Film Independent Screenwriting and Episodic Labs

Closed for this cycle

The 2026 contest (the 24th annual) closed on 31 May 2026 and no 2027 dates have been published. Across every cycle we could evidence, 2021, 2023, 2025 and 2026, the ladder has been strikingly stable: a Special Entry tier opens the preceding September, pre-registration closes at the end of December, an early tier lands in early March, and the regular deadline has fallen on 1 May with a late tier on 15 May in all four years. Results run through July into early August. On that pattern the 2027 contest would be expected to open around September 2026, but nothing is published yet, so confirm on the official site. Note the contest was renamed from Competition to Contest between 2024 and 2025, so older links may fail.

Closed for this cycle

The 2026 contest (the 19th annual) closed on 31 May 2026 and no 2027 dates have been published. It has shared its deadline ladder with the Script Pipeline Screenwriting Contest in every year we could evidence: a Special Entry tier the preceding September, pre-registration at the end of December, an early tier in early March, regular on 1 May and late on 15 May. Results run July into early August. On that pattern the 2027 contest would be expected to open around September 2026, but nothing is published yet. Note the contest was renamed from Competition to Contest between 2024 and 2025, so older links may fail. Original pilots only: specs of existing shows are not accepted.

Closed for this cycle

The 2026 cycle opened on 2 March and closed on 20 March 2026 at 5:00pm, with shortlist interviews in the week of 4 May and six writers informed by 12 May. No timezone is published, though the organisers are Irish. The 2027 window is unannounced, but the cadence is the most stable of any Irish scheme we carry: four consecutive years with a late February or early March open, a deadline in the first three weeks of March, a residential weekend in Galway in May, a second in Dublin in October, and six writers plus three shadow editors every single year. The only drift is the deadline itself sliding from the first days of March in 2023, 2024 and 2025 to the 20th in 2026, so a March 2027 deadline is a reasonable expectation.

Closed for this cycle

The 2026 round ran from 3 October and was scheduled to close on 27 October 2025 at 11:59pm Pacific, but hit its 1,000 application cap first and shut early. FOX says only to check back next autumn for the next cycle. The programme is genuinely annual across three evidenced cycles, but the window has moved earlier and shortened each time, from a roughly 40 day window opening in December, to 16 days in mid-October, to 25 days in early October. The 1,000 cap was introduced for the second of those and has closed the window early both times since, so the published closing date is a ceiling rather than a plan.

Closed for this cycle

The most recent round accepted applications from 9 September to 31 October 2025, with an early-bird discount for applications on or before 5 October, notification by mid-December and the forum held 17 to 19 March 2026. No times or timezone are published. Fees ran 650 Hong Kong dollars early and 800 at the official deadline, with a New Director concession at 500 and 650 respectively, and a 300 dollar bank charge added for telegraphic transfer. No call for the next edition has been published. The annual pattern is stable across three evidenced cycles: the call opens in early September, closes on 31 October, and the forum runs in mid-March.

Closed for this cycle

The spring and summer 2026 cycle ran from 3 February to 15 July 2026 at 11:59pm Pacific, across five tiers: special entry on 25 February at 35 dollars, early on 20 April at 40, regular on 15 June at 45, late on 30 June at 50 and extended on 15 July at 55. Results are due on or after 20 August 2026. Joining the Script Pipeline mailing list takes 5 dollars off an entry. Bi-annual here means twice a year rather than every two years, and the pattern is stable: both cycles have run in each of 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025. No dates for the autumn and winter 2026 cycle have been published.