The SWN Screenplay Competition has some of the most respected judges in the industry. Enter your script and receive many of our submission benefits.

Screenwriters Network (SWN) are dedicated to supporting all contestants, rather than just the winners.

For entering alone, you will receive all three of our submission benefits:

➤ Every script submitted gets registered with SWN for free. No need to register with the writers’ guilds (WGA, WGUK, etc.).

➤ FREE Ebook – How to Sell Your Screenplay.

➤ 30% discount code for Final Draft 12

➤ You will receive a $10 gift card from us to be redeemed on our Script Coverage services.

OUR JUDGES

Alec Sokolow

Alec Sokolow’s career as a storyteller has taken him from late-night TV comedy to having written some of the most memorable films of our time including, Toy Story, Evan Almighty, Money Talks, Cheaper By The Dozen, Garfield, and many more.

He has written on 60+ Hollywood feature film & television projects, written children’s books, directed animation shorts, and produced documentaries including I Am Jane Doe.

Nick Jones

Nick has worked as a writer and co-executive producer on the Netflix original series GLOW and Orange Is The New Black, for which he has garnered multiple WGA and Emmy nominations. He also served as Co-Executive Producer on Ramy on its Peabody Award winning first season.

Terry Matalas

Terry Matalas is a television writer, director, and executive producer, best known for co-creating and showrunning the television series 12 Monkeys, which ran for four seasons on SyFy. His recent works include showrunning MacGyver as well as currently showrunning Star Trek: Picard for Paramount +.

OUR NETWORK OUTREACH

The top scripts in our competition get sent to some of the most prestigious production companies in the industry, including:

➤ Aardman (Chicken Run, Wallace & Gromit, Flushed Away, Arthur Christmas)
➤ Baby Cow Productions (Philomena, Northern Soul, A Cock and Bull Story )
➤ Big Talk Pictures (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, Grimsby, Baby Driver)
➤ Cloud Eight (Steve Jobs, 127 Hours, Selma, T2 Trainspotting, Trance)
➤ DNA (28 Weeks Later, Dredd, Ex Machina, The Beach, Trainspotting)
➤ DMG Entertainment (Twilight, Iron Man 3, Looper, Point Break)
➤ Ealing Studios (The Hitman's Bodyguard, Black Mirror, Darkest Hour, Downton Abbey)
➤ Heyday Films (Once Upon A Time...In Hollywood, I Am Legend, Gravity)
➤ Manage-ment (Garden State, The Art of War, The Virgin Suicides, Nixon)
➤ Number 9 (Colette, On Chesil Beach, Youth, Carol)
➤ Pulse Films (Gangs of London, Beastie Boys Story, XY Chelsea, PIG)
➤ Red Production Company (Traces, Happy Valley, Cucumber, Last Tango in Halifax)
➤ Ruby Films (Saving Mr. Banks, Jane Eyre, Suffragette, Tulip Fever)
➤ Scott Free Productions (Gladiator, Blade Runner 2049, The Martian, Alien Covenant)
➤ Seesaw Films (The King's Speech, Shame, Lion, Macbeth)
➤ Vertigo (Monsters, Bronson, The Football Factory, Pusher)

CATEGORIES

There are three main categories you may enter your script into:

- SHORT FILM: Up to 45 pages.

- FEATURE-LENGTH: Up to 200 pages

- TV PILOT : Up to 75 pages.

We offer the choice of receiving feedback on your screenplay at an extra cost. Feedback will be provided by our qualified script consultants.

SCRIPT FEEDBACK

We provide an in-depth and thorough analysis of your screenplay. Passing through not one, but two pairs of eyes!

Notes submitted by the judge of your script will be passed on directly to one of our professional script consultants (who reads it again).

For more information on our script consultants:

NOTIFICATION DATES

Quarter-Finalists | 5th August
Semi-Finalists | 10th August
Finalists | 15th August
Winners | 2nd September

OUR PARTNERS

The 2021 SWN Screenplay Competition is proudly partnered with InkTip and Final Draft.
Final Draft is the industry-standard software for screenwriters, TV writers, playwrights and more.

www.finaldraft.com

InkTip has a secure network of more than 4000 Industry Professionals. More than 393 films have been made from scripts and writers found through InkTip, and each year, an average of 28 movies go into production from scripts and writers found through InkTip.

www.inktip.com

Awards & Prizes


★ Prizes ★

1st Place

➤1-1 one-hour workshop with Jessica Sharzer – The chance to go through YOUR winning script with a talented industry professional.
➤ Automatically qualify for our annual screenplay competition ($1200 Award)
➤ Your script listed in InkTip's script directory (4000+ producers, reps & execs)
➤ A lifetime subscription to Final Draft Pro screenwriting software (worth $249.99)
➤ The SWN hanging frame award with your winning script and laurels inside
➤ A promotion in InkTip's magazine (15,000+ producers, reps & execs)
➤ 1-year membership at Screenwriter Staffing (worth $130)

2nd Place

➤ Automatically qualify for our annual screenplay competition ($1200 Award)
➤ Your script listed in InkTip's script directory (4000+ producers, reps & execs)
➤ A lifetime subscription to Final Draft Pro screenwriting software (worth $249.99)
➤ A promotion in InkTip's magazine (15,000+ producers, reps & execs)
➤ 1-year membership at Screenwriter Staffing

3rd Place

➤ Automatically qualify for our annual screenplay competition ($1200 Award)
➤ A lifetime subscription to Final Draft Pro screenwriting software (worth $249.99)
➤ 1-month membership at Screenwriter Staffing
​

Rules & Terms

--- Contest Eligibility ---

– All submissions must be written in English.

– All ages are eligible.

– Material submitted must be written and owned by the person submitting.

– You may submit as many entries as you like.

– All entries must be uploaded in PDF format.

– You may resubmit your entered script once at the discretion of Screenwriters Network. This will be dependent on where the script is in our process and whether this has already been assigned to a reader/ judge.

– If submitting as a team a singular prize package (only) will be made out to the initial person who submitted.

– Scripts submitted to the SWN Screenplay Competition are protected and remain the owner of the person(s) that submitted.

-- FAQs ---

1) Submissions are welcome from any country.

2) There is no limit to the number of materials you may submit.

3) We do not issue refunds.

--- Terms ---

By submitting your email with FilmFreeway you automatically opt into Screenwriters Network's mailing list. This is so we can send you your submission benefits and also notify you when the qualifiers list is released on our website.
55 Reviews
Overall Rating
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  • Joe Leone

    I thank you for the recognition of feature film screenplay - Retirement Road Trip. I look forward to submitting additional material in the future

    April 2021
    Helpful
  • Matthew Papadopoulos

    The Real Thing - Finalist: Feature Film Script.

    Thank you Screenwriters' Network for this honor in your fine festival.

    January 2021
    Helpful
  • Laurent Auclair

    It was great to see my screenplay Lake Hart being selected as a Semi-Finalist in the 2020 edition. Great communication and very encouraging words from the organisers. Gives me the motivation to keep going. Thank you!!!

    December 2020
    Helpful
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    Response from festival:

    Thanks Laurent, that's great to hear and very kind. It was a pleasure! Hope to speak again soon.

  • Peter Hoffmann

    I loved the review of my script "Surrealistic Playmates," not to mention that I qualified for the final round. Forget about any grid box with its inconsistent numbers from reviewer to reviewer. Instead, the SWN coverage gave specific suggestions linked to specific pages. This was spot on and greatly appreciated.

    These judges get comedy. Who needs arcs and antagonists, when the biggest obstacles to my protagonists are their own naive assumptions as they blunder along from one predicament to the next? If the story makes you laugh, then it works.

    December 2020
    Helpful
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    Response from festival:

    Thanks Peter, such kind words! It was a pleasure to have you as part of our November competition and best of luck with Surrealistic Playmates!

  • Jonathan Dittman

    Timely with helpful feedback! Great experience!

    December 2020
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    Response from festival:

    Thanks Jonathan! Best of luck with your future projects!