The FIRST 15 is a unique competition where your script will only be judged based upon your opening FIRST 15 pages.
As a “Thank You” to everyone for your support during our first six years we are giving anyone who applies FIFTEEN DOLLAR ENTRY for the FIRST 15 Days of the competition.
The FIRST 15 is a great way to kick off the New Year and jump-start your writing to prepare your script for 2024.
First, Second & Third Place will receive the following:
• $250 to First Place
• $100 to Second Place
• Free submission to any future competition in 2024-2025.
• Winning Competition Laurels.
• A phone call with one of the judges (Writer and/or Development Exec) to give them notes or advice on how to proceed with their script.
• Any introductions we can make to producers depending upon the content.
• Ongoing follow up and recommendations for future contests.
Special Anniversary Offer: $15 Entry Fee! To celebrate our sixth anniversary, we're offering a special entry fee of just $15! This exclusive rate is available for the first 15 days of the competition. Don't miss this limited-time opportunity!
Kickstart Your Screenwriting Year FIRST 15 is a launchpad for your screenwriting journey. Perfect for gearing up for the year's major competitions, writers' programs, & residencies.
Please see our website: https://www.pageturnerscreenplays.com/faq
SCREENWRITING AND TV WRITING COMPETITION – OFFICIAL RULES
1. ELIGIBILITY: Page Turner (PT) Screenwriting Competition accepts screenplays and teleplays that have not been optioned or sold prior to January 1st, 2024. The Feature Screenplay Competition is only open to writers who do not earn a living writing for film or television. The 2024 Competitions are open to writers worldwide who are eighteen (18) years or older at the time of entry. Participation is further limited to natural persons who have never sold or optioned any film or television script for a sum of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000.00) or greater within the last 10 years (“Amateurs”). The Promotion is subject to all applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations. Participation constitutes entrant’s full and unconditional agreement to these Official Rules (the “Rules”) and Page Turner’s decisions, which are final and binding in all matters related to the Promotion. Winning a Prize (as defined below) is contingent upon fulfilling all requirements set forth herein. The Promotion consists of a contest (the “Contest”).
2. JUDGES DECISIONS FINAL: Awards, selections, and competition decisions of PT are final.
3. COMPLETE WORKS: PT considers all entries to be complete and will not accept any revisions or additional pages once the screenplay or teleplay has been submitted.
4. ORIGINALITY: Screenplays/teleplays must be the original creative work of the applicants. You hereby warrant and represent that you are the sole and exclusive owner of all right, title and interest in and to the script and/or have obtained prior written authorization or license to submit the script from any and all third party rights holders therein. You are prohibited from submitting any scripts that have previously been produced at any time, or are currently under option, and you warrant and represent that the script has never been produced by anyone at any time and is not under option at time of entry. If based upon another’s life, applicant(s) must attach a statement attesting to their rights to make such adaptations. Neither PT nor its jurists investigates or attests to the authenticity of an applicant’s statement of authorship or rights.
5. MULTIPLE CATEGORIES: Entrants may submit the same entry to more than one category. Each category entered requires an entry fee for that category.
6. MULTIPLE ENTRIES: Applicants may submit more than one screenplay or teleplay in any chosen category. Each entry requires an application, payment, and script.
7. MULTIPLE AUTHORS AWARD DIVISIONS: PT awards are made per entry, not per author. Therefore, groups of authors associated with one entry are responsible for the division of awards.
8. WITHDRAWAL FROM CATEGORIES: PT does not allow changes to the categories after submission. All submissions are final.
9. REFUNDS: Submissions are final. PT does not issue refunds.
10. ENGLISH: All entries must be submitted in English.
11. FORMATTING STANDARDS: All screenplays and teleplays must be submitted in standard script format. MovieMagic Screenwriter, Final Draft, or Celtx are suggested programs. Use 12 point Courier font. Pages must be numbered.
12. SUBMISSIONS: Only online. No mailed or emailed entries are accepted.
13. PAGE COUNTS:
• Feature Scripts: 80 – 140 pages (approx.)
• Teleplay (30 minute pilot): 40 pages (or fewer)
• Teleplay (60 minute pilot): 80 pages (or fewer)
14. TITLE PAGE: We have no preferences regarding title page content. Title and name of writer would suffice.
15. PRIZES: For all Prizes: No cash equivalent for the Prize, Prize is non-transferable and no substitution will be made except as provided herein at the Sponsor’s sole discretion. Sponsor reserves the right to substitute any listed Prize for one of equal or greater value for any reason. Winners are responsible for all taxes and fees associated with Prize receipt and/or use.
16. WINNERS SELECTION: On the dates set forth, the judges will select ten (10) finalist entries for the Prizes described above in Section 15. The finalist entrants (the “Finalists”) will be selected from among the entrants based upon the level of creativity, originality, entertainment value, and writing skill of the associated Script, as determined in the sole discretion of the Sponsor or independent judge, as applicable. One (1) First Place and one (1) Second Place and one (1) Third Place will be selected amongst the Finalists. Inquiries concerning Entries will not be accepted. The Winners will be contacted using the email addresses and/or telephone numbers provided on the corresponding Entry Forms and may be awarded the Prizes (subject to verification of eligibility and compliance with the terms of these Rules.) Sponsor’s decisions as to the administration and operation of the Promotion and the selection of potential winners are final and binding in all matters related to the Promotion. Winners will be notified approximately seven (7) days after the announcement. Failure to respond to the initial verification notification within fourteen (14) days or return of notification as undeliverable after three (3) attempts will result in disqualification.
POTENTIAL CONTEST WINNERS ARE SUBJECT TO VERIFICATION BY SPONSOR WHOSE DECISIONS ARE FINAL AND BINDING IN ALL MATTERS RELATED TO THE PROMOTION.
17. ENTRY CONDITIONS AND RELEASE: By entering, each participant agrees to: (a) comply with and be bound by these Rules and the decisions of the Sponsor, which are binding and final in all matters relating to the Promotion; (b) release and hold harmless the Sponsor, its parent, subsidiary and affiliated companies, Prize suppliers and any other organizations responsible for sponsoring, fulfilling, administering, advertising or promoting the Contest and Promotion, and all of their respective past and present officers, directors, members, employees, agents and representatives (collectively, the “Released Parties”) from and against any and all claims, expenses, and liability, including but not limited to negligence and damages of any kind to persons and property, including but not limited to invasion of privacy (under appropriation, intrusion, public disclosure of private facts, false light in the public eye or other legal theory), defamation, slander, libel, violation of right of publicity, infringement of trademark, copyright or other intellectual property rights arising out of or relating to a participant’s Entry, participation in the Promotion and/or acceptance or use or misuse of Prize; provided however, that such release will not apply to any commercial exploitation of the Script by a Released Party in violation of your rights under applicable copyright law; and (c) indemnify, defend and hold harmless the Sponsor from and against any and all claims, expenses, and liabilities (including reasonable attorneys fees) arising out of or relating to an entrant’s participation in the Promotion and/or entrant’s acceptance, use or misuse of Prize. We take the safety and well-being of our employees and clients very seriously.
18. EXCLUSIONS: Employees of PT or any other company or individual involved with the design, production execution or distribution of the Promotion and their immediate family (spouse, parents and step-parents, siblings and step-siblings, and children and step-children) and household members (people who share the same residence at least three (3) months out of the year) of each such employee are not eligible.
19. PUBLICITY: Except where prohibited by law, participation in the Promotion constitutes each Winner’s consent to Sponsor’s and its agents’ use of Winners’ names, likenesses, photographs, and/or personal information for promotional purposes in any media, worldwide, without further payment or consideration. All uses of a Winners’ information are in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
20. REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES:
You hereby warrant and represent the following:
You are the exclusive owner and sole author of the Script, such that the Script is your original creative work and your submission thereof will not infringe, misappropriate or violate the intellectual property, privacy or other rights of any third party; and/or you have obtained prior written authorization to act on behalf of any co-creators of the Script;
Neither your execution of this agreement nor your participation of in the Promotion, including your submission of the Script, will conflict with or violate any term or condition of any other agreement to which you are a party, including but not limited to any union or guild regulation;
There are no threatened, pending or current claims, actions or lawsuits in connection with the Script and you agree to notify Pipeline immediate upon your notification of any such claims, actions or suits;
You are submitting the Script voluntarily on a non-confidential basis;
You are at least eighteen (18) years of age; and
You have the right, authority, and capacity to enter into this agreement, and you agree to abide and be bound the terms and conditions herein.
21. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS: By accepting your Entry, including your submission of the Script, we in no way grant you any additional rights therein or otherwise expand the scope of your rights under applicable copyright laws. You are solely responsible for protecting your rights in the Script, including without limitation, for filing or registering the Script with the Writers Guild of America and/or the United States Copyright Office. You acknowledge and agree that any participating judges may be independently accessing or currently developing separate creative concepts and/or works which resemble the Script, or may be accessing or incorporating concepts, themes, formats, plot lines, or characters similar to those in the Script, and that you are not entitled to any compensation and have no rights of any kind with regards to that separate material. However, you retain all rights to the Script itself and any other creative materials submitted to the Promotion.
22. COPYRIGHT: All entrants are encouraged to register their screenplays with the Writers’ Guild of America, East or West: http://www.wgaeast.org/script_registration, or www.wga.org/registration/index.html.
23. LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY: The Released Parties are not responsible for: (1) any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by Entrants, printing errors or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Promotion; (2) technical failures of any kind, including, but not limited to malfunctions, interruptions, or disconnections in phone lines or network hardware or software; (3) unauthorized human intervention in any part of the Entry process or the Promotion; (4) technical or human error which may occur in the administration of the Promotion or the processing of Entries; or (5) any injury or damage to persons or property which may be caused, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, from Entrant’s participation in the Promotion or receipt or use or misuse of any Prize.
24. GENERAL CONDITIONS: Sponsor reserves the right to cancel, suspend and/or modify the Promotion, or any part of it, if any fraud, technical failures or any other factor beyond Sponsor’s reasonable control impairs the integrity or proper functioning of the Contest, as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion. Sponsor reserves the right in its sole discretion to disqualify any individual it finds to be tampering with the Entry process or the operation of the Contest or to be acting in violation of these Rules or any other promotion or in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner. Any attempt by any person to deliberately undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest may be a violation of criminal and civil law, and, should such an attempt be made, Sponsor reserves the right to seek damages from any such person to the fullest extent permitted by law. Sponsor’s failure to enforce any term of these Rules shall not constitute a waiver of that provision. Any individual who threatens harm to Page Turner Screenplays or anyone employed by our organization or any of our clients will be subject to immediate disciplinary action, up to and including loss of their rank or position, without the possibility of a refund or reimbursement for any services rendered.
DISCLAIMERS: By submitting my screenplay to the Page Turner Screenplay Competitions, I:
• Recognize that PT, its representatives and files are replete with ideas and stories for theatrical motion pictures and television programs and that new ideas for motion pictures and television programs are constantly being submitted to PT. I also recognize that many stories and ideas are similar and often different stories and ideas related to one or more common underlying themes.
• I agree to indemnify PT and its representatives, including its judges and readers, against any and all claims, expenses, losses or liabilities that may be asserted against PT and its representatives at any time in connection with said Material, or any use thereof, including without limitation those arising from any breach of the warranties and promises given by me herein.
• I hereby release and discharge PT and its representatives, including judges and readers, from any and all claims and demands and will not assert, maintain, or assist any party in asserting or maintaining any claims or demands against PT arising out of, or in connection with the Materials, including with out limitation, any and all claims for libel, rights of publicity, theft, or misappropriation of ideas or trade secrets or infringement of copyright or other intellectual property rights.
• I warrant I am the sole owner and author of the Material submitted.
• PT shall not be under any obligation to me with respect to the submitted material except as may later be set forth in a fully executed written agreement between us.
• I have retained a copy of the Material and agree that PT shall not be obligated to return the Material to me.
• I acknowledge that PT is under no obligation to use the Material in any manner. I warrant it is original to me and that I am the author and owner of the Material.
COPYRIGHT AND OWNERSHIP
Page Turner Screenplays or any other partner, employee or agent associated with this contest claims no ownership nor first right of option to any original screenplay submitted to this contest. All ownership and rights to the scripts submitted to this contest remains with the original rights holders until and unless other agreements are made.
PUBLICITY
Except where prohibited by law, participation in the contest constitutes each entrant’s consent to Page Turner Screenplays and its agents’ and contest sponsor’s use of entrants’ names, likenesses, photographs, and/or personal information for promotional purposes in any media, worldwide, without further payment or consideration. All uses of a entrants’ information are in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
REFUND POLICY
All entries are non-refundable.
RULES:
• Submissions are accepted via electronic submission on this website, between January 1st, 2024 and March 22nd, 2024.
• There is no limit to the number of projects you may submit.
• Entries must be received on or before the deadlines and submission fee payment must be made in full at time of the submission. All entry fees are non-refundable
• All submitted material must be original, and all rights must be wholly owned by the writer(s).
• Material must be submitted by the writer. Material written by writing teams must be submitted by one of the writers, with consent of the other(s). All writers must be credited on title page.
• If a writing team is chosen as a winner, prizes will be given to the person who submits the project. Each team is responsible for dividing or sharing the prize money.
• Substitutions of either corrected pages or new drafts of the entered material are allowed. See your special link in the submission confirmation email for re-entry procedure.
• It is recommended that original material be registered with the WGA or The Library of Congress before submitting to any competition, however we do not require registration.
• All ownership and rights to the scripts submitted to this contest remains with the original rights holders.
ELIGIBILITY:
• All writers at least 18 years of age are eligible. However, a writer who has earned more than $50,000 (or equivalent currency) from professional writing services for film or TV in the preceding year is not. (Contest winnings not included.)
• All persons from anywhere in the world are eligible; however the material submitted must be in English.
• All material submitted to other competitions or contests are eligible.
• There are no requirements as to when the material was written.
• The material submitted must not be encumbered by any obligation to, or option held by, a third party prior to entering the competition.
• Any submitted work that becomes optioned, published, produced or purchased between the time of submission and the end of the judging period will no longer be eligible.
• Material should be submitted in standard screenplay format, font, spacing and margin.
• We have no preferences regarding title page content. Title and name of writer would suffice.
• Adaptations are ineligible unless the underlying rights are owned by the writer or the work is in the public domain.
• Page limit requirements are between 80 and 140 pages. Feature screenplays longer than 140 pages will not be eligible.
• All material must be submitted electronically as a PDF or it will not be eligible.