Friday, February 3, 2017

2017 Screenwriting Competitions

Many new screenwriters rely on screenwriting competitions to get noticed. For features, winning a contest can help you land an agent or manager. For aspiring television writers, winning a fellowship might put you in a training program that can lead to being staffed on your first show. Some of the feature-writing contests offer similar fellowships too.

Here is a list of writing competitions and their 2017 deadlines, with links to the contests' websites, all in one place, courtesy of my friend David Bertran. (Bookmark this page. Some of these deadlines have passed, but should be around the same time next year. Also, some of the sites have not yet published entry information for this year, so you'll need to check back later.)

TELEVISION

ABC DISNEY FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM
Open: May - Deadline: sometime in the summer
http://www.abctalentdevelopment.com/writing_program.html

WARNER BROTHERS WRITER’S WORKSHOP
Open: May 1 - Deadline: May 31
https://writersworkshop.warnerbros.com/

NBC WRITER’S ON THE VERGE
Open: May 1 - Deadline: May 31
http://www.nbcunicareers.com/writers-verge

CBS DAYTIME WRITER’S INITIATIVE
Open: Mar 3 - Deadline: May 1
http://diversity.cbscorporation.com/page.php?id=47

CBS WRITERS MENTORING PROGRAM
Open: Mar 3 - Deadline: May 1
http://diversity.cbscorporation.com/page.php?id=23

NICKELODEON WRITING FELLOWSHIP
Open: Jan 2 - Deadline: Feb 28
http://nickanimationstudio.com/writing-program

FOX WRITER’S INTENSIVE
Open: Sep 1 - Deadline: Sep 30
https://www.facebook.com/FoxAudienceStrategy/app/1034290816615652

SUNDANCE EPISODIC STORY LAB
Open: Dec 10 - Deadline: Feb 1
http://www.sundance.org/programs/episodic-storytelling

AUSTIN FILM FESTIVAL
Deadlines: Mar 31 / Apr 20 / May 15
https://austinfilmfestival.com

HBO ACCESS WRITING FELLOWSHIP
Open: Mar 1 - Deadline: Mar 4
https://www.hbo.com/hboaccess/

WGAW TV WRITER ACCESS PROJECT
Deadlines: Nov 18
http://www.wga.org/members/programs/tv-writer-access-project

ISA FAST TRACK FELLOWSHIP
Deadlines: Jan 12 / Feb 9 / Mar 1
http://www.networkisa.org/fasttrack/

TRACKINGB ORIGINAL TV PILOT CONTEST
Open: Jan 1 - Deadline: Jan 10 / Apr 2
www.trackingb.com

NATIONAL HISPANIC MEDIA COALITION
Open: Apr 6 - Deadline: Aug 7
http://www.nhmc.org/writersprogram

SCREENCRAFT FELLOWSHIP
Open: Oct 1 - Deadlines: Dec 30 / Jan 15
https://screencraft.org/fellowship/

SCREENCRAFT PILOT TV Contest: Open: May 13 - Deadlines: Jul 13 / Sep 13
https://screencraft.org/pilot/

SCRIPT PIPELINE COMPETITION
Deadlines: Mar 1 / May 1 / May 15 / May 29
www.scriptpipeline.com

LAUNCHPAD TRACKING BOARD
Deadlines: Dec 4 / Jan 8 / Feb 5 / Feb 20
https://www.tblaunchpad.com

FRESH VOICES SCREENPLAY COMPETITION
Deadline: Aug 9 / Sep 8 / Oct 6 / Nov 3
http://www.fresh-voices.com/2016-screenplay-competition/about-2016-screenplay-competition.html

CINESTORY
Deadlines: Dec 20 / Jan 15 / Feb 25 / Apr 5
www.cinestory.org


FEATURES

NICHOLL SCREENWRITING FELLOWSHIP
Deadlines: Mar 7 / Apr 10 / May 1
http://www.oscars.org/nicholl/about

AUSTIN FILM FESTIVAL
Deadlines: Mar 31 / Apr 20 / May 15
https://austinfilmfestival.com

SLAMDANCE SCREENWRITING CONTEST
Deadlines: Apr 11 / Jun 13 / Jul 25
http://showcase.slamdance.com/Screenplay-Competition

BLUE CAT SCREENPLAY COMPETITION
Deadlines: Nov 15
www.bluecatscreenplay.com

SUNDANCE SCREENWRITERS LAB
Deadlines: May 3
http://applications2.sundance.org

WGAW FEATURE WRITER ACCESS PROJECT
Deadline: Jul 31
http://www.wga.org/content/default.aspx?id=4849

FILM INDEPENDENT SCREENWRITING LAB
Open: Feb 1 - Deadlines: Feb 27 (non-members) / Mar 13 (members)
http://www.filmindependent.org/labs-and-programs/screenwriters-lab/#.ViepzLTI7a4

INDEPENDENT FILMMAKER PROJECT (IFP)
Deadline: Mar 3 (Only open to Writer-Directors)
http://www.ifp.org/programs/labs

TRIBECA ALL ACCESS
Open: Sep 6 - Deadline: Nov 6
https://tribecafilminstitute.org/pages/taa_scripted_and_documenatry_rules_and_regulations

SCREENCRAFT FELLOWSHIP
Open: Oct 1 - Deadlines: Dec 30 / Jan 15
https://screencraft.org/fellowship/

SCREENCRAFT:
Family-Friendly Contest: Open: Oct 2 - Deadlines: Nov 2 / Dec 30
Sci-Fi Contest: Open: Jan 16 - Deadlines: Feb 16 / Mar 30
Comedy Contest: Open: Mar 1 - Deadlines: Apr 1 / May 17
Horror Contest: Open: Mar 15 - Deadlines: Apr 15 / Jul 1
Action & Thriller Contest: Open: Jul 17 - Deadlines: Aug 9 / Oct 11
Short Contest: Open: May 17 - Deadlines: Jun 17 / Aug 1
Short Story Contest: Open: Oct 4 - Deadlines: Nov 4 / Dec 16
https://screencraft.org/screenwriting-contests/

FINAL DRAFT - BIG BREAK CONTEST
Opens: Feb 22
https://store.finaldraft.com/big-break-contest.html

UNIVERSAL PICTURES EMERGING WRITERS FELLOWSHIP
Deadlines: unknown
http://www.nbcunicareers.com/our-career-paths/midsenior-career/universal-pictures%E2%80%99-emerging-writers-fellowship

ISA FAST TRACK
Deadlines: Jan 12 / Feb 9 / Mar 1
http://www.networkisa.org/fasttrack/

SCRIPTAPALOOZA
Deadlines: Jan 6 / Feb 1 / Mar 10 / Apr 17 / May 1
http://www.scriptapalooza.com/home.php

NASHVILLE FILM FESTIVAL
Deadline: Jul 31 / Sep 30 / Nov 30 / Jan 8
https://nashvillefilmfestival.org/screenplay-competition/

STORYPROS
Deadline: Nov 11
http://www.storypros.com

PAGE INTERNATIONAL SCREENWRITING AWARDS
Deadlines: Jan 17 / Feb 17 / Mar 17 / Apr 17
www.pageawards.com

SCRIPT PIPELINE COMPETITION
Deadlines: Mar 1 / May 1 / May 15 / May 29
www.scriptpipeline.com

LAUNCHPAD TRACKING BOARD
Deadlines: Jul13 / Aug 14 / Sep 6 / Sep 21
https://www.tblaunchpad.com

TRACKINGB FEATURE CONTEST
Deadline: Jul 30 / Sep 4 / Oct 9
www.trackingb.com

CINESTORY
Deadlines: Dec 20 / Jan 15 / Feb 25 / Apr 5
www.cinestory.org

FRESH VOICES SCREENPLAY COMPETITION
Deadline: Aug 9 / Sep 8 / Oct 6 / Nov 3
http://www.fresh-voices.com/2016-screenplay-competition/about-2016-screenplay-competition.html

WESCREENPLAY
Deadlines: May 20 / Jul 22 / Sep 23 / Nov 18 / Dec 2
https://wescreenplay.com/contest

THE BLACKLIST
Enter a script anytime for evaluation. If scores are really high, you get exposure thru them.
www.blcklst.com

Good luck!

Updates:
Deadlines for Austin Film Festival have been corrected
Dates added for HBO Access Fellowship

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