by Melissa Maroff
ScreenCraft, an L.A. screenwriting consultancy that only recently forayed into the contest arena and hit the ground running—is teaming up with sponsor Celtx, a leading developer of pre-production and script software—to present the First Annual 2013 ScreenCraft Screenwriting Fellowship.
According to industry veteran and ScreenCraft Co-Founder John Rhodes, “This is not merely a contest; it’s a chance to enter an intensive program meant to foster relationships with industry professionals.”
Rhodes says that he and his partner, Cameron Cubbison, were concerned about the number of screenwriting contests and how dubious many are in actual value to screenwriters.
“Instead of just a cash prize, we thought why not work with them for a full year, since our backgrounds are in film development.”
Rhodes says they approached Celtx, who was excited at the prospect since they’ve never sponsored something like this before. They will join others like Final Draft’s Big Break Screenwriting Contest, which has been around for over a decade.
Applicants are eligible as long as they have earned less than $20,000 from professional writing services for film or TV—and will be evaluated based on story, voice, originality, characterization, structure, dialogue and overall craft.
The judging panel includes screenwriter/producer Don Handfield (Touchback and most recently, Kill The Messenger starring Jeremy Renner) and well-known story consultant Jen Grisanti, former TV development exec and instructor for NBC’s Writers on the Verge, in addition to creative execs from select studios and production companies.
Up to four screenwriters in both features and television (contingent on quality of submissions) will receive 6 months of development and consultation with the ScreenCraft consulting team, followed by a $1,000 stipend and round-trip travel to L.A. to be mentored one-on-one by industry professionals—including a consult with Jen Grisanti, coffee with Don Handfield, a lunch meeting with screenwriter Michael Colleary, (Face/Off and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider) and a meeting with a literary agent from one of the big five (WME, CAA, UTA, ICM, Paradigm).
ScreenCraft also happens to be an official sponsor of the 2013 WGA Awards, and their Fellowship recipients will be recognized at the WGA Awards ceremony on February 1 in New York.
Says Rhodes, “With this first-annual fellowship, we aim to cultivate a growing community of visionary screenwriters with meaningful connections to industry veterans and mentors… and we will hopefully see some exciting success stories come out of this.”
Deadline: January 15
Entry Fee: $55
Application form: www.screencraft.org/fellowship
