Screenplay Competition

Eligibility

• Scripts submitted to the competition must NOT have been previously optioned, purchased or produced at the time of entry.
• If a submitted screenplay becomes optioned or purchased between the time of submission and the end of the judging period, the applicant must notify us and that screenplay will no longer be eligible for an award.
• Scripts submitted to the competition must not have received awards from other competitions over $1,000 at the time of entry.
• Screenwriters who have had previous feature screenplays produced and distributed by non-independent means are ineligible.
• Screenwriters who earn their living writing for television are ineligible.
• No adaptations of other written work will be accepted unless the writer owns the rights to the original material, unless the udapted work is in the Public Domain.
• No specs will be accepted for the TV Pilot category.

Submission Guidelines

• Screenplays must be in English, formatted according to the current industry standards in 12-point courier font.
• Screenplays must have a clean cover page. This means the title only on the cover, no author’s name/contact information. The cover page does not count towards the overall script page count.
• If the script is based on a true story, that should be noted on the title page.
• Slamdance is not responsible for screenplays or coverage stolen or lost in transit.
• All entries must be mailed or uploaded by the appropriate deadline.
• Deadlines close at 11:59 PM PST
• Reader assignment is at our discretion and requests for rereads will not be accepted.
• Multiple authorship is acceptable. Slamdance divides awards equally among co-writers.
• No refunds provided after a submission has been made.

Judging

• The first round of reading is done by individual readers. If your script is advanced to the next round, the script will be read and scored by multiple readers to determine whether it gets into quarterfinals and semifinals.
• If your script makes it to semifinals, it will be discussed at the deliberations where readers will determine finalists and winners.
• If your script did not make it into quarterfinals, it will not advance to further stages of the competition.
• No judging decision will be included with the feedback.
• Slamdance notifies winners only. Entrants are advised to check our website and e-newsletter for judging announcements.
• The Slamdance Screenplay Competition readers’ decisions are final.

While not an official requirement for submission, we strongly suggest you register your screenplay with the Writers Guild of America, West and the US Copyright Office to protect your work.