Breakthrough with
ScreenCraft’s Prestigious
Writing Competitions

Breaking in as a writer should be about how well you can write—not how well you can network. That's why our competitions set out to uncover the best writers out there and help them with an entire team dedicated to launching careers.

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ScreenCraft Writers Discovered by:

Open Competitions

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Short Film Competition

What do George Lucas, Neill Blomkamp, and Lynne Ramsay all have in common? They started their careers off of a short script. We want to help build new great careers for amazing short script writers.

Final Deadline - January 31

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Fellowship Competition

7 days of intensive professional meetings. 3 months of career consultation. A once in a lifetime opportunity.

Late Deadline - January 31

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Virtual Pitch Competition

Take advantage of a unique opportunity to pitch directly to an A-list jury of industry insiders online and open to writers worldwide!

Regular Deadline - January 31

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True Story Competition

We’re celebrating true stories, biographies, and adaptations of stories & characters in the public domain. We welcome Doug Miro (creator of NARCOS) as our Grand Juror who will meet virtually in a private session with our finalists. We’re also excited to include a new entry type and prize category this year focused on discovering the next globally recognized true crime story in partnership with Buffalo 8 (Exec Prod. THE JEFFREY DAHMER TAPES) and BondIt Media Capital.

Early Deadline - January 31

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Comedy Competition

We welcome writer, creator, and producer Bill Lawrence (TED LASSO, SCRUBS) as our special Grand Juror! One writer will even receive a mentorship opportunity. Past winners have signed with reps and had projects made - like Netflix's global hit WEDDING SEASON.

Early Deadline - February 28

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We Provide Unparalleled Support for Our Finalists and Winners

ScreenCraft’s Writer Development Team becomes your dedicated career advocate when you win a ScreenCraft competition, bridging the gap between you and top studio executives, managers, and agents.

We’ll provide 1-on-1 consultation & coaching to build your strengths

We’ll tap into a rolodex of industry connections we’ve been building for over a decade to connect you with the right industry professionals

We’ll guide you in achieving the next milestone in your writing career–whether it’s getting staffed in a writers’ room or simply getting repped

Don’t take our word for it. Here are hundreds of Finalists’ testimonials.

We Provide Unparalleled Support for Our Finalists and Winners

ScreenCraft’s Writer Development Team becomes your dedicated career advocate when you win a ScreenCraft competition, bridging the gap between you and top studio executives, managers, and agents.

We’ll provide 1-on-1 consultation & coaching to build your strengths

We’ll tap into a rolodex of industry connections we’ve been building for over a decade to connect you with the right industry professionals

We’ll guide you in achieving the next milestone in your writing career–whether it’s getting staffed in a writers’ room or simply getting repped

Don’t take our word for it. Here are hundreds of Finalists’ testimonials.

Opening Soon

Feature Competition

Jury includes the screenwriter of THE WHALE, literary reps from Circle of Confusion & Verve, and others. All features welcome from blockbusters to impactful indies, and everything in between.

Opening February 28

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Opening Later

TV Pilot Competition

With past winners and finalists signing at 3 Arts, Zero Gravity, CAA, Management 360, and Verve, ScreenCraft's TV Pilot Competition is the best Television Writing Competition in Hollywood. Plus, ScreenCraft winners have been staffed for shows at Netflix, Amazon, Apple TV+, The CW, ABC, Paramount+ and many more.

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Short Story Competition

Whether you’re writing a novella or a flash fiction, our Hollywood judges are looking for great stories with cinematic adaptation potential. This year, the Grand Prize winner will also receive a one-of-a-kind mentorship opportunity with novelist/writer Julia Seales!

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Horror Competition

Our jury is scary good, featuring showrunner Mike Flanagan (MIDNIGHT MASS, THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE), screenwriter Guy Busick (SCREAM 5, READY OR NOT), and more. “The industry’s #1 horror screenplay contest.” – IndieWire

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Animation Competition

Past finalists and winners have signed with literary managers and secured shopping agreements for their scripts! So whether you have a family-friendly animated movie or an adult-oriented animated series, our animation judges are seeking great scripts with fresh voices.

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Drama Competition

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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Stage Play Competition

Our Stage Play jury features an Academy Award-nominated and Tony-Award winning writer as well as top literary agents. Past winners have signed for representation with CAA, WME, A3 Artists, and more!

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Action & Adventure Competition

Featuring an explosive jury from top action companies behind THE LETHAL WEAPON franchise, X-MEN franchise, MOONFALL, OZARK, and more.

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Cinematic Book Competition

We welcome author/screenwriter Gillian Flynn (GONE GIRL, SHARP OBJECTS) as an Official Industry Expert! Plus, writer/producer Richard Kahan (OUTLANDER) will select one writer from this year's competition to receive a one-of-a-kind mentorship opportunity!

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Family Competition

ScreenCraft's industry leading Family-friendly Screenplay Competition has led to winners signing with literary managers and optioning their scripts. NEW for this year's Grand Prize, screenwriter Andrew Barrer (ANT-MAN & THE WASP) will select one writer from this year's competition to receive a mentorship opportunity!

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Film Fund Competition

Receive up to $30k in finishing funds! Open to a wide range of projects including, treatments, standalone screenplays, shorts, and finished films. Past winner's films have screened at Cannes, Sundance, & SXSW.

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Sci-Fi & Fantasy Competition

Our jury is out of this world, featuring the showrunner of THE EXPANSE, and execs from companies behind STRANGER THINGS, THE WITCHER, UPGRADE, SHADOW & BONE, and more.

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ScreenCraft’s Writer Success Stories

Meet the writers who used ScreenCraft competitions to break into the film and TV industry.

Alex Boyd
Hired on CW’s “The Flash”
"People really do make it in this industry,” says screenwriter Alex Boyd. “When I moved to LA to start my writing career, I knew zero people in the industry. So when I took the traditional mailroom route, I felt like I was the only person around without any connections. Even when I wrote something I was proud of, I often felt like it was wasting away on my hard drive with nobody to read.”

In 2021, Alex entered ScreenCraft’s TV Pilot competition. He won. “I had been submitting to competitions for years now with some success, but I was particularly excited to enter ScreenCraft because of the genre-specific categories," he says. Since winning, Alex was hired to write an episode of CW’s “The Flash.”
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Tommy Wright
Signed with Bauman Management
"As writers it’s always challenging to distinguish yourself from others,” says screenwriter Tommy Wright, who was awarded a 2021 ScreenCraft Film Fund grant. He has since signed with a literary manager at Bauman Management. “I think ScreenCraft does an excellent job of encouraging and identifying unique talent and can put them in very advantageous situations which in turn breeds success."
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Nabil Chowdhary
Signed with Writ Large Management
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 and subsequently signed with him. “Within hours of winning, I was put in touch with Bash," says Nabil. "Three weeks later, we were officially working together. ”

In December of 2019, Nabil’s work was named to both The Hit List and The Black List as one of the best screenplays of the year. "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. They couldn’t have been more helpful."
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Nicole Ramberg
Signed with Bellevue Productions
“Winning a ScreenCraft competition — and ScreenCraft’s immediate assistance putting me in touch with managers afterward — was the foot in the door that I needed to jumpstart my Hollywood writing career,” says Nicole Ramberg, who signed with Bellevue Productions after success in the ScreenCraft 2020 Action Adventure screenplay competition.
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