MovieBytes - Screenwriting Contests & Markets Online

Hollywood Genre Action Screenplay Contest

Objective:

Our mission is to find undiscovered screenwriters and provide exposure in an industry that widely does not accept unsolicited submissions. Promoting writing talent over friends and family in the right places. This competition focuses on action movies, one of the top genres for international sales potential. Hollywood representation and production companies with credits will consider the winners and top placing scripts for reads.

Have a great action script finished? Submit it to the Hollywood Genre Action Screenplay Contest before the next deadline!

Deadline:

Entry Fee:
$75

CineStory Foundation Feature Retreat and Fellowship

Objective:

CineStory is a national non-profit dedicated to nurturing emerging screenwriters through mentorship programs. Winners of our competition have gone on to pen films such as IRON MAN, CAKE, THE CHILDREN OF MEN, BALLAST, KING OF CALIFORNIA and 11:14.

One of the main goals of the CineStory Feature Retreat is to select up-and-coming screenwriters for our four-day intensive program held in the Fall.

THE CINESTORY FEATURE RETREAT

CineStory's Retreat is dedicated to the advancement of great new voices in screenwriting. Retreat attendees are chosen from the top writers of our annual competition, the CineStory Screenwriting Awards. For four days, writers enjoy direct access to working Hollywood professionals.

Past retreat mentors include: Mark Fergus & Hawk Ostby (IRON MAN, CHILDREN OF MEN), writer/director Joe Forte (FIREWALL, OUT), producer Nana Greenwald (SEVEN), producer Michelle Sy (FINDING NEVERLAND), producer and former head of Jodie's Foster prod co MEG LEFAUVE (THE DANGEROUS LIVES OF ALTAR BOYS), writer Philip Eisner (EVENT HORIZON, MUTANT CHRONICLES) and writer/director Keith Gordon (DEXTER, WAKING THE DEAD). And many, many others.

Deadline:

Entry Fee:
$95

Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting

Objective:

The Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting is a vital program that identifies and nurtures talented emerging screenwriters.

The program will now exclusively partner with global university programs, screenwriting labs and filmmaker programs to identify potential Nicholl fellows.

Each partner will vet and submit scripts for consideration for an Academy Nicholl Fellowship, and the Black List will serve as a portal for public submissions.

All scripts submitted by partners will be read and reviewed by Academy members.

Deadline:

Entry Fee:
Submit via blcklst.com website

WarnerMedia Access Writing Program

Objective:

The Warner Bros. Discovery Access Writers Program provides a pathway for writers seeking to enhance their skills in the episodic television writing space, learn about the business of television from executives and industry guests, and attend a master class on storytelling and collaborative creative writing.

Deadline:

Entry Fee:
Free

Script Pipeline Pitch Contest (Film/TV)

Objective:
The bi-annual Script Pipeline Pitch Contest is searching for original feature film and TV series ideas to be developed into screenplays and pilots.

Deadline:

Entry Fee:
$55

FLICKERS: Rhode Island International Film Festival Screenplay Competition

Objective:

To discover and honor the new voices of independent film. Screenplays will be judged on creativity, innovation, vision, originality and the use of language. The key element is that of communication and how it complements and is transformed by the language of film.

Deadline:

Entry Fee:
$85

Cordillera International Film Festival

Objective:
As a champion of diverse voices, the Cordillera Int'l Film Festival, located in the beautiful Reno Tahoe region of Nevada, has quickly become one of the “Top 25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World” according to MovieMaker Magazine for two years in a row, and is ranked in the Top 1% of over 15,000 film festivals worldwide by FilmFreeway. Cordillera features 5-Days filled with 150+ films, celebrity panels, red carpet premieres, parties and a Grand Jury made up of iconic industry leaders.

Deadline:

Entry Fee:
$95

Scriptation Showcase Features & Shorts Category

Objective:

The Scriptation Showcase is officially open for submissions! Emerging writers can now enter their best screenplay, teleplay, or short.

The Scriptation Showcase is the screenwriting competition that circulates winners’ scripts to the directors, showrunners, and producers behind your favorite movies and TV shows.

Why submit to the Scriptation Showcase?

UNPRECENDENTED EXPOSURE
Never before has a screenwriting competition made your script so accessible to working industry professionals. Fifteen scripts will be featured for a full year in Scriptation, the Emmy® award winning script app used on thousands of productions worldwide.

ANNOTATED FEEDBACK
Script coverage doesn’t give your story the complete story. The competition offers feedback via PDF markup (highly recommended). Entrants have the unique opportunity to review notes directly within their script and better understand the thought process behind each suggestion. This is how script competition feedback was meant to be.

PROFESSIONAL READERS
All script competition entries are read by professional script readers and story analysts. All finalists are read by some of the best executives, managers, and writers who will determine winners for top overall screenplay, teleplay, and short.

WRITER FOUNDED
Having won script contests and written for shows like Black-ish and Hot in Cleveland, Steve Vitolo knows how hard it is to get noticed. That’s why he made a script competition that directly connects screenwriters to working industry talent.

Deadline:

Entry Fee:
$79.00

Outstanding Screenplays TV Pilot Competition

Objective:

We’re currently in a clear Golden Age of TV. With audiences’ increasing desires for escapism and purely bingeable TV, it has never been this good. And there have never been as many opportunities for screenwriters to write for TV. There were a record 532 scripted TV programs in 2019. That’s a lot of pages of TV that need to be written.

Some of the best writing happens for TV. Some of the best stories being told are being told on TV. When it comes to television, it’s a writer’s world. Writers become producers and showrunners of TV shows.

Streaming services like Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, Disney+, HBO Max, Apple TV+ are eager to find TV writers with unique voices. That is what our competition is for. We want to find undiscovered talented TV writers and connect them with the industry, so one day they’ll be able to write for their favorite TV Show. So, finish your TV Pilot script, submit it to our competition and let us do the rest.

Deadline:

Entry Fee:
$79

Hollywood Genre Comedy Screenplay Contest

Objective:

Our mission is to find undiscovered screenwriters and provide exposure in an industry that widely does not accept unsolicited submissions. Promoting writing talent over friends and family in the right places. This competition focuses on comedy. Hollywood representation and production companies with credits will consider the winners and top placing scripts for reads.

Hollywood Genre's industry partners are actively seeking for the best undiscovered Comedy writers. As one of the most challenging genres to write well, a strong comedy spec demonstrates another dimension of writing ability.

Ready to submit your funniest comedy script?

Deadline:

Entry Fee:
$75

Hollywood Diversity Film Festival Screenplay Competition

Objective:

The values of Southern California reflect the diversity of gender, gender identity, and the many different cultures that reside within our region. And independent film has been the driver of change in the Hollywood mainstream, at times influencing and re-shaping the norms of studio and network content.

With screenplay award presentations and screenings in Hollywood, our event celebrates independent films that embrace diversity of gender and cultural perspectives, and accepts our differences to promote understanding and empathy.

Deadline:

Entry Fee:
$95

ISA Fast Track Fellowship

Objective:

Looking for representation or to connect with working directors or producers? Get on the Fast Track!

For 22 seasons, the ISA Fast Track Fellowship has been the premier screenwriting fellowship for writers on the rise.

Fast Track Fellows have:

Signed with major agencies like CAA, Paradigm, and ICM.
Been introduced to and then signed with management companies.
Had their scripts optioned, leading to development deals.

Two ISA Fast Track Fellows meet with eight top level agents, managers, producers, and executives during a whirlwind week of career acceleration with guidance from an ISA Development Executive.

Past seasons' executive meetings include writers, producers, directors and execs from ICM, CAA, The Bear, Cross, Ted Lasso, LA LA Land, Whiplash, I Feel Pretty, Harriet, Lessons in Chemistry, Dear White People, The Walking Dead, and What Women Want, among others. Fellows are then accepted onto the ISA Development Slate for a minimum of one year. Throughout the year, ISA development executives champion and pitch these writers and their projects to our industry partners actively looking for material to produce.

Seven Category Selections will receive $500 cash each, be evaluated for acceptance onto the ISA Development Slate, and go on to be considered for the two Fast Track Fellowships. We are looking for the freshest, most original, and most personal writing in all of these categories:

Action/Adventure
Comedy
Drama
Historical/Biographical
Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Suspense (Mystery, Crime, Horror, Thriller)
Spec Scripts - NOW ACCEPTING SPECS!

Please note: We define a spec script as an episode based on an existing television show. If your script is not based on existing IP, please submit to the television category.

Deadline:

Entry Fee:
$79

Austin Comedy Film Festival

Objective:
The Austin Comedy Film Festival is a seasonal (Spring, Summer, Fall) on the Film Festival Circuit for comedy filmmakers, series creators and screenwriters from all over the world to showcase their creative works in Texas.

Deadline:

Entry Fee:
$60 (feature); $50 (short)

Rome Independent Film Festival

Objective:
The screenplay award is organized and promoted by the RIFF. The intent is to offer new filmmakers a concrete opportunity to grow professionally by developing their films, and making them accessible to the public.

Deadline:

Entry Fee:
From 10 to 35 euro.

Manhattan Short Film Festival

Objective:
During one week of the year over 100,000 film-lovers gather in over 500 Cinemas across 6 Continents to view and vote on the Finalists Films in the Annual MANHATTAN SHORT Film Festival. MANHATTAN SHORT is more than just one of the largest short film festivals in the world ... it is the World's First Global Film Festival.

Deadline:

Entry Fee:
$45

Roadmap Writers 45 Forward Screenwriting Fellowship

Objective:

Roadmap Writers is proud to launch the 45 Forward Screenwriting Fellowship, a new initiative dedicated to championing screenwriters who are 45 and older. The fellowship will provide writers with the opportunity to submit a feature or pilot, a one-page personal essay, and a short video introduction to be considered for weekly pitching and Q&A roundtables with execs and reps for 3 months.

Some of the most compelling stories come from writers who have spent years building careers, raising families, overcoming challenges, and accumulating the life experiences that shape great storytelling. Yet despite the industry's ongoing search for fresh voices, many writers who begin their creative journeys later in life or return to writing after other professional pursuits often face unique barriers to access. The 45 Forward Screenwriting Fellowship was created to help bridge that gap by celebrating experience as a creative strength rather than an obstacle.

Deadline:

Entry Fee:
$45

Coverage Ink's Get Repped Now

Objective:

Our Manager Panel. Your Script.

From February 16th – August 2nd, 2026, all scripts submitted to www.coverageink.com or www.getreppednow.com for screenplay analysis ("coverage") which score a 'consider' (or better) for script are elevated to our panel of ten reps with our recommendations (appx. the top 3%.)

We work with the top literary managers in town, and they are looking for the best writers and freshest voices around. In the past we've gotten writers signed, we've gotten them hip-pocketed, and we even had a big spec sale to Disney ("Nottingham & Hood" by Brandon Barker, which also landed him at UTA and Benderspink.) In the past two years we've gotten writers repped, movies financed, and countless meetings for our considers. In fact, we've gotten writers signed four years in a row, and we can't wait to make this number five! Do you have the write stuff? To read about our past considers and to see this year's list of amazing reps, please see https://coverageink.com/get-repped-now/.

There are no prizes, and you are not competing against anyone else. Simply: all scripts that score a 'consider' for script will be elevated to our panel of top literary managers with our recommendations. After that, it's all about how much ass you kick. If the managers like the material, we set up a Zoom meeting, and after that it is up to you - and them. And even if you do not score a consider for script, you still get a thorough, empowering screenplay analysis by the industry experts, and if you wish, you can revise the script based on the notes and resubmit for another go before the deadline.

Our managers are looking for the best screenplays and pilots around. Genre is irrelevant -- it just needs to be good. That said, the more out-of-the-box your material the better, and of course, a strong/unique writer voice is key.

Get Repped Now is not a contest. We will present ALL the considers for script (or above) to our panel at the end of Get Repped Now. It could be 35 scripts; it could be three (in 2022, it was 6 features and 4 pilots). Our managers know we will be sending them the cream of the crop and all are excited to read. We open the door. The rest is up to you (and the reps.)

No submissions received after the final deadline will be considered for Get Repped Now! So get honing and toning, and then make sure to submit your features and pilots during the Get Repped Now window (February 16th – August 2nd, 2026). Please visit www.getreppednow.com for rules, info, tips and FAQ.

Bring it.

Deadline:

Entry Fee:
$165 feature; $139 1-hr pilots; $129 1/2-hr pilots

Slamdance Screenplay Competition

Objective:

The Slamdance Screenplay Competition is dedicated to discovering and nurturing emerging screenwriters. Since 1997, the competition has established a strong track record for introducing writers to members of the entertainment industry who have gone on to produce, option, and represent submitted work. Like the Film Festival, the Screenplay Competition is a place for new, bold, and raw voices. We are looking for scripts that take risks, refuse compromise, and go places where Hollywood hacks fear to tread.

Recent success stories include Tyler Tice, whose 2018 Grand Prize-winning horror feature Day Shift was released in 2022 as a Netflix original film starring Jamie Foxx. Day Shift became the most watched film in the world during the third week of August 2022. Recent winners Neil Ferron and Jessica Sinyard found representation and management directly through their involvement with the competition.

In addition to awarding the best screenplays submitted to Slamdance, our readers nominate bold scripts for the Slamdance Screenplay Mentorship Award, which offers one-on-one coaching and feedback to a burgeoning writer whose script could, with a little more support, turn into an award-winning film.

Please bear in mind that Slamdance is not a production company. While some writers have gone on to find representation or work Slamdance cannot guarantee that mentee scripts will be optioned, produced, or purchased.

Deadline:

Entry Fee:
$95

Table Read My Screenplay AFM LA 26

Objective:

This isn't your typical table read.

The Grand Prize Winner receives a pass to pitch their project at the American Film Market® — to producers, agents, and executives who can move the needle on a career.

Top entries are considered for the ISA Development Slate, where our team champions your script to literary representatives and industry executives from companies like CAA, ICM, Sony, Netflix, Amazon MGM Studios, Lucky Chap, and more.

It all begins with a professionally directed live staged reading with seasoned actors that transforms your screenplay into a presentation-ready industry asset.

Past Table Read winners have been staffed and their projects have been optioned, premiered at Cannes and been nominated for Oscars among other successes.

Deadline:

Entry Fee:
$79

Filmmatic TV Pilot Awards

Objective:

The Filmmatic TV Pilot Awards were created to locate and expose up-and-coming TV and web-series writers, as well as to empower and educate passionate and talented screenwriters still waiting for their invitation into the mainstream industry.

Competition is open to TV pilots, webisodes and inventive TV-series scripts of all genres.

Thanks to our sponsors: Script Reader Pro, Screenwriting Staffing, Filmmatic, Monday on Main Street, The Script Coverage Co., and Jungle Software!

Deadline:

Entry Fee:
$59/$39

Roadmap Writers Screenwriters of Color Retreat Scholarship

Objective:
Roadmap Writers is committed to expanding career opportunities for writers from underrepresented communities. As part of our ongoing effort to champion industry advancement for creatives within the BIPOC* community, Roadmap Writers is proud to announce the Screenwriters of Color Retreat Scholarship for our International Spring 2027 Retreat in Barbados.

Deadline:

Entry Fee:
$35

Hollywood Genre Horror Screenplay Contest

Objective:

Our mission is to find undiscovered screenwriters and provide exposure in an industry that widely does not accept unsolicited submissions. Promoting writing talent over friends and family in the right places. This competition focuses on horror. Hollywood representation and production companies with credits will consider the winners and top placing scripts for reads.

Hollywood Genre's industry partners are actively seeking for the best undiscovered Horror writers. Horror genre material is always in demand. Widely considered the most commercial cross-cultural genre, a strong horror script is both a great calling card as well as a highly commercial project.

Ready to submit your most terrifying horror script?

Deadline:

Entry Fee:
$79

Hollywood Genre Sci-Fi Screenplay Contest

Objective:

Our mission is to find undiscovered screenwriters and provide exposure in an industry that widely does not accept unsolicited submissions. Promoting writing talent over friends and family in the right places. This competition focuses on sci-fi movies, one of the top genres for international sales potential. Hollywood representation and production companies with credits will consider the winners and top placing scripts for reads.

Hollywood Genre's industry partners, each with years of experience in produced genre projects, are actively seeking for the best undiscovered Sci-Fi screenplays. Ready to submit your most polished sci-fi spec?

Deadline:

Entry Fee:
$75

Shore Scripts Feature Screenplay Contest

Objective:

We are seeking emerging feature screenwriting talent across all genres.

Over the past fifteen years, we’ve built an unparalleled network of industry relationships, resulting in millions of dollars in spec sales, hundreds of writers signed and introduced to representation, and multiple films produced, including The Assessment, starring Alicia Vikander and Elizabeth Olsen, acquired by Amazon for mid-seven figures.

As the only contest with a dedicated Writer Development Manager, we provide ongoing, structured support while connecting our writers to a network of 300+ industry professionals.

Feature film production is a massive engine, made up of many moving parts and engaging the creative talents of a huge number of individuals, but as the well-known phrase goes, "It all starts with the script".

NEW in 2026 - Win a Mentorship Call with DEBBIE BERMAN (BLACK PANTHER, CAPTAIN MARVEL, SPIDERMAN: HOMECOMING)

+ OUTSTANDING INDUSTRY MENTORSHIPS

Mentors will read and discuss your script with you, imparting expert advice on how to best position yourself to take the next step in your screenwriting career.

AND MORE!

This year, Shore Scripts will be awarding placings to three (3) Cash Prize Winners plus Top 10 Finalists, Semi-Finalists, and Quarter-Finalists.

Along with cash awards and development prizes, the Grand Prize Winner will have an unprecedented opportunity to participate in one-to-one calls with some of our Judges to get firsthand thoughts on how to polish their script and receive must-have career advice and industry guidance.

Get feedback in 2026 from:

Antony Johnston, Author & Screenwriter – ATOMIC BLONDE, RESIDENT EVIL, DEAD SPACE.
Tess McGuinness, Director of Development at Red Wagon – DIVERGENT, THE GREAT GATSBY, MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA.
Mitchell Altieri, Screenwriter & Director – THE HAMILTONS, APRIL FOOL’S DAY.
Jack Donaldson, Atomic Monster – M3GAN, THE CONJURING.

FOR ALL THE INFO GO TO: https://www.shorescripts.com/feature/

SHORE SCRIPTS | DISCOVERING NEW SCREENWRITING TALENT FROM AROUND THE WORLD.

Deadline:

Entry Fee:
$79.00

Your Script Produced! Drama

Objective:

The official debut of "Your Script Produced! Drama, a genre focused screenwriting and talent discovery event. Empowered and sponsored by "Your Script Produced! INDEPENDENT, exclusively repped by one of the top three most powerful talent agencies in Hollywood, Entertainment, and the world, the UNITED TALENT AGENCY!

...and STILL, focused on discovering, developing, promoting, and potentially producing the underrepresented, overlooked, and the talented writers, directors, actors, producers, filmmakers, and all artists in Hollywood and the entertainment industry, worldwide!

Sponsored by "Your Script Produced!" INDEPENDENT (Repped by UTA)

Deadline: