More info coming soon
Jan 17
Quarterfinalist
Feb 7
Semifinalist
Mar 20
Finalist
Apr 17
Winner
We welcome producer, Scott Glassgold of Ground Control as our special VIP Juror! Scott will meet virtually with our finalists for an interactive Q&A session.
Scott Glassgold is the founder of management and production company Ground Control. Scott, in partnership with Verve Talent Agency, have sold a number of high-profile short story projects to Amazon, Netflix, Universal, Paramount and more. Among those projects are THE DWELLING which also has Michael B. Jordan producing, I AM NOT ALONE with Jessica Chastain set to star, and CARETAKER with Sydney Sweeney starring and Michael Bay producing.
Signed with a Literary Manager
"I'm at a place in my career now, where it's easy to feel frustrated, because time passes and I'm still side-hustling to support my writing when I would want to be writing to support my writing! But, I'm also in a place where I once aspired to be: I've had representation for a while, and recently added a TV agent to the team! And I'm celebrating my first produced TV credit (with writing partner Paul Seetachitt) — an episode of Creepshow that came out last month called "Time Out." It's gotten a lot of complimentary reviews, which is validating. These things give me hope that I'm getting closer to where I want to be. A good friend who knows that I also write short stories sent me the link to the ScreenCraft Cinematic Short Story competition. At this point I've largely forsworn writing competitions, but for some reason I decided to enter... and it worked out! I got to meet with one of the judges (Sean Crouch) which was my first one-on-one meeting with a showrunner and was exciting for me. And while I already had representation, the buzz surrounding winning the Grand Prize inspired my reps to send the story out, and I think was key in their decision to add a TV agent to my team, which is something I'd really been wanting for a long time — so that felt like a big victory. I've really appreciated that ScreenCraft has a team of real people who have checked in on my progress since the contest. They've pushed me to evaluate those things that any writer can and should control — like online visibility and professional outreach — and encouraged me to be accountable and level those up. "
Signed a Paid Option Agreement
"I hope this doesn't sound cliche but it really is always the passion for the specific story you're trying to tell. The initial spark of an idea and that burning desire to show everyone else that movie you see in your head, that's what it's all about. Option payments and these other kinds of external motivations are less important if you don't fully believe in your story and just love to live in that world for all the hours/months/years you'll spend developing it. We have been ScreenCraft Stans since our first spec feature The Memory Bank became a finalist in the Sci-Fi/Fantasy Competition a couple years ago. The exposure from that and the engagement and care the ScreenCraft staff showed us led to some meaningful general meetings with awesome producers and managers. Everything we have written since has gone straight to a ScreenCraft Competition and we intend to keep it that way as long as we keep writing!"
Book published in the UK by Impspired.
"There was a call for short story writers for their cinematic short story contest. The competitions gave me recognition. I am currently working on a historical novel set in 1912 that continues to 1918. I’m excited about my first collection of short stories, "Stepping Up". My advice to writers is - don't procrastinate, do it now. "
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The reading and judging of the short stories will be based on the following criteria:
In addition to the scoring criteria for the short story, ScreenCraft may conduct interviews and send questionnaires to learn more about the entrant, their voice, perspective, and goals to help identify the winning projects. Top short stories are read by the industry jury who votes for their favorite short stories at their sole discretion.
More info coming soon