Cash, script consultations, submissions to L.A. agents and managers are some of the great prizes being offered by the Chicago Screenwriting Network’s first screenwriting contest.
“This contest is a chance to get Midwest screenplays into Hollywood’s hands,” says SCN board member Linda Frothingham, something every aspiring screenwriter knows is on a par with winning the Lottery.
The CSN contest is an effort to fill the vacuum left when the Illinois and Chicago film offices ended their 15-year sponsorship of a statewide contest.
CSN has gone beyond the state to open the contest to writers from Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin, in action, comedy, drama and horror categories. Deadline is a fast approaching Dec. 31.
Besides the grand prize of $1,000, more than 20 Hollywood companies have agreed to read the winning genre screenplays, giving them a shot at being reviewed by a Hollywood production company or agency with the possibility of a representation, option, or sale.
Participating companies include: ABC Family, Vertigo Entertainment (“The Departed”), Clifford Werber Productions (“A Cinderella Story”), Epic Level Entertainment (“Dragonlance”), Grade A Entertainment (“Untraceable”) Alex Rose Entertainment (“Norma Rae”) and literary agencies Intellectual Property Group, Smart Entertainment, L.A. and Will Entertainment.
The $1,000 cash grand prize tops a list of many valuable rewards far in excess of those offered by other contests. It includes submitting a logline and synopsis to WGA-recognized agents, managers and production companies.
Script consultations with Hollywood gurus Chris Soth and Linda Seger, usually a very costly investment.
A six-month listing on InkTip; $50 online gift certificate to the Writer’s Store; a year’s subscription to Creative Screenwriting Magazine and a Computer Discount Warehouse Gift Card.
Each genre winner will receive a $250 prize, plus that coveted logline and synopsis submission; a month subscription to Chris Soth’s Hollywood by Phone; a $25 online gift certificate to the Writer’s Store; a year’s subscription to Creative Screenwriting Magazine and a Computer Discount Warehouse Gift Card.
For complete contest details and entry, see
