ABSTRACT
Screenwriting competitions have been around for what seems like forever. The first major screenwriting competition, The Nicholl Fellowship, which is operated by the Academy of Motion Picture Art and Sciences, opened to all US citizens in 1989, and, now accepting screenplays from writers all over the world, is still considered the most prestigious of all screenwriting competitions. In the new millennium, many screenwriting competitions previously friendly to screenwriters in the feature film space only have expended their competition models to include awards for television writing as well. Not all screenwriting competitions, either for features, TV scripts or both, are created equal. Winning or placing in a highly regarded screenwriting competition is a conversation starter. Over the years, the industry has come to turn to trusted competitions in order to identify emerging writers of worth. Today, the biggest screenwriting competitions receive anywhere from 7,000 to 8,000 submissions every year.
