Resources

ScreenCraft's industry leading Family-friendly Screenplay Competition has led to winners signing with literary managers and optioning their scripts.


More info coming soon

Current Season Announcements

Apr 16

Quarterfinalist

Apr 30

Semifinalist

May 16

Finalist

May 30

Winner

Remember the first time a movie made your whole family laugh together? Or that animated film that somehow got both your kid sister AND your parents teary-eyed? Family entertainment remains one of the most stable and lucrative sectors in the industry, with major industry heavyweights competing to secure quality content that appeals across generations.

Past ScreenCraft Family competition winners and finalists have had their work optioned, signed shopping agreements, and have signed with managers at companies like Zero Gravity and Valley Entertainment.

Whether you've written a heartwarming adventure, a laugh-out-loud comedy, or an animated epic that breaks the mold – we want to read your script.

Grand Prize Mentor

The Grand Prize Winner this year will receive a mentorship meeting with Emmy-nominated writer Chuck Hayward.

Chuck Hayward was most recently a Co-Executive Producer on Season 2 of LIFE & BETH starring Amy Schumer and Season 3 of TED LASSO. Previously, he served as Supervising Producer on WANDAVISION. His television background includes everything from ABC’s MIXED-ISH to Netflix’s DEAR WHITE PEOPLE. He recently finished up on Showtime’s new series FLATBUSH MISDEMEANORS. In Film, Chuck sold his first feature screenplay, STEP SISTERS, to Netflix via Broad Green Pictures with Charles Stone directing and Lena Waithe producing.

Grand Prize Mentors

Notes

Receive feedback notes to strengthen your script

Meeting

Virtual meeting to discuss feedback and ask questions

Insight

Learn and gain perspective on next steps to take with your project

Jury

Jacquelina Rosso-Benitez

Creative Executive, Walden Media
Walden Media is a leading expert of family-friendly adaptations, having produced films like "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe", "Bridge to Terabithia," "Charlotte's Web," "The Giver," and "Wonder," which was a particular box office success starring Julia Roberts and Owen Wilson. Their adaptation of "Holes," has become a modern family classic, while "Journey to the Center of the Earth" with Brendan Fraser demonstrated their ability to blend adventure with educational content.

Frankie Chiapperino

Creative Executive, Seven Bucks Productions
Seven Bucks Productions, co-founded by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Dany Garcia in 2012, has produced major box office hits including "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle," "Red Notice," "Black Adam," and the biographical series "Young Rock." The company's approach combines commercial appeal with personal storytelling, often focusing on themes of determination, family, and overcoming obstacles.

Jeff Brody

Manager, Magnet Management
Magnet Management is a Los Angeles-based management company known for representing writers, directors, and producers across film and television. The company has built a reputation for developing emerging talent while also representing established creators. Clients have worked on huge franchises and family-friendly shows like Scooby-Doo, Percy Jackson, High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, Atypical, Dear Evan Hansen, Teen Wolf and more.

Shelby Cooke

Creative Executive, Party Over Here
Party Over Here is a production company founded by The Lonely Island members Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, and Jorma Taccone. Their overall slate includes content for various audiences and notably partners with major networks and streaming services to create content that ranges from comedy series to unscripted shows.

Ron Najor

VP of Film, HISAKO
Hisako is a multimedia production company founded by filmmaker Destin Daniel Cretton, known for directing "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings." The company is dedicated to developing projects that highlight marginalized stories and bring them into the mainstream. Featuring the upcoming live-action adaptation of the popular manga and anime series "Naruto."

Prizes

Grand Prize

The overall grand prize winner will be welcomed to the Writer Development Program and receive personal introductions and phone calls with one or more top Hollywood literary manager(s), producers, or industry professionals who are looking for talented emerging TV writers.

ScreenCraft's genre specific relationships include companies like Hallmark Media, Nickelodeon, Netflix, Disney+, Amazon, and 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 Writer Development Program
$1,000 Cash
An exclusive invitation to a Finalist+ workshop to position yourself and your writing to the industry
Mentorship Meeting with Chuck Hayward

Runner-Up Prizes

Feature Winner

$500 cash award

Accepted into Writer Development Program

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

FINALISTS

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

TV PILOT WINNER

$500 cash award

Accepted into Writer Development Program

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

Previous Success Stories

See More Successes

Joseph Fattal

Signed with literary managers

"ScreenCraft has been incredibly helpful from the moment my script advanced as a Finalist and even before that. I was invited to various events/Zooms that were fantastic networking & learning opportunities. Following a series of successes, I found myself in a very lucky position of having multiple offers for management, and ScreenCraft were right there by my side to help me weigh the factors and make the best decision for my career. "

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."

Stephanie Stanley

Signed with a manager

"Winning the ScreenCraft Fellowship with my pilot KILLERS opened so many doors with an amazing group of executives, producers, showrunners, and reps. The Fellowship and the ScreenCraft team undeniably provided a nitro boost of professional momentum that has been invaluable to me and led directly to finding an awesome new manager, Reg Tigerman!"

As Featured In

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.
  11. Former Grand Prize or Category Winners of the competition may enter so long as it is NOT the same project that won in a previous year. Any other placement in previous years does not disqualify the project from being entered this year. 

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

  • Voice
  • Concept
  • Story
  • Structure
  • Characters
  • Dialogue
  • 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 may 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.

Scripts we Were INspired By

The Haunting of Hill House
It
The Shining
Lovecraft Country
Scream
Get Out
Array ( )

Open Competitions

Find the competition that is right for you!
Submit your best writing to a ScreenCraft competition today for an opportunity to get noticed, get access to our in-house executives’ Black Book of connections in Hollywood, and get signed and staffed.
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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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