"The industry’s #1 horror screenplay contest.” – IndieWire

The horror genre has timeless appeal - it’s been a mainstay in movie theaters, streaming and tv for hundreds of years. We’re looking for the newest voices with compelling stories to tell.

The ScreenCraft Horror Competition has a long history of creating success for our winners and finalists, many of whom have gone on to sign with companies like Bellevue Productions, Kaplan Perrone, Affirmative Entertainment, Zero Gravity, Story Driven, and more.

All finalists will meet with a member of the jury and be invited to an exclusive Finalist+ workshop on how you can best position yourself and your writing to the industry.

Awards & Prizes

VIP MENTORS

We are thrilled to be joined by three VIP Mentors for this year's competition: writers and producers Anna Halberg and Spenser Cohen (TAROT) along with producer Scott Glassgold of Ground Control, who will host a Q&A together for the ScreenCraft Horror Competition Finalists!

Anna & Spenser have worked with many of the industry’s leading film and television studios including Walt Disney, Netflix, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Brothers, Amblin and Lionsgate. This year they have 3 feature films being released – TAROT (Sony), DISTANT (Amblin / Universal), HOUSE/WIFE (Netflix)

Scott Glassgold is the founder of Ground Control, a leading entertainment platform specializing in filmed media & publishing. Scott has produced several horror-centric films including TAROT, BLINK, HORRORSCOPE and PROSPECT. Ground Control also oversees the Scream Gems Horror Lab for Sony Pictures.

THE JUDGES
The top scripts are considered by our incredible industry jury.

LYRA TAN
TV Literary Coordinator, Gersh

The horror genre has timeless appeal - it’s been a mainstay in movie theaters, streaming and tv for hundreds of years. We’re looking for the newest voices with compelling stories to tell.

RODRIGO MOSCOSO
Creative Executive, Zero Gravity Management

Rodrigo Moscoso is a development executive with Zero Gravity Management, a management and production company behind hit features and series such as Ozark, The Accountant, and Honest Thief. Previously, he worked for The Radmin Company on major projects such as Marvel's Moon Knight and The Falcon and The Winter Soldier.

SANDRA AVILA
Partner and Manager, Inclusion Management

Sandra Avila is a partner and manager at Inclusion, a literary and talent management company. Prior to that, she worked at Showtime Network for seven years where she ran the Latino Filmmaker Showcase and worked on shows including, DEXTER, BARBERSHOP, RESURRECTION BLVD AND QUEER AS FOLK.

ANGELINA CHEN
Manager, Energy Entertainment

Angelina Chen is a literary manager at Energy Entertainment, Brooklyn Weaver’s company. Energy Entertainment represents screenwriters, directors and book authors. Some of their company’s credits include RUN ALL NIGHT, OUT OF THE FURNACE and the TV show EXTANT. Being a minority, Angelina’s focus is particularly on minority and LGBTQIA+ writers/directors, with an emphasis on AAPI clients. Prior to Energy Entertainment, Angelina was an asst at Management 360. Before Management 360, Angelina was at an asst at CAA in the talent and literary departments. She graduated from UCLA with an undergraduate degree in political science and also attended USC’s Peter Stark Producing Program for graduate school in producing.

SCOTT SCHULMAN
Literary Manager, Schulman Management

Scott Schulman is a literary manager and producer whose clients have sold, created, and staffed on major series like The Umbrella Academy, UnREAL, and Dear White People.

THE PRIZES

Grand Prize Winner

The overall grand prize winner in either feature or TV category will be welcomed to the Writer Development Program and receive personal introductions and phone calls with one or more top Hollywood literary manager(s), producers, or industry exec. who are looking for talented emerging Film & TV screenwriters.

ScreenCraft's genre specific relationships include companies like Blumhouse, Netflix, HBO Max, AMC, and over 150 other Hollywood managers, agents, producers, and development executives.

ScreenCraft has a proven track record for getting writers signed with managers, agents, and staffed in writing rooms.

They'll receive:
• Personal Introduction to top industry professionals
• Accepted into the Writer Development Program
• $1,000 cash award
• An exclusive invitation to a Finalist only workshop to position yourself and your writing to the industry

Feature & TV Winners
• $500 cash award
• Accepted into the Writer Development Program
• An exclusive invitation to a Finalist only workshop to position yourself and your writing to the industry

Finalists
• An exclusive invitation to a Finalist only workshop to position yourself and your writing to the industry
• Guaranteed Meeting with an Industry Professional

ADD-ON PRIZE OPPORTUNITY
Development Prize - 1 winner to be selected

This optional add-on prize category will identify one winner to meet with an industry mentor to learn, workshop, and strengthen their project. The partner will select one writer/writer team that includes this unique add-on benefit with their entry. This year's partner is Kegan Schell of Navigation Media.

KEGAN SCHELL
Originally from upstate New York, Kegan studied film production at Full Sail University before moving to Los Angeles to pursue a career in entertainment. He began working for Chuck and Rebecca Roven at Atlas Entertainment, assisting on the DC Superhero Films Suicide Squad, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Wonder Woman. From there, Kegan joined Echo Lake Entertainment, where he swiftly rose through the ranks and was promoted to Manager in the Literary Department. Kegan spent six years at Echo Lake before joining Navigation Media. As a member of the Navigation team, Kegan continues to be a passionate advocate for queer and underrepresented talent, especially in the horror and genre space, aiming to bring new perspectives to the Hollywood stage.
Only projects submitted to the ScreenCraft Horror Competition AND that select this add-on are eligible for consideration in this category. Additionally, all projects that place in the Top 10 of the competition will automatically be considered.

Rules & Terms

For full rules, terms, and conditions, please visit -- https://screencraft.org/horror

Submissions are accepted via electronic submission only.

Entry fees are as listed on the site and checkout form. No coupon or discount is applicable on a previous entry.

Optional feedback from a professional reader may be requested at the time of entry. Requests for feedback can be done through Coverfly.

Entries may be any length -- the standard 1/2 hour is between 20 - 40 pages, and the standard hour long is between 40 - 70 pages, and the standard feature is between 85 - 120 pages. Any script submission longer than 120 pages will incur a $.50 per page overage fee for each page over 120 if it does not include feedback and $1 per page if the entry does include feedback.

There is no limit to the number of projects you may submit.

Entries must be received on or before the deadline dates by 11:59PM Pacific Time, and submission fee payment must be made in full at time of the submission. All entry fees are non-refundable.

All submitted material must be owned by the writer(s), however the material may be based on other works not owned by the writers.

Material must be submitted by the writer. Material written by writing teams must be submitted by one of the writers, with consent of the other(s).

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 any prizes awarded as they deem fair (whether there is a cash value or not).

Substitutions of either corrected pages or new drafts of the entered material will be allowed for a limited time with a $6 reentry fee through Coverfly. Please proofread your script carefully before submitting.

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

Contact info may be included on the cover page of the screenplay, however it is not required. ScreenCraft uses Coverfly to manage submissions and automatically removes cover pages before scripts are read by the judges.

ScreenCraft claims no ownership nor option on your work. All ownership and rights to the scripts submitted to this contest remains with the original rights holders.

The decision of the judges will be final and cannot be contested in any manner. There is no score on a scorecard that guarantees advancement to the next level as advancement will be based on all scores in the competition.

In the event a juror, partner organization, or prize partner is no longer able to serve in their specified capacity, ScreenCraft will make its best effort to secure a replacement.
ScreenCraft is not responsible for the failed delivery of any prize package by a juror, sponsor, or partner organization.

ScreenCraft reserves the right to change deadline and announcement dates at any time.

ScreenCraft reserves the right to amend these rules at any time.

All writers at least 18 years of age are eligible. However, a writer who has earned more than $50,000 (or equivalent currency) from professional writing services for film or TV in the preceding 12 months or $500,000 (or equivalent currency) from professional film or TV in the proceeding 10 years is not eligible. (Contest winnings not included.)

All persons from anywhere in the world are eligible; however the material submitted must be in English (occasional dialogue in other languages is acceptable, if subtitle translation is provided).

All material submitted to other competitions or contests are eligible for this contest.

The material may have been written at any time.

Material should be submitted in standard screenplay format, font, spacing and margin.

We have no preferences regarding title page content. Title and name of writer would suffice.

All material must be submitted electronically as a PDF. Broken files or non-PDF files may be accepted, but if the file cannot be read ScreenCraft will not judge the submission.

Prize winners may be required to sign an affidavit of eligibility and proper tax documentation before prizes are released.

By entering the competition, user acknowledges their eligibility for the competition. ScreenCraft may verify all eligibility requirements at the finalist stage of the competition and before distributing any prizes.

Scripts or projects based on underlying material not owned by the writer are accepted as samples, so long as the script itself is indisputably written by the writer and that the script does not contain any plagiarism.

Former Grand Prize or Category Winners of the competition may enter so long as it is NOT the same project that won in a previous year. Any other placement in previous years does not disqualify the project from being entered this year.

For a full list of rules and eligibility please visit ScreenCraft.
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  • johnny galvan

    gotta love it thank you

    June 2024
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  • Herbert Robertson

    A great opportunity for exposure from a trusted and reputable contest!

    August 2017
    Helpful