RULES & ELIGIBILITY

RULES:

  • Submissions are accepted via electronic submission only, between July 26, 2023 and July 21, 2024.
  • Entry fee for each teleplay script is $44 until the early deadline on January 14, 2024, $54 until the regular deadline on February 11, 2024, and $64 until the final deadline on March 10, 2024.
  • Entry fee for each screenplay and short script is $49 until the early deadline on April 14, 2024, $59 until the regular deadline on May 12, 2024, $69 until the late deadline on June 23, 2024, and $79 until the final deadline on July 21, 2024. Short scripts receive a $5 discount.
  • Optional feedback from a professional reader may be requested at the time of entry. Requests for feedback after an entry is submitted will not be accepted.
  • There is no limit to the number of projects you may submit.
  • 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.
  • All submitted material must be original, authored solely by human writers, and all rights must be wholly owned by the writer(s).
  • 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). All writers must be credited on title page.
  • 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 the prize money.
  • Substitutions of either corrected pages or new drafts of the entered material will be not be allowed. Please proofread your script carefully before submitting.
  • 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.
  • Contact info may be included on the cover page of the screenplay, however it is not required.
  • All ownership and rights to the scripts submitted to this contest remains with the original rights holders.

ELIGIBILITY:

  • 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 year is not. (Contest winnings not included.)
  • 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).
  • All material submitted to other competitions or contests are eligible for this contest.
  • There are no requirements as to when the material was written.
  • Screenplay and intellectual property must be wholly owned and submitted by the writer(s). Works generated or co-authored by artificial intelligence are not eligible for submission.
  • Material should be submitted in standard screenplay format, font, spacing and margin.
  • We have no preferences regarding title page content. Title and name of writer would suffice.
  • Adaptations are ineligible unless the underlying rights are owned by the writer or the work is in the public domain.
  • The recommended length for 1/2 hour teleplays are 25 – 35 pages. The recommended length for 1 hour teleplays are 55 – 70 pages. The recommended length for shorts are under 30 pages. The recommended length for feature film scripts is 80 -120 pages. Scripts over pages limits are fine and will be accepted, however please note that there is a small page overage charge of $1 per every page over the limit to compensate the judges for the extra time invested in reading longer scripts.
  • Scripts longer than 150 pages will not be eligible.
  • All material must be submitted electronically as a PDF or it will not be eligible.

The winners will be chosen based on the following criteria: (i) premise; (ii) execution; (iii) style/tone; (iv) characters; (v) dialogue; (vi) formatting; (vii) structure; (viii) pacing; (ix) payoff; (x) marketability. The finalists may be contacted by interested industry representatives, such as managers, agents or producers. Entrants may be required to submit further information to assist in the judges’ verification of eligibility. Any entrant may be deemed ineligible at the sole discretion of Scriptation. 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 identification and any other documents that Scriptation 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. We reserve the right to amend these rules at any time.

COPYRIGHT AND OWNERSHIP

Scriptation 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.

PUBLICITY

Except where prohibited by law, participation in the contest constitutes each entrant’s consent to Scriptation 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 a entrants’ information are in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

REFUND POLICY

All entries are non-refundable.

ENTRY CONDITIONS AND RELEASE

BY ENTERING THE CONTEST YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU HAVE READ AND AGREE TO THESE CONDITIONS. You affirm that your entry is entirely your own work, is not authored or co-authored by artificial intelligence, and does not infringe upon any existing copyrights. If it is found that your work was authored or co-authored by artificial intelligence, your entry will be disqualified immediately, and any awarded prizes must be returned in full. We employ a panel of esteemed judges, consisting of industry professionals, to evaluate the submissions. Please understand that due to industry demands and schedules, the composition of this judging panel may evolve, ensuring the contest’s high-quality evaluation standards are upheld consistently. You agree to release and hold harmless Scriptation, Scriptation.com, 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 Scriptation 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 Scriptation 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).