Devin Ryan: Screenwriter, director and sound designer in Lake Worth, Florida.

Hi, I've had several people message me asking which screenwriting contests I recommend. I'm not sure which contests give the best notes, cost the least, have the fastest turnaround, have the best prizes, etc. I'm commenting here to talk about contests that I've seen do a good job of marketing their winners, sending our winners' loglines to industry pros, helping make intros to agents/managers, giving their winners strong credibility, etc. Some contests have both Film and TV categories. Please understand this list is based only on my personal experience, and I'm sure others have different experiences from my own. Apologies in advance for accidental omissions and for an obnoxiously long post!! In no particular order: -Academy Nicholl Fellowships - the granddaddy where respect is a "given"; if you place, reps comes knocking on your door; the Academy issues press releases and finalists get a lot of press and promotion -Austin Film Festival Screenplay Comp - execs love to go to Austin, the name has credibility, launched Oren Uziel into industry awareness with his SHIMMER LAKE script; execs can (or could in the past) request a packet of all the winners' loglines -Slamdance Screenplay Comp - ditto, beloved, credible -trackingb.com Screenplay Contest - the judges are primarily managers, and almost every winner lands a manager or agent; helped launch Mickey Fisher and his TV pilot EXTANT -Tracking Board Launch Pad - I'm less familiar with them than trackingb.com, but it's a definite trusted industry go-to -The CineStory Foundation Fellowship - disclaimer: I'm on the Board of this nonprofit. I believe we are the only nonprofit screenwriting contest. Our finalists are invited to a writers' retreat, and the CineStory Fellow is given one year of free mentorship from the 2 mentors of his choosing. Winners tend to pick Mark Fergus (IRON MAN, CHILDREN OF MEN) and Joe Forte (Harrison Ford's FIREWALL) as their mentors. 2013 Fellow Patrick Tobin saw his movie CAKE get made within a year (!!) with Jennifer Aniston starring. (NEW INFO: CineStory has just run its first TV fellowship, so CineStory is now running both Feature and Series Fellowships. Thank you.) Honorable Mention: -PAGE International Screenwriting Awards - I feel like they used to do a better job of emailing industry pros with their winners' loglines packet -ScreenCraft Screenwriting Contests by Genre - new one for me, but I had a script consulting client who was a Semifinalist; when he told me who the judges were, I was totally impressed at the level of access Not on my personal list: -BlueCat and Scriptapalooza - why? because I feel like everybody and their brother placed in these at some time. They tend to be "standard" rather than "stand-out" imho. I think it's best to pair this win with another one in your query letter. And sticking to the topic of my post, I haven't observed the kind of proactive outreach that other contests do for their winners. In the ballpark, but not a screenplay contest: -The Black List - if you have your script covered and if yours is deemed "one to watch" that week, you'll be included in a weekly email that goes out to an incredible mailing list of industry pros; the bad news - there are a lot of emails from The Black List and a lot of scripts, so you could fall through the cracks; still this site is completely trusted by pros -Sundance Institute Writers/Directors/Producers Labs -Film Independent Labs, workshops, pitch practice sessions -AFI Directing Workshop for Women -Tribeca All Access -IFP programs -There is a NY independent filmmakers program whose name is escaping me - does anyone know it off the top of your head? -Screenwriters Colony -writers programs run by major TV networks and film/TV studios (Google them) Pitch Opportunities: -Stage 32 - I'm a newly active member of S32, but in only 2 weeks, I'm highly impressed by the work that Joey Tuccio is doing. Joey's results show that he is highly effective, and clearly, judging by Success Stories posts, people love working with him. Congrats and bravo! -Virtual Pitch Fest - a great way to pitch if you can't attend a pitch fest in person, a very long list of totally legit industry pros ranging from producers to buyers to agents and managers

Hello everyone. My name is Devin and I am currently starting my career as an all around sound guy (boom operator, field recordist, sound editor, and foley work), and as a screenwriter. I've worked on four local feature length films, two student and two independent. I have also worked on around 20 short films and student productions. Right now I am building my resume and reputation in this business locally and am trying to branch out.

Hi Devin. I'm RB, Founder and CEO of Stage 32. As a screenwriter, producer, actor and filmmaker, I know first-hand the challenges all creatives face finding work, landing representation, launching projects, securing funding and simply making the connections that will make a difference in their careers. That's why I created Stage 32. Since our launch in September of 2011, the community has grown to 400,000+ members representing every country on the planet making Stage 32 the social network uniquely populated with the most creative people on Earth.

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Thanks for joining the movement and for being a part of this most talented and inspiring community. I very much look forward to your contributions.

Thanks, and have a creative day!

RB

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