East Of Austin Screenplay Awards is looking for the next great script. Are you at a point in your writing career where you’re looking for a professional/unbiased analysis of you work? Are you ready to raise your profile by taking the next step? East Of Austin is here to help!

Maybe you’ve ordered script coverage or entered contests and have come away feeling dissatisfied. Notes that seem like the reader skimmed your script at best, or you were left with the impression they didn’t care for the genre and as a result gave you less than helpful comments and marginal scores.

We get it, and that’s why we created the East Of Austin Screenplay Awards! At East Of Austin, every word you submit is read and our readers are not just encouraged but incentivized to pass your script to another reader if they feel there is any reason they can’t give it an unbiased analysis.

Your screenplay will be read, word for word, by one of our working professional screenwriters/script readers. It will be evaluated for concept/originality, structure, plot, pacing, tone, characterization, dialogue, conflict and commercial potential. Based on those scores, if it merits advancement to the quarterfinals, it will then be read and scored by one of our judges. Screenplays that advance to the finalist round will be read and evaluated by all our judges who will select the winner.

If you want to receive written feedback, be sure to select the option that includes reader notes during contest entry.

Awards & Prizes

WINNER'S PRIZE PACKAGE
1- A FREE digital download of Fade In Pro screenwriting software (Fade In offers free upgrades for life and is compatible with Final Draft)
2- One FREE submission to any East Of Austin contest that is valid for one year from the date issued. You can resubmit the same project after revisions or enter a brand new one!

Finalists and the Winner will have their screenplay’s logline, synopsis and final contest score showcased in our Talent Book which is circulated to more than 500 top Hollywood managers, agents and producers. Scripts at this level generate interest that frequently leads to script requests and meetings.

Quarter- and Semi-finalists will receive laurels acknowledging their accomplishment and will be highlighted on our website and social media channels.

Rules & Terms

BY ENTERING THE CONTEST YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU HAVE READ AND AGREE TO THE FOLLOWING:

Submitters must be at least 18 years of age and may reside anywhere in the world.

Entries must be received on or before the deadline dates, and submission fee payment must be made in full at time of the submission.

You may only submit an original screenplay (in digital PDF format only), formatted in industry standard screenplay format and written in English. Submissions that do not meet these guidelines or are submitted in any method other than the entry page on FilmFreeway will not be read and shall be discarded.

All submissions must be original, unoptioned or unproduced works and all rights must be wholly owned by the writer(s). Any submission that has been previously produced or for which the writer(s) do not wholly own the material shall be disqualified.

No revisions or updated versions will be accepted beyond the initial submission. Please proofread your script carefully before submitting.

You may submit multiple entries, but each screenplay must be submitted individually along with the respective fee(s) for each submission.

Material must be submitted by the writer. Material written by writing teams must be submitted by one of the writers, with the permission of the other(s). All writers must be credited on the title page.

If a writing team is chosen as a winner, prizes will be given to the person who submits the project. Each team is responsible for dividing or sharing the prize money.

It is recommended that original material be registered with the WGA or The Library of Congress before submitting to any competition, however registration is not required.

East Of Austin Screenplay Awards claims no ownership nor option on your work. All ownership and rights to the scripts submitted to this contest remain with the original rights holders.

East Of Austin Screenplay Awards, based upon its own opinions and voting procedures and protocols, reserves the right to grant no awards if there is no entry that qualifies with sufficient merit.

The applicant(s) agree to hold East Of Austin Screenplay Awards, its subsidiaries, parent and affiliated companies, prize & awards contributors, judges, script readers, sponsors, and any other organizations responsible for administering, advertising, or promoting the competition and every one of their respective members, directors, employees, agents, and representatives from and against any and all claims, expenses, and liability, including but not limited to damages and negligence to property and persons, including but not limited to invasion of privacy, defamation, slander, libel, violation of right of publicity, copyright, infringement of trademark or other intellectual property rights relating to a participant’s entry and that party's participation in the competition. Employees of East Of Austin Screenplay Awards and their immediate families are ineligible to participate in this contest. In addition, applicant(s) agree to hold East Of Austin Screenplay Awards harmless from, and defended against all claims, demands, costs, judgments, losses, expenses (including attorneys’ fees), and liabilities resulting out of or in connection with any and all claims of third parties, whether or not groundless, based on any stories submitted to East Of Austin Screenplay Awards or on any screenplay developed out of such stories.

Any cash prize winner(s) of an amount over $599 will be required to file a W-9 before the cash prize can be distributed.

East Of Austin Screenplay Awards reserves the right to publish the name, script title, and images used in affiliation with the script for any East Of Austin Screenplay Awards promotions and/or promotions of sponsors or competition affiliates.

To the accuracy of the information supplied, any false or misleading information on the application, or any failure to comply with the rules and regulations set forth by East Of Austin Screenplay Awards may result in disqualification and forfeiture of any awards or cash prizes.

East Of Austin reserves the right to disqualify any script, at its sole discretion, which advocates, supports, encourages or glamorizes the marginalization, mistreatment of or violence against any person or group of people regardless of their race, ethnicity, age or gender.