Do not include the writer's name on the title page or anywhere else in the script.
Three scripts will be chosen from all submissions. The winning writers will receive an all expenses paid trip to our concentrated fellowship experience, held in Missouri in 2026. The writers will be joined by accomplished industry mentors who will work with each fellow.
Past industry mentors include: Bob Gale, best known for co-writing films in the “Back to the Future” trilogy; Angelo Pizzo, who wrote among others, Hoosiers and Rudy; Valerie Woods, who wrote for OWN’s Queen Sugar; Philip LaZebnik who wrote the screenplays for Mulan and The Prince of Egypt; and Kathleen McGee Anderson, noted for a variety of television credits including ABC Family’s “Lincoln Heights.”
A separate committee of industry reading judges will read, score and determine the top 10 semifinalist of the fellowship competition. Scripts will be evaluated on a six-point scale for each of six categories: Presentation/Format; Premise/Concept; Structure/Plot/Pacing; Characters/Dialogue; Theme/Style/Tone; and Missouri Relevance. All submission writers will receive copies of their scoresheets.
Once the top 10 semifinalist are determined, Missouri Film Office staff and a committee of MoStories alumni will determine, after scoring the scripts and interviewing all ten writers, at least three winning scripts to participate in the Fellowship.
TIMELINE
Oct. 1 – launch of competition
Nov. 2 – submissions early deadline
Nov. 23 - submissions regular deadline
Dec. 14 – final submissions extended deadline
Dec. – Jan. - reading judge committee read and score scripts
Feb. 16 - Top ten announced and interviews
Feb. 23 - fellows chosen/notified
TBD March -May 2026 - fellowship - three nights, four days - we will work with fellows for best date
Please visit www.MoFilm.org/MoStories for updates.
RULES FOR 2025
All entrants must submit:
· A completed submission form via FilmFreeway.com.
· One digital copy of an original script in PDF format.*
· A one paragraph synopsis
· A one page writers bio/artists statement
· Entry Fee payable through FilmFreeway.com
*The entrant’s name, address, phone number and any other identifying information should not appear on the title page or any other page of the script. Placing a Library of Congress or WGA registration number on the title page is acceptable, but not required.
The final selection of fellowship winners will be made by the Missouri Stories Scriptwriting Fellowship Reading Committee. The Missouri Stories Scriptwriting Fellowship reserves the right not to release judges’ comments.
The Missouri Stories Scriptwriting Fellowship reserves the right to choose more or less than three scripts.
We strongly suggest that applicants register their Screenplays/ TV Pilot Scripts with the Writers Guild of America. (http://www.wgawregistry.org/webrss).
1. Conditions on Participation
Entrants must be 18 or older at the time of entry.
For collaborative work by two writers who share equally in its creation is eligible,the collaborators’ names must be added to the application. Trip prize package provided for one writer only. (But, second writer may attend at their own cost.)
Screenplays/TV pilot scripts must be the original work of the applicants and be written in proper script format. If based upon another’s life story, applicant(s) must attach a statement attesting to their rights to make such adaptations. Neither the Fellowship nor its jurists investigate or attest to the authenticity of an applicant’s statement of authorship or rights.
You can submit scripts based on prior work (novels, short stories), as long as you have secured the underlying rights to the material.
Screenplays/TV pilot scripts must not be currently under option or sold.
Officers and employees of the Missouri Film Commission, Missouri Division of Tourism and Film in Mo; competition judges or mentors; and the immediate families of these individuals are not eligible.
2. Submission Requirements
An entrant may submit a maximum of two screenplays in the current competition. Each submission is a separate application and requires a separate application fee.
Entry fees will not be waived, returned or adjusted. Once an entry payment has been processed we cannot provide a refund. If a payment is disputed, the account holder may be subject to any fees.
No revisions or missing pages will be accepted once entry has been received.
No drafts or treatments will be accepted. Only completed scripts will be considered.
**The entrant’s name, address, phone number and any other identifying information should not appear on the title page or any other page of the script. Placing a Library of Congress or WGA registration number on the title page is acceptable, but not required.
There is no page minimum or maximum, but the feature screenplay should be approximately 90 - 120 pages inlength. Pilot scripts between 30 – 65 pages. Submissions must have been written originally in English; translations will not be accepted.
Acknowledgment of Terms and Conditions:
By entering, I (we) attest:
A. To the accuracy of the information supplied in this application.
B. That the material submitted is my (our) sole and original work.
C. To my (our) agreement to hold the Missouri Film Commission, Missouri Division of Tourism and the Film in Mo harmless from, and defend them against, all claims, demands, losses, costs, damages, judgments, liabilities and expenses (including attorneys’ fees) arising out of or in connection with any stories submitted to the Missouri Stories Scriptwriting Fellowship competition or any screenplay developed out of such stories.
D. That the Missouri Film Commission may retain the material submitted for use in connection with its Missouri Stories Scriptwriting Fellowship deliberations, and thereafter for its archival collection of materials, to which use I (we) expressly waive compensation.
E. That the burden of obtaining copyright or otherwise protecting any proprietary interests in the material, if I (we) wish to do so, rests entirely with me (us).
F. To my (our) understanding of the purposes and conditions of the Missouri Stories Scriptwriting Fellowship and to my (our) acceptance of them should I (we) be selected as a fellow.
G. That I am (we are) eligible for the competition, and that I (we) will notify The Missouri Stories Scriptwriting Fellowship if I (we) become ineligible prior to the conclusion of the competition.
H. That providing false or misleading information on this application, and failing in any other way to comply with the rules of the competition, will subject me (us) to disqualification, forfeiture of prize and/or other penalties.
