Screenwriting Competitions for Scripts and Stage Plays 2024

Screenwriting Competition List updated 2 May 2024. Includes International and UK competitions for screenwriters and playwrights. Details are accurate as far as possible and updated monthly – bookmark this page! I can’t vouch for all these comps personally, but if you have experience of any of them, let us know in the comments. Good luck! Please be sure to check the websites for more information, submission requirements and deadlines. BAFTA Rocliffe Competitions Various competitions run through the year: TV Drama, Comedy, Writing for Children, and Film. Open to UK residents only. All entries receive feedback. Win in-depth script report, industry introductions, and more. Deadlines vary depending on script type. Competition opening dates: Film opens in August 2024; TV Comedy now closed; TV Drama now closed and Children & YA Media opens in 2025. NOTE: deadlines dates subject to change… Entry Fee: £58 Deadlines: TV Comedy – 21 March 2024 *CLOSED* Submit: synopsis, treatment, character breakdown, script extract. Check website for full submission details and rules. BBC International Radio Playwriting Competition Global competition run by the BBC World Service for writers outside the UK in two categories: English as a first language, and English as a second language. NOT open to residents of the UK. Radio play must be approx. 53 minutes in length on any subject. Win £2,500 and a trip to London to attend an award ceremony and see your play recorded for broadcast. Entry Fee: Free Deadline: 12 February 2023 *CLOSED* Submit: complete play plus short synopsis. Check website for full submission details and rules. BBC Writer’s Room Writing opportunities and events from across the industry. Open to UK residents only. It’s worth checking regularly for the latest competitions in screenwriting and theatre. You can also submit scripts to the BBC from The Script Room which opens for submissions in two windows: either drama or comedy scripts. Next window for Open Call submissions TBC. Entry Fee: Free Deadline: TBC Submit: varies per opportunity. Check website for full submission details and rules. Blue Cat Screenplay Competition International contest with multiple awards. Win over $18,500 cash prizes in various categories. Awards for Feature, TV Pilot and Short. Further prize of $1,000 for scripts from outside the US. All entrants receive a script analysis with constructive feedback. Fees vary by deadline and script type. Entry Fee: $30 – $95 Deadlines: Late 10 December 2023 *CLOSED* Submit: screenplay in pdf format. Check website for full submission details and rules. Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting Biennial competition for established, emerging and debut writers for an original and unperformed play an hour or more in length. Open to residents of UK and Ireland and British overseas territories only. Opens for entries on 9 September 2024. Entry Fee: Free Deadline: 9 January 2025 Submit: complete script. Check website for full submission details and rules. Channel 4 Screenwriting Competition Contest run by 4Screenwriting for 12 writers to get an insight into how the TV drama industry works. Win a place at two script workshops and develop your screenplay with a script editor. Channel 4 may option the script for 6 months. Open to residents of UK and Ireland only. You must be available to attend two weekend workshops in January and June 2024. Opens for entries suddenly in tight windows so keep checking the site for updates. Entry Fee: Free Deadline: 2 October 2023 *CLOSED* Submit: screenplay in pdf format and CV. Check website for full submission details and rules. Euroscript Screenwriting Competition Win £1,000 worth of script development and work on 3 drafts of your screenplay with an editor. All entrants receive feedback. I won this competition in 2008 and it was definitely worth entering. Read about my experience here. Entry Fee: £40 Deadline: 31 March 2025 Submit: 2 page treatment for feature film and 10 page script sample and entry form. Check website for full submission details and rules. Film Festival Guild Competitions Four festivals with international screenplay contests: British Animation Film Festival (BAFF), British Horror Film Festival (BHFF), British Independent Film Festival (BIFF), and International Film Festival of Wales (IFFW). Awards are mostly for films, but you can submit a script to win Best Unproduced Screenplay. Fees vary by deadline. Entry Fee: $10-$45 Deadlines: BIFF – Early Bird 16 September 2024; Regular 20 January 2025; Late 9 March 2025; Extended 30 March 2025 BAFF – Early Bird 26 August 2024; Regular 25 November 2024; Late 9 March 2025; Extended 30 March 2025 BHFF – Regular 5 July 2024; Late 30 August 2024; Extended 20 September 2024 IFFW – Regular 20 July 2024; Late 21 September 2024; Extended 12 October 2024 Submit: screenplay in pdf or doc format. Check website for full submission details and rules. Final Draft Big Break Screenwriting Contest International contest with various cash prizes, software, books, listings on InkTip, and meetings in Hollywood. Grand prizes for feature and TV. Feature screenplay categories: Action, Comedy, Drama, Family, Period, Sci-Fi, and Horror. TV scripts for half-hour, hour, specs, and pilots. Fees vary by deadline. Open for entries. Entry Fee: $35 – $65 Deadlines: Regular 20 May 2024; Final 10 June 2024; Extended 28 June 2024 Submit: screenplay in pdf or Final Draft format. Check website for full submission details and rules. Green Stories Radio Series Competition Open to screenplays for a radio play or series that uses ideas about environmental sustainability and building a sustainable society. Your script can be in any genre as long as it has a positive and inspiring vision rather than a dystopian one. Win appraisal by the Literary Consultancy and the script will be sent to production companies. BBC Writer’s Room will read the top 5 scripts. Next competition TBC. Entry Fee: Free Deadline: TBC Submit: first episode and 3 page outline of series. Check website for full submission details and rules. London Independent Film Festival Screenplay To recognise and support new and unrepresented screenwriters. Winning scripts are read by production companies, studios and agencies. Four entry categories: Best Feature Screenplay, Best UK Screenplay, Best Sci-Fi/Horror Screenplay, and Best Short Screenplay. Fees vary by deadline and script type. Entry Fee: $35-$99 Deadlines: Early Bird 29 October 2024; Regular 26 November 2024; Late 9 January 2025; Final 6 February 2025 Submit: screenplay and 1-3 sentence synopsis plus entry form. Check website for full submission details and rules. Netflix Screenwriters’ Fellowship A *NEW* talent initiative offering 6 writers the opportunity for a programme of professional development, including a bursary of £22,568 to write a spec script for an original idea over a year, plus a paid placement in a writer’s room of a Netflix or Sky series. Open to Black, Asian, and other ethnic backgrounds that are underrepresented in TV and film. You must be a resident of the UK to enter and available to take part from 13 September 2021. Next competition TBC. Entry Fee: Free Deadline: TBC Submit: a script in pdf format. Check website for full submission details and rules. PAGE International Screenwriting Awards To discover the most exciting new scripts from around the US and elsewhere. Ten award categories: Feature Scripts in Action/Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Family, Historical, Sci-Fi, and Thriller/Horror, plus Short Film, TV Pilot, and TV Comedy Pilot. Win $25,000, an InkTip listing, and more. Fees vary by deadline. Entry Fee: $47-$77 Deadlines: Final 20 May 2024 Submit: screenplay in pdf format. Check website for full submission details and rules. Papatango New Writing Prize Annual award to guarantee an emerging playwright a full production on the professional stage. Open to residents of UK and Ireland only. Win a four week production at Southwark Playhouse in London and support for your next play. The play must be at least 60 mins long. Papatango accepts unsolicited submissions all year, but the New Writing Prize opens once a year. Entry Fee: Free Deadline: 11 March 2024 *CLOSED* Submit: stage play in pdf or doc format. Check website for full submission details and rules. Red Planet Prize In partnership with ITV Drama. Competition for a TV pilot in the hope of finding a new hit series. Open to UK residents only. Win a script commission and development opportunities with ITV. Up to 10 shortlisted entrants will attend a pitching masterclass and 4 writers will have a final interview to choose the winner. Opening TBC. Entry Fee: Free Deadline: TBC Submit: original spec script, 1-2 page pitch for series, plus writing CV. Check website for full submission details and rules. Screencraft Contests Multiple contests dedicated to finding talented screenwriters and connecting them with producers and agents. Contests for feature, short, and TV scripts, plus cinematic short stories, film production funds, and more. Deadlines run through the year. Cash prizes vary by contest. Fees vary by deadlines. Entry Fee: $29-$59 Deadlines: check website for latest contests Submit: screenplay in pdf format. Check website for full submission details and rules. Scriptapalooza Scriptapalooza promotes and pitches the semi-finalists and winners for a full year to the industry. Prizes for feature and short scripts. Win $10,000, access to producers and more. Genre winners receive $500. Fees vary by deadline. Entry Fee: $50-$75 for features; $30-$55 for shorts Deadlines: Last Minute 8 April 2024 *CLOSED* Submit: screenplay in pdf, doc, or txt formats. Check website for full submission details and rules. Scriptation Showcase Script Competition Run by professional scriptwriters to connect screenwriters with the industry and circulate scripts to the directors, showrunners, and producers of your favourite movies and TV shows. Win cash prizes, a Scriptation Showcase, and industry access. For teleplays, screenplays, and shorts written in English. Fees vary by contest and deadline. Entry Fee: $44 – $79 Deadlines: Teleplay – Final 10 March 2024 *CLOSED* Screenplay & Shorts – Regular 12 May 2024; Late 23 June 2024; Final 21 July 2024 Submit: script in pdf format. Check website for full submission details and rules. Script Pipeline Three contests: First Look Project, Screenwriting, and TV Writing. First Look scripts must be ‘studio level’ projects. Cash prizes vary by contest. Winners also receive industry circulation for their script. Deadlines and fees vary by contest. Entry Fee: $45-$55 Deadlines: check website for latest contests Submit: screenplay in pdf format. Check website for full submission details and rules. Shore Scripts Discovering new exciting screenwriting talent from around the world. Three contests: Feature, TV Pilot, and Short screenplays. Win cash prizes, software, script feedback, InkTip listing, and more. Cash prizes vary by contest. To enter you must not have earned more than $30,000 in writing fees since 2013. All genres accepted. Fees vary by deadline and contest. TV Pilot contest opens 1 February 2024. Feature contest opens 3 April 2024. Entry Fee: $40 – $65 Deadlines: TV Pilot – Regular 31 May 2024; Final 28 June 2024 Feature – Early 24 June 2024; Regular 31 July 2024; Final 30 August 2024 Submit: screenplay in pdf format. Check website for full submission details and rules. Tracking Board Launch Pad Dedicated to launching writing careers. Three competitions: Pilot, Feature, and Manuscript. Each competition has multiple possible prizes and categories and add-ons, or you can get an All Access Pass. Includes mentorship opportunities to develop your script. Fees vary by deadline and contest. Entry Fee: $50-$80 Deadlines: check website for latest contests Submit: 50 pages and 1 page synopsis in pdf format. Check website for full submission details and rules. UK Film Festival Competitions This festival runs every year and has three screenwriting competitions to find new talent: Feature Script, 10 Minute (or less), and 3 Minute Script. Win UK Film Festival laurels and publicity, plus InkTip listing for producers to find your script. Fees vary by deadline and script type. Entry Fee: £11-£67.50 Deadline: Early Bird 10 June 2024; Later Bird 29 July 2024; Reminder 14 October 2024; Regular 9 December 2024; Final 28 February 2025 Submit: screenplay in pdf format, plus treatment and synopsis for Feature. Check website for full submission details and rules. More Competition Lists: Novel Writing Competition List Resources and Advice for Writers Competition List from Christopher Fielden Before entering any competition make sure you check the entry requirements and rules. If I’ve missed any good screenwriting competitions, please let me know in the comments below… Note: This is a list of competitions I’ve compiled from information available online. I have no connection to any of the companies. Any problems or queries should be directed to the companies concerned.