JumpStart Writing Competition
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Roadmap Writers presents Season 2 of the JumpStart Writing Competition! This competition is open to both feature scripts and original television pilots of all genres.
Guaranteed Signing Prize Included With Entry
Roadmap Writers is a leader in screenwriting education taught by working industry executives & literary representatives and has helped 84 writers get signed to representation in just three years!
Last year's Pilot Winner Alan R. Baxter signed with literary manager Adrian Garcia of Recon Literary. Feature finalists Andrew Stone & Meredith Levine signed with Circle of Confusion. And previous semi-finalists have gone on to land representation with CAA, Tradition Pictures, and Kersey Management.
This year we've assembled another impressive roster of judges that include:
- Circle of Confusion - Zach Cox (Literary Manager)
- ESA - Sonia Gambaro (Literary Manager)
- Lit Entertainment - Matthew Dy (Literary Manager)
- Bellevue Entertainment - Zack Zucker (Literary Manager)
- Bron Studios - Garrick Dion (Head of Story)
- JuVee Productions - Liliana Granados (Creative Executive)
- MGM - Rashonda Joplin (Director of Development)
- Good Fear Film + Management - Scott Stoops (Literary Manager)
- Echo Lake Entertainment - Dave Brown (Literary Manager)
- First Friday Entertainment - Devon Byers (Manager/Producer)
- Zero Gravity Management - Joe Riley (Literary Manager)
- Silent R Management - Andrew Gerson (Creative Executive)
In our quest to help writers jump-start their writing careers, we are thrilled to announce our partnership with literary manager Jonathan Hersh and his management company Housefire Management to offer a guaranteed signing prize! What does this mean? It means that Housefire Management will guarantee to sign at least one writer/writing team from this year's JumpStart Writing Competition to representation. This amazing opportunity is INCLUDED with your entry.
With an emphasis on deep development, strong client relationships, and incendiary material that stands out, Hersh's clients have landed atop industry 'best of' lists including The Hit List and The Young & Hungry List. His clients have been hired by companies that include Paramount Players and the CW, and have sold spec scripts to companies that include Straight Up Films, Pioneer Pictures, and Mason Novick's production company Lost City.
All entrants are eligible to win the Guaranteed Signing Prize, so even if you don't finish in the Top 50 or above you are still in contention for this prize!
The JumpStart Writing Competition is designed to give writers exposure to industry professionals who can help move their writing careers forward. Are you ready to get traction?
Benefits
At least one entrant will be signed by Jonathan Hersh at Housefire Management!
Grand Prize (2) - Feature & Pilot Category
- Trip to LA for 5x In-Person Meetings w/ industry execs, airfare to Los Angeles*, $300 credit towards hotel accommodations
- 1x Virtual General Meeting with an industry exec every month for up to a year until you are either signed to representation or option your script
- A Roadmap Month Mentorship with an executive of your choice (choose from our list of available execs)
- One year of Roadmap's Industry Access "On-Ramp" Program
- 30-Minute Marketing & Strategy Call with Roadmap CEO and Director of Operations
- Copy of Final Draft
- Featured on Roadmap Writers Website in an exclusive video interview
- Featured in our JumpStart Competition Booklet, circulated to over 300 execs
- 3 Virtual meetings with industry execs
- One year of Roadmap's "On-Ramp" Program
- Copy of Final Draft
- 3 Free Open Pitch Session credits. Choose to pitch to execs or reps.
- 30-Minute Marketing & Strategy Call with Roadmap CEO and Director of Operations
- Featured on Roadmap Writers Website
- Featured in our JumpStart Competition Booklet which will be circulated to over 300 execs
- 3 months of Roadmap's "On-Ramp" Program
- 1 Free Open Pitch Session credits. Choose to pitch to execs or reps.
- 15-Minute Marketing & Strategy Call with Roadmap CEO and Director of Operations
- Featured on Roadmap Writers Website in an exclusive video interview
- Featured in our JumpStart Competition Booklet, circulated to over 300 execs
- One 60-Minute Group Strategy Webinar with an industry executive
- Featured on Roadmap Writers Website
- Featured in our JumpStart Competition Booklet which will be circulated to over 300 execs
- One 60-Minute Group Strategy Webinar with an industry executive
- Featured on Roadmap Writers Website
*Airfare expenses for the Grand Prize Winners will be up to $550 for domestic flights and $800 for international flights.
Writer Success
Announcements
Rules
2019 JumpStart Competition Rules and Guidelines:
- Please submit your pilot or feature script in PDF format.
- Pilot scripts must not exceed 70 pages. Feature scripts must not exceed 125 pages. All submissions must adhere to standard industry margins and font.
- Must be written in English in 12-point courier font.
- Do not include any additional documents with your submission i.e. pitch documents, series bibles, look-books, etc.
- All submissions are final. No substitutions of pages, drafts or scripts will be allowed.
- All submissions must be in PDF format.
- Do NOT cheat in an effort to reduce your page count, your script will be disqualified. As a standard rule, 1.5” left, 1” right and 1” top and bottom dimensions are acceptable.
- Submitting your script with a cover page with your name, scripts name, and contact information is recommended but not required. This may include a title, author name, WGA registration number and/or Copyright information. The cover page does not count towards the overall script page count.
- The competition is open to pilot and feature scripts of all genres.
- All scripts submitted will remain the property of the writer(s). Neither Roadmap Writers nor any of its judges and/or their respective companies assume any attachment to your work.
- Scripts submitted in the competition must NOT have been previously optioned, purchased or produced at the time of entry.
- Scripts submitted to the competition must not have received grand prize awards from other competitions.
- Screenwriters who have had previous feature or pilot screenplays produced and distributed by non-independent means are ineligible.
- Must be 18 years old and over to enter.
- No TV specs (i.e. Broad City Spec, Veep Spec, The Office spec, etc) may be submitted.
- Must be an original idea; free and clear of any copyright issues.
- In the event of multiple writers, please list all additional co-writers. No attachments (producers, directors, actors).
- Entrants may be contacted as a result of the competition by Roadmap Writers, a member of the judging panel, or other industry professionals.
- Only entries that purchase Feedback Notes at the time of submission will receive written feedback.
- Roadmap Writers is not responsible for screenplays stolen or lost in transit.
- Roadmap Writers’ JumpStart Writing Competition readers’ decisions are final.
- Submissions will be evaluated by experienced script readers and judged on the criteria of: Premise/Concept, Characters, Dialogue, Story, Structure, and Voice/Style. Submissions will receive multiple evaluations based on the competition's proprietary scoring system.
- Announcement Dates are tentatively scheduled as follows (dates subject to change):
Top 50 (Each category) - Thursday, September 19th
Top 20 (Each category) - Thursday, October 3rd
Top 5 (Each category) - Thursday, October 10th
Winner (Each category) - Thursday, November 14th
- Feedback notes will be returned to writers at the time of the Top 50 announcement.
- Airfare expenses for the Grand Prize Winner will be up to $550 (USD) for domestic flights and $800 (USD) for international flights.
- The Top 5 scripts in each category will be distributed to and voted on by our esteemed judging panel.
- Roadmap Writers reserves the right, at our sole discretion, to change or modify these terms at any time without notice.
- If a judge or competition partner is no longer able to serve in their specific capacity, Roadmap
- Writers will make best efforts to secure a replacement.
- Multiple screenplays may be submitted but each screenplay is required to pay separate registration fees.
- By entering the JumpStart Writing Competition, you agree to receive competition updates via email and periodic marketing emails from Roadmap Writers. You may unsubscribe at any time.
- See the Submission Agreement for a full list of Terms and Conditions for submitting an entry.
- To enter the Roadmap Writers’s JumpStart Writing Competition, you must agree to its Terms and Conditions.
- All sales are final. No refunds will be issued.
- While it is not a requirement, we encourage writers to register their script with the U.S. Copyright Office and/or Writers Guild of America.
About Roadmap Writers
Roadmap Writers is a screenwriting education and training platform for Career Writers looking for a guided path to success. Our programs are hosted by working industry executives and are designed to empower writers with actionable tools and insights to elevate their craft and cultivate relationships with industry professionals. Since 2016, we have helped more than 77 writers sign to representation and countless others get staffed, optioned, or sell their script.