Find your next screenwriting opportunity.
Explore competitions, fellowships, labs and grants.
Narrow your options by format, deadline and entry cost.
115 opportunities to explore
Contest (2027)
BlueCat Screenplay Competition
Accepting applications
- Next deadline
- Deadline today
- Late
- Application fee
- $95
- See category fees
Long-running screenplay comp.
Feature / Short
Action, Adventure + 18 more genres
Grant (2026)
BFI NETWORK England Early Development Fund
Accepting applications
- Next deadline
- Applications close
- Application fee
- No entry fee
National Lottery money paid straight to the writer, with no producer needed and no copyright share taken.
Feature
Contest (2027)
Cinequest Screenwriting Competition
Accepting applications
- Next deadline
- In 3 days
- Final
- Application fee
- $100
- See category fees
Screenplay and teleplay contest of Silicon Valley's Cinequest, sharing about $8,000 across four categories.
Feature / Short / TV Pilot
Action, Adventure + 18 more genres
Lab (2026)
Stowe Story Labs
Accepting applications
- Next deadline
- In 6 days
- 2027 Narrative Labs and Writers' Retreats regular
- Application fee
- $57
Vermont and online labs where emerging writers develop scripts with mentors.
Feature / TV Pilot
Action, Adventure + 18 more genres
Fellowship (2026)
CineStory Foundation Retreat and Fellowship
Accepting applications
- Next deadline
- In 14 days
- TV extended late deadline
- Application fee
- $90
Contest-fed Idyllwild retreats plus a $10,000 fellowship and a 12-month industry mentorship.
Feature / TV Pilot
Action, Adventure + 18 more genres
Lab (2027)
TorinoFilmLab ComedyLab
Accepting applications
- Next deadline
- Applications close
- Application fee
- No application fee
- Cost if selected
- €3,000
TorinoFilmLab's comedy feature lab, where screenwriters develop projects alongside stand-ups and performers.
Feature
Comedy
Programme (2026)
BBC Writers Open Call
Upcoming
- Next deadline
- Submissions close (window opens 3 November)
- Application fee
- No entry fee
The BBC’s free open call for original drama and comedy-drama scripts, with development opportunities for selected writers.
Feature / TV Pilot / Radio / Stage
Comedy, Drama
Contest (2026)
Scriptapalooza
Accepting applications
- Next deadline
- Screenplay: Early bird
- Application fee
- $45
Long-running open-to-all contest spanning feature, TV, short and a fellowship, with a year of industry promotion.
Feature / TV Pilot / Short
Action, Adventure + 18 more genres
Fellowship (2027)
NRDC Climate Storytelling Fellowship
Accepting applications
- Next deadline
- Submission deadline
- Application fee
- No entry fee
Free to enter, and it gives you a paid evaluation for nothing.
Feature / TV Pilot
Contest (2027)
Raindance Script Competition
Accepting applications
- Next deadline
- Earlybird
- Application fee
- £60
A London institution with a 10,000 pound production fund for shorts, and no ownership or option claimed.
Feature / Short / TV Pilot
Contest (2026)
Finish Line Script Competition
Accepting applications
- Next deadline
- Final Resubmissions Due
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
Writer-friendly development contest for features, shorts and pilots, with free redrafts and a US$10,000 prize.
Feature / TV Pilot / Short
Action, Adventure + 18 more genres
Contest (2026)
Script Pipeline Pitch Contest
Accepting applications
- Next deadline
- Regular deadline
- Application fee
- $45
Pitches only, no screenplay accepted.
Feature / TV Pilot
Lab (2027)
Black List x WIF Episodic Lab
Accepting applications
- Next deadline
- Submission deadline
- Application fee
- $40
Four weeks of pilot development in Los Angeles, then a year as a WIF Fellow.
TV Pilot
Lab (2027)
TorinoFilmLab SeriesLab
Accepting applications
- Next deadline
- Applications close
- Application fee
- No application fee
- Cost if selected
- €3,500
Six months developing a series with your producer, ending in a 10,000 euro development grant for one project.
TV Pilot
Contest (2027)
Script Pipeline Screenwriting Contest
Accepting applications
- Next deadline
- Pre-register
- Application fee
- $50
24th annual screenwriting competition.
Feature
Action, Adventure + 18 more genres
Contest (2027)
Script Pipeline TV Writing Contest
Accepting applications
- Next deadline
- Pre-register
- Application fee
- $50
19th annual TV writing competition.
TV Pilot
Action, Adventure + 18 more genres
Grant (2026)
Ffilm Cymru Wales Development Fund
Rolling applications
- Next deadline
- February review
- Application fee
- No entry fee
Up to 24,999 pounds to develop a feature, and a lone writer can apply.
Feature
Programme (2027)
Serial Eyes
Upcoming
- Next deadline
- Applications close (window opens 12 December)
- Application fee
- No application fee
- Cost if selected
- €4,500
Nine full-time months in Berlin learning to run a series room.
TV Pilot
Contest (2027)
Euroscript Screen Story Competition
Closed for this cycle
- Next deadline
- Final deadline
- Application fee
- £45
UK development outfit's annual story contest.
Feature
Action, Adventure + 18 more genres
Grant (2026)
Screen Australia Narrative Content Development
Rolling applications
- Entry window
- No fixed deadline
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
Always open, no fee, and a lone writer can apply.
Feature / TV Pilot
Grant (2026)
Screen Scotland Single Project Development Funding
Rolling applications
- Entry window
- No fixed deadline
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
Rolling, no deadline, no fee: 3,000 to 50,000 pounds against a real development budget.
Feature
Programme (2027)
4Screenwriting
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
Channel 4's free development course: 12 writers new to TV drama, paid to develop an original one-hour pilot.
TV Pilot
Drama
Contest (2026)
Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
The Academy's flagship feature-screenplay fellowship: five US$35,000 awards for emerging writers.
Feature
Action, Adventure + 18 more genres
Contest (2026)
AFF Script Competition: Austin Film Festival
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
Premier US screenplay competition since 1994.
Feature / TV Pilot / Short
Action, Drama + 16 more genres
Contest (2026)
American Zoetrope Screenplay Competition
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
Coppola's company, a 40 dollar entry, and ten named agencies reading the winner and nine finalists.
Feature / TV Pilot
Lab (2026)
Athena Film Festival Writers Lab
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
Virtual three-phase lab for woman-centred film and TV scripts, from Barnard's Athena Film Festival.
Feature / TV Pilot
Action, Adventure + 18 more genres
Contest (2027)
Atlanta Film Festival Screenplay Competition
Dates to confirm
- Entry window
- Check the full listing
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
Oscar-qualifying festival's screenplay contest with mentorship, live readings and worldwide entry.
Feature / TV Pilot / Short
Action, Adventure + 18 more genres
Contest (2026)
BAFTA Rocliffe New Writing Competition
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
BAFTA-backed new writing call.
TV Pilot
Comedy
Programme (2026)
BBC Comedy Collective
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
Ten places, 10,000 pounds of paid shadowing and a 5,000 pound grant.
TV Pilot
Programme
BBC Writers: Pilot 2027/28
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- No entry fee
BBC pilot commission scheme.
TV Pilot
Drama
Programme (2027)
Berlinale Talents
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
Six days in Berlin with 200 filmmakers during the festival.
Formats in full listing
Fellowship (2026)
Black List Parenthood Writers Fellowship
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
15,000 dollars each to four writers for scripts about becoming a parent.
Feature / TV Pilot
Fellowship (2027)
CAPE New Writers Fellowship
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
Four fellows, a high-level mentor and a script CAPE actively markets to industry.
TV Pilot
Lab (2026)
CFC Comedy Series Lab
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
Four writers, a real comedy story room, a produced teaser.
TV Pilot
Comedy
Lab (2026)
CFC Norman Jewison Film Program: Writers' Lab
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
Five months in residence in Toronto, tuition covered, and a professionally produced proof of concept CFC pays for.
Feature / TV Pilot
Programme (2026)
Channel 4 New Writers Scheme
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
Nine months developing a Channel 4 drama pilot.
TV Pilot
Contest (2026)
Channel 4 Writing for Television Awards
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
Three thousand pounds and a long-term placement inside a named production company.
TV Pilot
Lab (2027)
Cine Qua Non Lab: Script Revision Lab
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
- Cost if selected
- $3,750
Two residential weeks revising a finished feature in rural Mexico.
Feature
Lab (2027)
Cine Qua Non Lab: Storylines Lab
Upcoming
- Entry window
- Check the full listing
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
- Cost if selected
- $1,500
Virtual early-development lab taking a feature from concept to treatment.
Feature
Contest (2026)
Creative Screenwriting Animation Competition
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
One of very few contests judging animation on its own terms.
Feature / TV Pilot
Animation
Programme (2026)
Disney Entertainment Television Writing Program
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
Disney's flagship paid TV writing pipeline toward staffing across Disney Entertainment Television.
TV Pilot
Action, Adventure + 18 more genres
Grant (2027)
Dublin International Film Festival ESB Short Film Award
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
Eighteen thousand euro to make your short, and a premiere at DIFF.
Short
Contest (2026)
Emerging Screenwriters Screenplay Competition
Dates to confirm
- Entry window
- Check the full listing
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
Thirty thousand dollars, all of it cash, split across ten finalists and a grand prize winner.
Feature / TV Pilot
Lab (2026)
European Short Pitch
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
- Cost if selected
- €700
A six-month short film development programme and co-production forum.
Short
Fellowship (2027)
Festival de Cannes La Résidence
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
Four and a half months writing in a Paris apartment, free, if you are under 35 and not French.
Feature
Lab (2026)
Film Independent Screenwriting and Episodic Labs
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
Two respected Film Independent development labs: one for a feature script, one for a TV pilot.
Feature / TV Pilot
Action, Adventure + 18 more genres
Contest (2026)
Film Pipeline Short Script Contest
Dates to confirm
- Entry window
- Check the full listing
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
Five thousand dollars and production support for a short.
Short
Contest (2026)
FilmBath IMDb Script to Screen Award
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
Seven thousand pounds to make your short, judged blind, with actors performing it live before the panel decides.
Short
Contest (2026)
Filmmatic Comedy Screenplay Awards
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
Comedy-genre screenplay awards.
Feature / Short
Comedy
Contest (2026)
Filmmatic TV Pilot Awards
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
TV-pilot-focused awards.
TV Pilot
Action, Adventure + 18 more genres
Contest (2026)
Final Draft Big Break Screenwriting Contest
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
Final Draft's flagship contest.
Feature / TV Pilot / Short
Action, Adventure + 18 more genres
Programme (2027)
FOX Entertainment Writers Incubator
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
Four writers, priority in FOX staffing meetings, and rights exchanged in place of payment.
TV Pilot
Contest (2026)
Galway Film Fleadh Pitching Competition
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
Three thousand euro on the strength of 500 words.
Feature
Lab (2026)
Greenlight Screenwriting Lab
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- No entry fee
Free, paid, six months of mentored development.
TV Pilot
Drama
Lab (2026)
HamptonsFilm Screenwriters Lab
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
A funded weekend in East Hampton with mentors like Celine Song and Debra Granik.
Feature
Contest (2026)
HollyShorts Screenplay Contest
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
Script contest of the Oscar-qualifying HollyShorts festival.
Short / TV Pilot
Action, Adventure + 18 more genres
Programme (2027)
Hong Kong Asia Film Financing Forum: Project Market
Dates to confirm
- Entry window
- Check the full listing
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
A three-day financing forum with a six-figure award slate and travel paid.
Feature
Grant (2026)
Hubert Bals Fund: Script and Project Development Support
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
Ten thousand euro to develop a feature, if you originate from one of its eligible countries.
Feature
Fellowship (2027)
Humanitas New Voices Fellowship
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
Six-month Humanitas mentorship for early-career TV and feature writers exploring the human condition.
Feature / TV Pilot
Action, Adventure + 18 more genres
Fellowship (2026)
Inevitable Foundation Accelerate Fellowship
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
Funded four-month rewriting sprint for disabled film and TV writers, with US$30,000 and mentorship.
Feature / TV Pilot
Action, Adventure + 18 more genres
Contest (2026)
ISA Diversity Initiative
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
Free to enter and open worldwide, but there is no cash at all and the checkout sells notes up to 799 dollars.
Feature / TV Pilot
Fellowship (2026)
ISA Fast Track Fellowship
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
Twice-yearly fellowship: a week of exec meetings plus a year on the ISA Development Slate.
Feature / TV Pilot
Action, Adventure + 18 more genres
Programme (2026)
It's My Shout
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
A produced, broadcast credit on BBC Cymru Wales and S4C.
Short
Programme (2026)
ITV Academy Original Voices
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
Three paid months inside Coronation Street or Emmerdale, learning how continuing drama actually works.
TV Pilot
Programme (2026)
ITV Studios Disabled Writers in Development
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
Twelve months inside a major drama label, and a 21,000 pound writer fee.
TV Pilot
Contest (2026)
Kairos Prize for Spiritually Uplifting Screenplays
Dates to confirm
- Entry window
- Check the full listing
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
The flagship faith-based screenplay contest.
Feature / TV Pilot
Fellowship (2027)
MacDowell Fellowship
Upcoming
- Entry window
- Check the full listing
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
A private studio, a bed and three meals a day in New Hampshire for up to eight weeks.
Feature
Lab (2026)
MIDPOINT Series Launch: Essentials
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
- Cost if selected
- €1,400
One of the few European series labs a solo writer can enter alone.
TV Pilot
Contest (2027)
Nashville Film Festival Screenwriting Competition
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
Long-running festival screenwriting contest across genre features, shorts and 30/60-minute pilots, open worldwide.
Feature / TV Pilot / Short
Action, Adventure + 18 more genres
Lab (2026)
Native American TV Writers Lab
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
A virtual writers room ending in meetings with executives and literary representation.
TV Pilot
Programme (2026)
NBCUniversal Launch TV Writers Program
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
NBCU's network TV pipeline: develop a pilot and compete for staffing across NBCU and Universal.
TV Pilot
Action, Adventure + 18 more genres
Programme (2026)
Netflix NextGen India Writers' Program
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- No entry fee
Three lakhs, travel paid, eight weeks with Netflix executives.
TV Pilot
Lab (2026)
NHMC Series Scriptwriters Program
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
Completely free from application to programme, ending in a pitch to ABC and NBC executives.
TV Pilot
Fellowship (2026)
Nipkow Programm
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
A Berlin residency paying 1,500 euro a month, out of which you fund your own flights and Berlin rent.
Feature
Lab (2027)
Northern Ireland Screen New Writer Focus
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
A writers' room for Northern Irish writers with no feature credit, plus a writer's award of around 2,500 pounds.
Feature
Contest (2026)
NYC Midnight Screenwriting Challenge
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
Global prompt-based contest: short screenplays against tight deadlines over three rounds, with feedback on every entry.
Short
Action, Adventure + 18 more genres
Fellowship (2028)
NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship: Playwriting and Screenwriting
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
Eight thousand dollars, unrestricted, no project attached.
Feature / TV Pilot
Grant (2026)
NZ Writers Guild Seed and Seed Advanced Grants
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
Cash to write a feature draft before you part with any rights.
Feature
Lab (2026)
Oxbelly Screenwriters Program
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
Eight days in Greece with flights, board and everything covered.
Feature
Contest (2026)
PAGE International Screenwriting Awards
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
Long-running US contest with a $25K Grand Prize and 10 genre categories across feature, short, and TV pilots.
Feature / TV Pilot / Short
Action, Fantasy + 15 more genres
Programme (2026)
Paramount Writers Mentoring Program
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
Paramount's eight-month TV writing mentorship, now incorporating the Nickelodeon Writing Program as its kids, family and YA pathway.
TV Pilot
Animation, Adventure + 5 more genres
Programme (2026)
Reelworld Emerging 20 (E20)
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
Remote, part-time, no published fee, and six sessions with a story editor on your own script.
Feature / TV Pilot
Programme (2026)
RTÉ Storyland
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- No entry fee
Free to enter, three scripts commissioned and broadcast.
TV Pilot
Comedy
Contest (2026)
Screamfest Screenplay Competition
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
Horror feature contest at LA's Screamfest, with a $1,000 grand prize, industry reads and opt-in feedback.
Feature
Horror, Thriller
Grant (2026)
Screen Ireland Screenplay Development (Established Talent)
Dates to confirm
- Entry window
- Check the full listing
- Application fee
- No entry fee
Attach a producer and you are automatically ineligible.
Feature
Programme (2027)
Screen Scotland Talent Builder: First Draft
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
Twelve paid months taking one feature from outline to polished first draft.
Feature
Programme (2027)
Séries Mania Institute Writers Campus
Dates to confirm
- Entry window
- Check the full listing
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
- Cost if selected
- €1,090
Five days in Lille pitching a series at the Séries Mania Forum.
TV Pilot
Fellowship (2027)
Sesame Workshop Writers' Room
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
Free, virtual, no experience needed.
TV Pilot
Family
Grant (2026)
SFFILM Rainin Grant
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
Up to 25,000 dollars for a social-justice feature, but four unfunded weeks in San Francisco come out of it.
Feature
Fellowship (2026)
SFFILM Sloan Science in Cinema Filmmaker Fellowship
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
Thirty-five thousand dollars to each of two writers, with a science advisor attached.
Feature / TV Pilot
Programme (2026)
SGIFF Pro Pitching Forum
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- No entry fee
Singapore's co-production pitching forum.
Feature
Contest (2026)
Shore Scripts Feature Screenplay Contest
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
UK-based feature comp with $5,000 grand prize, mentorship from Debbie Berman (Black Panther, Captain Marvel), and industry circulation.
Feature
Action, Adventure + 18 more genres
Contest (2026)
Shore Scripts Short Film Fund
Dates to confirm
- Entry window
- Check the full listing
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
Short-script production fund: a US$15,000 grant to produce one winning short screenplay, plus US$4,000 finishing funds.
Short
Action, Adventure + 18 more genres
Contest (2026)
Sir Peter Ustinov Television Scriptwriting Award
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
The International Emmys' free award for non-US writers under 30: $2,500 and a New York festival trip.
TV Pilot
Comedy, Drama
Contest (2026)
Slamdance Screenplay Competition
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
Indie-leaning screenplay competition since 1997.
Feature / TV Pilot / Short
Action, Adventure + 18 more genres
Grant (2026)
Slick Films Fund
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
Ten thousand pounds to make your short, decided by a live pitch, with travel paid and an Oscar-winning jury.
Short
Lab (2026)
Sundance Institute Episodic Storytelling Lab
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
Sundance's independent TV lab: develop an original pilot with mentorship and industry access.
TV Pilot
Action, Adventure + 18 more genres
Lab (2027)
Sundance Institute Screenwriters Lab
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
Sundance's flagship January lab: five days developing your first or second feature with world-class advisors.
Feature
Action, Adventure + 18 more genres
Lab (2026)
The Black List Annual Labs
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
A week in Ojai with flights, ground transport, lodging and meals covered.
Feature
Contest (2026)
The Great Pitch Competition
Dates to confirm
- Entry window
- Check the full listing
- Application fee
- No entry fee
Genuinely free to enter, including with an unfinished script.
Feature / TV Pilot
Programme (2026)
The Next Brilliant Career
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- No entry fee
Netflix ANZ, the Australian Writers' Guild and all eight screen agencies fly eight writers to Sydney to pitch.
Feature / TV Pilot
Lab (2027)
The Owl Screenwriting Workshop
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
Four residential days in Athens with board covered.
Feature / TV Pilot
Contest (2027)
The Sitcom Mission
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
Twenty pounds, open to anyone including produced writers, and your sitcom performed by professional actors.
TV Pilot
Programme (2027)
The Veterans Writing Project
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
Ten free months writing a script with working WGA mentors, ending in a pitch to executives.
Feature / TV Pilot
Lab (2027)
The Writers Lab
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
NYC script-development retreat for women and nonbinary screenwriters over 40, open internationally.
Feature / TV Pilot
Action, Adventure + 18 more genres
Grant (2026)
Through Her Lens: The Tribeca CHANEL Women's Filmmaker Program
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
A hundred and twenty thousand dollars to produce your short.
Short
Fellowship (2026)
TIFF Sloan Science and Technology Writer Fellowship
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
Thirty-five thousand Canadian dollars to one writer, plus a place in TIFF's Writers' Lab.
Feature
Lab (2026)
TIFF Writers' Lab
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
Five days in Toronto with eight writers, festival access included.
Feature
Contest (2027)
Tony Cox Screenplay Competition
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
Five thousand dollars and a funded month on Nantucket writing.
Feature / Short / TV Pilot
Lab (2027)
TorinoFilmLab ScriptLab
Dates to confirm
- Entry window
- Check the full listing
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
- Cost if selected
- €3,000
Nine months developing a feature with a professional script consultant.
Feature
Contest (2026)
TrackingB Script Contests
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
Hollywood tracking board contests built on rep signings: industry reads instead of cash prizes.
Feature / TV Pilot
Action, Adventure + 18 more genres
Contest (2026)
Virginia Screenwriting Competition
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
Free to enter, 1,000 dollars to each of three winners, and a written evaluation of every single entry.
Feature / TV Pilot
Programme (2027)
Warner Bros. Discovery Access Writers Program
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
WBD's episodic TV pipeline for early-career writers toward staffing across Warner Bros.
TV Pilot
Action, Adventure + 16 more genres
Lab (2026)
Whistler Film Festival Screenwriters Lab
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- Fee not confirmed
- Cost if selected
- CA$2,950
Three-phase Canadian development lab ending in market-ready pitch.
Feature
Programme (2027)
Writers' Access Support Staff Training Program
Closed for this cycle
- Entry window
- Next cycle to be confirmed
- Application fee
- No entry fee
Writers Guild Foundation training for writers' assistant and script coordinator roles.
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Before you send it out.
All articlesAre Screenwriting Competitions Worth It? An Honest 2026 Answer
Thousands of entries, a handful of winners, and a lot of fees in between. The honest case for and against screenwriting competitions in 2026, with two interactive tools to help you decide for your script.
Read the guideWhat to Do With Script Notes: A Framework for Your Next Draft
Notes arrive as a flat list, which quietly suggests every problem is equal and independent. Neither is true. Here is the order that stops you doing the same work twice.
Read the guideIs Keeping Your Screenplay Secret Stopping It From Being Read?
You don't have to put your script online to get useful feedback. A guide to choosing readers, keeping records and knowing what you're agreeing to.
Read the guide