The nonprofit Connecticut Screenwriters group is sponsoring a short-script writing contest (10 pages or fewer) to celebrate the group’s 15-year anniversary.

Submitted

Screenwriters! Here’s a short-script writing contest (10 pages or fewer) celebrating 15 years of the Connecticut Screenwriters group, the premier screenwriters’ group in Connecticut.

Contest entrants must follow all the rules, and winners must attend an awards ceremony on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2019, in West Hartford. There are cash prizes of $300, $150, and $50 for the winners, along with a “certificate of victory” printed on real paper.

There are a lot of contest details below, but, put simply, you write a short script on any subject and email it off to the West Hartford Public Library – and if it’s good, you could win up to $300. And there’s no entry fee!

SHORT-SCRIPT CONTEST RULES:

1. Script submission deadline: Sept. 18, 2019. Email your new, original, short script in PDF format to: [email protected]. The subject line of the email must follow this format:
   SCRIPT – JONES, CHERYL – LOSING MY WITS.
   That is, the word SCRIPT – AUTHOR’S NAME (last name, first name) – the actual SCRIPT TITLE.
   Include full contact information with your submission (real name and mailing address; email; phone). Entrants will receive an email notification when their script is received. 
2. Those submitting must be at least 16 years old. No more than two entries per person are allowed. All submissions are final – no revisions of previously submitted work will be accepted.
3. Scripts must be ten pages or fewer, and must approximate standard screenwriting format. Scripts must have six or fewer characters (incidental characters, such as those in a crowd, don’t count, but characters important to the plot would count toward the six, even if they said nothing).
4. Each script must have the words “public library” somewhere in the dialog. “Public library” does not necessarily have to be significant to your story, it need only appear in your dialog. Scripts can be of any variety, fiction or non-fiction, but content should be either: G, PG, or PG-13.
5. Scripts will be reviewed by the Connecticut Screenwriters group. For review purposes, authors’ names will be stripped from submitted scripts. Connecticut Screenwriters members may also participate in the contest. 
6. Regular attendees of Connecticut Screenwriters group will pick the top three scripts. Voting will be by secret ballot. 
7. There will be three prizes: $300, $150, $50. Prizes are provided by the West Hartford Public Library Foundation, Thomas F. Kilfoil Bequest. The library reserves the right to postpone or cancel the contest if submissions are deemed lacking in quantity or quality. No individual can win more than one prize. 
8. Winners are obligated to attend the Awards Ceremony on Saturday morning, Nov. 16, 2019, at the West Hartford Public Library, 20 South Main Street, West Hartford, Connecticut. Please do not submit a script for review if you cannot attend the awards ceremony; cash prizes will only be given to those who attend the awards ceremony. The awards ceremony may be recorded and used for marketing purposes. 
9. Authors retain rights to their script(s), but also, upon submission of a script to this contest, the West Hartford Public Library is granted a non-exclusive, royalty free, irrevocable license to reproduce, distribute, display, or otherwise use, any or all submitted scripts. [Realistically, we are entwined with the “public library,” and will treat all scripts and their authors respectfully, protectively.]
10. Winning scripts may receive a staged reading at some later date.Shortcut to this page: http://bit.ly/shortscriptcontest 
    

For more information about the contest, contact Joseph Cadieux, West Hartford Public Library [email protected].

The contest is open to all, but contest entrants must follow all the rules, and winners must attend an awards ceremony at West Hartford Libraries on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2019.

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