View the list of prize winners here

Next Contest Opens:
May 2013
About the Student Competition

Recognizing the tremendous growth of aspiring filmmakers and creative professionals, Script Pipeline has created a contest with the specific intent of finding the next up-and-coming student screenwriter.

To level the playing field, the 1st Annual Student Screenwriting Competition is open to qualified entrants currently enrolled in a university, junior college, or certified film school. Students may submit a feature-length script in ANY genre or budget range. Non-film majors and graduate students are welcome to enter as well.

For over a decade, Script Pipeline has linked screenwriters with industry execs looking for new material--over $4 million in specs sold to major studios, including Snow White and the Huntsman, written by contest-winner Evan Daugherty, and Killing Season, with Robert De Niro and John Travolta.

2012 WINNERS & FINALISTS:

Winner - Samuel Laskey (Boston University)
$10,000 for the Remains of Liz Maggerd
 
Finalist - Jennifer McFinton (UCLA)
The Year of the Snake

Finalist - Kevin Del Principe (University of Southern California)
Rags and Bones

Finalist - Matt Mallon (University of Southern California)
The Virgin Martha

Next Season Opens May 2013
Recent Script Pipeline Success Stories

Robert De Niro Starring in Contest-Winning Script

Winner of the Script Pipeline Screenwriting Competition, Killing Season by Evan Daugherty wrapped production in March 2012, starring Robert De Niro and John Travolta.  

Script Pipeline CEO Chadwick Clough introduced Evan to Jake Wagner at FilmEngine, who earned an Executive Producer credit on Killing Season.

Killing Season - Robert De Niro


Evan Daugherty Sells Spec for $3 Million

Contest winner Evan Daugherty sold Snow White & the Huntsman to Universal for $3 million in the Fall of 2010 (view trailer). The film was released summer 2012, starring Kristen Stewart (Twilight), Chris Hemsworth, and Charlize Theron.

Snow White and the Huntsman Poster

It marked one of the biggest studio spec sales in years and subsequently made Evan one of the hottest young writers in the industry. 

Interview with Evan and Executive Director Chad Clough
Read Evan's Script Pipeline Interview
  

Other Success Stories

Chris Tucker

Notables include:

  • 2003 winning script Slammin' sold to WB for six-figures.
  • The Living Wake, Script Pipeline's first produced feature film, starring Academy Award-Nominee Jesse Eisenberg and comic Mike O'Connell, was released theatrically in 2010. Variety gave the film high praise: "A stunning feature debut. Scene after scene of dialogue recalls Tom Stoppard."
  • "Recommend" screenwriter Micah Barnett soldThe Rabbit to Warner Bros. for six-figures. Chris Tucker (Rush Hour) to star.

Script Pipeline contests have garnered more major success stories than any other competition, resulting in $4 million in writer spec sales.

View more writer success stories


Contest Details
Deadlines
NEXT CONTEST OPENS MAY 2013 
  
Grand Prize Winner 
$1,000 cash

Exposure to production and management companies for potential development
(3) Finalists

Consultation sessions with Script Pipeline executives to get your concept ready for circulation.

Exposure to over 200 production companies and industry contacts looking to develop new material.
 Prizes 
*randomly selected
20 One-Year  Memberships to Script Pipeline's Writers Database ($2,000 value) 

5 sets of script notes from the Writers Workshop
($1,000 value)

 Free Entries for Members
Writers Database
New Writers Database members receive TWO FREE ENTRIES:

 

Prizes

Student Competition Registration

Contest Feedback

"Every year, I have found amazing new talent from the Script Pipeline competitions, the type of talent that is ready to begin a long career in Hollywood as a professional screenwriter. I consider this contest FAR above the rest and have personally signed writers they've discovered, including Evan Daugherty ('Snow White and the Huntsman')."
- Jake Wagner, Manager (Benderspink)

"It was a great experience all-around working with the Script Pipeline team. They were amazingly professional, organized, and committed to helping me. But beyond that, they offered me script notes, feedback, mentoring, and a wide variety of industry contacts to help me get my work out there and move my script forward."
- Daniel Ragussis, Writer/Director, 2010 Finalist

"Entering screenwriting contests can sometimes feel like jettisoning one's work into a faceless digital void. With Script Pipeline, this couldn't be further from the truth. From the personal call I received as a finalist to the career brainstorming and connections that the guys provide--Script Pipeline's support for its entrants is simply amazing."
- Jason Kaleko, 2012 Winner

"I feel that Script Pipeline is one of the top screenwriting contests out there. I've been a finalist with two different scripts in 2009 and 2010 and both experiences have been everything you could ask for. They do there best to get your screenplay out to producers, agents, and managers, give you amazing access and advice." - Matthew Altman, 2009 & 2010 Finalist

"Being Script Pipeline finalists changed our careers. We went from begging friends for a read to now directing our own script with an incredible cast. We are forever grateful to Matt, Chadwick, and the entire Script Pipeline team."
-
Sean Fallon & Charlotte Barrett, Writer/Director ("Virgin Alexander"), 2008 Finalists

Past Student Contest Winners

STUDENT SCREENWRITING: 2012

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