Cash

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

  • Free 6-month membership to The Tracking Board

Runner-Up Prizes

Feature Winner

$500 cash award

Accepted into ScreenCraft Development Program

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

Free 6-month membership to The Tracking Board

Finalists

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

Free 6-month membership to The Tracking Board

Pilot Winner

$500 cash award

Accepted into ScreenCraft Development Program

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

Free 6-month membership to The Tracking Board

SCREENCRAFT WINNERS

Winning a ScreenCraft competition can launch your career. See More Successes

As Featured in

Add-on Prize Opportunity

The ScreenCraft First Look Bootcamp

With Manager of Content Strategy Exec Adèle Borden of Participant

The ScreenCraft First Look Bootcamp is a new optional add-on prize category that will grant one eligible writer the opportunity to learn, workshop, and strengthen their project with guidance from an industry professional. This unique add-on benefit is separate from the ScreenCraft Drama Competition prizes and placements.

Participant

Adèle Borden is a Manager of Content Strategy at Participant, a leading global media company dedicated to entertainment that stands at the intersection of art and activism. In her role, she works across narrative film, documentary, and episodic projects at all stages, from consideration, to development/production, and sales. Before her move to Content Strategy, she spent 3 years in the Narrative Film group, contributing to the development and production of titles including Stillwater, Dark Waters, and the upcoming film from Disney+, Out of My Mind. Adèle is an MFA graduate of USC’s Peter Stark Producing Program.

Adèle will select one writer/writing team with an outstanding concept from the ScreenCraft Drama Competition to receive guidance and feedback on how they can best position their project for success. This will include a meeting, insights, and more.

Only projects submitted to the ScreenCraft Drama 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.

Drama Articles

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  • The Single Difference Between Cinematic Drama and Melodrama Mar 10 by Ken Miyamoto - What's the difference between drama and melodrama in features and television? This is one of the most highly-debated subjects in screenwriting — drama versus melodrama. When you search for the core definition of those two… ...
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RULES & INFO

  • 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, mentor, or prize partner is no longer able to serve in their specified capacity, ScreenCraft will make its best effort to secure a replacement.
  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. ScreenCraft reserves the right to amend these rules at any time.
  9. Prize winners may be required to sign an affidavit of eligibility and proper tax documentation before prizes are released.
  10. By entering the competition, user acknowledges their eligibility for the competition. ScreenCraft will verify all eligibility requirements at the finalist stage of the competition and before distributing any prizes.
  11. 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.

ScreenCraft Add-on Prize Selection:

  1. Only writers who submit to the competition and include this add-on at the time of entry are eligible to be considered for this prize opportunity.
  2. The winner of this prize will be selected solely by the specified industry professional. The selected winner of this prize will engage with the specified industry professional in an educational development capacity.
  3. Being selected as the winner of this prize does not constitute or guarantee representation by the industry professional or the company they work for.
  4. The approach and manner in which the industry professional and winner interact is at their discretion. ScreenCraft will have no involvement in the process beyond facilitating an introduction.

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 entrants' information are in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
  3. REFUND POLICY: All entries are non-refundable.
  4. SITE TERMS OF SERVICE. All ScreenCraft Terms of Service apply 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, indemnify 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). The governing law is California.

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