All submissions must be written in English.

All ages are eligible.

Material submitted must be written and owned by the person submitting it. You may submit as many entries as you like.

All entries must be uploaded in PDF format.

You may resubmit your entered script once at the discretion of Screenwriters Network. This will be dependent on where the script is in our process and whether this has already been assigned to a reader/ judge.

If submitting as a team a singular prize package (only) will be made out to the initial person who submitted.

Scripts submitted to the SWN Screenplay Competition are protected and remain the owner of the person(s) that submitted.

If you have any further questions, please contact us.

The winners are selected based on the some of the following elements:

Plot

What does your story consist of? Is the bulk of your story great action, meaningful moments and interesting plot related scenes. Or is it a little mild, unrelated and/or too reflective of everyday life. What events does your script consist of to pull in the audience? Is it related to the character desire and potential theme?

Character Development

What interesting character traits do your characters have? Are they 3-dimensional and interesting? Do they have a past? Are they unique and fascinating? Are they boring, passive and/or underdeveloped?

Cinematic Potential

Does your script have many moments that will translate well visually? Is this script non-visual and unimaginative? Does it have an array of exciting, interesting or unfamiliar locations? Does it have any breathtaking, thematic or nuanced scenes? Will a director be able to interpret this script well?

Denouement

The denouement is the culmination of all events of your script; the pay off! How impactful is your ending? Is your resolution satisfying and related to your characters desire? What’s the lasting impression on the audience? Have all loose ends and sub-plots been resolved or addressed?

Prologue

The prologue is your opening image, the introduction to your story. Does your opening set up a theme? Is there a hook or device that draws the audience in at the beginning? Is the introduction to your story memorable, impactful or shocking?

Call to Adventure

The call to adventure is often a very good predictor of how strong your characters desire is. This works hand in hand with your protagonists desire. What is it that sets your character on their journey? Is it an impactful or emotional event or series of events? How strong is your call to adventure? Is it a fleeting thought within your protagonist, or is it devastating or dramatic moment?

Dialogue

Is the dialogue overused, too obvious and revealing? Is it repetitive? Is the dialogue used in a way that’s unique? Is there subtext involved? Do all of the characters speak differently? Is the dialogue poignant? Is there a good amount of conflict in the dialogue? Is some of the dialogue too long?

Pacing

Is this script well-paced? Does it have any slow moments? Is the pacing too fast without any breaks in the drama or action? How well paced is the beginning, middle and end acts? Could the story be shorter? Could it be longer?

Screenwriters Network does not claim ownership of any script submitted. All rights to the screenplays submitted to our competition remains with the original rights holders until and unless other agreements are made.

Except where prohibited by law, participation in the SWN Screenplay Competition constitutes each entrant’s consent to Screenwriters Network and its 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.

Details submitted by any entrant are private and in no way used or shared by any of our partners unless consent is given to award prizes.

All entries are non-refundable.

By submitting your email with Screenwriters Network (us), FilmFreeway, Coverfly or ISA Connect you hereby consent for Screenwriters Network to email you in the future about competition updates and other future notifications. This is so we can send you your submission benefits and also notify you when other competitions may be taking place.

We recommend that scripts should be written in 12-point courier font.

Page lengths MUST meet the guidelines stated below or there is an additional cost of $1 per page.

– Feature Lengths screenplays must be 200 pages or under.

– TV Pilot screenplays must be 75 pages or under.

– Short Film screenplays must be 45 pages or under.

Please do not include any personal information (including your name), cover letter, CV, synopses, or photos with your submission. These will not be forwarded to the readers/ judges. We pride ourselves on judging anonymously and therefore the script must be presented without any of this information.