As one of the few screenwriting competitions for the LGBTQ community, our aim is to discover and recognize the best emerging talent and most original voices from our community in film and television writing from around the world. We are proud to be LGBTQ and even prouder to support the LGBTQ community. Members from our community have long been known for being the best artists in the world and we want to not only recognize them for that, but to support them in being talented as well as a member of our community. We go out of our way to find great new talent and place top new screenwriters firmly on the industry’s radar by designating them as finalists and winners in our competition representing the heart of the motion picture industry.

Awards & Prizes

Winners and finalists will receive prizes and services from our industry leading partners as well as priceless industry exposure to some of New York and Hollywood’s biggest production companies and talent managers. In fact, we promise to introduce our winner to at least three separate top talent managers and or production executives. One of these executive will also provide our Grand Prize winner with a one hour script consultation.

We also accept scripts from writers of all shapes and sizes from all background and all countries. You can be any ethnicity and be of any sexual orientation. Your script simply has to be good and LGBTQ friendly. No two paths are the same, no two snowflakes are the same, no two writers are the same, and as such no two stories are ever the same. We love them all as long as they are good.

The Gay and Lesbian communities have been a vibrant force in Hollywood for decades and in the arts for centuries and we felt it was about time we had our own screenwriting festival. Not enough stories are being told about our communities so the LGBTQ Screenwriting Competition was founded to further the craft of screenwriting in and about the LGBTQ community and to inspire and support writers and producers looking to produce more film and television projects about our communities.

So if you've written a great project about our community or you are simply a talented writer who is a member of our community please submit your project today!

2020's Grand Prize winner was awarded a one hour consultation with Audrey Knox of Cartel Entertainment as well as introductions to Chris Deckard of Fictional Entity and Andrew Kersey of Kersey Management. Our finalists received consultations from Devon Byers of First Friday Entertainment and Charlie Osowik of Osowik Management.

2019's winner was awarded a one hour consultation with Bobby Hoppey, a long time story analyst and development executive. He is one of the founders of Valparaiso Pictures and before that worked his way up through the ranks at Echo Lake where he was in charge of the feature film development division.

Only our Grand Prize Winner and top two Finalists will receive industry distribution and prizes. Semi-Finalists will only be rewarded with recognition like in most screenwriting competitions.

Rules & Terms

Writers retain all rights to their work.

We accept all submissions electronically and only electronically.

Script cover pages must contain author name(s), script title, email, and phone number of at least 1 writer.

No limit to the length of the scripts

Scripts can be in script or treatment form; feature, stage play, or teleplay.

No limit to the number of projects you may submit.

Scripts must be written in English.

Entrants are prohibited from contacting the judges during the competition.

All fees are non refundable and contest is void where prohibited by law.

Employees, friends, and family members of the film festival are not eligible.

Entrants must be eighteen years or older to enter the contest.

Submitted material must be original, and all rights must be wholly owned by the writer(s). Material can be based on the work of others, if you wholly own the new creation.

All entries must be the original, and unpublished, un-produced, un-optioned work of the entrant and entrant’s writing partner. The entrant and or partnership ensures that he or she is the sole author of the work.

Industry distribution should in no way be interpreted as a guarantee of future representation or success. Whether or not industry partners choose to work with finalists, or even contact finalists, is done so at the sole discretion of each and every individual company. We can not force our industry partners to option your property and or sign you as a client.

The competition, its judges, and its officers accept no liability whatsoever for any claims of damages, real or perceived, by any entrant(s) as a result of their participation in this contest.

Material submitted to other competitions or contests are eligible.

Professional writers, journalists, poets, and previous contest winners are eligible as well as amateur writers.

There are no requirements as to when the material was written.

We reserve the right to revoke recognition status at any time with or without cause.

Only our Grand Prize Winner and top two Finalists will receive industry distribution and prizes. Semi-Finalists will only be rewarded by recognition like in most screenwriting competitions.

Material must be your original work. And all work must be wholly owned by the writer(s). The material submitted must not be encumbered by any obligation to, or option held by, a third party prior to entering the competition.

By submitting your material you agree to be added to our email list, but can remove yourself by unsubscribing at anytime.

We do not provide feedback, notes, grades, or rankings of any kind. We assume you already know how to write at a professional level and that is why you are entering this contest.

Please note that the LGBTQ Screenwriting Competition is in no way affiliated with any other film festival, screenwriting competition, writing group, networking group, film school, or film related enterprise or organization.

All judging is done at our sole discretion. We may have outside input, but all judging and all decisions are made at our sole discretion. Furthermore, we do not use "celebrity" judges or "industry" judges and we do not advertise that we use "celebrity" judges. We use experienced readers with a background in writing and a passion for cinema. We distribute our winners' scripts to industry executives, but those executives do not judge our contests. To prevent tampering we do not reveal the identities of our judges. Entrants are prohibited from contacting the judges during the competition. Any entrant who attempts to contact a judge will be disqualified and their entry fee forfeited. The decision of the judges is final.

We do not offer script notes and or script advice. We are looking to reward professional level writers that we can help get to the next level by recognizing their work. If these are services you desire, we recommend hiring a script consultant. These services can be found via a simple google search.

Past prizes listed in winner reviews should not be construed as current prizes. All current prizes are spelled out on our website. We also do not reveal the names of recipients on our industry distribution list.

By entering the competition you hereby accept these competition rules.  
11 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Marianna Moneymaker

    They support writers. Feedback is direct and useful. And they help writers get connected with the industry.

    February 2020
    Helpful
  • Audrey Webb

    My one-hour TV pilot was selected as the 2020 Grand Prize Winner. The coordinator of this competition is truly committed to doing everything possible to help me advance my career, going above and beyond to promote my script. I have been connected to numerous managers as a direct result of his efforts and I could not be more delighted. I am so glad I entered this competition and would highly recommend it to others.

    February 2020
    Helpful
  • Michael Van Patten

    I appreciate this great competition! Thank You!

    February 2020
    Helpful
  • Michael Williams

    Fabulous festival, very honored to have been a part of the event. Recommend it highly!

    February 2020
    Helpful
  • Matthew Barker

    I was so excited to win this competition, and I have been very impressed with the networking and support. My script has gone out to plenty of filmmakers to read and I am currently liaising with an industry specialist for feedback on the script. The producer this comp linked me with has real experience and skill as a producer. They took their time to get to know my script and the feedback was positive, constructive and respective. So, apart from the exposure winning this competition has given me, they have given me some incredible insight, advice and support from someone with lived success in the Hollywood industry! Thanks so much!

    April 2019
    Helpful