“Hollywood’s Favorite Screenplay Contest!”

The PAGE International Screenwriting Awards competition was founded in the fall of 2003. Our goal? To discover the most exciting new scripts by up-and-coming writers from around the world and introduce them to Hollywood executives.

Each year our industry Judges read and evaluate all the contest submissions, searching for the best new screenplays and teleplays, and in the fall of each year we present Gold, Silver, and Bronze Prizes in each of our ten genre categories – plus our huge $25,000 Grand Prize.

Most importantly, the PAGE Awards is one of the industry’s top sources for new screenwriting talent, and the contest has helped launch the careers of some of the most talented new screenwriters from all across the country and around the world. Each year, many of our winning writers sign with top literary representatives, option and sell their winning scripts, and land paid screenwriting assignments, and dozens of our past winners now have movies and television shows in production, on the air, and in theaters.

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In addition, many writers who have advanced to the Semi-Final and Final Rounds of the contest have also been signed by agents and managers, optioned their screenplays, and secured paid writing assignments as well. So, even if you don’t win a prize, just by entering the contest you may well win a career!

Looking for your big break?

Read more about the PAGE Awards and find out how to submit your script below. And if you have any questions in the process, please check out our FAQ’s.

The Categories

One of the most frustrating things about so many screenwriting contests – both for the writers and for the judges – is that scripts of different genres are in competition with each other. But how do you compare a comedy to a sci-fi script? How do you rank a family film against a thriller?

And why is it that so many screenwriting contests only award prizes to strong dramas, while so many of Hollywood’s most successful movies are comedies, thrillers, action flicks, and family films?

In order to make sure all types of scripts are given fair consideration and equal recognition, the PAGE Judges present prizes in a total of ten different genre categories in three different formats:

FEATURE FILM SCRIPTS

ACTION/ADVENTURE
All types of action scripts, war stories, westerns, adventure tales.

COMEDY
Light and dark comedies, romantic comedies, farces, spoofs, satires.

DRAMA
All types of dramatic scripts, coming-of-age stories, dramedies, romances, tragedies.

FAMILY FILM
Live-action and animated children’s tales, fantasies, spiritual movies, and heartwarming, “feel-good” stories for all ages.

HISTORICAL FILM
Stories about real people and true events, historical epics, biopics, docudramas.

SCIENCE FICTION
Stories about time travel, space travel, advanced technology, extraterrestrials, post-apocalyptic and alien worlds.

THRILLER/HORROR
Mysteries, murder tales, psychological thrillers, ghost stories, creature features, monster movies.

SHORT FILM SCRIPTS

TV PILOTS

You may enter your script in whichever category or categories you choose. The price of the first category is included in your entry fee, and if your script fits in more than one genre, you may enter it in more than one category for an additional $18 each.

PLEASE NOTE: We do not accept synopses, treatments, manuscripts for novels or short stories, scripts for stage plays, reality show concepts, or spec scripts for existing TV series. We also do not accept adaptations of other writers’ works.

In order to be eligible for the contest, you must submit a completed feature script, short film script, or teleplay, and it must be your own original work.

Now, take a look at all of our great Prizes…

The Prizes

In just a few short months, the PAGE Judges will present 31 Awards to some of the most talented new screenwriters from across the country and around the world – including our huge $25,000 Grand Prize, plus Gold, Silver, and Bronze Prizes in ten different genre categories. All told, our winning writers will receive over $50,000 in Cash and Prizes!

In addition, along with our Promotional Partners InkTip, Stage 32, Roadmap Writers, and VPF, we will actively publicize and promote your winning script, giving you a shot at the ultimate prize: the chance to get your screenplay produced!

OUR PRIZE PACKAGES

In the Final Round of competition, out of all the Finalists in all ten genre categories, the Judges will select our 2024 Grand Prize Winner. The winning writer will receive $25,000 Cash, a full fellowship to the Nostos Screenwriting Retreat in beautiful Tuscany, Italy, and a host of other great prizes, including:

GRAND PRIZE WINNER

$25,000 Cash
Nostos Screenwriting Retreat Fellowship

Promotional Services
InkTip Pro Membership
Roadmap Promo Package
Stage 32 Promo Package
10 Pitches on VPF

Gift Certificates
Amazon
Office Depot
Starbucks
Netflix

The Judges will also present Gold, Silver, and Bronze Prizes in each of our ten genre categories. The winners will receive:

GOLD PRIZE
WINNERS

$1,000 Cash

Promotional Services
InkTip Pro Membership
Roadmap Promo Package
Stage 32 Promo Package
3 Pitches on VPF

Gift Certificates
Amazon
Office Depot
Starbucks
Netflix

SILVER PRIZE
WINNERS

$500 Cash

Promotional Services
InkTip Pro Membership
Roadmap Promo Package
Stage 32 Promo Package
3 Pitches on VPF

Gift Certificates
Amazon
Office Depot
Starbucks
Netflix

BRONZE PRIZE
WINNERS

$250 Cash

Promotional Services
InkTip Pro Membership
Roadmap Promo Package
Stage 32 Promo Package
3 Pitches on VPF

Gift Certificates
Amazon
Office Depot
Starbucks
Netflix

If you win one of this year’s awards, a press release introducing you and your script will be sent to our list of industry contacts, including over 5,000 Hollywood agents, managers, producers, and executives. Any and all inquiries from this media blitz will be sent directly to you or your designated representative, so you will have the opportunity to communicate with these industry execs directly.

This year’s winners and finalists will receive free pitches on VPF, the platform for TV/Film professionals seeking scripts and writers to represent. With VPF, writers can submit written pitches to 500+ networks/studios, producers, and agents with the assurance of a guaranteed response. VPF is the only platform in the world that provides all screenwriters – no matter who you are or where you’re from – guaranteed access to Hollywood VIPs. With VPF, you don’t need to figure out how to break into the Biz, because you’re already here.

Courtesy of Roadmap Writers, all winners will receive a private consultation with an industry executive to review their first 15 pages, as well as a 15-minute story notes call with their exec. Each winner will also receive a complimentary pitch session and four free educational interactive webinars with high caliber industry executives. Lastly, each winner will have personalized marketing done for their script with hand-selected execs looking for material through Roadmap. Roadmap will also let each writer know which execs they sent winners’ loglines to, who requests their material, and will help coordinate meetings. Through this collaboration, previous winners have signed with Industry Entertainment, Echo Lake, Gersh, Make Good Content and Schemers Entertainment.

Winners will also receive a 4-month InkTip Pro Membership. As an InkTip Pro Member, thousands of filmmakers can find and read your scripts, and you’ll be able to pitch directly to production companies every week. With over 3,000 options and 400 movies made, InkTip is the place for independent film.

It’s all designed to help you sell your screenplay!

Are you interested in entering this year’s contest?

Please read our Contest Rules & Guidelines…

Rules & Guidelines

Before you enter the PAGE Awards competition, please review these contest rules and guidelines. Any submission that does not comply with contest rules may be disqualified.

CONTEST RULES

1. All writers of submitted material must be over 18 years of age on the date of submission, and each writer or writing team may not have earned more than $50,000 or the foreign equivalent (jointly or individually) for work as a screenwriter and/or fictional television writer.

2. Writers who reside in countries other than the United States are welcome to enter the contest; however, all scripts must be submitted in English and entry fees must be paid in U.S. dollars. Entry in the competition is void where prohibited by law.

3. Judges, sponsors, administrators, and independent contractors who currently or have previously worked with or for the PAGE International Screenwriting Awards and/or Production Arts Group are not eligible to enter the competition, nor are their spouses or other immediate family members.

4. Scripts must be the original work of the author(s), and on the date of submission the work must be wholly owned and controlled by the author(s). If a screenplay has been sold, is currently under option, is being produced, or is in any other way encumbered by a third party on the date of submission, the script is not eligible for an award. If a script is optioned, sold, or produced after it has been entered, it will remain eligible for an award this year’s contest.

5. Only original screenplays and teleplays are eligible for awards. Novels, short stories, stage plays, treatments, synopses, reality show concepts and spec scripts for existing TV series are not accepted in the contest. Scripts that have previously won a prize in the PAGE Awards competition are also ineligible.

6. Adaptations of books, plays, or any other source material written by another author are not eligible under any circumstances. A script that you have adapted from your own book, play, or other source material is eligible if you have retained all film and television rights to the property.

7. Submissions and entry fees must be postmarked or transmitted electronically on or before 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time on the Early, Regular, Late, or Last Minute Entry Deadline in order to qualify for those entry rates. Any script submitted after the Final Entry Deadline will be disqualified.

8. The contest and its administrators are not responsible for submissions or entry fees that are lost, stolen, or damaged in transit, and we cannot return scripts or refund entry fees once they have been submitted.

9. Once a script has been entered in the competition, under no circumstances will we accept substitutions of new drafts or corrected pages. If you wish to submit a revised draft of your screenplay, you must enter it as a new submission and pay the appropriate entry fee. (PLEASE NOTE: We understand that writers always want the Judges to have the opportunity to read their very best work; therefore, if you advance to the Semi-Final Round of the contest we will invite you to send us the latest draft of your script for the final two rounds of judging completely free of charge. So please do keep revising and refining your script as the spirit moves you!)

10. Decisions of the Judges are final and may not be disputed. Our Judges are instructed and agree to evaluate scripts based on our standard Judging Procedure; however, the PAGE Awards contest and its administrators may not be held responsible for any errors or omissions on the part of the Judges.

SCRIPT GUIDELINES

Below are some important formatting and submission instructions. In order to maximize your chances of success, we strongly recommend that you follow these standard guidelines:

Scripts should be written in standard spec screenplay or teleplay format, set in 12-point Courier font. If you’re not familiar with standard formatting, two great resources are David Trottier’s guidebook The Screenwriter’s Bible and our Judges’ own reference book The Insiders’ Guide to Screenwriting.

To make it easy, you can also utilize one of the software programs specifically designed to help you format your script. We recommend Final Draft, the software used by most industry professionals.

Submissions should be standard length and should include page numbers on the upper right corner of the page.

Full-Length Features: 80-120 pages
Short Film Scripts: under 30 pages
TV Drama & Comedy Pilots: 30-75 pages

Your script will not be disqualified if it’s a few pages longer or shorter than these specified lengths, but since your work is being judged by industry professionals, we strongly recommend that you adhere to these industry standards.

We cannot accept scripts that are more than 135 pages long (excluding the title page). Entries that exceed 135 pages will be disqualified.

Since our judging process is anonymous, please include only the title of your script on your title page. (You may also include your WGA registration number if you have one, but this is not required.) When we receive your entry we will assign your script a number, and our Judges will identify your screenplay solely by its title and script number.

Under no circumstances should your name or contact information appear anywhere within the body of your script.

Please do not send us synopses, casting suggestions, drawings, photos, personal letters, resumes, or other additional materials along with your script. Those will not be forwarded to the Judges.

However, if you’re submitting a musical, you may include a link to your music. And if you’re submitting a TV Pilot you may include standard supplementals such as a list of your recurring characters and a summary of future episodes.

PLEASE NOTE: While it is not a requirement for entry in the PAGE Awards competition, we do recommend that you register your script before submitting it to anyone you do not personally know. You can register your script with the U.S. Copyright Office and/or with the WGA. As disinterested third parties, these services provide a dated record of your claim to authorship.

Learn more about our Judging Procedure…

Judging Procedure

The PAGE International Screenwriting Awards competition is judged entirely by working professionals in the film and television industry, all of whom have years of experience evaluating and developing scripts for major Hollywood studios, agencies, management firms and production companies.

These are people who can truly open doors for undiscovered writers.

EVALUATION PROCESS

Your script is judged anonymously. When you enter the contest your script will be assigned a number, and the Judges will identify your entry by title and number only. Most importantly, in each round of competition our Judges are assigned scripts based on their personal interests and expertise, so your screenplay will always be evaluated by people who truly understand and appreciate the type of material you’ve written.

Read more about the various levels of competition:

PRELIMINARY ROUNDS

In the first two rounds of competition, entries are evaluated by professional script readers and story analysts, each of whom has a minimum of three years’ experience as a working professional in the film and television industry. Scripts that receive a score of 60 or higher from their Judge in the first round of competition are read by a second Judge, and the combined scores of these two Judges determine which scripts will advance to the Quarter-Final Round.

QUARTER-FINAL ROUND

SEMI-FINAL ROUND

FINAL ROUND

JUDGING CRITERIA

Scripts are evaluated on a 10-point scale. The Judges assign scores of 1 to 10 for each of these elements:

PREMISE/CONCEPT: The idea behind the story. What the movie is about. The “hook.”

PRESENTATION: Standard spec screenplay or teleplay format (12 pt. Courier font, correct margins, etc.), as well as spelling, punctuation, grammar, and usage.

STRUCTURE: The framework of the script. Effective use of three-act (most common), odyssey, linear, or non-linear story progression.

PLOT: The actions, events, conflicts, and turning points that propel the story forward. How the story unfolds (points for originality/unpredictability).

PACING: The timing of the action, unfolding of plot elements, and pace of character development.

CHARACTERS: Personalities that are distinctive, compelling, multi-layered, and unpredictable. A protagonist and antagonist with clear and active goals.

DIALOGUE: Voices that are natural, succinct, and unique to each character. Use of language that effectively reveals character and moves the story forward.

THEME: The underlying message of the story as revealed through plot, dialogue, and visual elements.

STYLE/TONE: Overall quality of the writing. Tone that is appropriate to the material and narrative that is distinct, cinematic, and effectively conveys the mood or “feel” of the movie.

MARKETING POTENTIAL: Audience appeal and box office potential.

If you’d like a deeper understanding of our judging process, please check out The Insiders’ Guide to Screenwriting. In this groundbreaking ebook, ten industry execs who serve as Judges for the PAGE Awards contest explain in detail how they evaluate scripts for the contest and for their various studios, agencies, and production companies.

NOTIFICATION DATES

The list of scripts advancing in the competition will be posted on the following dates:

QUARTER-FINALISTS: July 15

SEMI-FINALISTS: August 15

FINALISTS: September 15

WINNERS: October 15

Prize packages will be sent to the winning screenwriters within six weeks of the final announcement.

Would you like to find out what the Judges think of your script?

Find out how you can get Judge’s Feedback…

Judge’s Feedback

Writers often ask if they can see their contest scorecards. But when taken out of context, the Judges’ scores are virtually meaningless. In fact, for most writers, viewing their scores without any explanation or clarification would only be confusing or discouraging, which would be counterproductive to our goals and yours. This is why we do not send raw scorecards to our contestants.

However, we do understand that many of you want to know what the Judges think of your script, which is why we offer you the opportunity to order Judge’s Feedback in conjunction with your contest entry.

ABOUT JUDGE’S FEEDBACK

In writing Feedback, our Judges’ goal is to provide you with honest, thoughtful, constructive input, and to offer information and ideas that will be helpful to you as you continue to develop your screenplay. Our Judges have a reputation for delivering extremely valuable notes, and each year we receive messages from hundreds of writers telling us how much they appreciated the Judge’s insights and ideas, and how much they learned from their Feedback.

If you order Feedback with your contest entry, once your First Round Judge reads your script, he or she will then take the extra time to write you 6-7 pages of thoughts and ideas about your script’s various strengths and weaknesses.

Your Judge will explain why your script scored the way it did, tell you whether your script would receive a Recommend, Consider or Pass if you submitted it to his or her agency or production company, and offer some suggestions as to how you might further develop your work.

In addition, if you like, you may choose to have more than one Judge read your script and write Feedback for you in the first round of competition. Our Judges each work independently and they will not see each other’s comments or exchange ideas about your script. Each Judge will evaluate your material from his or her own unique perspective. So if you request notes from more than one Judge, you can compare their different thoughts and comments and determine which are useful to you and which are not.

Do the Judges point out the same problems?

That tells you something important.

Do the Judges express opposite ideas about some element of your script?

That tells you something important as well.

In addition, along with your Feedback, we will also send you the credentials of the person who wrote it, so you can get a sense of who our Judges are and how their various studios, agencies, and production companies might respond to your work.

HOW TO ORDER

If you’d like Judge’s Feedback on your screenplay, simply check the box provided on your entry form. When ordered outside the contest through our Script Services program, the price for Judge’s Feedback is $145; however, when you add it to your contest entry, we reduce the fee to just $100.

Your Feedback will be emailed to you after the Quarter-Finalists are announced on July 15. Or if your script advances to the Quarter-Finals or beyond, your Feedback will be held here in our office as long as your script is still in the running for a prize.

PLEASE NOTE: Our Judges will write your Feedback on the day they read your script, while it’s fresh in their minds, and they will only write notes for you if you have requested this service. So if you want Judge’s Feedback you must request it when you enter your script in the contest. Otherwise, your Judge will not write notes for you and you will not receive their comments or your contest scores.

Ready to submit your script?

Find out How to Enter…

How To Enter

Deadlines to enter the 2024 PAGE Awards competition are at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time on the following dates:

Early Entry DEADLINE: Monday, January 15

$ 47

Regular Entry DEADLINE: Thursday, February 15

$ 57

Late Entry DEADLINE: Friday, March 15

$ 67

Last Minute DEADLINE: Monday, April 15

$ 77

This fee includes entry in one Genre Category. Scripts submitted in the Short Film category (30 pages or less) will automatically receive a $5 discount off the entry fee.

You can also add any of these three options to your entry:

If you’d like to have your script reviewed by more than one Judge in the first round of competition, you may submit your script in up to two additional categories and have up to two additional Judges read your script for $18 each.

If your screenplay crosses genres (for example, if it’s both a Comedy and a Family Film), you can ask the Judges to consider your script in different genre categories. Or if your script belongs in only one genre, you can ask all the Judges to consider your script in the same category.

Would you like to find out what your first round Judge thinks of your script and see your contest scores?

Order Judge’s Feedback along with your contest entry and your first round Judge will take the extra time to write you several pages of thoughts and ideas about your script, along with an explanation of how your script scored and why. The fee for Judge’s Feedback is $100.

PLEASE NOTE: Our Judges write Feedback for you on the day they read your script, while it’s fresh in their minds, so if you want Judge’s Feedback please understand that you must request it when you enter the contest. It cannot be added at a later time.

Still have questions? Please check out our FAQs.

SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

Ready to get your script in the running? Just click the gold button below to fill out our online entry form.

You’ll be asked to upload your screenplay, preferably as an Adobe Acrobat .pdf file. (Please make sure the file you send us is not password protected or secured.) And you’ll have the option to pay your entry fee with a credit card, debit card, or bank transfer. If for some reason you cannot pay online, please Contact Us and we’ll make arrangements for you to send us a check or money order (must be in U.S. funds).

We look forward to reading your screenplay!

Now's Your Chance . . .

Get your script in the running for the 2024 PAGE Awards and our $25,000 Grand Prize!

CLICK HERE TO ENTER

PLEASE NOTE: All submissions are final, so when you fill out the entry form please make sure you upload the most current and correct draft of your script. And since our judging process is anonymous, please include only the title of your script on your title page. Your name and contact information should not appear on your title page or anywhere within the body of your screenplay.

“Hollywood’s Favorite Screenplay Contest!”

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