Held each May at the beautiful Delta King, a genuine 1860's riverboat and floating hotel located in historic Old Sacramento, the conference will educate new and experienced screenwriters on the state of the art today.

NOTE: In 2020, due to COVID-19, we held a single ONLINE symposium in July to be followed by more conference tracks upcoming. If we are STILL dealing with COVID by May of 2021 we'll do another online conference. In the wake of the pandemic, many conferences have canceled. We KNOW this is concerning for writers. These changes are NOT easy but we have COMMITTED to NOT CANCEL the conference. We always prefer to meet people physically but will do all necessary to ensure a conference CAN happen, even if it is online rather than in person.

Much More than JUST a writers Conference:

With our SPECIAL WRITER'S PASS (Just $75) you get a day-long writing summit, learning to screenwrite in an intimate setting from top pros, PLUS A LAVISH AWARDS CEREMONY and, should you desire, an ENTIRE 8-DAY FILM FEST! YES, that's right, this conference is part of a larger film festival that you are GREENLIT to attend (The Sacramento International Film Festival).

Awards & Prizes

The Awards:
Think you are ready for recognition for your work? Get recognized in front of a jury including the Godfather of American Screenwriting, Lew Hunter. Lew leads a group to analyze screenplays in 3 categories:

1) FEATURE SCREENPLAY (DRAMATIC)
This category recognizes full-length screenplays (70-150 pages) that are NOT comedies. Almost any genre can fit in this category: Science Fiction, Thrillers, Horror, etc.

2) FEATURE SCREENPLAY (COMEDY)
This category recognizes full-length screenplays (70-150 pages) that are specifically comedies.

3) SHORT SCREENPLAY (COMEDY or DRAMATIC)
This category is for screenplays that are LESS than 30 pages. Any genre is welcome!

THE LEW HUNTER AWARD FOR SCREENWRITING EXCELLENCE:
In addition to individual category awards, we also recognize one screenwriter each year for being the outstanding Screenplay of the entire year. This is a jury award given regardless of which of the categories writers enter. The award is named for our patriarch, Dr Lew Hunter, Dean Emeritus of the UCLA screenwriting program and author of THE BOOK, Screenwriting 434. Lew has trained more Academy Award-winning writers than anyone on the planet.

Rules & Terms

You must adhere to category rules regarding length of screenplay and genre. Screenplays may be submitted regardless of when they were created so long as they have not been previously submitted to this competition.
27 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Kevin J. Howard

    I'm truly honored to have my drama/fantasy feature "The Seedling" selected for drama and my comedy/horror feature "The Moron" selected for comedy! Thank you so much!

    October 2021
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  • Matthew Walsh

    I had a really positive experience with the American Screenwriting Conference and am proud to have been chosen as an Official Selection! Thank you ASC for a great event.

    July 2021
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you, Matthew! We are proud to have you!

  • Kimberly Ford

    The American Screenwriting Festival was an extraordinary event. Hats off to Martin Anaya and Dawn Spinella for the wealth of information that I was exposed to and the professionalism in which they hosted the event. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity that you had to be there to experience.

    July 2021
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you Kim. It was a delight, as were you. Your insightful questions also helped glean info from our wonderful panelists. Hats off to all!

  • Courtney Froemming

    The American Screenwriting Conference is a gift to writers. In addition to offering a fantastic and competitive competition, their conference brings together a community leaders in the field to offer sage advice. Thank you for selecting my script.

    July 2021
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you Courtney! It was an honor and a privilege to host and learn with incredible writers like yourself.

  • Jonathan Zarantonello

    Thank you for having me, very honored, wonderful conference!

    July 2021
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    Response from festival:

    Very grateful and honored to have you, Jonathan!