The Call Sheet
Issue No. 1 | Week of June 12, 2026
It’s film festival submission season!!
Wait, who the fuck am I kidding? All screenwriters know it’s always submission season for finished scripts.
So, where do you even start?
Let me tell you how submission season used to go for me.
I had a feature and a TV pilot, both ready, both of which I believed in. So I did what most writers do. I made a list of festivals, started at the top, worked my way down, and submitted to everything that felt remotely right. Entry fees run anywhere from $35 to $50 per script per festival. When you are submitting both a feature and a pilot to each one, you do the math fast. It adds up to hundreds of dollars before you have even gotten through the first month of the submission calendar.
And waivers? They exist. They are also hard to come by, inconsistently offered, and not something you can build a strategy around.
But, you have to submit to get your work out there. That is… unless you have an agent or manager already, are friends with a major producer, or maybe you’re a nepo-baby and have all of those, including the wealth, to just find the film yourself.
Let’s be so for real. That’s not many of us.
I spent a lot of money submitting to festivals that were never going to be the right fit. Not because the scripts were not ready. Because I did not have anyone in my corner telling me which ones actually made sense for the work I was doing, which ones carried real weight in the industry, and which ones I could skip entirely without losing anything.
Spec writers are not made of money. I was not. Most of you are not either. And submitting blindly is not a strategy. It is just expensive hope.
That is what The Call Sheet is designed to fix.
Every week, I do the research so you don’t have to. Every festival and fellowship I include gets the full treatment: the real history, the honest industry take on what a placement actually means for your career, who it has launched (if I can find that out), and whether the fee makes sense for where you are right now.
As this audience grows, I plan to build direct relationships with festivals and competitions to help create opportunities, promotions, and ways for writers to save money getting their work into the world.
Because that is what all of this is really about. Getting your voice and your stories out there. That is the whole point of writing them.
Welcome to Issue No. 1. Places, everyone.
A note before we dive in: this first issue is open to everyone, free and paid subscribers alike. Consider it my way of introducing myself and showing you exactly what The Call Sheet is going to be every single week. Starting with Issue No. 2, the full list lives behind the paid subscription. If this is useful to you, that is how you keep getting it.
Now let’s get to work.
Currently In Development
Just like your script, these competitions are worth the long game. This week I am tracking five open submission windows with deadlines far enough out to actually breathe, plan, and submit your best work.
01. Slamdance Screenplay Competition
Regular Deadline: June 22 | Late: July 20 | Final: August 3
Accepts: Feature | TV Pilot | Horror/Thriller
Prize: $10,000 Grand Prize, $2,000 per category winner (Feature, Horror/Thriller, TV Pilot, and Short), $18,000 total in cash
The Story: Slamdance was born in 1995 when a group of filmmakers got rejected from Sundance and decided to set up shop across the street. That scrappy, filmmaker-first DNA has never left. The screenplay competition carries that same energy. They are not looking for the safe, the polished, or the commercially obvious. Their own words say it best: they want writers who take risks, refuse compromise, and go places where Hollywood hacks fear to tread. Tyler Tice won the horror category here in 2017 with a script called Day Shift. In 2022 it became a Netflix original starring Jamie Foxx and was the most watched film in the world for three weeks. Every single entrant gets free feedback. No exceptions.
My Take: This is the competition for writers whose scripts do not fit neatly into a box. If your feature is weird, dark, genre-bending, or just not what a studio exec would greenlight in a normal room, Slamdance is where it belongs. The free feedback alone makes the entry fee worth it at any level of placement. A win or even a semifinal here carries genuine indie credibility, and the alumni network is full of writers who went on to real careers after this exact competition opened the first door.
Best For: Bold features, original TV pilots, horror and thriller writers
Submit: slamdance.com/screenplay-submit OR FilmFreeway
02. Finish Line Script Competition
Early Bird Deadline: July 2 | Regular: September 5 | Latecomers: November 7
Fee: $58 entry only | $128 with comprehensive feedback | $299 premium with founder Zoom
Accepts: Feature screenplay
Prize: $10,000 Grand Prize, 50+ industry meetings, filmed table read, writing software
The Story: Finish Line is run by Jenny Frankfurt, an ex-literary manager with 25 years of experience developing writers and selling scripts to studios and networks worldwide. What makes this competition genuinely different is the model: you can rewrite and resubmit unlimited new drafts throughout the entire competition at no extra charge. You are not locked into one draft and hoping for the best. You submit, get notes, rewrite, resubmit, and keep improving your chances to win. The mentorship network attached to the prize is over 50 high-level industry professionals, literary managers, agents, development execs, and producers, all of whom actually meet with winners and select semifinalists.
My Take: The $58 entry-only option makes this one of the most accessible competitions on this list given what you get access to if you place. The unlimited resubmission model is something I wish existed when I was grinding through submission season because you are not just paying to enter, you are paying to stay in the game and keep making your script better while the competition is still open. The feedback package at $128 is worth serious consideration if your draft is close but not quite there. Past runners-up have walked away with options, manager signings, and projects in active development. That is not nothing.
Best For: Feature writers at any stage, writers who want notes and real industry access
Submit: finishlinescriptcomp.com OR FilmFreeway
03. BlueCat Screenplay Competition
Early Deadline: July 21 | Regular: August 18 | Final: September 22 | Late: November 10
Fee: Starting at $59 for Opening Deadline and increasing. Bonus: every entry gets a free written analysis
Accepts: Feature | Short
Prize: $3,000 Feature Winner | $3,000 Short Winner | $2,000 Fellini Award for best international script | Winners introduced to 400+ literary managers and agents
The Story: BlueCat has been running since 1998 and has one of the most impressive alumni records in the competition world. Ana Lily Amirpour won here before she wrote and directed A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night. Aaron Guzikowski placed here before he wrote Prisoners starring Jake Gyllenhaal. Benjamin Cleary came through BlueCat before winning the Oscar for Best Live Action Short for Stutterer and going on to direct Swan Song for Apple TV+. Amy Wang wrote Crazy Rich Asians 2 and is attached to direct a horror film for Paramount Players. These are not flukes. BlueCat has a genuine track record of finding writers before the industry does.
My Take: The free written analysis included with every single entry is what sets BlueCat apart from most of what is out there. You are not paying to be ignored. You are getting actual notes back regardless of where you place, which for a spec writer on a budget makes the entry fee one of the most useful things you can spend money on during submission season. The Fellini Award for international scripts is a bonus if you live outside American borders. If you have a feature or short ready and you want feedback plus a legitimate competition credit, this is a no-brainer.
Best For: Feature and short writers at any level, international writers, writers who want real feedback with their submission
Submit: bluecatscreenplay.com OR FilmFreeway
04. Scriptapalooza TV Writing Competition
Early Deadline: October 5 (Open Now for Submissions) | Final Deadline: October 19
Fee: $45 early / $55 final | $130 with 4-5 pages of feedback
Accepts: Original Pilot | One-Hour Drama | Half-Hour Sitcom | Reality
Prize: $3,000 in cash prizes, scripts sent to 50+ producers, managers, and agents
The Story: Scriptapalooza TV has been discovering and promoting television writers since 1999 and has been running for 23 years, which in the competition world means something. They accept four categories: original pilots, one-hour dramas, half-hour sitcoms, and reality shows, which makes this one of the few competitions that takes TV writers seriously across every format. The success stories are real: Andrew Colville came through here and went on to write for Severance on Apple TV+. Jameel Saleem placed as a finalist and is now writing for South Park. David Welch created the Hulu series Dimension 404. Scott Gray writes for The Backyardigans and won an Emmy. Beyond the cash prizes, Scriptapalooza actively calls and promotes their top 12 winners to their full industry contact list, which is the kind of hands-on advocacy most competitions do not offer.
My Take: TV writers, this one is specifically for you. The October deadlines give you time to get your pilot into real shape before submitting, which is exactly the right approach. The $45 entry fee is one of the most reasonable on this list for what you get access to, and the feedback option at $130 is worth serious consideration if your pilot needs another set of experienced eyes before it goes out. The fact that they actively pick up the phone and call producers on behalf of their winners is not something you see everywhere. That is genuine advocacy.
Best For: TV writers, original pilot writers, sitcom writers, one-hour drama writers
Submit: FilmFreeway
05. Outstanding Screenplays TV Pilot Competition
Late Deadline: June 20 | Final Deadline: July 20
Fee: $49 early / $59 regular / $69 late / $79 final | Feedback packages available
Accepts: TV Pilot | Half-hour | One-hour
Prize: $1,000 cash per category winner, mentorship with Emmy winners, script sent to industry contacts, Final Draft software, online courses
The Story: What separates Outstanding Screenplays from most TV pilot competitions is the jury. These are not development assistants or junior readers. The judges include Emmy winners and nominees from Succession, Band of Brothers, Euphoria, Ted Lasso, Ozark, Better Call Saul, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and WandaVision, plus a Literary Agent from CAA whose client list includes Academy Award winners. Six judges total, all actively working at the highest levels of television right now. The half-hour grand prize winner receives a mentorship with Susan Soon He Stanton, the Emmy-winning writer from Succession. The one-hour grand prize winner receives a mentorship with Erik Bork, the two-time Emmy and two-time Golden Globe winning writer from Band of Brothers.
My Take: The jury alone makes this worth submitting to. Most competitions have impressive-sounding judge panels that you never actually interact with. Here the grand prize winners get direct mentorship from the people who judged their work. That is a genuinely rare thing in this space. Every single entrant receives a free copy of Erik Bork’s book The Idea, which is a top ten screenwriting book by any measure. Quarter-finalists and above get their scripts sent to industry contacts. The late deadline is June 20 and the final closes July 20, which gives you time to get it right.
Best For: TV pilot writers, half-hour and one-hour drama and comedy writers, writers ready for working-level mentorship
Submit: FilmFreeway
Last Looks
In film, Last Looks is the final check for makeup and wardrobe, and everything in between, before the camera rolls. Everything has to be right before that moment passes. Same energy here. These are the competitions closing within the next two weeks. No more thinking about it. Look at these today and decide.
06. Final Draft Big Break
Extended Deadline: June 29 — 17 DAYS
Fee: Approximately $85 for features and TV at extended pricing
Accepts: Feature | TV Pilot | Short
Prize: $10,000 cash, trip to Hollywood, industry meetings, career coaching, and more across 11 categories
The Story: Big Break has been running for over twenty years and has launched more careers than most competitions people consider more prestigious. The contest runs 11 genre categories, which is the single most underrated thing about it. You are not one script in a pile of ten thousand. You are one script in a pool of writers working in your specific lane. Over 60 past winners have sold scripts, gotten representation, or staffed on shows. The grand prize package is real: a trip to Hollywood with industry meetings, prep with career coach Lee Jessup beforehand, and $10,000 cash. The judges are working executives, producers, and managers.
My Take: I am entering this one. The extended deadline closes June 29 and the fee goes up the longer you wait, so if you have been thinking about it, now is the moment. The genre category structure is what makes Big Break worth the money. A horror script competing against horror scripts has a real shot here. A TV pilot competing in its own category has a real shot. The career coaching attached to the prize package is genuinely useful. If you have one script ready to go and you want to pick one competition to focus your energy on right now, this is the one I would choose.
Best For: All genre feature writers, TV pilot writers, short screenwriters
Submit: finaldraft.com/big-break
The Fellowship Circuit
Competitions validate your script. Fellowships can change your career. The stakes are different, the applications are different, and the return on your time and money is different. Read these closely.
07. CineStory Feature Fellowship
Final Deadline: July 5 — JUST EXTENDED
Fee: $95
Accepts: Feature screenplay, 85 to 125 pages
Prize: $10,000 cash award, 12-month mentorship with two Hollywood professionals, free tuition and housing for the retreat, supplemental mentorship with Script Pipeline
The Story: CineStory has been around since 1995 and is a nonprofit built entirely around one mission: educating emerging writers who are ready to enter the industry but have not yet broken through. The Feature Retreat runs five days in the mountains of Idyllwild, California. Attendees receive three 90-minute one-on-one sessions with working industry professionals who give notes on the submitted script and walk writers through the real business of screenwriting. Winners, finalists, and semifinalists are all invited to attend the retreat. The community you build there follows you into your career.
My Take: Ten thousand dollars, a year of mentorship with two working Hollywood professionals hand-picked for your development, and five days in a writers’ retreat in the mountains. That is the full package and it is genuinely one of the best in the competition world for feature writers at the emerging stage. CineStory is not trying to be everything to everyone. It is specifically designed for writers who are ready but have not yet broken through, and that focus is what makes it work. The final deadline just got extended to July 5. If you have a polished feature sitting anywhere close to ready, this is where I would put my energy first. I am submitting to this one.
Best For: Emerging feature writers with a polished, ready draft
Apply: cinestory.org OR FilmFreeway
Director’s Cut
One submission I would personally make this week and exactly why.
Big Break closes June 29. I am entering it, which means I have 17 days to decide which script I am leading with. If you are in the same boat, here is how I think about it: pick the script that is most finished, not the one you love the most. Love does not win competitions. Clean, confident, structurally sound work does.
Submit your best draft, not your favorite idea.
That is a wrap on Issue No. 1. Before you close this tab, pick one. Just one. Open the link, start the submission, and get your work out into the world. That is the whole point.
See you next week.
— J. Penberth